Getting in Touch with Your Senses

Recently I started a new job with a well-known tech company. The culture of this particular company is pretty remarkable, and they've been voted the best company in the entire world to work for several times in the last years. I didn't actually know that before I got the job and was thrilled when I learned about it.

But what is it that brings a company to be the best in the world? It is many things of course, but as an experienced practitioner of many forms of meditation, self-development and consciousness exploration over more than 30 years, it didn't surprise me at all to learn that the company had what was described as a "conscious culture." I could even join a meditation group run by paid, highly professional mindfulness consultants.

Practicing mindfulness is good for most people, of course, and it is also good for developing a healthy, creative, innovative corporate culture. While I'm incredibly privileged to work for such an amazing company, practicing mindfulness doesn't require courses, expensive seminars or even guided meditations. Some of the most powerful mindfulness techniques I know can be done anywhere, at any time, and involve simply reconnecting with our senses.

Just paying attention to the way you are using your five physical senses, right here, right now, can work as a powerful mindfulness exercise.

Don't Overcomplicate Things

A lot of people make mindfulness and meditation way too complicated. Breathing in a special way, finding a quiet space, finding the perfect guided meditation, getting up at 4am to meditate and so on. But none of that is actually necessary to start training your consciousness. To start being mindful right here, right now, all we have to do is stop paying attention to distractions and instead start paying direct attention to our physical senses.

Research tells us that shifting from thinking mode to directly experiencing with our senses can reduce stress. An October 2015 study had 51 college students tackle the chore of washing dishes — some were instructed to really focus on the act (scent of the soap, warmth of the water, weight of the dishes) while others were left to just do the task. Those who primarily focused on the sensory experience reported a 27% reduction in nervousness and negative feelings and enjoyed a 25% increase in mental inspiration.

Focus on Just One Sense at a Time

The easiest way to increase your focus on your senses is to simply direct all your available attention to one physical sense at a time, very deliberately. You can do this right now, wherever you are reading this.

Hearing. Direct all your attention to your sense of hearing. Just hear. Whatever sounds are around you right now, listen to them. Dive into the experience of hearing fully and completely.

Sight. Direct your attention to your sense of sight. Look around you. Notice the colors, the textures, the patterns, the light and shade. Pour absolutely all your available attention into your sense of vision.

Smell. Take a slow long sniff, and pause to sense what you can smell right where you are just now. Smell the air, your clothes, the room you are in, or the scent of nature if you are outdoors.

Touch. Pay attention to what your hands are touching. Are your fingers dry or moist? Run your fingertips slowly along some surfaces around you, taking in every detail, texture and temperature variation you can.

Taste. Can you still taste some of the last meal you had in your mouth? Pay attention to whatever taste you have in your mouth right here, right now.

Cycle through the senses a few more times, noticing if the perception of your senses has changed, or if you feel calmer or more relaxed.

Sensuality is About Sensing, Not Sexuality

When we use our senses very deliberately, life very quickly becomes more sensual — in the sense that we are just more connected to what we are sensing, more often. Yet many people only associate sensuality with sexuality. Just a few rounds of the exercise above can make colors seem to pop or seem brighter, sounds appear sharper and more distinct and enhance our sense of touch and taste. It's the fastest way to become more present to the world around you. When we are present, we are more connected with our senses.

In our high stress world, with inflation, wars, violence and cultural cancelling dominating every news and social media channel, just tuning in to your senses can provide enormous, near instant relief. You can do it just as easily in a noisy bar as a quiet park. It's completely free, and incredibly easy.