HOLY GURU BATMAN! I am blown away everyday at how much mileage they are getting out of this COVID 19/CORONA/WUHAN Virus. Talk about an UPSET! CHANGE? OH YA…ARE WE SEEING CHANGE! INSTANT CHANGE. What a testimony to AI/DWAVE/QUANTUM COMPUTING the Algorithm has presented them with a way to accomplish EVERYTHING they have been wanting in a matter of a few months, without having to openly invade! AMAZING! And we have not see the final product yet. There is so much more to come. By the end of 2020 I believe we will have a ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT fully operating and fully in control!
Just look around you and see what has already occurred. Here are just a few: Businesses shut down, most to never reopen, and the ones that do reopen will have suffered MAJOR setbacks. People walking around with their faces covered so you can tell a regular person from a thief. Folks afraid to leave home or visit relatives. Hugs and Kisses are a thing of the past. Today I want to focus on social greetings, and discuss what has happened to the way the virus has changed that. I have to tell you… I am shocked.
Now, mind you that this virus so far has proven to be no more deadly than the regular flu or the common cold. Yet they have Americans so terrified they are at sixes and sevens trying to figure out how to greet each other when they meet. Afraid to shake hands they began to look for alternative ways to show hospitality, friendship, and love.
There is a lot of information in this post. It may be a little tedious, but I guarantee you it is information you need to know to make intelligent and informed choices that could affect your near future and you eternal soul. Bear with me, be patient and let’s get started. We will look first at the HANDSHAKE.
I know it is hard to believe, but there was a time (possibly multiple times in history) when people had HONOR. When morals were important and your word was your bond. In those times, the HANDSHAKE was a binding agreement. There were no contracts. None were needed. Ever hear the phrase “My WORD is my BOND”? That’s right, people said what they meant, and meant what they said. When a man gave his word he stood by it. But, the Prince of LIES has taken over, and EVERY MAN is a LIAR. (Whenever I say man that way, it refers to mankind, humans, women and men.)
The handshake has existed in some form or another for thousands of years, but its origins are somewhat murky. One popular theory is that the gesture began as a way of conveying peaceful intentions. By extending their empty right hands, strangers could show that they were not holding weapons and bore no ill will toward one another. Some even suggest that the up-and-down motion of the handshake was supposed to dislodge any knives or daggers that might be hidden up a sleeve. Yet another explanation is that the handshake was a symbol of good faith when making an oath or promise. When they clasped hands, people showed that their word was a sacred bond.
“An agreement can be expressed quickly and clearly in words,” the historian Walter Burkert once explained, “but is only made effective by a ritual gesture: open, weaponless hands stretched out toward one another, grasping each other in a mutual handshake.”
One of the earliest depictions of a handshake is found in a ninth century B.C. relief, which shows the Assyrian King Shalmaneser III pressing the flesh with a Babylonian ruler to seal an alliance. The epic poet Homer described handshakes several times in his “Iliad” and “Odyssey,” most often in relation to pledges and displays of trust. The gesture was also a recurring motif in the fourth and fifth century B.C. Greek funerary art. Gravestones would often depict the deceased person shaking hands with a member of their family, signifying either a final farewell or the eternal bond between the living and the dead. In ancient Rome, meanwhile, the handshake was often used as a symbol of friendship and loyalty. Pairs of clasped hands even appeared on Roman coins.
Many entrepreneurs I work with say they will only do business with someone they trust. They’re quite content to do a deal on a handshake and feel that written agreements somehow undermine the trust they have between them. SOURCE: Business Advice
I may be a bit younger in years, but I can still recall when a “handshake and a promise” deal actually meant something. Perhaps some of my confidence in another’s word stems from my small-town Mississippi roots. Nonetheless, in today’s economy, your business will need a lot more than a handshake if you want to get paid. Luckily, only a few hours spent with a reputable attorney can present you with a sound contract based on solid terms and conditions, which will save you time, stress and money, should a client try and stiff you on down the line.
Without a mutually agreed upon legal contract in place, any terms agreed upon with a handshake are moot. Entering into a handshake agreement could put a business at risk for losing money not only in the original agreement but also in court fees for legal action against a deceitful client (unjust enrichment, quantum meruit, and the like).
Since we’re not in 1950’s southern Mississippi, and few millennials even know the meaning of such hospitality in business transactions, a good rule of thumb for any business is to ditch the handshake and ask for a signature acknowledging an ironclad contract (they call it iron clad, but you will find that a contract is only meaningful as long as you can enforce it, and the same is true of Court Orders. Court costs can wipe you out, and you still can’t force anyone to pay what they owe you. So, a written contract is no better than a Handshake Agreement. Just as it has always been, the agreement is only as good as the people making it. TRUST is hard to find and hard to keep. Know the people with whom you are striking a deal. If you have that, you don’t have to worry, even if things don’t turn out like you expect, honor and decency will find a way to work it out. Thieves have no honor, or decency. Liars will lie on a contract, it has no meaning to them.), complete with terms and conditions. Those terms and conditions should include the most basic items such as:
Compensation and payment terms
Changes/ additional services
Emergency services
Reimbursable expenses
Provisions of default
Dispute resolution
Governing law
Legal considerations, as stated above, are extremely important to help ensure appropriate compensation for hard work. Some businesses believe that something in writing, though not in legal contract form, is just as dependable. The reality of the situation is a lack of clearly stated legal terms and conditions could leave a business with a higher level of risk for a transaction. (what does this tell you about the state of our society? That every man is a liar, and so only by legal force can you be assured of agreed terms being met?)
