Word of the Week: Stichomancy

by Carmen de Jesus

The word of the week is: Stichomancy, otherwise known as Bibliomancy.

Stichomancy is a method of divination using random passages from books.

Sometimes this term is used in the same way as Stichomancy and Libromancy, which is a form of divination that seeks to know the future by randomly selecting a passage from a book, frequently a sacred text.

Suggested Method:
1. Pick a book you believe to hold truth.
2. Balance it on its spine; let it fall open.
3. With eyes closed, touch your finger to any random passage.
4. View the passage as wisdom for your future.
Source: Wikipedia

I just gave it a go, with the book "Thoughts Without A Thinker" by Mark Epstein, M.D. So here's my fortune for the day:

"The key to the transformational potential of bare attention lies in the deceptively simple injunction to separate out one's reactions from the core events themselves. Much of the time, it turns out, our everyday minds are in a state of reactivity. We take this for granted, we do not question automatic identifications with our reactions, and we experience ourselves at the mercy of an often hostile or frustrating outer world or an overwhelming or frightening inner one."

Translation: Pay attention to what you react to, and why. Diminish reactivity by increasing bare attention and mindful awareness.

| 01/31/07 | Practices