Your Four Gates
I just spoke with a woman who said as soon as she turned 50 her life seemed to have taken an emotional downturn, and she asked me if the reason could be read on her face.
In fact, along with revealing your inner nature, your face is also considered to be a map of your journey through life. You can read the experiences of each year and each decade overall. It’s the transitions between each decade that are the most powerful times, and so this is one reason why she noticed a distinct difference in her experience at this point.
But it’s also believed there are four different stages in life that are particularly important – these are called “The Four Gates” – and she’d just passed through one of them. These are special passages in life, times when you make a powerful transition, and when your attention is drawn to life choices and direction. Each gate introduces you to a time when there will be a new focus and each has some specific “homework” you’ll do in that time period.
The first gate marks the time when you enter the decade of your 40’s, and it’s located at the top of your nose, in the area between your eyes. Your 40’s is a time when you naturally begin to feel strongly about living more authentically, when you sense it’s time to finally stand in your power. You may feel driven to find work that’s more meaningful to you, and to have relationships that support you for who you really are.
The second gate is the transition to the 50’s, where this woman now stands, and is represented on your face by your philtrum, the groove between your nose and upper lip. Here your attention takes another powerful turn.
The theme of the 50’s is about looking at how you don’t yet feel fulfilled in life, how you haven’t yet gotten what you wanted, and you’re especially compelled to look at the balance of giving and receiving in your life. This often means confronting how you may have been over-giving.
Often by the time women reach their 50’s, they’ve developing a pattern of taking care of everyone else before themselves. If they’re wives and mothers, this is an easy rut to fall into, but even if they’re single, our culture supports women being the caregivers in all aspects of life, so they may be too other-directed and have neglected the importance of their own self-care.
The decade of the 50’s can bring up feelings of anguish about how you wanted more in life, and even anger about your current circumstances. The homework for this time of life is to look at how it may have been appropriate to be a “giver” in the past, but you’ve gone too far down that road, or times have changed.
You’re also required to look at how you may have developed a pattern of negative thinking, a belief that because you’re been disappointed in the past, you will continue to be. Any negative affirmations will of course simply continue to create your future based on your past.
The basic cure for this dilemma of the 50’s is to get selfish! The work is to look at what you haven’t yet received, and to go out and get it; to put yourself at the top of your “to-do” list. The lesson is also to pay attention to enjoying life, to relish what you’ve received so far rather than feel bad about what’s missing.
And lastly, it’s to honestly examine how you may have developed a pattern of expecting that you’ll be let down or not get what you need. Are you receptive to life loving you or are you so stuck in feeling disappointed that you’ve shut down and can’t even recognize opportunities to receive?
If there are any scars or markings in your philtrum, this can indicate that the year you turn 50 is an especially difficult transition. The decade of the 50’s overall is represented by your mouth, and it can actually be helpful to pay attention to how you’re holding your mouth as you go through your day. Occasionally check in to see if you feel any tension there, and if so, consciously relax your mouth, even creating a little smile. This actually helps to rebuild your receptivity and contributes to bringing your life back into balance.
Your 50’s can be a powerful time of finally receiving the life you deserve. This is what I shared with my friend, and I know she left that conversation seeing her experience in an entirely different light.
The third gate in life is the passage to the 60’s and this transition is represented by the area on your chin, directly under your lower lip. The 60’s is a time when people can feel revitalized and with a renewed purpose in life, especially if they’ve done their homework in the 50’s. It’s not uncommon for a horizontal wrinkle to mark the face here, and this can indicate an important break with the past as they move into this decade.
The fourth gate is the transition to the 70’s and is positioned at the very bottom of the chin. As you enter this stage of life, your focus turns to refining your vision for the future, working on any unresolved issues, examining what you can let go of in order to move into the future free and clear.
When you learn face reading, you can finally decipher your personal owner’s manual to your life. The information is all there – in that reflection in the mirror!