While developing long-standing relationships with clients is important, don’t forget to protect yourself and your business in the process. Shake your client’s hand and exchange the promise to fulfill the contract, but also take a couple of hours with your attorney to put a “gentleman’s agreement” (It appears a “gentleman’s agreement” is a lot like a “gentleman’s club” the word gentlemen has no meaning whatsoever.) into writing. For the most part, your company’s terms and conditions can and should be standard with every contract, so this will not be an ongoing legal expense. Rather, it will ensure you peace of mind in knowing that should an agreement not go as planned, you have a contract to protect your business. (Ya, good luck with that. Lawyers are paid to find the loophole and to guarantee the other guy doesn’t have to pay. That is why Lawyer is synonymous with LIAR.)
Some customs and ways of doing things are not going to survive the pandemic.Lucia Kanter St. Amour has this eulogy for shaking hands.
The handshake: it was our loyal and familiar anchor for millennia. It operated as a widespread social custom for political alliances, business mergers and telepathic fathers sizing up their daughter’s latest beau. Now rendered verboten by COVID-19, the handshake was at least 2,800 years oldand, in some cultures, almost a contract. (at one time it was a binding agreement (which is what a contract is supposed to be, in most cultures, before contracts were ever invented.)
Across many Western cultures, a handshake at the beginning of a negotiation has been an important tool to convey the willingness to cooperate. Neville Chamberlain’s infamous 1938 handshake with Adolf Hitler in Munich proved the gesture offers no guarantee that things can’t then go terrible wrong. Still, it’s efficient, it’s personal and it gets things moving. Even before the pandemic, some may have already dismissed the custom as too medieval to be meaningful in the modern world. But remember the 161-day NBA lockout in 2011? It was finally resolved with a handshake deal — one with billions of dollars at stake.At a deeper level, when people shook on a deal, they participated in an age-old tradition that exhorted them to behave honorably.
But, alas, coronavirus rendered the handshake taboo, even before shelter in place. Since then, Dr. Anthony Fauci sounded the death knell in April, when he proclaimed: “I don’t think we should ever shake hands again.”
Thus ends a millennia-old global standard. The void leaves us feeling, well . . . a bit empty-handed.
Other cultural customs have been abandoned (perhaps for good). As a person of Italian descent, I greet friends and family in Italy with a quick, alternating kiss on each cheek (called a bacetto). This custom dates back to the ancient Romans.
So what now?Do we place a hand over our heart to bookend our salutations and negotiations? In the Age of Zoom, how about a “handshake” button in our widgets? While I don’t have an “aha!” answer, I am confident we imaginative humans will evolve a new custom.
In the meantime, perhaps my Italian compatriots will bob from side to side while kissing the air — from a 6-foot distance of course.
With a Perspective, I’m Lucia Kanter St. Amour.
Lucia Kanter St. Amour is a long-time Bay Area attorney, mediator, and philanthropist.
In Washington, as in most of the country, handshakes matter— doing everything from helping to establish a relationship, to sealing a legislative deal, to strengthening the bond between friends and allies. They are the physical greetings that accompany your words and help you to form a personal branding perspective. As former President H.W. Bush noted: “It is possible to tell things by a handshake. I like the ‘looking in the eye’ syndrome. It conveys interest. I like the firm, though not bone-crushing, shake. The bone-crusher is trying too hard to ‘macho it.’ The clammy or diffident handshake — fairly or unfairly — gets me off to a bad start with a person.”
The handshake is a simple act but, as we all know, hard to do well, resulting in news coverage from time to time of awkward moments involving handshakes — or the lack thereof.
Every trip to Capitol Hill necessarily includes countless handshakes along the way — and, sometime in the not too distant future, we hope the Hill again will swarm with members of Congress, staff, lobbyists, fundraisers and fly-in attendees. But now what are we to do when we finally are face-to-face with one another, after months of national lockdown and social distancing?As Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, recently said, in order to help stop the spread of germs, “As a society, just forget about shaking hands, we don’t need to shake hands.”
Given that politics and handshakes have gone together like July 4 and apple pie, this transition will be an adjustment. Many people don’t want to initiate a handshake now, and want to know how to politely decline one as well.
You do both by minding your manners. Manners never change. Being well-mannered means you follow the “Golden Rule,” by treating others the way you would like to be treated.You treat others with kindness and respect; that hasn’t changed.
What does change is society’s rules of etiquette. They evolve over time, depending on the needs of society — think everything from calling cards with the appropriate corner dog-eared depending on the message you wanted to leave, to telephone etiquette with our ubiquitous cellphone use. The time has come when our society is rethinking proper handshake etiquette and calibrating it for the situation at hand. We need to navigate this evolution of handshaking etiquette with tact and grace.
With shaking hands falling out of favor — for how long, who knows? — people are seeking out options and have come up with everything from bumping elbows, to doing a fist pump, offering a gingerly wave, resorting to a two-handed jazz-hand performance, and even “shaking feet.” To say we are in a bit of an awkward phase is an understatement.
Unfortunately, when we feel unsure of ourselves, we tend to touch our faces. It signals a lack of confidence. And, let’s face it, when you are trying to influence others on Capitol Hill, you need to look the part — confident — to get others to follow you.
The best thing to do is to pick what works for you and consistently do it. If we do this, we all will be more comfortable and confident in our actions. When we confidently handle ourselves in these situations, we will look better, feel better and get more accomplished.
If someone extends their hand but you don’t want to reciprocate, it’s important to use body language to convey confidence, warmth and kindness in place of that handshake while not offending anyone. Instead, give a little bit more space between you and the other person so a handshake is a bit more difficult to complete. Normally, in the U.S., we provide 2 feet to 4 feet of personal space. Thankfully, today’s 6 feet of social distancing will create space between us.
