--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Touching hands are not like…" description: "\"Touching hands are not like pharmaceuticals or scalpels. They are like flashlights in a darkened room. The medicine they administer is self-awareness. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e7/deane-juhan-45476_aids_touching-hands-are-not-like-pharmaceutic_2026674.jpg" --- # Touching hands are not like pharmaceuticals or scalpels… ![“Touching hands are not like pharmaceuticals or scalpels. They are like flashlights in a darkened room. The medicine they administer is self-awareness. And for many of our painful conditions, this is the aid that is most urgently needed.” quote by Deane Juhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e7/deane-juhan-45476_aids_touching-hands-are-not-like-pharmaceutic_2026674.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e7/deane-juhan-45476_aids_touching-hands-are-not-like-pharmaceutic_2026674.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e7/deane-juhan-45476_aids_touching-hands-are-not-like-pharmaceutic_2026674.jpg) > “Touching hands are not like pharmaceuticals or scalpels. They are like flashlights in a darkened room. The medicine they administer is self-awareness. And for many of our painful conditions, this is the aid that is most urgently needed.” [Deane Juhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deane-juhan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Physical touch offers guidance and self‑awareness, serving as a vital remedy for emotional pain. **In simple terms:** Touch heals by raising self‑awareness. Key Takeaway Cultivate meaningful physical connection. Themes compassion healing self‑awareness human connection Mood empathetic supportive Type psychological inspirational When to use this quote - therapy sessions - support groups - peer counseling - mindfulness practice - elder care Key Concepts embodied cognition psychology mind‑body integration Questions to Reflect On - How can you provide support without physical touch? - What alternatives foster similar self‑awareness? A Different Perspective Physical touch may not be appropriate or possible for everyone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awareness/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self -awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-awareness/) [Touching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/touching/) ## Related quotes > [Hands, touching hands, reaching out, touching me, touching you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-diamond/hands-touching-hands-reaching-out-touching-me-touching-you/) [Neil Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-diamond/) > [“And have you also noticed that it’s hopeless to dictate people’s awareness or behavior? So let’s turn it around. She loves you, but she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/and-have-you-also-noticed-that-it-s-hopeless-to-dictate-people-s/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [Worry itself is one of the most painful conditions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-ellis/worry-itself-is-one-of-the-most-painful-conditions/) [Albert Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-ellis/) > [“A lack of real love for ourselves is one of the most constricting, painful conditions we can know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-salzberg/a-lack-of-real-love-for-ourselves-is-one-of-the-most-constricting/) [Sharon Salzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-salzberg/) > [“She touched him everywhere she could reach. The rounded hardness of his biceps and chest, the ripped contours of his back, his thick, damp…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-cutler/she-touched-him-everywhere-she-could-reach-the-rounded-hardness-of/) [Melissa Cutler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-cutler/) > [“I knew, suddenly, that I was someone else, with more elements. It surprised me that the touching of hands could do that: reveal to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-nugent/i-knew-suddenly-that-i-was-someone-else-with-more-elements-it/) [Benjamin Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-nugent/) > [Touch. It is touch that is the deadliest enemy of chastity, loyalty, monogamy, gentility with its codes and conventions and restraints. By touch we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/touch-it-is-touch-that-is-the-deadliest-enemy-of-chastity-loyalty/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“He reached his fingers back and hooked them inside the cuff of her sweater. "But you still want to give me a chance, right?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/he-reached-his-fingers-back-and-hooked-them-inside-the-cuff-of-her/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [I was a bit of a strange kid in some ways. I had microscopes, scalpels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hadley/i-was-a-bit-of-a-strange-kid-in-some-ways-i-had-microscopes-scalpels/) [Tony Hadley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hadley/) > [Self-disruption is akin to undergoing major surgery, but you are the one holding the scalpel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-samit/self-disruption-is-akin-to-undergoing-major-surgery-but-you-are-the/) [Jay Samit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-samit/) > [The truth is like a scalpel. The truth is painful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-angel-ruiz/the-truth-is-like-a-scalpel-the-truth-is-painful/) [Miguel Angel Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-angel-ruiz/) > [ \[Mindfulness\] is not concerned with anything transcendent or divine. It serves as an antidote to theism, a cure for