Wellbeing

What Happened When… I tried face reading

Harri Murrison discovers the hidden truths behind her facial features

There’s a scene in a Charles Richard Shyer film in which a young man compares his girlfriend to a statue he once came across in a museum: “Beautiful, she was. Chiselled features. Exquisite. I stood in awe of her. Finally, the teacher calls us all over, and I’m walking past it, and on the way I notice, on the side of this Greek goddess, all these cracks, chips and imperfections. A beautiful sculpture… damaged…in a way you don’t notice till you get too close.” I thought of this scene at the precise moment I was asked if I was happy to have a Chinese facial reading and write about my experience.

“A Chinese facial reading is a practice that was originally used as a diagnostic tool,” says Jean Haner, author of The Five-Element Solution: Discover the Spiritual Side of Chinese Medicine to Release Stress, Clear Anxiety, and Reclaim Your Life (£10.16, Hay House). “Physicians discovered there were patterns in people’s facial features that correlated to their health.” But they also quickly found that these patterns revealed personality traits. “For example, how that person would tend to think, feel and behave. Or what they needed to be happy in a relationship,” explains Jean. Perhaps that scene came to me because, amongst my excitement, I feared and questioned: What will all my ‘cracks’ and ‘chips’ reveal? Not only to a complete stranger, but also to myself.

As someone who feels they’re often guarded, I was intrigued by how having more self-understanding could help with my personal development. But can our faces truly reflect our personality and health like Jean suggests? As Jean explained, just like there’s a design to everything in nature, there’s a design to human nature too. “When we look at an oak tree, we know it will grow acorns,” says Jean. “We’re not surprised when it grows acorns and we’re not disappointed when it doesn’t grow apples.” So, in this same way, Jean believes each of us has a unique inner design, like a personal map of who we are and how we’re meant to ‘do’ life. If we can discover that design, we can follow our map, to create a suitable life for ourselves while always being true to our nature.

To achieve an accurate facial reading I first had to send a selection of photos – one of me smiling and one of me not, my hairline all the way down to the bottom of my chin, my profile showing my entire face and a close-up of my right and left ears. With excited anticipation I waited to find out what it all meant…

Initially, Jean told me I was a creative thinker and touched upon the subject of my career. But after scratching the surface, things she was saying about me, in particular about my personality, were starting to prove spookily accurate.

My facial features told Jean I don’t trouble friends with my problems but will always be there to listen and offer help and advice to others. I can be driven by guilt, so even if I’m exhausted and someone asks for a favour, I’ll often feel obliged to set my own plans aside. “You’re an incredibly strong, loyal person,” explained Jean, “and will always give someone the benefit of the doubt.” But with this, Jean warned me that it can lead to people taking advantage of my generous nature or that I stay in a relationship that isn’t working for far too long, constantly giving that individual a second, third or fourth chance. Talking to Jean, I could think of several points in my life where I’d given someone the benefit of the doubt – but point one in particular stood out.

When I was at university I met my first love; charming, intelligent and with plenty in common, I thought I had met ‘the one’. But sadly this didn’t become the fairytale I was hoping for. Instead, I became, as Jean put it, a “rescuer.” I gave too much to my partner without receiving much in return. Mid-relationship things took a turn for the worse and friends and family noticed my spark was beginning to fade and that my boyfriend was becoming more and more controlling – destroying my confidence. Thankfully, after an event that took place, I saw sense and, until now, have never looked back. But it left me wondering: “What if I’d had this facial reading back then – would things have turned out differently?” Who knows! But what I can tell you is having a facial reading has given me confidence and made me realise that I have to start putting myself first.

Try this at home

For books and courses on how to learn about who you really are inside, what careers are best for you, how to find the right kind of relationship for your unique needs, and how to live a healthy life, visit jeanhaner.com