There is a “food” that our skin yells and hungers for. A “food” that is as essential to our survival as good food and 
warm shelter… touch.
I remember this from a lecture I attended while studying child psychology:
In the 1940s a Doctor caring for motherless babies was surprised to find that although they were warm and being fed, the babies were still becoming ill and even dying. The conclusion “touch is vital for the survival in the very young, affectionate touch vital for all human ages.”
Touch in tantra is our most powerful and predominant sense
When we are born, all our other senses are undeveloped. It is touch that tells us this world beyond our mother’s womb is a safe space to live.
Touch comforts us when we cry.
Gentle touch soothes us to sleep.
To be held against our mother’s warm skin is our first known way of connecting with another, of forming a bond.
A hug, a lingering stroke of our hair, a reassuring hand upon our own speaks a language that needs no words.
Touch allows us to explore the world through our bodies
As adults we crave touch, yet we can confuse this hunger as a desire for sex or only feel safe in obtaining touch through the act of sex.
For some, it is easier to take off their clothes & have sex, then allowing the intimacy of touch
…but sex will only feed this hunger temporarily for it is not sex we are truly seeking.
Our skin, our largest sensory organ is simply hungry for that feeling of gentle, silent connection with another…
