You shared a secret wish and the other person said to you, "You're in fantasy land!" Perhaps you shared a desire to be a famous actor, or to date the hottest guy in school, or to be a millionaire business owner. Fantasy is the opposite of reality. Fantasy is a whimsy, a dream, a vision, a desire, a hope. Reality is authenticity, truth, certainty.

However, many realities in our lives once started out as fantasies. Perhaps, while sitting at your fluorescent-lit corporate desk, you found yourself staring out the window and wondering what it would be like to work for yourself. And now, some time later, you are. What began as a picture in your imagination became your reality.

In the palms, I can see someone's tendency toward fantasy. When looking at the hand, you might notice several curving lines underneath the middle and ring fingers. These lines are called Girdles of Venus. Palmists of yore decided that these curving lines showed up in the hands of harlots and, hence, named them after the Goddess of Love and Beauty herself, Venus.

The white horizontal line, beginning about three-quarters of an inch below the pinky, and traveling across the hand to land beneath he middle finger is a heart line. Your heart line reveals your emotional style. When Girdles of Venus appear, they are like "baby" heart lines - not fully developed, but lending more sensitivity to their owner. The more girdles, the greater the sensitivity.

If you have Girdles of Venus, you possess a powerful imagination. In fact, while daydreaming or dreaming in your sleep, you may find that the imagery passing through your mind feels real - as if you could substitute your imagined reality for your current one. The challenge with this ability is that if you find your current situation unsatisfying, instead of working towards a solution, you may be quite content to drift off into never-never land. Fantasy becomes the escape hatch.

I'll confess a little secret since I have several Girdles of Venus on my palms. When I'm stressed out and not fully aware that I'm stressed out, I have a recurring fantasy that I'm flying in a plane that crashes into the ocean. I survive and wash up on the beach of a deserted island only to discover that I am not alone, but my favorite movie star of the week is with me. Remember the Tom Hank's movie, "Cast Away?" Yeah - my fantasy is like that only my companion is Brad Pitt instead of a soccer ball. We live together in perfect happiness for seven years before we are rescued and brought back to civilization. Of course, everyone from our previous lives presumed us dead and has moved on. I can hardly contain my glee.

As a writer friend recently pointed out to me, millions of romance novels are sold every year to fulfill this need for escape. So when I have this fantasy, I know that in order to grow my business, I actually need more time off for fun and romance. My husband knows that when I say, "I've been spending too much time on the desert island," that's code language for "vacation." We're going down to Mexico next weekend to hang out together on the beach. Need I say more?

Now you may be wondering, "Uh, Beth, thanks for sharing the intimate details of your fantasy life with me but what exactly does this have to do with MY business?"

Well, that's a fine question. And I'll tell you. When I find myself going all desert island-ey, I know it's time to use my Girdles of Venus to my advantage, typically in this order:

1. Take a vacation - even a short, weekend trip will do. A vacation clears your head, recharges your body and releases stress. Regular stress release is essential to keep up your motivation for building your business.

2. Redirect your mind. If imagery comes up that is full-out fictional fantasy - as in highly unlikely to ever occur or be pursued as a goal - RE-direct your visualization to the future you are creating. I might picture myself being interviewed by Larry King or signing copies of my latest book. Those are fantasies that are real possibilities for me that I can put my energy into. Besides, Brad is getting to be a bit of a bore and I'm going to need to find a new island pal.

3. Make a dream board. You just need a pile of magazines, scissors, a couple of glue sticks, foam-core boards, and an afternoon alone or with friends to bring your dream more fully into your everyday reality. I have three dream boards in my home. One is in my office and it has my career goals on it - mostly in pictures. The other two are in my bedroom. One is my beauty vision board. On it is imagery that reflects inner peace, fitness and a positive body image. The other is my family and home vision board. It is covered with pictures of my family, my ideal home, and places that speak to my heart and soul. When I find myself drifting away to the desert island (my other favorite escape fantasy is being 21 again and living alone in Paris as a wealthy writer - notice the theme of isolation?), I actually go and look at the vision boards to reconnect myself with the imagery that is REAL to me and can be made manifest.

So, is your fantasy world working for you or against you?

Here's my coach's challenge: When you find yourself drifting off yet again into unproductive fantasy (once and a while is healthy and restorative), ask yourself what it is you REALLY want to create in your life and pick one of the tools above to get a new perspective.

Copyright (c) 2008 Elizabeth Davis