“she who is centered in the TAO

can go where she wishes, without danger

she perceives the universal harmony

even amid great pain

because she has found peace in her heart “

L.T.

the need to be touched

" Humans have a fundamental need to be touched.

Numerous studies in the area of psychology have pointed to the critical effects of loving and appropriate touch on the social and emotional development of a person. They have convincingly and dramatically demonstrated how lack of touch affects the development of the mind and the body.

Being touched and cuddled is essential to healthy human development. During the early 19th century, if a  child was separated from its parents it was sent to a foundling institution. This was in effect a death sentence. A study of 10 such institutions in 1915 revealed that in all but one, every single baby under the age of 2 died. The reasons for this tragedy were unknown. Nutrition appeared sufficient. Sanitation adequate, if not overzealous. But the fear of germs and transmitions of infectious disease led to no-touch policies. As a result, the infants were seldom touched or handled."