People say some of the strangest and most odd things about my one-handedness. Maybe they are taken so by surprise they find themselves saying whatever comes to mind. Other times I think what they say is from a sincere and honest place in their hearts in that moment. Other times things are said which are really a reflection of their lives projected onto me. Regardless of the intention of the moment and what is said, sometimes I am just blown away by some of the things people say. And I am mostly talking about adults. Kids have an innocent quality about what they say and the questions they can ask. It can be very sweet and endearing. I almost look forward to those "first contact" moments with kids. This podcast is mostly about the things adults say. More deeply, it is about one short interaction I had with an elderly woman that left me stunned. 

Thanks for listening! I invite you to share this podcast, offer a comment or leave some feedback.

Show Notes:

The funny ways people ask about me about not having a hand.

The things I learn about you by how you ask me why I do not have two hands.

Resources:

Episode OHS038 – This podcast is just about some of the funny things people have said about my one-handed life.

How'd you Ding Your Wing? – The topic here is the most unique way a person asked me why I only had one hand. Podcast OHS061.

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How to review the podcast on iTunes

If you enjoyed, benefited or were impacted by the podcast, it would be beyond cool if you’d take a minute and write a review on iTunes. To do that, click on the iTunes link or launch the iTunes podcast app on your computer or phone. Search for One Hand Speaks, select the album art for the show, select ratings and reviews and then write your review. Big thanks and appreciation. Please spread and share if you feel others will benefit and enjoy and leave a comment or offer feedback.

Play your hand,

AlejAndro

I am going back Tibet this June to be a part of a Buddhist Pilgrimage. In 2017 I went to Eastern Tibet as part of Buddhist Medical Mission. I assisted a small group of women doctors, eye specialists, physical therapists, and pharmacists as part of their support crew. Mostly I was there to manage people and help keep things organized and the atmosphere well mannered. I carried a lot of bags and played a security role by walking with the women to the outhouse at night. One Path Outreach USA is a grassroots humanitarian relief program that provides healthcare, education, and basic necessities to remote villages in Eastern Tibet. One Path is an extension of the Tibetan Dzogchen Buddhist organization I have been with for the past seventeen years.

This year I want to go back to Tibet as a Buddhist pilgrim. I am motivated to undertake this journey as a practice to deepen my path. A pilgrimage is a very special part of many different types of faiths. There is a great quality connecting with some of the scared places of Tibetan Buddhism. I have an opportunity to go and decided to move forward. I leave for Chengdu, China on June 19th. Then my group is off to Lhasa, Tibet on the 23rd. I will make my way back to the United States on the 5th of July. The days between will be filled with an experience that is almost beyond words.

Show Notes:

Buddhist Pilgrimage in Tibet 2019.

How I feel right now about taking this journey.

Related Podcasts

What Is The Sound Of One Hand (Clapping)? – Podcast OHS076 Japanese Calligraphy and the one-handed monk named Hui'ko.

Why A Tibetan Beggar Wanted To Give Me Money – Podcast OHS022 was about a unique experience with a Tibetan Beggar.

Something Special Happened When I Met The Dalai Lama – Podcast OHS066 is about when I met and was touched by the Dalai Lama.

Resources

One Path Outreach USA – humanitarian  relief program that provides healthcare, education, and basic necessities to remote villages in Eastern Tibet.

Dzogchen Lineage – The website of Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche and the Dzogchen Buddhist Lineage.

The Buddha Path – A more recent website of Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche and the Dzogchen Buddhist Lineage.

Boise Dharma Center – AlejAndro local Dharma Center and where he teaches each Sunday morning.

Sangha Journeys – The website and organization making AlejAndro's next buddhist pilgrimage to Tibet possible.

Tara Drupchen – The website about the Tara Drupchen.

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How to review the podcast on iTunes

If you enjoyed, benefited or were impacted by the podcast, it would be beyond cool if you’d take a minute and write a review on iTunes. To do that, click on the iTunes link or launch the iTunes podcast app on your computer or phone. Search for One Hand Speaks, select the album art for the show, select ratings and reviews and then write your review. Big thanks and appreciation. Please spread and share if you feel others will benefit and enjoy and leave a comment or offer feedback.

As much as I love the idea of wearing watches, bracelets, and rings (and other male accessories for the hand) I struggle with it a bit. I spend a fair amount of time viewing and investigating how men wear jewelry on the hand and wrist. We see all types, styles, and flavors from post-modern minimalist to I-wear-a-ring-on-each-finger underground off mainstream sub-culture guy.

