The Mudra Mirror Book

          The Mudra Mirror
             Dispelling Fear with Spiritual Technology 
           Conceived and Designed by
            Stephen Ian McIntosh
            Sculpted by Terry Kruger
           
          © 1995 Now & Zen, Inc.

          Boulder, Colorado
          80306-0110 
          MADE IN USA 
        
         Contents Page
         Overview
         The Power of the Mudra Mirror
          How to Use It 
          Why It Works 
          
          The Significance of the Hand Gesture
          
          The Significance of the Mirror
          
          Care of Your Mudra Mirror
          
         About Now & Zen 
 Overview
         The Mudra Mirror is a visual 
          affirmation combining two powerful symbols to create a beautiful way 
          to cleanse your mind of fear. The sculpture of the upraised hand signifies 
          dispelling fear. This ancient gesture symbolizes a fundamental teaching 
          of many spiritual traditions -- the affirmation to <fear not.> 
          The mirror in the palm of the hand serves to draw you into the affirmation. 
          The mirror brings your ego to the surface, and it is to your ego that 
          all fear attaches. As you pass by the Mudra Mirror and look at yourself, 
          the calming influence of the ancient symbol of dispelling fear acts 
          as a reminder that your fear is an illusion. The Mudra Mirror thus serves 
          as a useful wall mirror, a beautiful work of art, and a powerful mnemonic 
          device for your psychic protection. 
        The Power of The Mudra Mirror
        How to Use It
         Hang the mirror on a wall in your home by which you 
          frequently pass. The mirror is especially effective when hung by your 
          front door. Use the mirror like any small wall mirror&shyp;&shyp;look 
          at yourself and take the opportunity to check your grooming. But before 
          you turn away, expand your perspective so that you can see your face 
          within the context of the hand. In this moment, let the calming influence 
          of the symbol of the upraised palm banish thoughts of fear from your 
          mind.
         Fear serves a useful purpose as a warning mechanism; 
          it is like an alarm clock telling you to wake up and become more aware. 
          But if you don't <wake up> and turn off the alarm by dealing 
          with the fear, the fear itself can become more of a psychic threat than 
          the thing you were originally afraid of. You have power over your fear, 
          and you can turn it off by confronting it and raising your awareness 
          in response. When you experience fear, try getting in touch with its 
          source, then make a decision about what you will do if the threat comes 
          to pass. If you have prepared yourself and done all you can do for now 
          to respond to the cause of your fear, it has served its purpose and 
          you can safely let it go. But you cannot decide once and for all to 
          not be afraid. Fear keeps coming up and you must continually <rinse 
          the glass.< Dispelling fear is a daily ritual, and the Mudra Mirror 
          can act as a focal point for this process. 
         Freeing your thoughts of fear should eventually become 
          routine. It should only take a few seconds to come upon the hand, look 
          yourself in the face, decide how to respond to any fears you may have 
          (or to remind yourself of a previous decision), and to let go of the 
          fear. Just as a bathroom sink provides a place to wash your hands, the 
          Mudra Mirror provides a place to cleanse your mind of anxiety.
         Why it Works
         Since ancient times, symbols have had a powerful effect 
          on people's conscious and unconscious awareness. Although symbols themselves 
          have been the cause of fear and superstition, they have also functioned 
          to unify and enlighten. The Mudra Mirror communicates to your superconscious 
          mind through the synergistic combination of two powerful symbols: the 
          mirror and the gesture of the upraised palm. The significance of these 
          symbols is discussed in the next two sections. Like any mnemonic device, 
          or memory aid, the Mudra Mirror works by refocusing your awareness on 
          truth-- the truth that on the spiritual level, you have nothing to fear.
         The Significance of the Hand Gesture
         The Mudra Mirror's symbolic hand posture is part of 
          the iconography of Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism. <Mudra> 
          is a Sanskrit word which means mark or seal. It has also come to mean 
          a symbolic gesture of the hands. In Buddhism, the mudra acts as a magical 
          seal that guarantees the efficacy of a mantra or prayer. Hundreds of 
          different mudras are used in Buddhist sculpture and painting to identify 
          the attitude of the figure. For example, one hand posture indicates 
          teaching, another worship.
         Buddhism adopted the use of mudras from the more ancient 
          Hindu practices. In Hinduism, mudras are used in ritual dances. Mudras 
          serve to evoke the powers of deities. In Christian art, Christ is often 
          shown making the mudra which designates him as the all-powerful monarch 
          and creator. Christ is also depicted using his upraised palm to dispel 
          fear. Indeed, Jesus' watchword was <fear not.>
         The hand posture of dispelling fear appears in all 
          forms of Buddhism. The Buddhist origin of this gesture is in the legend 
          of the malevolent Devadatta who sought to destroy the Buddha by sending 
          a maddened elephant to trample him. As the elephant charged, the Buddha 
          raised his hand in the dispelling fear gesture and the animal was completely 
          subdued.
         Although fear has been used as a manipulative tool 
          in many religions, when you strip away the evolutionary dogma, one of 
          the primary aims of all spiritual teaching is to dispel fear.
         The Significance of the Mirror
         The reflective phenomenon of a mirror also serves 
          as a powerful symbol. A mirror creates an illusion of the objective 
          world in its reflection. The word <reflect,> as it is used 
          to mean both thinking and mirroring, shows the connection between the 
          function of a mirror and the function of our minds. Mirrors have been 
          used as metaphors in spiritual discourse throughout recorded history. 
          Among the Melanesians, the word atai indicates <a reflection> 
          and also <a person's soul.> In Judaism, the mirror is a symbol 
          for the essence of the original. In Hinduism, a person's reflection 
          in water or in a mirror is that person's soul. The Chinese have a belief 
          that a mirror attracts the water of life. Mirrors are also used in the 
          Chinese art of Feng Shui for the redirection of <chi> energy. 
          The ancient Greeks associated the mirror with feminine power. In the 
          esoteric order of Rosicrucians, practitioners stare into a mirror until 
          their image disappears. <The mirror of mindfulness> is a topic 
          of discussion in Buddhist philosophy. And in Sufism, spiritual leaders 
          are regarded as mirrors of God's light.
         You can see your physical self reflected in the silver 
          of a mirror. And you can see your spiritual self reflected in the people 
          you know and love. This is the essence of the symbolic power of a mirror. 
          Through its placement within the symbolic hand gesture of dispelling 
          fear, the Mudra Mirror provides a context wherein the metaphoric significance 
          of a mirror can be truly appreciated.
        Care of Your Mudra Mirror 
         Use a dry tissue to clean the mirror, and a soft dry 
          cloth to dust the hand. Never use cleaning fluids or polishes on the 
          hand or the mirror as these could damage the finish. Never hang anything 
          on the hand as it is not designed to act as a rack or hook. Be sure 
          to hang your Mudra Mirror on a nail or hook that is sturdy enough to 
          support its weight.
        About Now & Zen
         Now & Zen, Inc. was formed in 1995 to create products 
          which can best be described as <cultural artifacts of the spiritual 
          renaissance.< Headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, Now & Zen's 
          mission is to make mnemonic devices that remind us we live in the presence 
          of God. Every Now & Zen product has been created to be beautiful, 
          useful, affordable, and to embody and express principles of universe 
          harmony in every aspect of the design. For a catalog of current Now 
          & Zen products, please contact us at (800) 779-6383, or write P.O. 
          Box 110, Boulder, Colorado 80306-0110. Thanks for participating in the 
          spiritual renaissance!
         Peace.