-=====-                         -=====-
             _..._                           _..._
           .~     `~.                     .~`     ~.
   ,_     /          }                   {          \     _,
  ,_\'--, \   _.'`~~/                     \~~`'._   / ,--'/_,
   \'--,_`{_,}    -(                       )-    {,_}`_,--'/
    '.`-.`\;--,___.'_                     _'.___,--;/`.-`.'
      '._`/    |_ _{@}                   {@}_ _|    \`_.'
         /     ` |-';/           _       \;'-| `     \
        /   \    /  |       _   {@}_      |  \    /   \
       /     '--;_       _ {@}  _Y{@}        _;--'     \
      _\          `\    {@}\Y/_{@} Y/      /`          /_
     / |`-.___.    /    \Y/\|{@}Y/\|//     \    .___,-'| \
^^^^`--`------'`--`^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^`--`'------`--`^^^^

  _  _              _  _              _  _              _  _ 
/` \/ `\   _  _   /` \/ `\   _  _   /` \/ `\   _  _   /` \/ `\
\      / /` \/ `\ \      / /` \/ `\ \      / /` \/ `\ \      /
 '.  .'  \      /  '.  .'  \      /  '.  .'  \      /  '.  .'
   \/     '.  .'     \/     '.  .'     \/     '.  .'     \/
            \/                \/                \/

        

  _  _              _  _              _  _              _  _ 
/` \/ `\   _  _   /` \/ `\   _  _   /` \/ `\   _  _   /` \/ `\
\      / /` \/ `\ \      / /` \/ `\ \      / /` \/ `\ \      /
 '.  .'  \      /  '.  .'  \      /  '.  .'  \      /  '.  .'
   \/     '.  .'     \/     '.  .'     \/     '.  .'     \/
            \/                \/                \/

Who says you can't take it with you?

Look carefully, and you can see that there is a flat screen (maybe plasma) TV and also a DVD player.

And they say you can't take it with you.  :-)

HAVE you ever wondered what a hug can do for you? For each one that you give out, you receive one in return. So when did you last hug your child, family member or friend?

You may not realise that your hug can do miracles because it has powerful bonding and healing qualities.

Nice touch: Hugging someone reflects care and builds bonds between two individuals.

This is because energy exchanges create an electromagnetic flow that can temporarily heal or at least bring someone into greater understanding.

Well, I was moved by how it was promoted by a therapist and a conscious living group at the recent inaugural Health and Happiness Festival in Kuala Lumpur.

The mood of happiness and good feeling prevailed in the atmosphere when Douglas Leong, a multi-dimension healer, greeted almost everyone he came in contact with a hug at the two-day event.

He was spontaneous in his response to people whom he met and he felt that his hug gesture was curative and a transfer of positive energy.

To Leong, the sign was a natural expression of showing love and care and the act is a tool of transformation for those having issues and providing others with goodness.

Also at the happy festival was Clove & Clive, a local non-profit organisation which promotes “conscious loving and living”. They brought with them three-fold cards showing what hugs can do and distributed them free.

According to the group, the message was part of its community caring project to create hugging as a way of life.

Another individual who I have great admiration for is world-renowned hugging saint Mata Amritanandamayi, better known as Amma, who has so far hugged over 28 million people to pass on her love and compassion.

Generally, a hug is a positive exchange of energy between two or more people. It provides solace and there’s a remedial feeling when you have someone hold you in their arms.

A hug is also a way to share both good and bad times with others and it can create a connection that cannot be expressed in words. Even a small hug generally makes everyone feel good, safe, secure, lift spirits and make us smile although some people are not comfortable with the physical embrace.

Many people do not realise that touch therapy is important to our health and well-being, and I find it particularly with children.

I find it totally unacceptable when some parents lament that hugging too often may spoil the child. Each time we get linked with a touch we are actually developing a better understanding of their needs through the unspoken language.

Although some cultures may shy away from physical contact or consider it a taboo, hugging can work wonders on any individual and it is more powerful than a handshake.

Research has shown that hugging can be used as an aid in treating some physical illness as it has proven to bring positive physiological changes and helps in relieving pain.

According to experts, our skin act as an antenna (sense organ) and it is sensitive to touch and the moment two bodies get connected, it gives a magical attachment.

Since early days, reaching out and touching someone reflect care and it builds bonds between two individuals.

And when it is done with purity and sincerity the touch turns enchanting and removes all aches, pain, sadness, loneliness, and stress.

As for me, I look forward for my therapeutic hugs from my one-year-old niece M. Yeshsmita every week as I found them to be pure and loving.

T. Selva appears live on TRAXXfm for the TRAXX 101’s motivational segment on The Art of Happy Living every last Friday of the month with DJ Jezza.

Purpose and benefits of hugs

· A greeting when we meet to say hello or goodbye.

· It can hold us up when life gets us down.

· Make us smile instead of frown.

· Hugging brings us closer to each other.

· A hug can be given for no reason at all.

· It is one of life’s most pleasant things.

· It provides comfort and protection.

· It helps in promoting self-esteem.

· It opens up new avenues of thought.

· Hugging is a nice way to start the day.

· It is free and cost nothing and it means so much to both parties.

Message of hug

A hug is so simple, yet so magical.

It is entirely free of charge, yet so priceless.

The gesture is so natural and irrational, leaving the beholder joyful and speechless.

And in giving a hug, one receives another in kind.

A hug when given represents the gift of the heart;

A hug when readily received, bestows in both, completion of art.

Let a hug promote one’s good health.

Hugs are likened to a mountain of wealth and dissolving conflict and creating friendship.

A hug trespasses all boundaries the moment two souls become one.

Releasing all judgements and customaries, a common sharing is now done.

So let this New Year season, together with all the gifts and revelries be complete with hugs for no reason, as we meet and depart with fond memories.

Courtesy of Geraldine Kok and Tuck Loon from Clove & Clive