QUESTIONS & ANSWERS ABOUT THEREPEUTIC TOUCH
Compiled by Carolyn Buchanan & Sue Frid
In Touch, Vol. XIV, No. 3,Autumn 2002
Question: I did a two on one treatment at a practice group and my partner did most of the treatment with her eyes closed. Since one of my teachers drummed into my head how important it is to keep one’s eyes open, I found it quite disturbing and at times, it took me off “center.” Now I am wondering how the “eyes open/eyes closed” issue is viewed by other TT teachers and practitioners.
Response from Barbara Janelle:
I suggest that there is nothing wrong with closing your eyes to sense the field better. It is probably best to do it intermittently so the receiver is not accidentally hit during the procedure. As a practitioner develops more experience and deepens the ability to hold center there will be less need to close eyes to reduce outside stimuli.
It sounds as though both people giving the treatment are novices – one needing to close eyes to reduce outside stimuli and the other thrown offer center (and also taken away from being in service to the receiver) by her partner doing something that she judged as wrong.
The challenge in the TT treatment is to center and deepen center so that awareness is enhanced greatly and one is able to cope with anything that occurs during a treatment. If a practitioner cannot do this in a quiet setting, how then could he/she do it in an emergency situation or in any of the strange places in which we are often called on to work – like sports events or ICU!