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Rick Burnett:   There's a chapter in Possibility Living called the Healing Power of Touch.  Dr. DiSiena, let's start with you - you're the Chiropractor and you lay your hands on a lot of people - talk to us about "touch."

Dr. Douglas DiSiena:  It's amazing - touch is one of those things that we all have an innate need for - we all need to be touched.  There's a certain expression we have when we touch people.  There's a certain healing mechanism that occurs.  Like we say in the book; "touching is not optional - it's mandatory."  Touching is mandatory for life, it's mandatory for wellness, and it's something that we need to incorporate into our daily life. 

Dr. Robert A. Schuller:   You know, when I put the outline for this book, one of the main reasons I added "touch" was the whole aspect of the Chiropractor who puts his hands on someone.  I believe that God uses touch to create healing.  If you go through and read the miraculous healing accounts in the Bible, most of them incorporate some form of touch; i.e., the laying on of hands - which is touch.  I know some of the most beautiful spiritual small group experiences I have had are when someone asked for prayer.  If someone is listening to me today who is in a small group and someone asks for prayer, one of the most beautiful things you can do is to ask everyone in the group to come and lay their hands on the person - put their hands on top of their head, shoulders, or back and then have a prayer for that person with everybody having their hands upon that person.  It is an amazing thing that takes place emotionally.  I believe the spirit of God flows through all those people and magnifies the intensity of the prayer ten-fold - it has a tremendous positive impact.

Rick Burnett:   You talk about touching being an essential ingredient of the four "A's" of successful relationships in Possibility Living.  What are those four "A's" that help us demonstrate loving touch?

Dr. Douglas DiSiena:  The first "A" is  Attention:  When we touch someone we give him or her attention.  Sometimes not even a spoken word, but just to put a hand on someone's back, they know you're paying attention to them.  The second "A" is  Acknowledgement:  We have to acknowledge people.  Sometimes an acknowledgement of someone is a pat on the back, it's a shake of the hand, and it's a hug. There are many ways to acknowledge people, and touching is one of the ways.  The third "A" is Affirmation:  It's a great thing to affirm people - such as saying "you did a great job today."  Sometimes in my practice, when I know people are starting on the road to the wellness pathway, I'll give them a hug and say: "I'm proud of you."  The last "A" is Affection:  It's a way to show affection to our spouses, our children, and our friends.  We call it appropriate affection within the boundaries of appropriate touch.  Within the boundaries of appropriate touch it is good to have that kind of affection between people.  I think it's something that we have lost in our culture.

Rick Burnett:   Robert, do you have anything you'd like to add?

Dr. Robert A. Schuller:   I am convinced that touch is a very integral part of wellness.  God created the human species to be a corporate species, not an individual species.  The reason I know this is because it began with Adam, and God looked at Adam and said it is not good.  God created the heavens and the earth, the birds, the cattle in the fields and the fish in the sea and the plant life and He said "it is good."  Then He created man and he said "it is not good - that man should live alone."  Then He created Eve.  When Adam and Eve came together He said "that is very good" - He used an extra superlative.  That's the way God created human beings - not to be alone, but to be in unison with others.  So, we are a corporate species and not an individual species.  One of the reasons He put us together is to be able to touch.  There's an incredible feeling that comes with touch - touching our children  - I think of when my children were born.  When the infant was laid on my wife's bosom, I rubbed the body of that child that was still wet from the birth and the emotions that unfolded as the three of us bonded was amazing.  

Rick Burnett:   What is the connection between healing touch and the concept of A.D.I.O.?

Dr. Douglas DiSiena:   The loving, healing touch without question comes from God.  So, when we incorporate this healing touch, we are God's hands in this world.  So, sometimes when people need God's touch, we will be God's hands and do His work and be part of the kingdom by touching.  The fact of the matter is that healing, loving, all those things that come from touch, come from the Lord above and we are vessels of that love.  People can feel that spirit coming through you through touch.