Maintain eye contact, smile warmly, and use your voice tone to politely and enthusiastically greet them along with a slight nod of your head. As you do this, you have some options: Keep your arms firmly down by your side, or keep your hands clasped behind your back; hold your right hand over your heart and add a slight bow; or hold something in your right hand like a clutch, briefcase, iPad or even your other hand, so it is otherwise preoccupied and less apt to automatically pop out for that handshake.
Whichever approach you adopt, the other person should quickly pick up the silent but polite signal that you aren’t comfortable shaking hands. If they keep their hand extended you may then say in a kind tone with an apologetic smile, “As a precaution, my rule is no handshaking for now.” Unless they are living under a rock, they’ll know why.
The key is to graciously, consistently and confidently maintain your preferred method of greeting with everyone you encounter in the workplace; you want to avoid being selectively worried about some people’s germs and not about others. Instead, be well-mannered by being consistent with your personal greetingsduring this time of transition.
Oh, brother! They are really stretching now. Seriously? Stark Trek’s Live long and prosper?
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A Seattle hospital set up drive-through testing for its employees with symptoms of novel coronavirus. Video can be viewed on CNN website, just click the title link above.
Washington (CNN)Lawmakers on Capitol Hill must now deal not only with the threat of coronavirus to the American public, but also the risks they themselves face from the virus as it continues to spread.
The disease was a topic of discussion during a closed-door meeting of the House Democratic caucus on Tuesday morning with members receiving advice on how to interact with others as the virus spreads and what capacity exists to support remote work if necessary.
The attending physician asked members to stop touching during personal greetings, suggesting that members instead use the “live long and prosper sign,” a light-hearted reference to a salute and greeting accompanied by a hand gesture in the television series “Star Trek.”
Hand-to-hand contact is to be avoided, the physician said. The physician encouraged lawmakers to use the “Star Trek” greeting, according to Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, though he noted with a laugh he was unable to separate his fingers to properly make the gesture.
Quick Answer: The famous Vulcan hand greeting in Star Trek was created by Leonard Nimoy. It is actually the physical representation of the Hebrew letter “shin,” and comes from a Jewish prayer ceremony Nimoy remembered witnessing as a child growing up in Boston with Yiddish-speaking grandparents.
You don’t have to be a huge Star Trek (1966-1969) fan to know about the Vulcan hand salute. The open-palm with extended thumb and split fingers in a “V” shape is a hand position recognizable by millions. It is an iconic gesture that has broken free of television or film and become a part of the human experience. It is so well-known that it has its own entry in the Unicode standard (U+1F596). It has been parodied and referenced in countless other materials, and following Leonard Nimoy’s death in 2015, astronaut Terry Virts sent back to Earth a photo of his hand performing the gesture out the window of the International Space Station with Earth in the background, centered over Nimoy’s home town of Boston. The salute’s accompanying phrase, “live long and prosper,” is equally legend and thrives as part of the lexicon of human vernacular. It’s also the official symbol for Star Trek in American Sign Language.
What is interesting is how the Vulcan hand sign came to be. It wasn’t penned in a script by an original Star Trek writer. It wasn’t conceived by Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Trek and founder of many of its ambitious ideas. Instead, the Vulcan hand sign was the creation of Leonard Nimoy himself, who first performed it on the season two opener of Star Trek, “Amok Time.” Understanding the way various human dignitaries and cultures greet each other with different ritualistic methods, he felt the Vulcans, who in this episode were represented by Spock as he meets an important Vulcan figure for the first time, should be revealed to have a unique gesture of their own for sociological purposes. The director agreed to give it a try, and legend was born.
Where Nimoy came up with the salute comes from a place far more practical than the science-fiction atmospheres of Star Trek. He drew upon childhood memories of Jewish synagogue services he attended with his Yiddish-speaking grandfather. The V-shaped position is the shape of the Hebrew letter “shin,” which is the representative letter of the word “Shaddai,” a term for God, and is a gesture traditionally used by the Kohanim (Hebrew “priests”), Jews of priestly descent, during a blessing ceremony. It’s also the first letter of “Shalom,” the Jewish word for hello, goodbye, and peace.
Nimoy showing how the gesture is typically performed in Jewish ceremony
As a boy, Nimoy participated in the Shekhinah, a prayer meant to bless a congregation… As Nimoy wrote on the official Star Trek blog a few years ago, “The light from this Deity could be very damaging. So we are told to protect ourselves by closing our eyes. I peeked. And when I saw the split-fingered gesture of these men… I was entranced. I learned to do it simply because it seemed so magical. It was probably 25 years later that I introduced that gesture as a Vulcan greeting in Star Trek and it has resonated with fans around the world ever since. It gives me great pleasure since it is, after all, a blessing.”
For many, the hand gesture is hard to perform. It requires a particular dexterity that some, including William Shatner, do not possess. Some cast members of the original Star Trek series are reported to have tied their fingers together in order to form the “V,” while others had to set the fingers in place with their other hand before raising it to camera.
No matter how one has to contort their fingers to form the “V,” it’s clear that Nimoy came up with something powerful back in 1967. Soon the hand gesture will celebrate a half-century of life on-screen and off, lasting as a symbol of peace and unity, founded on a Jewish symbol of those same positive ideas.
The blessing is called the “Priestly Blessing” and God commanded Moses BLESS MY PEOPLE THIS WAY…
Numbers 6:22-27
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, …..The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: …..The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: …..The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. …..And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.
I have to say that if I am forced to choose any of the current options…. I would choose this one. Because it is a symbol of my GOD and an unspoken blessing on the person I am greeting.
Elle Fanning and Jimmy Kimmel bump elbows on air March 4.
The global pandemic is changing everyday behavior, from CAA to SAG-AFTRA, as people choose between social bows and elbow bumps (which a top doc cautions against) and increasingly take virtual meetings.
