So I was a little skeptical of the shield exercise, I wasn't sure exactly what you meant by it but when I practiced it I think I had a better understanding. It was interesting feeling my personal space and expanding and shrinking it. During exercise 8b when I shrank it to my own skin I felt a crowded sense of the outside world around me pressing in on me, then when I released the feeling I had a sense of relief and comfort with my surroundings. I liked expanding the shield more than shrinking it, when expanding it I felt like I was becoming more and more comfortable and opening up to everything in a wide radius around me. I haven't done much with the totem practice yet, I wanted to understand the shield a little better before then.