Touching Bodies Hearts and Minds part 2

We are all born with a need to be physically touched (see first article). And then most cultures train us not to touch each other. Some years ago researchers conducted an experiment. They went to different countries and just sat down in a cafe or restaurant and observed how often people touched each other. The results varied widely. Brazilians and Italians touched over a dozen times per hour, Americans a couple of times per hour at best, in England not at all.

If you break the touching rules of a culture, people will see you as strange or even threatening.  Unless you are with good friends, family, or you are in a profession like massage therapists, touching is often taboo. However some people break all those boundaries and with their enthusiasm infect others to come out of their shells and exchange heart felt hugs.

There is a yearly event called “Rainbow Gathering” which promotes peace in the world. Thousands of people meet in a national forest in the US and around the globe and spend some days or weeks living in a free, loving and harmonious way. They call each other ‘brother’ and ‘sister’, they freely share food and offer many services just for the asking. There is no money exchanging hands, everything is given free. Hugs are given and received between people who have never seen each other before. There is music, dancing, story telling, massaging, yoga, and whatever anyone can offer. Many people greet each other by saying “I love you, brother/sister”.

People with fixed ideas how things should be, how people should look like and behave, can find themselves severely challenged by the Rainbow Gathering. My personal experience is that every time I went there, I was reminded that it is possible to break our cultural and self-imposed limitations and live from the heart. My spirit went soaring and I took away many beautiful memories that will always stay in my heart.

Here is another example of someone who dared to break the rules. Watch this clip (over 52 million viewers so far) to see one person offerings free hugs.

Touching is not limited to physical touch. You can touch someone’s heart by offering a sincere compliment or a kind word, by offering a helping hand, by listening patiently. You can consciously send loving energy from your heart to anyone you meet. On a subtle level this message is getting through.

I remember once I was walking in Oaxaca, Mexico, and I felt drained and depressed. This was a very unusual feeling for me, and so I decided that instead of trying to fill my lack of energy from somewhere outside of me, I would simply reverse the process. I kept walking, but now I pictured that little hearts along with a stream of loving energy floated from my heart to the heart of everyone whom I passed on the street. After sending out a few dozen hearts in this way, I noticed that my depression had lifted and my own spirit felt light and open again. I began to feel love in my heart and my mood totally changed.

We can make a habit of touching people with our energy. In this way we don’t have to worry about cultural rules, and it helps us to keep our own energy level high.  You become a more loving person by touching others with your loving energy. What you give comes back to you. Just imagine that this energy is very real – because it is!

You cannot measure it or observe it under a microscope, but you can change how you feel, you can lift your spirit, improve your health, fill your heart with love and your mind with kindness by touching others with loving energy.

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