As the coronavirus pandemic sparks a host of cancellations of industry events from SXSW and MIPTV to TV upfronts — scrambling travel plans and leaving people chasing hotel and plane refunds— it is affecting the entertainment worldin more quotidian ways, as more and more people work to get a handle on exactly how to enact social distancing behaviors.
Even as President Donald Trump shook hands with supporters March 9 on a tarmac in Orlando, Florida, many people in Hollywood are keeping their hands to themselves. At a Meet Me in Australia fire-relief fundraiser on March 8, Sean Penn kept his hands in his pockets, telling people, “I’m not shaking hands.”
But what’s not always clear is which handshaking alternatives are most appropriate — ticking the boxes of being both hygienic and not rude— when greeting someone on a studio lot or at a business lunch these days. There is what has become known as the Wuhan Shake— involving two people touching their feet — which Jimmy Fallon enacted with a full-on foot shake dance on The Tonight Show on March 4. But it has become more of a meme than an actual practice in the U.S.
Another option is the social bow, either with hands together, namaste fashion (recommended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu), or the way Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez prefers: As she tweeted March 3, “One practice I’ve used in no-handshake situations is to put my hand over my heart and smile/nod (nod is still a bow.) at whomever I am greeting.” Air-kissing with pronounced social distanceis also an option.
Alex Brandon/AP Photo
President Trump shaking hands.
But, in Hollywood, both the fist bump and the elbow bump (which Hillary Clinton has dubbed the “corona shake”) seem to be gaining an edge as ways to avoid germs.“I’ve never been much of a handshaker — too formal for me. I tend to favor the fist bump with friends and colleagues,” says Virgin Fest CEO Jason Felts. Adds Harriet producer Debra Martin Chase, “I am prepping two network pilots in New York. So I am interfacing with two crews daily, and I am a hugger and handshaker by nature. But I am forcing myself to elbow- and fist-bump instead.”Director John Krasinski tells THR that on the press tour for A Quiet Place Part II, “I did my first elbow bump, and I still don’t like it. It doesn’t feel right.” Adds Bloodshot‘s Eiza Gonzalez: “I’m a professional elbow shaker now.”
Irena Medavoy, who’s been doing namaste bows, wrote in an email to THR that her own son, a college senior, has offered her an elbow. “Because, and I quote, ‘No disrespect, Mom, but I love you and Dad and you both are in the danger zone on age. I would never want to pass something to you if I had it.’ ” And at a Fire Drill Fridays event on March 7, Jane Fonda greeted people with elbow bumps. Though, she says, “I’m told even elbow bumps aren’t good anymore because people sneeze into their elbows.”
Indeed, Dr. Gary Cohan, a Beverly Hills-based internal medicine doctor with a large entertainment clientele, cautions against elbow bumps. “You don’t want to do [them],” he says. Instead, he’s recommending no physical contact in social interactions, because true social distancing means staying 6 feet away from someone: “The coronavirus is transmitted not just by surfaces but by respiratory droplets. Six feet is [the point at which] they fall back to earth.” (Some experts say 10 feet.)
But not everyone is changing their ways. “I’m still shaking hands — when offered,” says divorce attorney Laura Wasser. “In my world, a handshake and human contact is important for consideration, communication and connection. I’m just washing hands and sanitizing more.”
Etiquette expert Lisa Gache of Beverly Hills Manners adds that, “Everybody is a little bit in the dark as to what is acceptable. If someone offers their hand, it could be considered an affront not to shake it.” She recommends “letting someone know verbally what’s comfortable for you in advance. It will help you avoid any real social awkwardness. Social distancing really is just being mindfulof people’s personal space.”
At the same time, many in the industry are pulling back on meetings. On March 4, CAA announced that the agency will not have visitors to its offices, a temporary policy that mandates virtual meetings for agents. SAG-AFTRA followed suit March 9 by canceling or postponing most in-person meetings and non-essential travel.
VINCENZO PINTO/AFP via Getty Images
The stands in Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy, were empty during a March 8 Juventus soccer match because of the coronavirus.
NYC-based documentary director Julie Cohen (RBG) has been tweeting updates about how she’s adapting, including a video of her washing her hands to the tune of “The Locomotion.” Says Cohen, “I’m definitely not shaking hands. I’ve been smiling enthusiastically while I clasp my hands behind my back like, ‘Don’t even think about it.‘ ” She adds that most of the meetings she and collaborator Betsy West are taking while they work on a Julia Child doc are on Zoom. “Our editors have brought their drives home so they can mostly work from home to minimize subway rides. We’ve continued to meet in person sometimes, but there’s a lot of uploading to Vimeo.”
Producer Matt Baer (Unbroken), however, has noticed no letup in industry lunch meetings. But while the restaurant he ate at most recently was full, the topics of conversation with his dining partner “ranged from agents canceling air travel, studios issuing warnings to their worldwide employees, empty movie theaters and working from home.”
The only sliver of a silver lining? “While I do prefer face-to-face meetings, it sure is a lot more efficient just to do calls and FaceTime,” says SP Media Group president Scott Karol. Or as writer-producer Gary Janetti tweeted March 7: “Planning on using Coronavirus to cancel all plans well into 2021.”
By Brian Rinker – Staff Reporter, San Francisco Business Times
Updated
Coronavirus ruins the handshake, awkwardness ensues. Aleksey Poprugin
Amid escalating fears of the highly contagious coronavirus, people no longer want to touch each other, if they can help it, especially during work hours. For many, that means the handshake is out.
The long-held tradition of welcoming someone with an outstretched handhas now become the awkward, confusing moment it was intended to prevent, invoking thoughts like, “I don’t want to be rude, but I also don’t want to spend the next two weeks in quarantine.”
