Fingertips & Open Palms

Touch is one of the most important basic human needs, however is often dismissed as unnecessary and in some cases, even considered undesirable. As an individual who is incredibly judicious about who I allow to touch me, I am compelled to revisit the significance of tactile experience between beings, as well as with self alone. Perhaps a brief look at what happens physiologically when we touch and are touched will provide a good foundation here. It has been established in pediatrics that newborns have a higher survival rate as well as better health profiles when they are exposed to human touch and affection immediately after birth. I will later draw a distinction between touch and affection, but for now we will use them interchangeably. Infants who do not experience being held, spoken to, and generally coddled during these very early moments of life have a higher mortality rate. But why? Touch produces neurological connections in the brain as well as very essential hormone activity. When you are touched or touch someone else, very specific biochemical reactions are happening that are life sustaining, not to mention pleasurable under the right circumstances. Have you ever experienced a tummy ache and then had someone simply rub a hand over it for a moment? It is incredibly soothing. When children hurt themselves, the first instinct they have is to put a hand over it, to touch it. When a loved one is displaying some emotional dismay, it is often the first response to put a hand on the back of that person, or to hug them. When one is physically attracted to another, it is almost unconscious behavior to gravitate the body closer to the person being desired. There is often as a result, the accidental touch. When the physical interaction is welcomed (even in the case of an accidental, clumsy touch), these are very comforting, pleasant experiences. Touch helps to trigger the release of hormones like oxytocin (a.k.a. “The cuddle Hormone”) and vasopressin. These are two of several hormones often referred to as ‘pleasure chemicals’. The important thing to note is that not only do they make us feel good, they are essential to our physical and mental health. Serotonin is also one of these hormones, which when in deficit in the human brain can cause terrible depression. When examining touch from an energetic perspective, intention plays an enormous part in how welcomed and beneficial that touch is. Energy centers exist at the fingertips as well as the middle of the palm. These are points of concentrated energy where it can easily flow into and out of the body. The thought and intention one holds as a touch is being delivered will undoubtedly affect the way it feels to the other person, therefore determining how it affects them. Here is where we explore the distinction between touch and affection. Affection, when expressed through touch, carries a very different vibration than a doctor’s touch or a sales person’s touch. It feels different to both the giver and the receiver. Therefore, a touch may or may not be the delivery method of ‘healing’ or benefit, depending on its intended purpose. Also, it is not news that touch can be delivered with ill-intent as well! How sensitive are you to the subtle variations in energy determined by one’s intention when they touch you? What about when you touch someone else? Here we arrive at the idea of deliberate touch and focused affection. Consider the intention of a doctor who believes that you have very little chance of recovery, as opposed to one who completely believes in your full recovery? Without discussing the quantum mechanics inherent in this, let’s compare notes of times when you have been hugged by a friend and, by contrast, hugged by someone you consider an enemy. How does it feel to be touched by someone you believe does not have your complete best interest in their intentions? Not good at all. That has a negative affect on the body and the hormones produced in it do not support your well being when you feel like this. Similarly, when the belief of a doctor about your health is less than positive, that doctor’s touch will also convey the same energetic message to your body. What about this energy conversation between lovers, friends, family...from you to yourself?! What you are thinking, feeling and intending affects the body as you touch. Deliberate touch is using your awareness to purposefully intend positive energy through touch. To touch on purpose, with a purpose. This is what energy healers do. Focused affection is similar. It is focused intention through affection on purpose. I challenge you to touch yourself as often as possible with the highest, best intentions for your body...for your life! What a gift to give anyone you intend to be affectionate toward, even if that someone is yourself.