Author: Manish Bhatia
Certified Mindfulness Trainer
The relationship of mindfulness (the art of developing non-judgmental attention towards self & others, which results in mind relaxation) & sensory organs is very important to understand this deeply.
Let us list down the sensory organs contributing to Mindfulness:
- Ears – Hearing
- Eyes – Visual
- Nose – Smell
- Skin – Touch
- Tongue -Taste
They all play an equally important role in your mindfulness journey. Once you read below, am sure you will be able to establish the relation between Mindfulness & Sensory Organs. Let’s see how.
When you are ALL EARS!
When was the last time you heard the birds chirping? The answer probably would be “We don’t remember”.In bigger metros, the daily life may be devoid of hearing the birds chirp, owing to traffic noise.
Try visiting a public park , may be a joggers park early morning & you will certainly hear different sounds,which are music to ears. Sit at one place & concentrate your mind towards one sound, until the sound fades or you lose your focus.
Practice this for 15-20 minutes & gradually you will be able to focus long enough & more clearly.
Beauty lies in the EYES of the beholder
Do you commute for work everyday? The answer is probably Yes. And the chances are you would have missed noticing many objects. Fear not. Just follow a little bit of instructions from me.
Go to the same route on a Sunday Morning & begin noticing the different trees planted on the road side, the color of leaves, a tea vendor on the way, a traffic policeman & different other things. You will be amazed to find out that they have always been there at the same spot but you never noticed them.
This will help you build your visual focus or sense of seeing, resulting in a mindful awareness. Practice this & benefit from it.
“A smile is happiness you’ll find right under your NOSE.” ~ Tom Wilson
Smell is Powerful or let’s say Sense of Smell is Powerful. Have you ever realized that we tend to smell the pungent odor very quickly & cover our nose because we feel nauseating or claustrophobic.
Good smell is also there, but mostly we fail to recognize it until very strong, as we take this for granted. The moment you realize this, you should know, it’s time to strengthen your sense of smell.
Go to your backyard garden or the flower vase you have kept in your homes. Pluck a leaf or a petal & crush it between your palms or two fingers & then smell it. You would be surprised to know it how a leaf actually smells. Repeat this with a fruit peel for a week & see the difference.
Whenever we TOUCH nature we get clean – Carl Jung
Sense of Touch , again is a very important aspect & more often ignored or let’s put it this way – Unaware or do it out of daily habit. Let’s examine this aspect.
You touch your shoelace twice at least every day. When was the last time you felt the texture of a shoelace? Never – Nothing wrong here because you never thought about it or you never knew it was necessary.
You drive your car everyday & keep your hands on steering wheel or a gear knob. The only time, probably you felt the texture was -when you bought your new car. None afterwards. Isn’t it strange?
The Takeaway
Ok! let me give you an exercise where you can link the relation between mindfulness & experience all the above sensory organs discussed. You are , however, free to create or find your own exercise. And more so, just for your information – when we are not doing things in awareness, we tend to do them in Auto Pilot mode.
Wash the dishes today! Yes, you heard me right. Smell the fragrance of the soap, feel the water droplets on your hand & arms, hear the water dropping on your sink base & observe the soap bubbles. Take a little extra time to wash a single dish & build up your awareness.
Last but not the least ! The TASTE – Bad & Good taste. For the sake of simplicity, let’s pick the Good taste!
You all may have a favorite fruit of yours. Favorite because it taste good. Do you know there’s so much good inside the good taste too? Let’s find out how?
Today, when you reach home, pick up your favorite fruit & go to a room or on your terrace – All alone minus your gadgets. Just you & your fruit. Normally you would finish eating your fruit in 3-4 minutes but today is different – You will finish your fruit in at least 7-8 minutes & experience the good inside the good taste.
It will be a different you & you can chose to let me know in the comments below how is your relation with your sensory organs, Are you using them well to practice Mindfulness?