A bunch of alternatives (some clumsy, others too casual) have tried to fill the space. You may have seen videos on the growing trend of footshakes in Chinaand elbow bumps in Silicon Valley or turned to Twitter to see a variety no-touch greetings, like the peace sign, a simple wave, a salute, or a subtle, palms-pressed bow.
We’ve even heard reports of “airshakes” — a virtual handshake with no physical contact — which can’t help but be awkward.
For business professionals who still have to come into the office and meet people, here’s a rundown on handshake alternatives approved by an etiquette expert, and times when you still may want to consider it.
“In the past we taught that if someone comes up to shake your hand and you don’t want to because they touched their face or something, you just shake the hand anyways,” said Shashi Dosaj, etiquette consultant. “You suck it up and then run to the nearest restroom and wash it off, but now with the coronavirus we have to rethink the entire thing.”
The handshake is the official business greeting in the U.S.(Maybe a high five for millennialswho think they’re cool in Silicon Valley, but don’t get the etiquette teacher started on that). It is the first time two people touch— a gesture of courtesy offering a warm welcome— in tandem with direct eye contact and a nice smile.A lot can be conveyed in a handshake: firm grip (but not crushing—no one cares how strong you are, sorry) demonstrates trust and confidence and a limp, weak one shows untrustworthiness and insecurity, according to Dosaj, who spent over 15 years in the corporate world, primarily in Silicon Valley.
Dosaj, founder of California Institute of Etiquette in Danville, California, told me the best business greeting during times of a disease outbreak is the namaste— that is, where you put your palms together like you’re praying, positioned right below your chin and over your heart, and then bow slightly.
The namaste, the traditional greeting in India, conveys the same welcoming message of a handshake.
Chinmaya
@Chinmaya_Mishra
·
On a lighter note : Starting today we are all going to follow the Indian way of greeting! No handshakes, only ‘namaste’ 😛 😛
Watch the short clip in the window below. Just slide down and click the arrow.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1234801827847254016
While Dosaj does prefer the namaste, she encourages people to do whatever makes them feel comfortable. Even so, here’s a point by point critique of the other alternatives:
Fist bump: still touching hands.
Elbow bump: People sneeze into that area; awkward motion; potential for skin-to-skin contact, if not wearing long sleeves.
Foot tap: Looks goofy. Dosaj worries that there is too much of a chance of missing the target and stomping the other’s foot or vice versa.
Airshake: c’mon!
Peace signs, waves, salute: effective, yet not very warm or encouraging.
While Dosaj has seen pundits pontificate that handshakes are medieval and should to be abandoned, she believe in some cases a handshake may still be worth the risk.
Consider these factors when risking a handshake:
What is the authority level of the person?
What is the client’s expectation to close the deal?
Will not shaking hands jeopardize a business relationship?
If you do shake hands, be prepared by always carrying a travel size hand sanitizer (if you can find any) or wear gloves (which may be weird).
They want to be certain that you know EXACTLY how to perform this ritual. I have added the information I found related to each step of their recommendation. I strongly urge you to review it.
Scottie Andrew, CNN Illustrations by Max Pepper, CNN • Updated 17th April 2020
(CNN) —Dr. Anthony Fauci has declared the handshake dead. All that close physical contact is just not what you want when there’s a respiratory-borne pandemic going around.
But look around you. The world’s got plenty of alternatives with zero touching and all of the intended warmth.
Namaste
Max Pepper/CNN
Namaste, a traditional Hindu greeting, means, “The Divine within me bows to the same Divine within you”in Sanskrit, according to the Hindu American Foundation. (This is an Ancient Pagan Belief that WE ARE GOD, THAT WE ARE ALL GOD.)Clearly, the gesture is a poetic step up from clammy handshakes. (Not in my book, it is a sure ticket to HELL!)
To do it, bow slightly, palms pressed together toward your chest, with your fingertips pointing up.
Raise brows and smile
Don’t say “hello” with your hands — say it with your brows.
The “eyebrow flash” is a touchless alternative in Samoa, the late ethnologist Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt wrote in the collection called “Non-Verbal Communication.”
“Eyebrow movements allow us to express complex emotions as well as perceive the emotions of others. A rapid “eyebrow flash” is a cross-cultural sign of recognition and openness to social interaction and pulling our eyebrows up at the middle is an expression of sympathy. Tiny movements of the eyebrows are also a key component to identifying trustworthiness and deception. On the flip side it has been shown that people who have had botox which limits eyebrow movement are less able to empathise and identify with the emotions of others. (Proof once again that our body movements affect our spiritual and emotional state.)
To do it: Raise your eyebrows and smile at the person you’re greeting.
Anjali means “offering,” and in India this mudra is often accompanied by the word “namaste.”
If you have attended even one yoga class, it is a familiar gesture: the drawing together of one’s palms at the heart. Your teacher may bring his or her hands together while saying “Namaste“at the beginning or end of a class. You may find this gesture within certain asanas——in Tadasana (Mountain Pose), before you begin Sun Salutations, or in balance poses such as Vrksasana (Tree Pose). This sacred hand position, called anjali mudra (AHN-jah-lee MOO-dra), is found throughout Asia and has become synonymous with our images of the East, from the smiling face of the Dalai Lama peering over his fingertips to images of devotees before a Hindu or Buddhist altar.
The Meaning of Anjali Mudra
In the West, we translate this gesture as a posture of prayer. Because we have grown up with this gesture as part of our culture, each of us probably has our own personal connection to this mudra, —positive or negative. Some of us may find a subconscious resistance to bringing our hands together as if it were a sign of submission. However, the beauty of this gesture, which positions us right at the core of our being, is timeless and universal. I know a 3-year-old who is delighted to greet people this way and an actor who prepares himself with this gesture before entering the stage. As we explore the significance and potential of this mudra, be open to your own experience and ways that this simple yet powerful hand position can be a practical tool in your practice and daily life.
