“Touch comes before sight, before speech. It is the first language and the last, and it always tells the truth.” ~Margaret Atwood
Hands on healing, or any of the many forms of touch therapy, has been occurring for thousands of years. From ancient bone benders and curanderos of the Americas, to the Taoist of ancient China, and to Ayurvedic Medicine from India, there are thousands of years of documented touch therapies. “Ignoring 5000 years of medical tradition and healing because you don’t understand it is not being scientific, it is being stupid and ignorant. Likewise, blindly following 5000 years of tradition because you don’t have a curious and skeptical mind is bound to send you up a blind alley.” –Theories of the Chakras – Bridge to Higher Consciousness by Hiroshi Motoyama, and re-quoted from Spark in the Machine by Dr. Daniel Keown.
It is only “recently,” around the end 20th and beginning of the 21st century, that we are beginning to see science supporting what healers of old were teaching. “Science Proves Meridians Exist,” is one of my favorite headlines whilst imagining the sages of ancient traditions rolling their eyes and welcoming “modern-man” to the ballgame of healing. Perhaps, we only now have some tools and machines to begin to look at what is needed to understand the profound affects of touch therapy.
Confoundedly to me, there is also science showing otherwise. Often times, the science attributes so much to placebo effects, or perhaps, the science is still incapable of measuring subtle profound shifts, and energies, etc. Maybe we will one day have technology sophisticated enough to fully, and properly without bias, study the intricacies of humanity and healing. Either way, it is definitely exciting times to be alive and in the field of healing and service. Knowledge and information are compounding at exponential rates, and I am grateful to be a part of that.
The power of touch, however, must always be considered and never discredited. A simple touch in a tumultuous moment can be life changing. The comfort of a parental figure after a toddlers tumble or the lack there of can be life assuring or altering. Touch comes in many forms obviously, but touch of connecting, communicating, calming, and sympathizing is one of life’s wonderful gifts.
The case studies of Romanian orphanages is enough evidence for me. The babies were left in cribs all day, except when being fed, diapered or bathed on set schedules. The conditions of the orphanages showed that basic human contact was vital to human development, not just nutrition. Due to the ultimate lack of human contact and connection, babies developed without stimulation leading to self stimulation and misdiagnosing mental disorders. There was even evidence of higher mortality rates when infants were only held for the absolute bare minimum.
Maybe it is just my biased opinion, but I believe most humans enjoy touch and need it. I do. I really, really do. I, also, believe it is part of human vitality as we age, and I would love to see the case studies of those who receive healthy touch versus not. We are hard wired for touch, not only for human connection, but to interact with the external world. As such, there are on average one thousand nerve endings per square inch of skin. That’s a lot of receptors and receivers to interpret our world(s)!
Let it be known:
“Similarly any knowledge I have gleaned from any sources, be they academic lectures, learned journals, all manner of books or Internet sites, reflects the warm generosity of others who have shared their wisdom unselfishly with the world. My intent is to fully acknowledge all these wise researchers, but also to avoid weighty and distracting lists of references. I have strived to achieve a happy balance here, erring on the side of simplicity. Much of my working life has involved translating the hard-earned knowledge of others into a language I can personally understand. There is a good chance that by passing on my personal interpretations of this universal wisdom I can be a help to others.” -Dr. Robin Kelly says it so well in The Human Antenna: Reading the Language of the Universe in the Songs of Our Cells.
If there is nothing new under the sun, but the old pursued, I am basically quoting brilliant people and then translating from my perspective, recycling and up-cycling. This resulting manual and series of seminars has become a conglomeration of everything I have learned and interpreted (and legally feel I can teach). I intend to help find a place and space for everything within these seminars while offering a couple of my favorite and most powerful tools. Touch is extremely important and a powerful tool for both assessment and treatment. So a majority of these seminars are touch based. It is based as much as possible in science and structure while walking the line and realm of magic.
I love the historical story (or maybe it is a myth?) of Mikao Usui, attributed founder of Reiki, who set out on his path because a student asked if he could heal with his hands like the Christ. There is profound knowledge in our hands, our bodies, and in our minds. There is great power in these, too. With training and skill, one can develop a practice based in the evidence of touch. This is a glue and bridge for the mechanical and energetic.
“You connect worlds that do not seem connected.” -Stephanie White
Intuition means, “inner teaching.” It is not about making stuff up. I find that most therapists who do not understand the mechanism, limit their intuition and deep listening by not knowing the entire story or song. If one would have asked me years ago if I was intuitive, I would have said decidedly “no,” and it is through the study of science and with the accumulation of experience that my intuition has grown. I have seriously sought to bring science to the magic, which in my mind, should magnify the magic and dissuade the disbelievers. Two quotes come to mind:
“My beliefs do not require your beliefs.” -Morpheus, The Matrix
“Any significantly advanced technology will be indistinguishable from magic.”
-Arthur C. Clarke
As current Instructor and author of this manual, I take no credit for what is compiled here, other than the compiling, cross connecting of the dots, and synthesizing. This is the glue as all therapies are seeking to do the same thing. It is my hope that it will evolve, and allow all those who stumble across it to evolve. I am simply passing on knowledge and information from those who have allowed me to stand upon their shoulders. It should be noted that one could spend a lifetime studying the human body. This here is but an introduction.
“Don’t wait any longer. Dive in…” -Rumi
All the very best vibes on your journey, Jordan Terry.
And, if you have a problem, with anything in this manual, or in life, or with clients, I highly suggest checking out Ancient Toltec Wisdom, The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz:
- Be Impeccable With Your Word
- Don’t Take Anything Personally
- Don’t Make Assumptions
- Always Do Your Best
Simple and straight forward with a +1 of “Be a Healthy Skeptic,” find any new knowledge or information to be true for you, not because anyone, like myself, told you it was so.