As much as I love watches and rings, I do not wear them as much as I would like. This is a one-handed paradox for me. I feel it is a good idea to show off and adorn my one hand. And at the same time I am hindered by the presence of things on my finger and wrist. This has not stopped me from having a small collection of pre 1960 vintage and antique mechanical Bulova wrist watches and a few rings. I just find it hard to move and articulate with them on my body. This podcast shares the weird yet functional perspective I have about watches and bracelets and rings and things. 

Show Notes:

The weird yet functional perception I have about wearing watches, bracelets, and rings.

My deep love of Bulova watches came from my father. As did wearing rings.

Related Podcasts

One-Handed Fashion – Podcast OHS014 shares insight to my one-handed fashion.

Resources

Vintage and Antique Bulova Watches – A great place to get vintage and antique of Bulova watches.

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How to review the podcast on iTunes

If you enjoyed, benefited or were impacted by the podcast, it would be beyond cool if you’d take a minute and write a review on iTunes. To do that, click on the iTunes link or launch the iTunes podcast app on your computer or phone. Search for One Hand Speaks, select the album art for the show, select ratings and reviews and then write your review. Big thanks and appreciation. Please spread and share if you feel others will benefit and enjoy and leave a comment or offer feedback.

"What is it like having one hand?" It is not often I am directly asked this question. But it had been asked with sincere intention. Most of the time I get smaller parts of this type of question. Mostly people want to know what it is like doing a specific activity, having a certain experience, or about the quality of unique aspects of a one-handed life. People are generally curious about how I drive a car, tie my shoes, or ride a bicycle. Sometimes people want to know what it is like trying to find a job, how I feel about being stared at, or what it's like constantly answering the questions of random children when I am out and about in public. Once in a while I will get asked some questions that have a deeper consideration to them. People ask if I find myself off balance or have a different kind of balance because I do not have two hands. Or how I feel about not having clothes designed for my one-handed life. Though all of these questions have a depth and curiosity of their own, it is not very often I am directly asked what is it like to having one hand. To be asked what is it like in an overall general all-a-round kind of way, being born and living with one hand is a worthy question. This podcast answers that question.

Show Notes:

Answering the many questions I get about my one handed life.

Noticing the differences in the type of questions people ask.

Not knowing any other way in life other than the way I was born.

All I know is life with one hand.

Related Podcasts

How Do You Cut Your Bread? – Podcast OHS077 is about meeting a dear one-handed friend online because he asked a great question.

How Did You Ding Your Wing? – The funny and interesting ways people ask me why I have one hand is Podcast OHS061

Resources

Disabled Thinking – AlejAndro's 2015 TEDxBoise talk about Disabled Thinking.

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How to review the podcast on iTunes

If you enjoyed, benefited or were impacted by the podcast, it would be beyond cool if you’d take a minute and write a review on iTunes. To do that, click on the iTunes link or launch the iTunes podcast app on your computer or phone. Search for One Hand Speaks, select the album art for the show, select ratings and reviews and then write your review. Big thanks and appreciation. Please spread and share if you feel others will benefit and enjoy and leave a comment or offer feedback.

It is the easy things in life I tend to find to be more difficult. This has been my one-handed perspective for quite some time. Over the course of life I started to notice this quality in myself and the opposite in others. One of the most difficult activities I struggle with is opening bottled water. This is because I cannot hold it with one hand and twist open the cap with the other hand. I usually have to squeeze it between my knees to hold it or hold it against my body with my short arm. Either way is a challenge. If I squeeze too tight water spills, slashes, shoots in all directions. If I do not squeeze hard enough, I do not have the friction needed to twist open the drink. Many times I just ask for help. Other times I just get a bit wet. It is an easy thing to do if you have two hands. Is it a hard thing for me. Same with opening a new jar of peanut butter, popping zits, and buckling my seatbelt. But at the same time I did not find riding my bicycle from Seattle, Washington to my home town of South Bend, Indiana that difficult. Or being ranked top twenty in the nation at pocket billiards when I was in College at Indiana University. Even earning 3rd degree black belt in the martial art of Aikido was not so hard. It is a funny thing to think the easy things are hard in my one-handed life. This short podcast offers that up for your contemplation. 

Show Notes:

Why certain things are easy living life with one hand.

Why certain things are hard in my one-handed life.

The quality of the power of thinking.

Related Podcasts

Is Your Thinking Disabled? – What does it mean to have disabled thinking is the question Podcast OHS046 considers.

In The Driver's Seat – Podcast OHS046 discusses my issues driving with one hand and my seatbelt issues.

Resources

Rebekah Marine – The Bionic Model, Rebekah Marine is a true inspiration! @rebekahmarine

Disabled Thinking – AlejAndro's 2015 TEDxBoise talk about Disabled Thinking.

