Why do we shake hands with people ?

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Lists

10 Everyday Mysteries

Life is full of tiny everyday mysteries, most of which we just accept without asking questions. We did the asking for you in this slide show, so sit back and take a moment to learn more about these quirky, quotidian facts of life !

1. Why do we shake hands with people ?

The origin of the handshake lies in medieval history. By offering a right hand to a stranger, a hand that could otherwise be used to draw a sword, men were overtly displaying their intentions of peace toward one another. Nowadays, from signing a treaty to settling a bet with friends, "shaking on it" remains a symbolic sign of agreement.

Find out where nose rubbing is a normal form of greeting.

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4. Why do we blush ?

When you're embarrassed or ashamed, your body releases a tiny amount of adrenaline. Adrenaline causes blood vessels in your face to dilate, allowing more blood to flow to your cheeks. This causes reddening, or blushing. Sociologically, blushing may be useful as a means of communication, as it can act as a wordless signal. For example, if we blush when we're attracted to someone, we are allowing what's on our minds to be known without having to say a thing.

Find out if blushing is bad for you.

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6. Why are wedding rings worn on the fourth finger ?

There was an ancient belief that a vein, known as the "vena amoris," or "vein of love," ran directly from the fourth finger of the left hand to the heart. It was thought that this direct blood flow to the heart made it the perfect candidate for a wedding ring, as it solidified the union of love. However, in reality the veins running from the fourth finger are no different from those of any other finger, and it seems as if shrewd marketing, hearsay and tradition have designated the fourth finger as the "ring finger."

Read more about the history and symbolism of rings.

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Magic

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic

Magic may refer to:

• Magic (paranormal), anything that is not explainable by any present laws of science.
  • Magical thinking
  • Folk magic, traditional systems of magic
  • Magick, the magical system of Aleister Crowley and Thelema
  • Witchcraft, the use of certain kinds of supernatural or magical powers
• Magic (illusion), the art of entertaining audiences by performing illusions and tricks
  • Street magic, sleight of hand, etc.

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[edit] See also

• Magician
• Magus, a Zoroastrian priest; the origin of the word magic
• Magic and religion
• Magic in the Greco-Roman world
• Mana
• Magical thinking
• List of magical terms and traditions
• All pages beginning with Magic

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_in_the_Greco-Roman_world
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In the ancient post-hellenistic world of the Greeks and Romans (the Greco-Roman world), the public and private rituals associated with religion are accepted by historians and archaeologists to have been a part of everyday life.
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Magic is generally seen as "any attempt to control the environment or the self by means that are either untested or untestable, such as charms or spells."^[2]
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theurgical

Theurgy (from Greek θεουργία) describes the practice of rituals, sometimes seen as magical in nature, performed with the intention of invoking the action of one or more gods, especially with the goal of uniting with the divine, achieving henosis, and perfecting oneself.

See also Invocation.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goetic
... a practice which includes the invocation of angels or ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invocation#Self-identification_with_certain_spirits

[edit] Self-identification with certain spirits

Invocation can refer to taking on the qualities of the being invoked, such as the allure of Aphrodite or the ferocity of Kali. In this instance the being is literally called up from within oneself (as an archetype) or into oneself (as an external force), depending on the personal belief system of the invoker. The main difference between this type of invocation and the possessive category described above is that the former may appear more controlled, with self-identification and deity-identification mixed together.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rituals
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Even common actions like hand-shaking and saying hello are rituals.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rituals#Purposes

Ritual serves diverse purposes including, but not limited to:

• Worship
• Ritual purification with the aim of removing uncleanliness, which may be real or symbolic.
• Atonement
• Dedication
• Education

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rituals#Religious

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from organized religion to non-institutionalized spirituality, such as ayahuasca shamanism as practiced by the Urarina of the upper Amazon. Rituals often have a close connection with reverence, thus a ritual in many cases expresses reverence for a deity or idealized state of humanity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rituals#Sociology
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Alongside the personal dimensions of worship and reverence, rituals can have a more basic social function in expressing, fixing and reinforcing the shared values and beliefs of a society. This function can be exploited for political ends, though it lies at the heart of most sociological understandings of religious ritual.

Rituals can aid in creating a firm sense of group identity. Humans have used rituals to create social bonds and even to nourish interpersonal relationships.

