Coming to Your Senses

I have been taking some time to play, relax and rest this summer and I hope you have been too!  Now I am feeling ready to add some more opportunities to connect with you as we move into late summer and fall.  Keep scrolling after the message to see what’s coming!

Coming to Your Senses

We are just over halfway through the summer (although for some summer ends in August!) – how is your summer been so far?  Are you finding ways to connect with the lightness and juiciness of this season?

With all of the uncertainty around you in your life and in the world, it can be easy to get pulled into the anxiety and fear of trying to control the future rather than enjoying the present.  I am constantly catching myself in this fruitless activity which is why I have been practising coming back to my senses.
There are two ways I use this practice:

    Get a pen and paper (you can make notes on anything but just make sure you can see your notes daily). Then fill in the following blanks:
        5 things I love to taste are:
        5 things I love to hear are:
        5 things I love to smell are:
        5 things I love to see are:
        5 things I love to touch/feel are:

You can do this list for the season or for your life in general.  Once you have made your list, then do these things more often – weekly, daily, hourly, etc.  This practice is wonderful for connecting you to the season of summer because summer is about delight, play and freedom.  Post your list somewhere you can easily see it.  You can even paint it, collage it, sculpt it, write a story about it…make the list in a way that you are drawn to it and reminded to come back to your senses.

The second way to use the practice of coming back to your senses is to pay attention to when you are feeling anxiety, tension or overwhelm in the moment. Notice these feelings, then come back to your senses – identify two or three sounds in the room, think of a colour and then find as many objects in that colour as you can, notice one or two smells, touch something and feel the texture of it, become aware of the last thing that you tasted.

The experience of your senses in the present moment are the experiences that are certain.  Coming to your senses interrupts the habit of worrying about what is out of your control and puts you in a mind and body state of calm.  It’s only in this calmer sate that you can take aligned action, that you can truly know what is right for you.
 
We have these senses for a reason and whether you use one, two or all five of them, it’s one of the best ways that I know how to relax and align with this season and with joy!

Back to News List