Just Wanna Hold your Hand...

Just Wanna Hold Your Hand...

A simple thing really..holding hands. A gesture or act that now a days is considered childish or a sign of young love. But I've always loved it. My parents still hold hands after 50 years of being married. A sign of unity, shared secrets, love, contentment, adoration, trust, devotion and many, many other things. My mom says that it is a joining of souls. A reinforcement of the commitment or bond you share with another. Such a simple act that holds so much power within it...yet it is becoming a lost practice.

I thought I would see just how much power there was within the act....and it turns out that it is a very powerful, connecting gesture.. It has been documented that fetuses will grasp the umbilical cord periodically throughout the last few months in their mother's womb. One of the more endearing instances I read about is twins holding hands. One was a healthy and the other was not..they clasped each other's hands through the majority of the pregnancy. This leads me to believe that there is something far more beautiful to hand holding than just a reflex gesture ...and I wanted to know what that was...so I looked.


Turns out that holding hands transfers energy from one person to the next. (And no, it is not just body heat transference.) It has been shown that holding hands transfers energy not only to your body..but to and from your heart as well.

When the subjects were seated 4 feet apart, there was no indication of a transfer of energy between them from the 250 averages used in these experiments. However, when they held hands, the source's ECG could be clearly detected in the receiver's SAW at both the C4 and C3 locations.

In the four different hand holding orientations tested, measurable differences were observed in the transfer of cardiac energy between subjects, as measured by the amplitude of the source's ECG signal appearing in the receiver's EEG recording

There is science behind all this stuff. Stress and anxiety levels are lowered due to this one simple act. The higher the stress level (or cortisol level) the more sensitive the skin is. So, when you are running at high cortisol levels and someone holds your hand, you may instantly feel the calming powers of their touch. (instant lowering of stress/cortisol level). It could be reasoned then that there is such a thing as the healing touch...


While holding a loved one's hand decreases cortisol..it also increases oxytocin sent to the brain..otherwise known as "the cuddle hormone". This hormone increases the feeling of closeness, connection, and bonding. Oxytocin being the main hormone responsible for all the basic feelings of love..and a simple hand holding will increase its levels and that feeling of a loving connection exponentially.

Holding hands reduces pain. Combine the reduction of cortisol with the increase in oxytocin and it is not hard to see why this occurs. It makes the unbearable sometimes bearable. Not only physical pain, but emotional pain as well.

But it is much, much more than a chemical reaction. These things might explain the technical stuff behind the act, tell you the reasons why you feel like you do, but it doesn't really explain the deep, emotional connection that holding hands with another creates...Well it does...but not in the way that I choose to see it. Because even though we understand the science behind it, I don't ever want to forget the beauty of the act.



So, to give all that a little romantic note:

When we hold hands we are bonding so deeply with one another that we affect the very way our heart beats. The energy we transfer one from another causes us to alter the life force of one another... Affecting our very moods. Making them rise and fall like the ebb and flow of the tides in the sea. The power of the love you share is so strong, so flowing, that you can affect the way your lover breathes. Your heart can start to beat in union, as though you were one being.

Our personal energy comes together and mixes for a few moments each time we touch palm to palm so we become one. For however long your are holding hands, you are mixing your energy with the person you are holding hands with. Which means, you are literally combining souls or life forces for a brief time.

We are the most powerful love potion that ever existed. Being able to calm, heal, and bond with another person just by simply holding their hand. We effect that person at soul level, able to manipulate their very thoughts and emotions with a simple touch.

And if you think about it a bit further... there is a lot that is not talked about within those articles I read. Like offering someone strength and courage when they have none. How holding hands can be a supportive gesture, one of encouragement and motivation and also one of trust and commitment , binding and unity.

So, there wasn't a lot of information on the art of holding hands. Most of this is conjecture and personal thought. I looked quite a few places for information and found little to none with regards to ancient ceremonies or the symbolism of hand holding.

A Celtic tradition of betrothal was rumored to be that a couple would hold hands and declare their love/commitment to each other. And after a year and one day if they still felt the same, they would be married or they could go their separate ways if the feeling of love was no longer there. But...for that year, they were bound to each other through that one simple act. This has been proven to not be part of the betrothal ceremony. A myth made up that was never put on the legal books of those times. But yet, such a beautiful thing, maybe it should've been.

What's the point of all this? I really don't know. I myself never thought there was so much to this one little gesture...I guess maybe the point is just to stop and take a minute to see how beautiful being human really is. Maybe just to remind you to hold hands with your significant other once in awhile.. and show you how much more meaningful it is than just two hands clasping together. How much more deep and emotionally bonding it is.


Thanks for reading..
blend57

a reply to: blend57

Beautiful Blend! I love holding hands of a lover. It touches the heart.

I agree .. Beautiful!

=( no ones held my hand in a long time

I hold my wife's hand when we're out. It's old and fragile now. It deserves to be held with tender care after all it's done for the world.