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[edit] Psychology

In psychology, the term ritual refers to a repetitive, systematic behavioral process enacted in order to neutralize or prevent anxiety and is a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

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== See Also ==

Ceremony Civil religion Habituation Liturgy Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Processional walkway Rite Ritualization Ritualism

Religion Superstition Myth and ritual Religious symbolism

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Categories: Cultural conventions Ritual Anthropology of religion
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritual_purification#Shinto
In Shinto, the main form of ritual purification is Misogi, which involves natural running water, and especially waterfalls. Rather than being entirely naked, men usually wear Japanese loincloths, and women wear kimonos, both additionally wearing headbands.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misogi
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There are several different groups practicing Misogi in Japan, perhaps one of the most well known is the Sen Shin tei Misogi Well at the Ki Society Headquarters in Japan, where people perform misogi with cold water before sunrise.
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They then begin 降り魂 furitama or "spirit shaking" by clenching their hands in front of the stomach and shaking them up and down, vibrating the upper torso. The purpose of this is to become aware of / unified with the spirit's presence within. Following this is a "warm-up" or calisthenics called 鳥船 tori-fune or "bird (boat) rowing". These two aforementioned practices are sometimes accompanied by special prayer words or incantations. After, the "leader" begins to speak out invocations/prayers that are said to activate the spirit. The "followers" generally speak along with them, thus affirming the potential for realizing one's own spirit, and thus unifying them with the Kami around them.
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Misogi is also used in some forms of martial arts, especially Aikido to prepare the mind for training and to learn how to develop your "hara", or centre. The founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba regularly used this form of meditation to complement his training and search for perfection.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tummo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Reflexes
Laughter (1)
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tendon_reflex
Tendon reflex (or T-reflex) is a feedback mechanism that controls increasing muscle tension by causing muscle relaxation before tension force becomes so great it may damage the muscle.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipsilateral
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affective_sensation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Withdrawal_reflex
... is a spinal reflex intended to protect the body from damaging stimuli.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_memory
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Cognitive_biases
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Memory_disorders
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confabulation#Organic_causes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofeedback#Level_4:_Efficacious
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Biofeedback treatment protocols for anxiety, ADHD, hypertension, TMD, urinary incontinence in males, and migraine, cluster^{[citation needed]}, and tension headaches have all received level 4 efficacy ratings^[5].
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofeedback#Level_5:_Efficacious_and_specific
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EMG is used as a relaxation technique to ease tension in the muscles causing backaches, neck pain, TMD, incontinence, and tension, migraine, and cluster headaches. EMG is also used in the process of muscle rehabilitation, such as in cases of paralysis resulting from Cerebral Palsy, stroke, and incomplete spinal cord lesions.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_nervous_system
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nonverbal communication

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haptic_communication

Haptic communication is the means by which people and other animals communicate via touching. Touch is an extremely important sense for humans; as well as providing information about surfaces and textures it is a component of nonverbal communication in interpersonal relationships, and vital in conveying physical intimacy. It can be both sexual (such as kissing) and platonic (such as hugging or tickling).

katame waza too ?

Touch is the earliest sense to develop in the fetus, and the development of infants' haptic senses, and how that relates to the development of the other senses such as vision, has been the target of much research. Human babies have been observed to have enormous difficulty surviving if they do not possess a sense of touch, even if they retain sight and hearing. Babies who can perceive through touch, even without sight and hearing, fare much better. Touch can be thought a basic sense in that most life forms have a response to being touched, while only a subset have sight and hearing.^{[citation needed]}

In chimpanzees the sense of touch is highly developed. As newborns they see and hear poorly but they grasp strongly to their mothers. Harry Harlow conducted a controversial study involving rhesus monkeys and observed that monkeys reared with a "terry cloth mother", a wire feeding apparatus wrapped in softer terry cloth which provided a level of tactile stimulation and comfort, were considerably more emotionally stable as adults than those with a mere wire mother.^{[citation needed]}

Touching is treated differently from one country to another. Acceptable touch varies by cultural group. In the Thai culture, touching someone's head may be thought rude. Remland and Jones (1995) studied groups of people communicating and found that in England (8%), France (5%) and the Netherlands (4%) touching was rare compared to their Italian (14%) and Greek (12.5%) sample.^{[citation needed]}

Striking, pushing, pulling, pinching, kicking, strangling and hand-to-hand fighting are forms of touch in the context of physical abuse. In a sentence like "I never touched him/ her" or "Don't you dare to touch him/ her" the term touch may be meant as euphemism for either physical abuse or sexual touching. To 'touch oneself' is a euphemism for masturbation.

The word touch has many other metaphorical uses. One can be emotionally touched, referring to an action or object that evokes an emotional response. To say "I was touched by your letter" implies the reader felt a strong emotion when reading it. Usually does not include anger, disgust or other forms of emotional rejection unless used in a sarcastic manner.

Stoeltje (2003) wrote about how Americans are ‘losing touch’ with this important communication skill. During a study conduced by University of Miami School of Medicine, Touch Research Institutes, American children were said to be more aggressive than their French counterparts while playing at a playground. It was noted that French women touched their children more often than the American parents.^{[citation needed]}

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