In Sanskrit, mudra means “seal” or “sign” and refers not only to sacred hand gestures but also whole body positions that elicit a certain inner state or symbolize a particular meaning. Anjali mudra is but one of thousands of types of mudras that are used in Hindu rituals, classical dance, and yoga. Anjali itself means “offering,” and in India this mudra is often accompanied by the word “namaste” (or “namaskar,” depending on one’s dialect). As the consummate Indian greeting, like a sacred hello, namaste is often translated as “I bow to the divinity within you from the divinity within me.” This salutation is at the essence of the yogic practice of seeing the Divine within all of creation. Hence, this gesture is offered equally to temple deities, teachers, family, friends, strangers, and before sacred rivers and trees.
Anjali mudra is used as a posture of composure, of returning to one’s heart, whether you are greeting someone or saying goodbye, initiating or completing an action. As you bring your hands together at your center, you are literally connecting the right and left hemispheres of your brain. This is the yogic process of unification, the yoking of our active and receptive natures. In the yogic view of the body, the energetic or spiritual heart is visualized as a lotus at the center of the chest. Anjali mudra nourishes this lotus heart with awareness, gently encouraging it to open as water and light do a flower.
Begin by coming into a comfortable sitting position like Sukhasana (Easy Pose). Lengthen your spine out of your pelvis and extend the back of your neck by dropping your chin slightly in. Now, with open palms, slowly draw your hands together at the center of your chest as if to gather all of your resources into your heart. Repeat that movement several times, contemplating your own metaphors for bringing the right and left side of yourself——masculine and feminine, logic and intuition, strength and tenderness—into wholeness. Now, to reveal how potent the placement of your hands at your heart can be, try shifting your hands to one side or the other of your midline and pause there for a moment. Don’t you feel slightly off kilter? Now shift back to center and notice how satisfying the center line is, like a magnet pulling you into your core. Gently touch your thumbs into your sternum (the bony plate at the center of the rib cage) as if you were ringing the bell to open the door to your heart. Broaden your shoulder blades to spread your chest open from the inside. Feel space under your armpits as you bring your elbows into alignment with your wrists. Stay here for some time and take in your experience. What initial shifts of consciousness do you experience? Is there a change in your mood? vrksana
Anjali Mudra in Your Yoga Practice
Now imagine that you are beginning your yoga practice— or any activity in which you want to be centered and conscious of how your inner state will affect the outcome of your experience. Take anjali mudra again, but this time slightly part your palms as if to make a cup, so that your hands resemble the bud of a lotus flower. Depending on your spiritual orientation, you can metaphorically plant a seed prayer, affirmation, or quality such as “peace,” “clarity,” or “vitality” within your anjali mudra. Drop your chin towards your chest and awaken a sense of humility and awe with which to begin your practice, as if waiting to receive a blessing of good things to come. It is important that this anjali or offering be true to your Self as that will be the most effective and uplifting for you. Traditionally, yogis might visualize their ishta devata, or personal connection to God within the shrine of their hands. For some people this may be a sacred mountain, for others, Jesus, Krishna, or the Mother Goddess. Align your mind (awareness), feeling (heart), and actions (body) within this gesture. When you feel your invocation is complete, draw your fingertips to the center of your forehead (the pineal gland or all seeing eye.), ajna chakra, and pause there feeling the calming effect of your touch. Bring your hands back to your center to ground your intention within your heart.
From here you can begin your yoga asanas, meditation, or any activity from a place of connectedness (connected to dark forces.). Notice how much easier it is to be present and joyous with whatever you are doing. Look for other times to integrate anjali mudra into your practice and life. Besides the beginning and end of your yoga sessions, anjali mudra can be used within the Sun Salutations and many other asanas as a way to come back to and maintain your center. When your hands come together overhead in Virabhadrasana I (Warrior I) or in Tree Pose, this is still anjali mudra. Consciously connecting this upward movement of your hands through an invisible line of energy to your heart will help your posture and your inner attitude.
In daily life, this prayerful gesture can be used as a way of bridging inner and outer experience, when saying grace before meals, communicating our truth within a relationship, or as a means of cooling the fires of stress when feeling rushed or reactionary. Anjali mudra is an age-old means of helping human beings to remember the gift of life and to use it wisely.
How to Wai (Bow)and make an offering to a Thai Buddhist Monk 56,740 views•Jan 19, 2017 350 24 SHARE SAVE Sak Yant Chiang Mai Sak Yant Guide Nana, demonstrates how to Wai to a Buddhist Thai Monk, make an offering and get a blessing. You can get your own Sak Yant Tattoo at http://www.sakyantchinagmai.com
Several East Asian countries have their own variations of bowing in respect that require zero physical contact — in Thailand, it’s called a wai.
Young people are the ones who wai to people older than them or those they respect, like parents and teachers.(and Buddhist Monks) Here’s how to wai according to Rawinporn Taechakumput, a Thai tutor with language learning tool ThaiPod101. Bonus points if you keep at least six feet of distance while you do it!
To greet someone you respect, press your palms together near your chest, lower your head and raise your hands until your thumb touches your nose and your index finger touches your head between your eyebrows (The Third Eye). Bring your hands to your head while you bow.
To greet an older person or someone your age, do the same, but touch your nose with your index finger instead.
If someone greets you with a wai, you can return it — just place your palms together in front of your chest.
