Coming To Our Senses

Sense foraging, from Better in Every Sense (2024), is a simple mindfulness practice of shifting attention from repetitive, stressful thinking to present-moment sensory experience—what we can see, hear, feel, smell, or taste.

By noticing small, often overlooked details, we interrupt habitual patterns linked to the brain’s Default Mode Network (associated with worry and rumination) and activate a more curious, exploratory awareness.

It can be practised anywhere and supports reduced stress, improved wellbeing, and greater resilience.

At its core is an attitude of openness—letting go of assumptions and allowing ourselves to be surprised by what we notice in the present moment.

Transcript

In 2024, Neuroscientist Norman Farb and clinical psychologist Zindel Sigal released a book called Better in Every Sense, How the new science of sensation can help you reclaim your life. At the heart of this book is something called sense foraging, A simple mindfulness-based practice of gently shifting attention away from ruminative thoughts towards present moment sensory experience, What we see, Hear, Feel, Smell or even taste. It explores how reconnecting with our senses can help us to step out of stress, Habitual thinking and just simply feeling stuck. Rather than getting caught in habit-driven thinking, Sense foraging activates the brain's exploratory systems, Helping to interrupt repetitive thought loops and reduce mental overwhelm. So, Pausing to notice often overlooked details, So perhaps the feeling of the air on the skin, The texture of clothing or sounds in the environment, Serve to interrupt something called the brain's default mode network, The pattern of thinking that can keep us stuck in worry, Judgment or rumination. It's a highly accessible practice that can be done anywhere, Perhaps while walking or you're at work or often in times of stress too. So, I thought we'd guide a sense foraging practice. Key to sense foraging is the idea of not assuming that you know what you'll discover, A sense of being open to the possibility of being surprised by what you sense, Leaning into it and giving yourself license to free yourself from your usual patterns of sensing. Just taking a few moments now to arrive here, Maybe just adjusting your posture, Allowing the body to settle, Noticing any points of contact with the ground or the chair beneath you and just gently gathering your attention around the breath, Just noticing sensations of breathing, Wherever they're most vivid for you, So it could be the rise and fall of the chest, Maybe movement in the abdomen, Perhaps the air at the nostrils or the throat, Knowing there's nothing you need to change, Simply allowing the breath to breathe itself. Maybe noticing if the mind wanders away from the breath, Which it's very likely to do, Just smiling at the mind and gently, Ever so gently, Just returning your attention back to sensations of breathing, Right here and right now, Inviting you now if it feels comfortable to do so, Maybe just opening the eyes if the eyes are closed, Just bringing your awareness to seeing, Noticing colors and shapes, Light and shadow. You might notice the mind attempting to name things that you see, Maybe even judging them, Determining whether you like them or dislike them, As much as you're able to, Maybe just seeing as if you were looking at an abstract painting, So that stage before anything is labeled, Maybe not taking dimensions into account, Just noticing the patterns of light that they're enabling you to see, Be exploring what it's like to imagine you're seeing what you're seeing for the first time, Just becoming a passive receiver of the visual field in front of you, Seeing without thought or interpretation, And feeling free to close the eyes again now if that feels helpful to you. Now gently turning your attention to sounds, So noticing sounds that are nearby and far away, Loud, Loud sounds or perhaps soft sounds, Sounds that are continuous and sounds that are changing. Noticing the spaces between sounds, Perhaps sounds of breathing, Just allowing sounds to come and go, Not needing to identify them or label them or even follow them, Just simply receiving sounds exactly as they are, Feeling free to explore and notice the sounds, Being curious about what you're hearing, And now when you're ready, Perhaps on an out-breath, Letting go of sounds and gently steering your awareness to smells, Be noticing any subtle scents in the air, Perhaps noticing very little, Knowing that's okay, Just exploring any smells, Again perhaps noticing the mind's tendency to want to label them, To determine what they are, Or perhaps just sitting in an acceptance or an absence of smell, Just noticing the raw experience of smelling, Just as it is, And letting smells fade into the background now, Inviting you to bring your attention to the sense of taste, Be noticing any taste in the mouth, Perhaps noticing a tendency to describe it as pleasant or unpleasant, Could be perhaps the aftertaste of a drink or something you've eaten, Maybe the taste of saliva, Just resting your attention in taste, Maybe being curious about what you can taste, Noticing any judgments or thoughts that come with focusing your attention on taste, Knowing that you're a passive receiver of taste, Just noticing what's here, And if the mind's wandered away, Just noticing where the mind's gone, Maybe worries here or rumination, Maybe planning for the future, And then gently, Ever so gently, Just returning your attention to the sense of taste, Bringing a beginner's mind to the sense of taste, Knowing there's nothing you need to change, Nothing you need to do, Just noticing what's here, And when you're ready now, Just inviting you to expand your awareness into the entirety of this body, And moving your attention to any sense of touch, So it could be the feet making contact with the ground, Perhaps the weight of the body making contact with the chair, Perhaps the hands resting on the lap, Maybe noticing the touch of the air on the skin, Feeling of clothing, Maybe noticing how the sense of touch changes as the body moves, As it breathes, Just noticing any variations in temperature, The different temperature of the air as it makes contact with the body, Inviting you to maybe bring some choice to this practice, Maybe sitting with awareness of the entirety of the body, And noticing points of contact and touch, Or perhaps deciding to zoom into one particular area, So perhaps a foot or a hand, Maybe a particular piece of clothing that's moving as a result of touch, And in this last stage of the practice now, Just inviting you to bring a sense of open awareness to a range of senses, So seeing, Hearing, Smelling, Tasting, Just becoming an open receiver of all the messages from all the senses, Maybe imagining them all being a bit like a symphony, Some of them being a little bit louder than others, And others becoming a bit louder, Just resting in this shifting symphony of senses, Noticing how they arise and pass away, Never quite the same twice, Just allowing the senses to speak to you, Just noticing what they have to tell you, And as we bring this practice to a close now, Just gently returning to a sense of the body here, Noticing your posture, Contact with the ground beneath you, Noticing your facial expression, And inviting you to bring this open curious awareness with you into the next moments of your day.