Dr. Robert A. Schuller:  I was shaking hands at the back of the Church one Sunday morning, and as things unfolded, I saw this one lady and I said to her that I wanted to hug her.  I gave her a big hug, and a little tear went down her face and then she left.  Later that week, I got a letter from her.  She was an older woman and it was a very emotionally charged letter.  She stated in that letter it was the first time she had been hugged in over a year!!   I really want to encourage people to get connected - there's lots of places you can get connected so that you don't have to go a year without feeling the love of another human being through a simple hug.  One of the things I appreciate about Doug is that he hugs everyone!  It's part of that touch that he gives that is so important to healing.  We have to remember that we are part of a fellowship - the body of Jesus Christ.  This body is not meant to go around in isolation - it is meant to be in connection physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Rick Burnett:    Is the healing touch of Jesus different from the healing touch you're talking about in the book? 

Dr. Douglas DiSiena:   I think we have the same potential.  Jesus commands us to do as He did.  When we provide touch with the proper intent, we are providing the same source, the same potential for healing that Jesus commands us to do.

Dr. Robert A. Schuller:  I completely concur.  The word you used was potential.  There is the intent that Jesus would use to touch.  His intent was to create healing most of the time.  I'm sure there were times when He would hug someone with no intent other than to just welcome him or her.  But, of course, the times we read about in the Bible are the exceptional times.  The one that comes to my mind that is extremely exceptional is the woman who had the blood flow that was uncontrollable.  She went and touched the hem of his garment without Him even knowing it.  She did so with an intention and a faith.  It was her intention and her faith that made her well.  Jesus knew her intention.  I think it's an important point to remember, that people completely need to understand your intention through touch.  If you have an improper intention - it will be evident.  If you have the proper intention of creating healing or a spiritual experience, that intention is going to come out.  So, the touch breaks through the barriers that can be hidden in other ways.  It's really important for people to have their hearts right with God and to allow the Holy Spirit - Above, Down, Inside, Out, to come out - otherwise the wrong intentions will be felt.  I think of the power in a touch.  Benny Hinn is seen on television. He will touch the forehead of an individual and that individual will collapse.  It's called being slain in the spirit.  I've talked with various people who've had that experience.  They say it's very real and they cannot explain it.  It happens for a couple reasons.  First of all there is the intent to create a spiritual emotion and there is the actual touch.  It never takes place until he actually touches the person.  Why that happens I do not know.  I've talked with Benny Hinn about it and he doesn't know how or why it happens - he just knows it happens.  To those who have had the experience, they have found it to be a very spiritually rewarding experience.

Dr. Douglas DiSiena:  Robert, would you say those who have experienced and received that had a certain amount of expectation and reception to that touch?

Dr. Robert A. Schuller:  Sometimes yes and sometimes no. - It's very interesting.  So I believe, there is a tremendous spiritual power that is accompanied with touch - but it does require intention.

Dr. Douglas DiSiena:   I think intention is probably the most critical thing in what I do - the laying on of hands.  For example in Chiropractic, an adjustment, as we call it, can be given with a loving intention or the same kind of adjustment given in a "mechanical" way with the same amount of force.  I guarantee that there will be two completely different outcomes between those two adjustments. 

Dr. Robert A. Schuller:  Well, Doug in the book you talk about a time when that intention for you was not there; and then you got a new calling and that intention came back.

Dr. Douglas DiSiena:  Absolutely, there's a spiritual experience that we don't understand.  There are studies that have been done.  There actually is a power that comes through touch which people can receive.  They've done studies with infants.  People who have been stroked with a loving touch as infants have tremendously better outcomes in their lives.  It's not just in the Bible, we have scientific proof that there is power in touch.

Rick Burnett:  What about those people who are uncomfortable with touch?

Dr. Robert A. Schuller:   If you're going to go beyond a handshake - and you want to hug someone, you should ask permission.  There are a lot of people who are real "huggy" and they just reach out and touch people.  It's really important to ask permission.  If you are a person who feels uncomfortable with touch - you may want to look into some counseling - it may be the way you were raised or your culture.  For example, I know that in Germany the comfort zone is about is 3 feet; while in Italy it's about six inches.  Those aren't exact figures, but I know sociologists have done studies and your understanding and acceptance of the power of touch does depend on your culture and upbringing.