Two claps
(Clapping is a spiritual action. Clapping symbolizes warfare and victory, prevents evil spirits from hibernating
within the prayer arena. Source As Clapping hands indicates active physical involvement it breaks the devoutee out of lethargy which helps the wandering mind to focus on the ritual and away from the personal/worldly thoughts. It also activates the emotional level by inducing the devotee to appreciate the ritual and attach his mind to it. Source
Max Pepper/CNN
Some Zimbabweans, particularly those who belong to the Shona ethnic group, follow handshakes with two claps each, said Dave Mutasa, a professor of the Shona language at the University of South Africa.
Typically, when two people meet, they shake hands before clapping. We’re skipping that step now, so Mutasa offered a pandemic-friendly alternative.
When two people meet, the first person asks, “Mhoroi Makadini?” (This means “Greetings, how are you?” in Shona, the dominant language in Zimbabwe). Then, this person claps. The other person responds (usually with “Ndinofara,” which means “I am fine” in Shona) and claps in return.
The traditional greeting involves a clap after the handshake. The first person claps twice whilst saying “Makadii” (‘How are you?’ in Shona). The other person responds with two claps in return. Men clap with their fingertips and palms touching, whilst women clap with their hands on an angle (like a golf clap). However, both men and women keep their hands cupped so when they clap it makes an air-pocket.
Women may lower their body briefly, kneel or curtsy whilst shaking hands out of respect. Men may go down on one knee. Source
I posted all that so that you could see there is much more to know about the religious practices of other people before you begin to partake. The Shona people are pagans. They do not believe in the Living GOD. They practice pantheism, which teaches that ALL is GOD. ALL is ONE. Which to this Postmodern culture may sound like a good idea. IT IS NOT. There is a GOD, ONE GOD, and he does not share his glory with anyone. We are not ALL GOD, NONE OF US are GOD. Yes, it is true that ALL believers are part of ONE BODY. But, we have NO Fellowship with Unbelievers. We care about them, we try to share the truth with them, but we are not part of them and they are not part of us, until or unless they receive SALVATION. Humans without GOD are subject to sin and unprotected from demons. That is just a fact! The NEW WORLD ORDER is trying to UNITE the WORLD without GOD… the recorded time that was attempted was the TOWER OF BABEL! You know how GOD felt about that.
Hand over heart
Max Pepper/CNN
Popular in predominantly Muslim nations, bringing your hand to your heart is a respectful way to greet someone you’ve just met who isn’t accustomed to your touch.
Something as simple as placing our hand over our heart, the researchers conclude, can trigger us to behave more morally. But at the same time, skilled liars could use this simple cue to manipulate others into believing that what they say is the hand-over-their-heart truth. Source
What’s more — World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he uses this greeting in place of pesky elbow bumps (those put you within less than six feet of the person you’re meeting).
Sign language wave
To say hello in American Sign Language, bring one hand to the top of your forehead as though you’re about to salute, then flick your wrist away from your head like a small wave.
The shaka hand gesture is the symbol made by holding the hand in a loose fist and extending the thumb and pinky finger with the back of the hand facing the recipient. You have most likely seen this gesture being flashed by surfers and Hawaiian natives, but do you know what it actually means? Sure it can be a way to say “hey” or “that’s cool,” but it holds a much deeper meaning. This gesture is more than just a mere wave or thumbs up. The shaka is a symbol of the “Aloha spirit,” which is the coordination of the mind and spirit to think and exude good feelings to others…The simple gesture symbolizes a reverence, solidarity, compassion and friendship. It is a sign of respect and mutual understanding for the recipient.
Residents of Hawaii use the shaka to convey the “AlohaSpirit“, a concept of friendship, understanding, compassion, and solidarity among the various ethnic cultures that reside in HawaiiSource
This hand shape is also used for several other ASL words in different orientations and motions, including “yellow”; “gold”; and “California“, derived from the English nickname Golden State. Source
With the thumb held near the ear and the little finger pointed at the mouth, the gesture is commonly understood to mean “call me”, as it resembles a hand held telephone. The Unicode 9.0 emoji🤙 “Call me hand”[29] can be mistaken for a shaka sign. Source
In Australia and Russia raising the thumb to the mouth while pointing the little finger to the air is seen as invitation for one to smoke marijuana, the posture resembling the use of a pipe.[citation needed] Similarly in New Zealand, this gesture symbolises smoking a “P” (methamphetamine) pipe, as well as variations of the shaka sign being the recognised gang salute for the Mongrel Mob.[30]Source
Before surfer dudes adopted it, the shaka sign was a symbol of gratitude and friendship.
According to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, it originated with a Hawaiian man named Hamana Kalili, who lost his three middle fingers in an accident at an Oahu sugar mill. The shaka sign became a symbol he used to communicate with his coworkers as a security guard.
To show your own shaka, curl your three middle fingers and extend your thumb and pinky finger. You can shake your hand back and forth, knuckles facing out, for emphasis.
A deep spiritual greeting when meeting and departing from others.
Sanskrit, pronounced “Nah-mah-skar”.
It is usually said with an accompanying action – holding the palms of the hand flat together and touching the thumbs first to the “third eye” area between the eyebrows and then touching the thumbs to the heart.
It means “With all the depths and charms of my mind and all the love and cordiality of my heart, the divinity within me greets the divinity within you“. This meaning is the ideation kept in mind when givning the greeting.
Related to namaste, which is often used in the same way, but which was originally intended as a respectful greeting to God alone. Namaskar, on the other hand, is always used as a greeting to other people – eiher friends or strangers.
You hear Namaste a lot in class. So what does it really mean?
What does Namaste mean?
Does your yoga teacher conclude every practice by saying “Namaste”? Learn what the Sanskrit word really means here.
The gesture Namaste represents the belief that there is a Divine spark within each of us that is located in the heart chakra. The gesture is an acknowledgment of the soul in one by the soul in another.
