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Discovering Our Senses

Hello, my name is Melanie Booth and i will guide you through this page on Discovering Our Senses.

Being aware of our senses helps us to CONNECT and NOTICE the world around us. We CONNECT with ourselves; our inner selves and become more self-aware, with others and with the outer world, nature. We NOTICE in a newer way. We appreciate and connect with nature, its peacefulness, calm and joy.

So, our senses are that of sight, sound, smell, touch and taste. Being more attentive to our senses also helps us be more present – in the moment. Awareness of our senses gives us a richness from moment to moment.

Being out in the natural world brings a great opportunity to explore this. Seeing the world through fresh eyes, almost like those of children, can be a good way to do this. This can lead to a sense of ‘aliveness’; of sensing things in a new and more enriching way.

“Don’t forget to stop and smell the roses.”

The Senses

Sight

Sight is possibly the most dominant sense. Yet when we look in an active sense, we may ‘see’ things we have missed for years. There is so much to notice in the natural world. By practising a greater awareness to this sense, we become more open and attentive to the world around us.

Young children naturally seem to be more living in the present moment, and this might be because experiences are new to them. Trying to see as if we are looking through the eyes of a child might be helpful for this practice: try letting go of some of our ‘knowing’, as if we are seeing things for the first time.

Sound

Vibrations of the world around us are received by our eardrums and are interpreted by our brain. They bring to us rich information and experience. Sound allows for us to hear and understand language, signals danger, allows us to hear music and the sound of traffic, among other things.

Sounds can also arise into our awareness and then fade away; a mirror reflecting what is going on in the world. The field of sound can be used as a gateway into the ever-changing world around us.

Smell

Sounds can also arise into our awareness and then fade away; a mirror reflecting what is going on in the world. The field of sound can be used as a gateway into the ever-changing world around us.

Touch & Taste

Touch is an important sense, it keeps us connected to the outside world, and other people. However, it is sometimes neglected. As a massage therapist, I’ve seen how it can make a big difference to people’s lives.

Taste is personal to every one of us. We all have different tastebuds. We might really love something, equally we might have a strong dislike to a certain taste.

Kinaesthetic Sense

This is the ability to sense the position and movement of our limbs and trunk. More mysterious than the other senses as we are largely unaware of it in our daily lives and activities. We use this sense when involved in physical activity or exercise. Usually automatic responses.

Taste is personal to every one of us. We all have different tastebuds. We might really love something, equally we might have a strong dislike to a certain taste.

Sixth Sense

This is our intuition, when we just get a feeling about something, a distrust about someone, for no known reason, or a sense about something that is going to happen.

Sensory Exercises

SIGHT

We can appreciate nature through our sight:

Waterfall or other water feature
Meadows, parks and other greenery
A flower
Glorious colours

HEARING

In your mind’s eye, listen to the following sounds:

Waves breaking on the seashore
Children’s voices in a school playground
A voice calling your name
Birdsong
Raindrops tapping against a window
The drone of a bee
Autumn leaves crunching underfoot

SMELL

Try to conjure up these aromas:

Your favourite perfume or essential oil
Seaweed
Freshly baked bread
Coffee
Peppermint

TASTE

Imagine the flavour, temperature and texture of:

Ice cream
Marzipan
Strawberries and cream
A piece of your favourite chocolate

TOUCH

Focus on the sensation of touch:

Stroke a cat or a dog; feel the texture of its coat and its warm body
Put your hand in a bubbling fountain and experience the sensation of cool water dancing on your skin
Pick up a pinecone and feel its rough multi-layered form
Stroke a feather
Roll an orange in your hands, feeling the dimpled texture of the rind

Further Exercises

MEDITATION FOR THE KINESTHETIC SENSE

“With our eyes closed, and our feet firmly on the ground,

You are swimming, you feel the sensation of weightlessness as your body glides through the water. You are free and happy. All is well.

Turn your attention to dancing: you experience the rhythm of the dance throughout your body. You feel the energy. You are alive and have joy.

And now, you are walking, or running along the beach. You sense every movement of your muscles. The waves are lashing against the sand. You are at peace and content.

And as this is all about movement, you picture moving to and fro on a garden swing, or indeed a rocking chair. You have the wonderful sensation of lightness and freedom.

So, we take all these movements and go with the flow. The flow of life – going with the tide, not against it, and with your own internal flow. You are at one with yourself.

And so, we begin our comeback. Be aware of your feet on the ground, gently shake our feet and our fingers, and when ready we open our eyes. Perhaps have a glass of water.

“NATURE DOES NOT HURRY, YET EVERYTHING IS ACCOMPLISHED”

What can we learn from nature?

What do we need to accomplish?

What are our hopes and dreams?

How realistic are they?

What can we do to make them happen? Small steps.

What about pressures? Outside pressures. Internal pressures.

Re-evaluating. May change over time. “Changing goalposts”

Is there a benefit in stepping back? Slowing down. “We can do everything better from a place of relaxation”.

“DO NOT MISS YOUR APPOINTMENT WITH LIFE”

What is life?

What matters most in your life?

Take time to discover.

Spending quality time with the people who matter.

Take time out for you. Doing what makes you happy.

Appointment with life – we can learn a lot from nature, children, pets. Contentment.

“THERE IS JOY IN JUST BEING”

Having quiet spaces (for me, retreat house). Recharge batteries. Boltholes.

Recreate quiet spaces in the day, such as nature walks or mini meditations in a busy day.

Being is as important as action, but activity can spring from this – a clearer mind of what to do arises from the stillness.

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