The Mien Shiang Institute

Patrician McCarthy

Remember to do your Taoist full moon breathing tonight. It’s best to breathe in the the energy of the moon while standing barefoot on the ground.  But even in many normally warm places like southern California, it’s chilly and damp on a late December evening.

If you are in a concrete city like New York City, you might be near a park like Central Park, or even a little pocket park in your neighborhood. Or you might have a balcony to slip onto to do your Yin energy breathing. If none of those options are available to you, hopefully you can find the moon from your inside your home, through a clear window.

Wherever you are, I hope you can breathe in the healing Yin energy of the last full moon of the year, in this contemplative season of Water.

Patrician McCarthy

A reminder as we approach the last season of the year, the Water Element season …

The roots of Mien Shiang are in Taoism, an ancient philosophy based on the premise that everything is in a constant state of change.

The roots of Taoism are in Yin and Yang, the belief that everything within the Universe is one of two opposites and that each opposite produces the other.  If we did not have dark, we would not know that there is light; if we never experienced sorrow, we would not know the wonder of joy. The comparisons are never-ending.

Like the ancient monks, we look at the Yin and Yang of the face – for the balance and imbalance, the strength and vulnerability – to determine how each affects one’s well-being.

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This morning I came across some of Albert Einstein‘s quotes and realized that in each quote he seemed to be speaking directly to or about a particular Five Element  personality type. What do you think?

Albert Einstein

“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” Something for Metal perfectionists to consider.

“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” Keep this in mind, Wood people.

“It’s not that I’m so smart; it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” Our persevering Earth Element friends know this.

“Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.” Fire probably knows this from experience! (Keep your hands and eyes on the road. Pull over and have a smooch.)

“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions. Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Says the dreamy, imaginative Water person.

Send me any others you think are Elementally correct!

Patrician McCarthy

We thought we would share some Halloween costumes that match each of the Five Element personality types of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water.

Feel free to send us your Five Element influenced costumes!

Water

Metal

Earth

Fire

Wood

Patrician McCarthy

The writing of our new book Putting Your Best Face Forward is almost finished. What we want now are great photographs to show off your beautiful faces.

We want to unite our Mien Shiang (Facial Diagnosis & Face Reading) and our Taoist Five Element online communities, and we thought having a contest would be a fun way to bring us together. Those who ‘like’ our Mien Shiang Institute Facebook Page and submit a photograph will have an opportunity to be in our new book.

Putting Your Best Face Forward will have professional photographs, just as we had
for The Face Reader, but with the digital technology available now almost anyone can take professional-looking photographs. So, submit your photo. We will choose three random photographs to present to our publisher.*

Here’s what you have to know to enter: 

• you must be at least 18 years old
• you may submit only your own photograph
• if you are one of our winners you will need to sign a photo release giving us the right to use your photo, and confirm that you are the sole owner of the rights to that photo
• we prefer that you submit a recent photo
• the publisher and editor of the book will make a final determination of how your photograph is depicted. For example, it may be cropped to feature a specific facial feature, or not.
• if your photo is published in the book, you will be acknowledged in our Photo Acknowledgements
• there is no compensation for the use of your photo – just the honor and joy of being part of our book!

Here’s what you have to do to enter:

• you need to ‘like’ our Mien Shiang Institute Facebook Page at the time of, or prior to, submitting your photo

• submit a full-face digital color frontal head shot, with the following stipulations:

. color only, no black & white or sepia
. no photo-shopped-type of alterations of any kind
. solid background of your head shot of either light gray, very light yellow, beige or off-white
. makeup is fine, but we prefer it to be minimal
. no hats, head scarves, bandanas
. wear your facial hair as you do ordinarily
. we prefer foreheads and hairlines exposed, but will consider certain styles of bangs or side-sweeps
. avoid large earrings

Here’s how to win :

• ‘like’ our Mien Shiang Institute Facebook Page at the time of, or prior to, submitting your photo
• submit your best, professional-looking head shot
• follow the guidelines above
• submit by the deadline of midnight January 15, 2013
• submit your digital (only) photograph to info@mienshiang.com (we will accept submissions to this  email address only -  so don’t submit directly to our Facebook Page!)

Here’s what we’re thinking:

During the run of the contest, we would like to intermittently and randomly share on our Blog and Mien Shiang Facebook Page some of the head shots submitted  and perhaps do a little mini-reading or commentary. Please let us know when you submit your photo if you do not want your photo on our Blog or FB Page, otherwise, you just might see yourself there!

Here’s how we choose our final three:

• from those photographs that meet the criteria listed above, we will randomly choose the final three by throwing the names into a hat – literally!

*We have to make this disclaimer: Though we have every realistic expectation that Putting Your Best Face Forward will be published, and the publisher will agree to publish our chosen photographs, we cannot make a guarantee as to the exact date, if any, of publication, nor the promise that our suggestions regarding photographs will be honored.

Patrician McCarthy

Tonight is the Hunter’s Moon. We are leaving the Earth season of abundance and gathering, and beginning the Metal season of paring away what is unnecessary.