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How to review the podcast on iTunes

If you enjoyed, benefited or were impacted by the podcast, it would be beyond cool if you’d take a minute and write a review on iTunes. To do that, click on the iTunes link or launch the iTunes podcast app on your computer or phone. Search for One Hand Speaks, select the album art for the show, select ratings and reviews and then write your review. Big thanks and appreciation. Please spread and share if you feel others will benefit and enjoy and leave a comment or offer feedback.

I live a non-bionic life and have no interest in having a bionic hand. I like the way I was born and enjoy my one-handed life. Over the past couple of weeks I have had many people on social media send me links of bionic people doing bionic things with their bionic body parts. I have noticed a trend in the mainstream of all things bionic. There are great people doing great things with their bio-mechanical technology. I think this is a very cool and hip thing. However, it is not my thing. I like the way I was born and enjoy the life I live. I do not need two hands to be any more happy. I think this bio-mechanical bionic movement is an empowering and much needed societal development. It is just not my thing. This podcast is about how I love my non-bionic life.

Show Notes:

People have been sending me links with people using their bionic body parts.

I love living a non-bionic life.

Related Podcasts

Why a Tibetan Beggar Gave Me Money – Podcast OHS022 is about how Tibetans culturally view my one-handedness.

Luke Skywalker Had His Hand Cut Off – This podcast is about seeing Luke get his hand cut off and then seeing his bionic hand at the end of The Empire Strikes Back.

Resources

Rebekah Marine – The Bionic Model, Rebekah Marine is a true inspiration! @rebekahmarine

Alita Battle Angle – The Movie trailer #3.

The 6 Million Dollar Man – Steve Austin as the first Bionic Man (A television series).

Nicole Kelly – Speaker, educational lecturer, Miss Iowa 2013, mentor and advocate. @missnicolekelly

Ryan Haack – Author of “Different is Awesome!” and making true change in the world! See more at LivingOneHanded.com

Zach Gowen – A one legged superstar, A World Wrestling Entertainment champion, a professional speakers and all around great guy! @zachgowen

Nubability Athletics – A great organization for people with special and unique bodies. #dontneed2

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How to review the podcast on iTunes

If you enjoyed, benefited or were impacted by the podcast, it would be beyond cool if you’d take a minute and write a review on iTunes. To do that, click on the iTunes link or launch the iTunes podcast app on your computer or phone. Search for One Hand Speaks, select the album art for the show, select ratings and reviews and then write your review. Big thanks and appreciation. Please spread and share if you feel others will benefit and enjoy and leave a comment or offer feedback.

When people hurt their hands or arms they tend to have a different perspective of my one-handed life. As a result they also have a different type of interaction with me. Recently I had a couple of interactions that inspired this podcast. One is my mother's very recent rotator cuff surgery. Another was with a co-worker who broke their arm last week. Speaking with them reminded me of how people consider my life because theirs has taken on the temporary use of only one of their arms or hands. There is a special quality of empathy when we experience a small aspect of how another person lives. It is usually during these times people have a different tone in their voice and an entirely different set of questions they want to ask me. This podcast is about the differences in the interaction I have with people when they walk a mile in my one-handed shoes.

Show Notes:

The different way people interact with me when they severely hurt their hands or arms.

Related Podcasts

A Nightmare Come True – Podcast OHS063 is about how I hurt my one and only hand.

I Might Not have Two Hands But I Am Fully Armed – Podcast OHS015 is about people saying I have one only arm.

Resources

The Benefits of Empathy – An article about the importance and benefits of empathy.

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How to review the podcast on iTunes

If you enjoyed, benefited or were impacted by the podcast, it would be beyond cool if you’d take a minute and write a review on iTunes. To do that, click on the iTunes link or launch the iTunes podcast app on your computer or phone. Search for One Hand Speaks, select the album art for the show, select ratings and reviews and then write your review. Big thanks and appreciation. Please spread and share if you feel others will benefit and enjoy and leave a comment or offer feedback.

I was born and raised in a time when computers were not such a huge part of our culture and lifestyle. I like to say I was born analog. But currently, I live in a digital world. Most of my adult life has been spent on a computer, specifically an Apple computer. I have earned most of my money as a professional artist as a graphic designer and illustrator. Or as I like to say, "as a digital sculptor". I have been using a Macintosh computer as a professional for over twenty three years. Way back in 1982 or 1983 my parents started it all when they brought home a Commodore 64 computer. I guess I have never really looked back. However, before that most special day I lived "analog." I listened to vinyl records, 8-tracks, and cassette tapes. I spent most of my childhood playing outside, riding my bicycle, and playing baseball. It is funny to realize I have watched the better part of the digital revolution unfold right before my eyes. This podcast is about being born analog but living in a digital world.

