How I Used Truth - Lesson 6 - Annotation 1
What does the hand represent or symbolize?
1. The hand is a physical representation or symbol of the power of the mind to grasp, to seize, to lay hold of, to embrace, or to retain ideas. The hand symbolizes the power to release, to give, to serve, or to share God ideas. The hand symbolizes the power of the mind (as well as the hand) to accomplish, to do, to minister, to carry through an idea from inception to fulfillment.
Spiritual ideas are grasped and "handled" by the mind just as the hand grasps and handles tangible objects. Through the mind, ideas are released, shared, or given, just as the hands release, share, or give of manifest things. Man alone among known created forms has developed the mental dexterity to take hold of the blessings of God and the manual dexterity to make these blessings manifest.
The hand accomplishes physically what the mind conceives mentally. Each is a counterpart of and complement to the other. In one sense, we might say that the hand is the extension of the mind or the mind made visible.
As long as there is life in the body, the mind will give impulses to the hand. One in anger may strike another with his hand. The hand does not render the blow of itself, but follows the direction of the mind. With each kindly act of the hand, the heart (the feeling phase of the mind) expresses love and compassion.
Each movement of the hands gives a message. We see the hands extended in welcome. We see the hand raised for silence. The movement of the orator's hands emphasize his points. The hand may express joy or disdain, helpfulness or rejection. No matter what is indicated by the movement of the hands, they are the expression of the mind moving them. A popular song of years ago expressed this in the following words:
"Every little movement has a meaning all its own. Every thought and feeling by some posture can be shown."
The skills of a man depend upon the intensity of his desires, his strengths, his goals, his courage, and his earnestness. The explorer's vision goes beyond the known world and he trains his hands to do things the average person cannot even conceive. The exploration of space has demanded a mentality that can train the hands to obey instructions stemming from split-second decisions, with instant response. Life itself in the new world of space depends on instant obedience.
"The hands have been likened to the executive power of the mind because through the hands the decree of the will is put into execution. Your mind is blessed with the power to think and to will; your heart is endowed with the power to feel and to love; your hands are equipped to carry into effect the thoughts you think and the things you feel. . . . Without a second's hesitation your hands carry out the orders of your mind" (You Can Be Healed: page 130) .
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Preceding Entry: How may the day of deliverance (salvation) from undesirable conditions "be hastened for every man?
Following Entry: Why do we sometimes feel that we are "empty-handed"?