Think of the cool air of Metal and autumn, how clean and crisp it feels on our skin and how refreshed we feel when we breathe it in. It’s the same cool, clean and crisp mindset that we get in this season to think clearly and act decisively.

After the fun and often frantic energies of summer (Fire) and the comfy, nurturing energy of early autumn (Earth), we need to hone our Metal energies to begin the completion of our yearly cycle by taking in and acting on only what we need.

During this phase of the Hunter’s Moon some will literally hunt for their food, wisely taking only what they need and leaving the rest so that the forest, skies and waters will replenish and stay verdant, while most of us will hunt within ourselves to find what is essential for us to thrive, and then cut away what we don’t need.

And speaking of breathing, don’t forget to do your Taoist Full moon breathing exercise.

Patrician McCarthy

Take another look at the candidates for Vice President, Vice President Joe Biden and Congressman Paul Ryan in time for the debates tonight. That’s if you’re on the west coast. Those of you on the east coast and in between will have to come in with your cheat sheets late as I was unable to post to my blog. This is what happens when you try to upgrade – and everything crashes!

Enjoy. More tomorrow.

Patrician McCarthy

While you watch the Presidential Debate on TV Wednesday evening, take a look, again, at the face readings that we posted a couple weeks ago of President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney.

Patrician McCarthy

Today’s reading of Vice President Joe Biden completes our follow-up readings prompted by our contributing to Laurie Nadel’s Huffington Post article of a couple weeks ago, What the Candidates’ Faces Reveal.

Once again, let me remind you that when you read someone’s face you do not know why they make the choices they make, what they think, and what processes they use in their life. What you can know is their inherent personality and behaviors, and the innate gifts and challenges associated with them.

Vice President Joe Biden

In Taoist / Chinese Face Reading and Facial Diagnosis, we use the metaphors of the natural Five Elements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water to describe certain personality traits. Like President Obama , Governor Romney, and Congressman Ryan, Vice President Joe Biden has the Elemental personality of Wood which I read from his rectangular face, particularly his upper face.

Again, let me say that it’s not surprising that each of the four candidates has Wood as a primary Element since Wood people are natural leaders with lots of drive, passion and focus, and who also are innately competitive, driven, aggressive and pursue power. It’s hard to imagine running for national office without a healthy dose of each of these characteristics, for good and bad.

VP Biden’s other primary Element is Fire which is evident by his animated face and expressions which you can see in almost any photograph or video, and by the oval shape of his lower face. He and President Obama share their primary Wood and Fire Element personality traits, though President Obama has more Wood behaviors and VP Biden has more Fire behaviors.

Ears : VP Biden’s ears are set back, farther from his cheekbones, which signifies someone who relies on their intelligence more than their feelings to sort their concerns. This is a good balance for a Fire personality who has more than their fair share of looking at concerns from their heart.

Hairline : The Vice President’s hairline was a classic M-shape in his middle years, connoting  perception, creativity and warmth. Recently, his hairline is less M-shape, which happens often with age, and more square shaped, indicating he is reliable, follows direction and seeks recognition.

Forehead : His prominent forehead indicates that he spends time in his head, is strong-willed, persevering and egalitarian.

Brow bones : VP Biden is the only one of the four candidates that we are reading for the Huffington Post that does not have prominent brow bones, indicating that he is not unduly concerned about being in control or being controlled.

Eyebrows : VP Biden’s eyebrows appear shorter in the last few years, but it is appearance not a literal change. Nevertheless, it indicates that he may not ask for assistance as often as he had previously, preferring to do it himself.

Eyes : Like President Obama, VP Biden has the quintessential Fire Element sparkle in his eyes indicating that he is social, and that he takes in and gives out equally, and, in especially his case, readily seeks fun and adventure even in mundane situations.

Yin Tong :  (the area between the eyes) VP Biden has one prominent line called a Suspended Needle in his Yin Tong which indicates separation, either literally or emotionally, from father in youth.

Cheekbones : The Vice President has average height and set of his cheekbones indicating that he has a normally healthy sense of his own authority.

Cheeks : VP Biden has average sized cheeks indicating an average sense of confidence. Yet, when the Vice President smiles, his cheeks are emphasized (as they are when we all smile), giving him the appearance, and most likely the feeling, of a greater confidence.

Nose : The Vice President has a straight nose, quite noticeable from his profile, which signals that he is loyal, disciplined, fair, yet impatient. Outward appearance is important.

Mouth : While the Vice President’s lips are thin (more so with age) his mouth appears relaxed, especially as he smiles easily and frequently. Thin lips, in general, connote someone who seeks control, especially looking for an intellectual solution rather than an emotional one.

Jaws : His average size and set jaws indicate that he has good determination and a willingness to fight for self and his  beliefs.

Chin : Vice President Biden has a square shape chin that reveals him to be reliable, straight forward, and strong-willed.

This concludes our readings of the four primary presidential candidates. Later this week and beyond we will answer some of your questions regarding our readings.

