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We are sensuous beings.
It’s through our senses — smells, sounds, tastes, sights, sensations —that we experience life. Think of moments in your life when you have felt fully alive. How did your body feel? What sounds did you hear? What did you see?
Life is meant to be sensuous and beautiful. Each sense is an invitation to live life fully and joyfully, to be in the present moment, and to appreciate the beauty that surrounds us. Our senses are continuously giving us information about the world we live in. If we stop for a moment and pay attention, we may be able to perceive the world anew, discover new meanings, and experience life differently. This new awakening of your senses can bring you more self-awareness and bring you more fully to the present moment.
We spend much of our life half-asleep, going through life immersed in habits that move us from one day to the next, one event to another without being aware of what we are actually doing or experiencing. We eat without tasting, look without seeing, hear without listening, touch without feeling, smell without remembering. We forget to breathe deeply, to open our eyes to beauty, to allow touch to move us, to open our hearts and let our feelings flow.
It’s time to wake up! It’s time to experience the world anew. This deeper self-awareness is at the core of meditation, which uses the breath, attention to the body, and connection to emotions to move away from patterns that keep us locked up and unable to live life with joy and passion. When we listen to our body with our senses, we open up to possibilities, new interpretations and experiences. We see that sensations, thoughts and emotions are transitory, that we can flow away from our dramas and fears to healthier alternatives. We can reconnect with life fully. When we become more self-aware, we can meet each situation and person openly and lovingly. Zen Buddhism calls it “beginner’s mind.” Experiencing every situation and person as if was the first time, without judgment, and open to what the moment brings.
Use this short exercise to awaken your senses.
Notice five things you can see. Pause between each to take them in completely.
Notice four things you can feel in your body. Rest your attention on each sensation for a couple of deep breaths.
Notice three sounds you can hear. Choose three different sounds.
Notice two things you can smell.
Find one thing you can taste.
When we experience life fully, we engage in the sensuality of our being and rejoice in the beauty around us. We become more curious, playful, honest, and compassionate. To live in the moment is to experience life as it shows up, knowing that each moment is transitory. We can let each moment be, without attachment, and live fully in beauty and joy.
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“…it is beauty and sensuality that sparks joy in us and in our lives.” Alicia Keyes