Now ... somebody put that in a poem!!

a reply to: Snarl

You should write a poem. That was really good!

a reply to: Snarl

I am someone that appreciates art, a lot. I admire a womans hands because they are usually so different then my own even though they work the same. My hands are hard and calloused usually dirty with grease and metal, scarred, bloody and blistered. A womans hands are often smaller and soft and purposeful, hands are something I do pay attention to next to bewbs and butts .., so there I was casually staring at... lol

Brotherman

The act of holding hands takes two.. one to offer their hand and one to accept it.. maybe you have not offered yours enough..or maybe you have not accepted another's when they offered it to you? Or maybe no other person can top the powerful feeling given to you by the one who you held hands last with..

Lot's of maybes.. but I'm sure you'll be able to share the hand holding experience again very soon. When you choose to grasp the hand that is offered to you..

blend57

Snarl

You got is Snarl.. a poem for your wife.. when I get it done.. I'll PM ya.

awareness10 & Quantum12

Glad you found some beauty in this.. and thank you for reading.. I appreciate your thoughts and comments.

Thanks,
blend57

a reply to: blend57

Its been along time since ive been compelled by a lady too.

a reply to: blend57

I would say holding hand with the one you love is magical. I would hold hands with a long ago ex girlfriend in the street as we walked, in the supermarket, at a car boot market. When I rode with her Dad to pick her up from work in the evenings she and I would hold hands as we sat in the back seat.

Very interesting Blend.

My daughter, soon to be 16, still reaches for my hand sometimes. Not necessarily in times of crisis or nervousness, she just reaches for it.
We were hiking in the woods this morning and she reached behind her with both hands, I reached forward and took hers for a second and then stepped on her heels hehe.
We decided that didn't work well.

I held my Mother's hand right up until her last moment here.
It was very powerful for me and I hope it helped her in some way also.

a reply to: TNMockingbird

I read in another article.. a research paper.. that today's children are not getting the same amount of personal touch that we were given/getting as children. That this could possibly be one of the side effects of so much technology and advancements. It was a ongoing study I think..if I find the paper again, I will link it for you.

I am unsure what the pretext was of the paper (it's full meaning) as I just skimmed through it. But the feeling I got is that kids now a days are "touch starved" and it is leading to more emotional outbursts and problematic behavior..possibly contributing to the psychological conditions of those that are diagnosed with anxiety and depression. Was very interesting.

So..it is good that you are still very close and sharing these moments with her..as well as with your mom when she was here with you. It could very well be a healing touch (metaphorically speaking) if what that paper was saying is true.

Thank you for sharing your experiences ..
blend57

Hello blend57. Just wanted to let you know as well I found your story sensitive and having a sensual feeling. I loved it.

There is some so simple but loving about holding hands with the one that you love. I can picture it in my mind, and I can remember the feeling of happiness and just being close.

....and of course it reminds me of a song......".....and when I touch you I feel happy inside, it's such a feeling that my love I can't hide......"



Peace

Yeah...

I'm an admitted hand holder.

Now, do a thread on hugs

I believe in holding hands. I watched my grandparents, full of love for each other after 72 years of marriage, sitting side by side and holding hands. My parents carried on that tradition for 50 years. Daddy was holding Mama's hand when she left this world.
My Beloved and I have been holding hands for more than 30 years now and we often get comments like, "Oh, you must be newly wed." There was a seven year period when he was on crutches and we couldn't hold hands as we walked side by side. When he was finally able to get rid of one crutch, it was heaven to finally be able to do so.
When our kids were teens they would be embarrassed and make comments like, "Oh, get a room already." but now? Now they hold hands with their spouses.
Thanks for the beautiful OP.

thenightisours

Thank you! I'm glad you found some value in it. Sometimes in such a complex world..it's good to look at the simple things..Keeps you centered and focused on what is important to you.. at least it does for me.

SLAYER69

Hugs? HUGS!!! Hugs are sooo yesterday.. cuddles is where its at now

Thanks,
blend57

Tindalos2013

It is very magical..a simple, yet effective way to show someone you care for them. How you hold hands can say a lot about a relationship as well apparently ...

Here's a website that explains the different ways to hold hands and what it says about your relationship..


diggindirt

It is a very important part of being human I would think. Some primates share this same gesture, but for the most part, unless I am mistaken in what I read.. humans are the only ones who do it for reasons other than survival. If I am understanding correctly, primates do so because their babies have to learn to grasp onto the mother in order to travel with them while they are too young to travel on their own...and later for the ability to grasp limbs when they are old enough to travel of their own accord.

But humans..humans hold hands out of love and empathy for one another.. I have read that a person could eventually die without human touch. Although I don't know how true that is as I never traced it back to the source of the statement ..but if that is the case, then it would stand to reason that touch and hand holding would cause a humans life to be extended..

Just some additional thoughts that came to mind...thank you for reading and your comments..

blend57