43,637 viewsJun 24, 2019Rina Desphande helps us understand how to pronounce “Namaste” correctly and with more cultural appreciation. https://www.yogajournal.com/videos/ho…
How to Make the Namaste Gesture
To perform Namaste, we place the hands together at the heart chakra, close the eyes, and bow the head.It can also be done by placing the hands together in front of the third eye, bowing the head, and then bringing the hands down to the heart.
This is an especially deep form of respect. Although in the West the word “Namaste” is usually spoken in conjunction with the gesture. In India, it is understood that the gesture itself signifies Namaste, and therefore, it is unnecessary to say the word while bowing.
We bring the hands together at the heart chakra to increase the flow of Divine love.Bowing the head and closing the eyes helps the mind surrender to the Divine in the heart.One can do Namaste to oneself as a meditation technique to go deeper inside the heart chakra; when done with someone else, it is also a beautiful, albeit quick, meditation.
For a teacher and student, Namaste allows two individuals to come together energetically to a place of connection and timelessness, free from the bonds of ego-connection. If it is done with deep feeling in the heart and with the mind surrendered, a deep union of spirits can blossom.
There are several ways to incorporate Namaste into your yoga practice.
When to incorporate Namaste into your practice
Ideally, Namaste should be done both at the beginning and at the end of class. Usually, it is done at the end of class because the mind is less active and the energy in the room is more peaceful. The teacher initiates Namaste as a symbol of gratitude and respect toward her students and her own teachers and in return invites the students to connect with their lineage, thereby allowing the truth to flow—the truth that we are all one when we live from the heart.
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If you want to know how our world got so MESSED UP, you are looking at it. When they began introducing Eastern stuff to America, they kept insisting that it was not “RELIGION” that though these practices are all based in their religion, for us they had removed the religious aspect and it was just about EXERCISE. About living a healthier and more holistic lifestyle. They swore that Americans were far to sophisticated to believe in MumboJumbo Hebbie Jebbie stuff like demons and gods and spirits.
Well, here we are today. ALL of that and more has been invited into our Nation. We have taken on all the characteristics of that UNGODLY PAGAN RELIGION and made it our own. We have brought the IDOLS into our homes and placed them in places of honor. We meditated on their beliefs and we have become them. We have invited demonic entities into our bodies through yoga, focused on our Chakras and seeking the SERPENT SPIRIT of Kundalini. We have opened our minds to demons through the use of drugs and meditation and we wonder why everyone today seems to be demon POSSESSED! They don’t just seem to be…THEY ARE! You can’t dance to the music without PAYING THE PIPER!
If you want more information on EASTERN RELIGION and PRACTICES and how we got to where we are now…. check out the following articles and be sure you review the Stop the Insanity one in regards to BOWING:
— EASTERN RELIGION WORKS ITS MAGICK —- Originally posted January 30, 2016; updated 12/22/2018 Eastern Religion and NEW AGE Philosophy are one and the same. “Theosophy is the teaching of Madame Blavatsky. It is Hinduism at its best. Theosophy is the Brotherhood of Man. … Jinnah and other Moslem leaders were once members of the … Click Here to Read More
EASTERNIZATION OF THE USA Originally posted by Cynthia Pawl, January 30, 2016; updated 7/2018 President’s YOGA PALA Challenge 2011 …. You can start now…. Since 2001, the popularity of yoga in the USA has risen constantly. This has been due to the fact that most large corporations, sports teams, and school systems have made … Click Here to Read More
Easternization through MEDITATION Cynthia Pawl, January 30, 2016 Transcendental Meditation TM technique involves the use of a sound or mantra, and is practiced for 15–20 minutes twice per day. During which time one is to use the mantra to facilitate the “emptying of one’s mind” in preparation to receive. Transcendental Meditation movement touts this as … Click Here to Read More
EASTERN INVASION Continued Cynthia Pawl, January 30, 2016 Just a few of the reasons why yoga cannot be separated from its occultic origins are: (1) The mantra meditation lowers mental barriers and opens one up to the demonic realm (though it often doesn’t “feel” demonic at first…it feels “good” and “spiritual”…..even holy); (2) The … Click Here to Read More
What on earth is SAMA? –Pagan Influences on American Society Cynthia Pawl, December 11, 2015, updated 6/24/18 I work in the medical field. Yesterday, I received an email, from my facility’s education department. They were requesting that I sign up for a course, called SAMA Training. The email stated this was a recommended course, so … Click Here to Read More
Destroyed from the Inside Cynthia Pawl, December 11, 2015, update 6/24/18; 4/27/19 SAMA: Sacred Stone Academy of Massage https://www.facebook.com/SAMARhodeIsland https://www.alignable.com/east-providence-ri/sama-sacred-stone-academy-of-massage-ayurveda Samāʿ ṢŪFĪ RELIGIOUS PRACTICE WRITTEN BY: The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica See Article History Samāʿ, (Arabic: “listening”), the Ṣūfī (Muslim mystic) practice of listening to music and chanting to reinforce ecstasy and induce mystical trance. The … Click Here to Read More
Photo Credit It should be apparent to most people that there seems to be a media push/hype for “taking a knee” these days. So much of it seems to be deliberately staged and widely publicized. Don’t you find it strange? I find it extremely off-putting. I am convinced that this is totally contrived and orchestrated … Click Here to Read More
I am greatly encouraged to see that many people are waking up to the fact that they have been lied to by the powers that be. Many are recognizing that there is a conspiracy at foot and are getting harder and harder for those in power to fool. That is a good thing. However, it … Click Here to Read More
The History of the Handshake
Lucia Kanter St. Amour
Anjali Mudra in Your Yoga Practice
There are several ways to incorporate Namaste into your yoga practice.
