Touch Touched Touching
The degree of relationship with another person or an aspect of yourself. The connection with an influence, and the experience of something other than oneself.
Being aware of, becoming conscious, or meeting and becoming intimate. Touching is about contact. It sometimes shows how you link with something, as when a person touches a power line and gets shocked. That would suggest you have ‘touched’ feelings or drives which were a shock to you or dangerous.
The act of touching can apply to many things, so one can touch the high ground of their life experience; touch the wonder of Life within us; touch a new understanding of the natural world and its creatures; even though remaining behind prison bars, we could still be touching people’s lives deeply; with awareness we can touch uncountable things.
Touching another is often an attempt on the part of our spontaneous inner feelings to bring about healing change. Sometimes a feeling of power will surge through your body as you touch as an expression of your strength and healing. See Heal
It is often directly or indirectly sexual. Touching is a means of communicating your emotions or intentions. This can be love, anger, sympathy, or a statement which attempts to break down insularity. Albie’s dream below shows another aspect of touching, which is its use to produce a change.
‘My husband came over to me with his arm out to touch me, but I was so angry I put my arm up to shield myself from his touch and then began to throw things at him to express how angry I was feeling.’ Susie R.
‘The man was so superior in his attitude, and patronisingly arrogant about the lost children, that I cursed him with a touch, saying ‘May you lose children of your own.’’ Albie G.
Albie wanted to leave a mark, make a change in the man, who is an aspect of himself.
The absence of touching in otherwise intimate scene: Can suggest lack of ability to reach out or express your needs for contact or be in a passive attitude in which you want the other person to act; or a more automatic aspect of yourself, refusing to take responsibility and risks.
Active avoidance of touching: As illustrated in example, shows feelings of anger. The anger may be passive, but such avoidance of contact is as vicious as hitting. The dreamer moves towards a healthier state by expressing her anger.
Idioms: Get in touch; keep in touch; lose touch; lose one’s touch; out of touch; touch and go; touch someone; touched up; touch something off; touch upon; common touch; Midas touch; touch bottom; soft touch; touch wood.