Show Notes:

I was born in 1968 and long before the digital revolution took hold of our lives.

Growing up with vinyl records, cassette tapes, and playing outside has great qualities.

My first computer was a Commodore 64.

I started using Apple computers in 1987 and never looked back.

I have been making a living as an artist with Apple Computers for the past 23 years. 

Related Podcasts

How I Got Into College – Podcast OHS044 is about how I got into college both times.

A Bicycle Jump To The Moon – Podcast OHS021 shares some stories growing up on a bicycle.

My Great Baseball Moment – Podcast OHS017 describes the great moment as a child playing baseball.

Resources

Apple – The computer that has my heart.

Commodore 64 – The best selling computers in history and my first computer.

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How to review the podcast on iTunes

If you enjoyed, benefited or were impacted by the podcast, it would be beyond cool if you’d take a minute and write a review on iTunes. To do that, click on the iTunes link or launch the iTunes podcast app on your computer or phone. Search for One Hand Speaks, select the album art for the show, select ratings and reviews and then write your review. Big thanks and appreciation. Please spread and share if you feel others will benefit and enjoy and leave a comment or offer feedback.

Driving with one hand has some real funny, weird, and unique qualities. One interesting aspect is the relationship between what hand I am missing and the side of the car we drive from in the United States. I am fortunate to be missing my left hand driving on the left side of the car here in the United States. This means I can use my right hand to shift gears on my manual transmission. If I lived in Britain, driving a stick shift vehicle would be a bit more challenging. Yet, some things would be easier. There are many sides to driving with one hand most people do not consider. This podcast is about the some of the odd-ball things I experience driving with one hand.

Show Notes:

The weird qualities of driving with one hand.

Fortunate to be driving  on the left side of the car.

The few things I find very challenging that two-handed people might not consider..

Related Podcasts

One-Handed Driving Experience – Podcast OHS049 is about an interesting experience I had with kids in the back of a school bus while I was driving.

The Power of an Elbow – Podcast OHS016 is about my one-handed perspective of the power of my elbow.

How Do You Cut Your Bread? – Podcast OHS077 is about how I met my one-handed friend online and the great friendship that unfolded with him, his family, and friends.

Resources

Joshua Tongol – See how Joshua drives with his one left hand.

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How to review the podcast on iTunes

If you enjoyed, benefited or were impacted by the podcast, it would be beyond cool if you’d take a minute and write a review on iTunes. To do that, click on the iTunes link or launch the iTunes podcast app on your computer or phone. Search for One Hand Speaks, select the album art for the show, select ratings and reviews and then write your review. Big thanks and appreciation. Please spread and share if you feel others will benefit and enjoy and leave a comment or offer feedback.

Life with one hand is a life of being stared at as a person. In a real why I have spent my entire life on stage. Or at least it sure has felt like this to me most of my life. It took me a long time to realize this is one of the many benefits to living life with one hand. I have some very strong memories of the feeling of being stared at as a young child. Those experiences have stayed with me my entire life. The benefit of this is I am very comfortable being watched, looked at, and being stared at by other people. This has played a huge part in my life as a professional artist, performer, and speaker. Many people have a fear of being on stage, being watched, or speaking in public. My one-handed life has made that a default quality of how I live. I was custom born to life life as an artist, performer, and speaker.

Show Notes:

The benefits of living life with one hand.

Being stared at is a natural part of life with one hand.

The silver lining to my one-handed cloud.

Related Podcasts

The Difference A Few Kind Words Can Make – Podcast OHS024 is about how my high school art teachers inspired me to life my life as an artist.

Resources

Rebekah Marine – The Bionic Model, Rebekah Marine is a true inspiration! @rebekahmarine

Nicole Kelly – Speaker, educational lecturer, Miss Iowa 2013, mentor and advocate. @missnicolekelly

Ryan Haack – Author of “Different is Awesome!” and making true change in the world! See more at LivingOneHanded.com

Zach Gowen – A one legged superstar, A World Wrestling Entertainment champion, a professional speakers and all around great guy! @zachgowen

Nubability Athletics – A great organization for people with special and unique bodies. #dontneed2

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How to review the podcast on iTunes

If you enjoyed, benefited or were impacted by the podcast, it would be beyond cool if you’d take a minute and write a review on iTunes. To do that, click on the iTunes link or launch the iTunes podcast app on your computer or phone. Search for One Hand Speaks, select the album art for the show, select ratings and reviews and then write your review. Big thanks and appreciation. Please spread and share if you feel others will benefit and enjoy and leave a comment or offer feedback.