sentimental piety, a scalpel for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/mindfulness-is-not-concerned-with-anything-transcendent-or-divine-it/) [Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/) > [If you take the time to study how to be a doctor and how to use your scalpel and your medicine, then there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/if-you-take-the-time-to-study-how-to-be-a-doctor-and-how-to-use-your/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [Theater acting is an operation with a scalpel, movie acting is an operation with a laser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/theater-acting-is-an-operation-with-a-scalpel-movie-acting-is-an/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [In golf, driving is a game of free-swinging muscle control, while putting is something like performing eye surgery and using a bread knife for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-bolt/in-golf-driving-is-a-game-of-free-swinging-muscle-control-while/) [Tommy Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-bolt/) ## More by Deane Juhan > [Soothing touch, whether it be applied to a ruffled cat, a crying infant, or a frightened child, has a universally recognized power to ameliorate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deane-juhan/soothing-touch-whether-it-be-applied-to-a-ruffled-cat-a-crying-infant/) [Deane Juhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deane-juhan/) > [Movement is the unifying bond between the mind and the body, and sensations are the substance of that bond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deane-juhan/movement-is-the-unifying-bond-between-the-mind-and-the-body-and/) [Deane Juhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deane-juhan/) > [The principals in elegantly simple. We learn to love by being loved, we learn gentleness by being gentled, we learn to be graceful by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deane-juhan/the-principals-in-elegantly-simple-we-learn-to-love-by-being-loved-we/) [Deane Juhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deane-juhan/) > [“Our flesh is like silly putty that distorts when it is ignored. We are constantly obliged to actively participate in its formation, or else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deane-juhan/our-flesh-is-like-silly-putty-that-distorts-when-it-is-ignored-we-are/) [Deane Juhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deane-juhan/) > [By rubbing up against the world, I define myself to myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deane-juhan/by-rubbing-up-against-the-world-i-define-myself-to-myself/) [Deane Juhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deane-juhan/) > [To touch the surface is to stir the depths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deane-juhan/to-touch-the-surface-is-to-stir-the-depths/) [Deane Juhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deane-juhan/) > [The skin is no more separated from the brain than the surface of a lake is separate from its depths; the two are different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deane-juhan/the-skin-is-no-more-separated-from-the-brain-than-the-surface-of-a/) [Deane Juhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deane-juhan/) > [Enduring faith is not blind or obedient, it is keenly attentive and responsible; it is not fed by awe, but by quickening interest; prosperity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deane-juhan/enduring-faith-is-not-blind-or-obedient-it-is-keenly-attentive-and/) [Deane Juhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deane-juhan/) [Explore all 9 Deane Juhan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deane-juhan/) ## More Aids quotes > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. 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If you take the direct aid, we're very generous.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/if-you-take-all-the-food-aid-america-is-by-far-the-most-generous/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [I donated blood today. That's what I call getting an AIDS test.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-schumer/i-donated-blood-today-that-s-what-i-call-getting-an-aids-test/) [Amy Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-schumer/) > [Slavery, if it can be legalized at all, can be legalized only by positive legislation. Natural law gives it no aid. 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I am proud to call myself a Real Man, a man who will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-fox/women-s-aid-is-a-fantastic-charity-which-has-my-full-support-i-am/) Neil Fox > [It has been hard to muster the resources to support fledgling democracies and to intervene on behalf of the most desperate. The AIDS orphans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/it-has-been-hard-to-muster-the-resources-to-support-fledgling/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [At the time when this famous historical battle was fought in Kosovo, the people were looking at the stars, expecting aid from them. 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There is the fascination of watching a figment of the imagination emerge through the aid of science to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-hoover/it-is-a-great-profession-there-is-the-fascination-of-watching-a/) [Herbert Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-hoover/) Browse all 1,983 Aids quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Touching hands are not like pharmaceuticals or scalpels. They are like flashlights in a darkened room. The medicine they administer is self-awareness. 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