As I write this on a sunny and windy October morning, the windows are wide open. I hear the wind rustling through leaves, wind chimes, and distant car traffic. These are the sounds of this time and this place, sitting at my desk in my house on a tree-lined residential street in the city. I’m grounded here and now through listening.
What do you hear as you read this? What do you smell, taste, see, touch?
Tuning into our senses is an often recommended grounding technique in mindfulness practices. I’ve definitely found it to be helpful when I feel anxious or overwhelmed.
A quick Google research results in many articles on the topic. There’s “Using the five senses grounding technique” and Grounding Exercises: Using Your 5 Senses for Anxiety Relief.
Personally, I haven’t read much of the research or necessarily used specific techniques. However, I’ve found that tuning into my senses is a helpful practice that can be done anywhere at anytime. During a stressful commute, I sometimes focus on the feeling of the steering wheel beneath my tense hands. And this eases the tension. Or at work, when I feel overwhelmed by a variety of tasks, I may spray lavender in my office. It’s a momentary comfort and distraction that also helps me calm and refocus. When eating my lunch, I focus on savoring the flavor of the apple rather than rushing through it.
And that’s another point, using our senses isn’t just for stress relief, it also helps us savor our daily experiences so much more.
I’ve been attending a sound bath “class” weekly, outdoors at a local park. A couple of weeks ago, I focused on my senses throughout the 45 minute session. It was such a full and restful experience after a day at the office.
I found, as I focused on each of my senses, that some experiences were sharper and others were more muted. I held the observations in my mind and jotted them down when I got home. I’m sharing those here to perhaps inspire your own journey through the senses.
Sound bath at Hawthorne Glen (Monday, September 23, 2024)
Seeing - A muted, soft gaze comes naturally when I remove my glasses, a blur of yellow leaves fallen to the ground. The grass is dotted with muddy patches from yesterday’s rain. The leafy ceiling of the treetops remains imprinted on my eyelids when I close my eyes.
Hearing - The sound bowls sing smoothly, richly, deeply. Some birds chatter while others sharply call. Leaves rustle in the wind. People also rustle as they adjust themselves on blankets or chairs. A squirrel scampers nearby. Cheers and shouts arrive from a nearby children’s soccer game. Less frequent is the sound of distant car traffic and a train.
Smelling - I inhale a damp, earthy smell - both pleasant and fresh - from the previous day’s rain. Occasionally, a light whiff of someone’s bug spray and the sweeter tones of soap or lotion reach my nose.
Tasting - The lingering flavor of a sweet apple, eaten as I drove to the park, remains. There’s also a dryness in my mouth that makes me wish I’d brought a water bottle.
Touching - I feel the soft support of the camp chair beneath me. The cool autumn breeze touches exposed skin, on my cheeks, nose, hands, and ankles. My limbs touch in various ways, crossing arms or wrists, legs or ankles, interlacing fingers. Noticing it, I intentionally switch the cross or interlace.
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As an educator and a lifelong learner, one of my favorite ways of teaching and learning is hands-on activities. The five senses are definitely rich with opportunities for exploration and discovery. Looking back at some photos, I enjoyed remembering the sense of smell experiment above. The kids loved it, along with experiments about the other senses.
As adults, how can we continue to explore and discover with our senses?
How can we use our senses to ground ourselves?
How can we use our senses to savor our daily experiences?
I’ve given some examples above. I also experimented on a walk recently. Instead of taking photos of the emerging fall beauty, I made a few short sound recordings. It was interesting to listen to them later. I was walking in an urban park, so I expected the mixture of natural and human-made sounds. What I didn’t expect was my quick and heavy foot-fall. I imagined I was walking more slowly and lightly. Perhaps it was the way I moved my arms with the phone (recording sound) in my hand. Still, an interesting observation. Something to ponder.
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I’d love to hear from you. How do you experience your senses? What are you seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching right now? What are your favorite sounds or smells or tastes? Have you found ways to incorporate the senses into practices for mindfulness or savoring?
Whatever this week brings, may you find ways to enjoy the delights of your senses in the days ahead.
With care and gratitude,
Mary
The sound bath class sounds very intriguing - glad you are able to find ways to destress! Honestly, I need to pay attention to my senses more. When I think of some that stand out - my favorite soft sweatshirt, the sound of waves, the smell of a Thymes fraser fir candle, seeing a rainbow, the lights of a city skyline! Good reminder to 'be still' and feel with my senses!
Sound is one of my favorite senses. I love silence because I love to listen for the tiniest of sounds - the hum of a device, the rhythm of my own breathe or heartbeat, the creaking of board or walls in the house- and because sounds that I would normally miss due to being lost in thought suddenly are clear. At work I have a new "tuning fork" type bell. The sound, when hit, is long and soothing. It feels like it purifies the energy in the room.
Another "sense" I've been tuning into is the "6th" sense. To me this is my gut or my intuition. When I'm able to be still and silent, I can sometimes focus my attention on what my body feels or senses. A yoga teacher explained it like this - be still and quiet and focus your attention on yes. Notice where I feel it in my body. Notice an associations that come with it. Do the same thing with no and maybe. I think my body knows so much more than I can access because I'm always so busy listening to the mind that I forget to listen to the body.
I love this exploration of the senses, Mary! Thanks for sharing!