Patrician McCarthy

Last week we posted more complete face readings of President Obama and Governor Romney as a follow up to Laurie Nadel’s Huffington Post article What The Candidates’ Faces Reveal where she asked me to tell her some of what I saw in the faces of each of the primary presidential and vice presidential candidates. Today we will take a look at Congressman Paul Ryan, Republican candidate for Vice President.

Congressman Paul Ryan

Once again, let me remind you that when you read someone’s face you do not know why they make the choices they make, what they think, and what processes they use in their life. What you can know is their inherent personality and behaviors, and the innate gifts and challenges associated with them.
In Taoist / Chinese Face Reading and Facial Diagnosis, we use the metaphors of the natural Five Elements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water to describe certain personality traits. Like President Obama and Governor Romney, Congressman Ryan has the Elemental personality of Wood which I read from his rectangular face, prominent brow bones and eyebrows, and the defined shape and set of his jaw.
It’s not surprising that each of the candidates has Wood as a primary Element since Wood people are natural leaders with lots of drive, passion and focus, and who also are innately competitive, driven, aggressive and pursue power. It’s hard to imagine running for national office without a healthy dose of each of these characteristics, for good and bad.
Now we will take a look at Congressman Ryan’s facial features to get a more specific reading.
Ears : Congressman Ryan has forward facing ears, a trait he shares with President Obama. These ears reveal that he is clever, assertive, likes attention, and has selective hearing. This trait can keep him from being unduly influenced by others, but at the same time he needs to be careful to not discount others’ observations and opinions.
He has low-set ears indicating someone who is intelligent, affable, idealistic and likes to have a lot of people around him.

Hairline : Paul Ryan has a a heart-shaped hairline, also called a widow’s peak, which is found more often on women than on men. This reveals his innate charisma, but the most notable characteristic of this shape signifies that he is very traditionally-minded.

Forehead : The Congressman’s forehead is low especially in comparison to the size of his face. This means that he is a realist who doesn’t like to make quick decisions. His realistic nature encourages him to use down-to-earth sensibilities to deliberate. It may take a while to form an opinion, but once formed it’s hard to budge him to another point of view.
His forehead is also broad indicating a wide range of interests and someone who spends lots of time in his head.

Brow bones : All of the candidates have brow bones, but the Congressman has the most prominent. This represents someone who not only is concerned with the issue of control, but must be in control.

Eyebrows : Again, like the other candidates, he has low-set eyebrows know as ‘the coaches’ eyebrows’ because they belong to people who love to help out, but they have to show you exactly how to do it. They are also indicative of ambition.
I notice that Ryan’s right eyebrow dips down at the root, towards the bridge of his nose. Eyebrows that point down at the root reveals someone who has high expectations of himself. When only one eyebrow dips down we note which one: the right side of the face indicates our outer life, the one we choose to project to the world, and the left reveals our inner, truer feelings and thoughts. A quick interpretation might be that there is a conflict between how he projects his expectations of self to the public and how he really feels about his true self.

Eyes : The upper lids of both eyes come down significantly covering his top eyelids. That both upper lids droop signifies two critical parents. We never know just by looking at someone’s face if the parents were actually critical; we know only that criticism was felt or envisioned by the child and the effects of that real or perceived criticism has played a significant role in how he eventually perceives himself and his abilities. The result is often pushing oneself, competing with the critical parent, or at least trying to win approval.

Yin Tong :  (the area between the eyes) Like the other candidates we have read so far, the Congressman has two vertical lines called Suspended Needles in his Yin Tong which indicate separation from father in youth. This separation can be literal or emotional. I believe that Congressman Ryan lost his father at a young age.

Cheekbones : His cheekbones seem to be average height and set indicating that he as a normally healthy sense of his own authority.

Cheeks : Congressman Ryan has full cheeks evidence of good innate confidence.

Nose : The Congressman has a high-set nose at the bridge indicating ambition, and quite a high-set middle revealing that he is energetic, self-reliant, and doesn’t like rules. A large, strong nose that comes off the face belongs to someone who has drive, ego, and seeks leadership and power. His nostrils are narrow which connotes someone who is conservative with how they spend their money and their emotions.

Mouth : Like Governor Romney, Ryan keeps his lips tightly closed even when smiling indicating that he is cautious, and that his thoughts, feelings, and words are held tightly in reserve. Both his lips are very thin revealing that he needs to have a lot of control, that he is sensible and makes clear and calculated decisions.

Jaws : He has strong and defined jaws indicating good determination and willingness to fight for self and his beliefs.

Chin : Congressman Ryan has a strong and broad chin evidence that he is strong-willed with a strong need to live life according to his own terms. A broad chin also reveals ambition, honesty and trouble in expressing more personal feelings unless one feels completely safe in doing so.

He has a dimple in his chin, not deep enough to be a cleft, but noticeable enough to let us know that he likes attention. This is often called a ‘performer’s chin’ as it belongs to someone who truly enjoys playing to large groups of people.

As with our readings of President Obama and Governor Romney, we’ve given you a lot of information about what we see on Congressman Ryan’s face. Believe it or not, that’s just a small bit of what we can see.

We will post our reading on Vice President Joe Biden later this week.