Welcome,
My name is Kelly Johnston and I would love to guide you through a mindfulness practice today that helps you to come to your senses,
Or really more fully use the senses,
Helping you to feel more grounded,
Clear,
And in the body.
We've all heard the expression,
Come to your senses,
Before,
Meaning you start to think and behave more clearly after a period of maybe being irrational or carried away by emotion and the stories of the mind.
And so we can think about it like that.
By connecting more directly with our senses and calming the body,
Bringing us to the here and now,
We begin to find more clarity in our thoughts and actions.
It's important to remember that mindfulness is not just about getting good at noticing the breath.
Mindfulness is about opening up to all of the aspects of our life,
Including the body and the senses.
So let's begin by taking a couple of deep,
Cleansing breaths together.
Breathing in through the nose,
And then opening the mouth to fully exhale,
Letting go and relaxing the whole body.
Let's try that again,
This time with an audible sigh on the exhale.
Inhale and squeeze your shoulders up towards your ears,
And then exhale with a sigh,
Dropping your shoulders away from your ears and relaxing the whole body.
And now just allowing the breath to be natural,
Inviting a sense of ease and spaciousness into the body,
Noticing any obvious areas of tension,
Just lovingly asking those areas to soften and relax one at a time.
Asking the face to soften and relax,
The jaw,
Asking the shoulders to soften and relax,
The area around the heart and the belly soft and relaxed.
Feeling more open and more receptive,
One breath cycle at a time.
Inhaling and exhaling,
Following the in-breath and the out-breath.
And now with a relaxed body,
Gently guiding your attention towards the five senses,
Sending the energy of gratitude to each one,
Silently repeating in your head,
Thank you sense of sight as you sense the eyes.
Thank you sense of hearing as you sense the ears.
Thank you sense of smell as you bring attention to the nose.
Thank you sense of taste as you feel the tongue and the mouth.
And thank you sense of touch as you notice what the skin is touching.
Each one of these senses has brought you more joy and more pleasure in your life than you can imagine.
It's important to take time to not take them for granted.
Just taking your time to be more open to these five senses as you continue to breathe and become still.
Have you ever noticed that sounds seem so much more distinct during meditation?
Or that the simplest touch from your yoga teacher during a class can feel so healing?
Have you noticed that the aroma of incense or essential oils smells stronger when you are relaxed and present?
Have you noticed that on a retreat,
The nourishing food is like a taste explosion in your mouth?
And when you walk slowly and mindfully,
You see so much more than you usually notice.
When we slow down and pay attention,
Our senses heighten and our world expands.
So if your eyes are closed,
I invite you to gently open the eyes now,
Looking around the space that you are in.
And notice five things you can see.
Go slow here and you can say them out loud or silently in your head.
With each of the five sights pausing,
Take them in completely as if you have never seen them before.
Maybe labeling them with just one word.
For example,
Tree,
Table,
Cat.
Take your time here.
You can begin to softly close the eyes now.
Return to the breath.
As you now notice four things you can feel in the body,
You can note them out loud or in your head and rest your attention with each sensation for a few deep breaths.
Now naming three things you can hear.
It might be an obvious noise or something more subtle in the background.
Name it with just one word as you take it in fully with the ears.
I'm moving on to note two things you can smell.
If you cannot seem to smell two things in this moment,
It's not a problem.
You can connect to this sense simply by imagining a favorite scent and notice the sensation it brings to the body as you imagine the scent.
And finally,
Notice the taste in the mouth.
It might be the leftover taste of a meal,
Your toothpaste,
Or just your breath.
If you have coffee or tea sitting next to you,
Feel free to take a sip of that now and really connect with the taste and flavors in the mouth and savor it.
Now just sit for a moment with the senses heightened,
Allowing space for an open awareness of your sensory experience.
Practicing being mindful through our senses can help to expand our ability to enjoy our experiences more fully.
A beautiful sight,
A delicious meal,
The voice of a loved one,
The smell and feel of clean sheets.
Practicing being mindful through our senses can also help to cope with hard emotions and anxiety.
It can show you that you are in fact in control and you are safe within yourself and your thoughts.
When you do notice you are feeling overwhelmed,
You can use this exercise of noticing five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Using the senses to bring yourself back to the here and now,
Extending an invitation to be present and to come to your senses.
Thank you so much for joining me today and I will leave you with this beautiful quote from William H.
Gass.
Love requires progressive shortening of the senses.
I can see you for miles,
I can hear you for blocks,
I can smell you maybe for a few feet,
But I can only touch you on contact and taste as I devour.
