Remember your first crush and how the slightest brush of his shoulder (or her shoulder if you prefer women) on yours would make your racing, pounding heart feel like it was going to break through your body at any second? Thats the power of touch. There is plenty of research confirming the benefits of touchfrom babies who are held more becoming better adjusted and happier in life to people instantly feeling better with just a simple hug. A well-meaning, loving embrace immediately creates a positive emotional response by balancing energy and calming nerves. Imagine what a full body massage does! (I dont know of any woman who doesnt love the feeling of being stroked by her mate or a professional massage therapist.)

The human touch can have a profound and comforting effect on people who are ill or dying, and yet these are the people that we often refuse or forget to touch. Lets face it, we dont all feel called to wash the sores off starving children in Calcutta like Mother Teresa did, or hug diseased children in southern Sudan like Audrey Hepburn did. Its natural to be uncomfortable around someone who is suffering, let alone touch them when illness has ravaged their body. But when you love someone, you can push yourself beyond their physical appearance and connect with the person underneath. The person who desperately needs to feel like theyre still a part of this world, still loved, still wanted, still alive.

In the book, The Power of Patience, author M. J. Ryan talks about her adopted daughter, Ana, from China who used to wake every night in a hysterical state. During those episodes, all she could do was hold Ana and tell her she was safe until she fell back asleep. After almost four years, the night terrors finally stopped.

When my aunt was dying of breast cancer, her body was burned and bloated from chemotherapy and radiation. I visited her often and sat on her bed just close enough to chat, but not to touch. Then one day, she asked me to rub lotion all over her. I knew I didnt feel comfortable running my hands along the scabs and bruises on her skin, but I gladly obliged as I was happy to be able to do anything that made her feel better. Im not sure I would have thought of it on my own, but she only had to ask me once. After that, each time I saw her, I went straight for the lotion.

Touch, with good intentions, can be healing, comforting, pleasurable or erotic, all of which are imperative for Goddesses and their partners. Often couples who are together for many years only touch each other during sex, but its so important to remember to stay connected via touch during everyday lifea delicate kiss when you leave or return home, a neck massage while one of you is stuck in front of the computer doing work, or a warm embrace on a cold evening out. Ill take all of the above!

5 Ways to Touch Somebody:

Hug and kiss your children, not only as babies but as they mature as well.

Look beyond what you see in the sick and touch them; they need physical connection to survive.

Embrace a person in sadness or grief, if theyre acceptable to it.

Indulge in therapeutic body treatments and massage.

Hold hands with your partner.