We’ve spent these last five weeks taking apart and looking more closely at each of the senses. Now, it’s time to go back to the beginning and reassemble all the bits and pieces that we have uncovered.
Moving through these senses once again, the reminder to open your sense of Smell to receive the odors that are around you and allow them to stir the memories associated was also the call to reach back and keep those memories of joy and comfort continually alive and vibrant while creating new ones. Mark the change in the seasons using your sense of smell. The smell of Fall flowers and burning leaves are vastly different from the flowers of Spring. And the fires of wood in a fireplace in the Winter have a deeper aroma than those of burning leaves. The smell of your lover’s freshly washed body and the odor of sweat from a challenging work-out stir our emotions and draw us more deeply into awareness of the present moment.
The sense of Sight is what drew you to this blog and series of writings. Something you saw attracted you to read more and the words on the page stimulated within you a curiosity to know more. Taking in the sights, means exactly that! It is a way to connect and become part of what is occurring and evolving as you witness the glory of the event. Many people are uncomfortable with making eye contact. I find it to be the most enjoyable of experiences. There is so much you can learn about a person by looking them directly in the eyes. There is so much they can glean from you if you do not look away. Eyes are one of our most expressive of features so allow them to take in and express what is being seen. Allow yourself to react and respond to what you are seeing. Our minds are capable of holding many images; each serving as a reference point for a specific set of or singular experience. Open yourself up to adding purposefully to that storehouse and at the same time expanding your own world-view.
Perhaps one of the most important of the senses, Touch is the opportunity to merge and co-mingle with another human, animal or an object. In our current society, touch has many layers of meaning and we get lost in the analytical nature. Technology has created a type of disconnect that is masked by the perception that we are actually more in “touch”. In reality, what is grossly missing from that equation is the personal “in the presence of” moment where you can physically reach out a touch that (those) individual (s). Don’t waste a moment of “in the flesh” time to embrace, greet or otherwise touch. As humans we thrive on this type of interaction.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and every snack in between is a chance to indulge (not necessarily high caloric- LOL!) and take our sense of Taste on a grand culinary adventure. This is the armchair traveller at his/her finest. The seas of flavor and countries of gastronomic origin await our visit each day. The key is being mindful of the sensorial experience and offering the presence of gratitude and awareness of what we are sampling on this journey. As humans, we are privy as no other species to a banquet of foods each having their own specific signature of texture and taste. As Americans, food is in such abundance that we often forget the origins and hard work that went into its planting or feeding. Which, is why there is nothing quite as satisfying and flavorful as food we have grown ourselves or cooked from scratch.
The sense of Hearing and being heard are gifts we can give to ourselves and to others. Really listening; not just taking in the sound is a skill that requires development. Hearing requires paying attention and in the case of dialogue with another, engaging sight to give further detail to what is being heard. Being heard is what we desire. Being heard means that someone else is “really listening” to what we are communicating and is giving of their time and energy in being fully engaged in the conversation. As you go through your day, make note of how many opportunities presented where you could have “really heard” what was being said. And, then make note of how many of those times you seized the opportunity for a deeper connection. Do the same sort of analysis regarding how often you felt that no one was listening to you. And, how disconnected and isolated you felt by that experience.
I return to the thoughts I offered about the purpose of this blog and the call to embrace everything that is held in a physical existence…..
“This blog is meant to be that reminder as we look at the gifts of everyday experiences and cultivate the tools to strengthen these so the beauty and magick of the ordinary can become the gifts and tools of the extraordinarily Divine.”
By Design
Living fully present means engaging all of the senses in all of your endeavors; even if this is not a pleasant process. Changing a baby’s diaper is not always a pleasant olfactory (smell) experience, but the love and tender care you are offering overrides this. The other consideration is that when you are familiar with the normal smell associated with this task, anything out of the ordinary can give you a heads up on an upcoming illness.
For me living in this sensorial way is to live by purposeful design. The tapestry of my physical experience is woven using the many threads that include tactile, sensorial, mental, emotional and more. The more I weave of this tapestry I am able to differentiate between what is common ground and what is disparity in my relationship with others and in the way I chose to live my life. The more I engage the physical tools I have to assess and categorize my experiences the greater the ability to determine a reaction or to response to similar experiences. And, ultimately the more I contribute to the design that is woven the more fully human I become.
End Note About This Series:
I hope you have enjoyed this exploration of the Senses and have gained some deeper insight on how to enhance and actively use them. Be sure to take a look at the collaborative posts in The Sacred Vessel Blog. As always, I welcome comments and suggestions about how I could have made this series more information.
Companion Post: Available Next Week
The Sacred Vessel
Sensing the Subtleties in ALL of Their Expression
Join me for the Next Series beginning mid-August:
Acts of Contemplation
Exploring Focused Awareness, Stillness and Meditative Action
Magickally Human 