Coming to your senses
Anxiety has been creeping in as of late.
I have noticed its flutter, the swirling thoughts, a feeling of unsettledness.
The other night, it greeted me as I slept. Nudging me from my slumber and inviting me to let my mind wander.
Did I hit send on that email for work?
I need to clean the humidifier, is it safe to be sleeping with it running right now?
Maybe I should look into a new vet for Winston, his allergies have been acting up and a second opinion might be helpful.
Why am I so awake right now? I probably shouldn't have eaten those cookies before bed.
The parade of thoughts continued.
And then, in the midst of all this thinking, I came to my senses.
I stepped out of the spin of thoughts and turned my attention to what was true at that moment.
The sound of Winston breathing as he slept soundly.
A sweet taste on my tongue, the lingering of peppermint toothpaste.
The weight of the covers, blanketing from the chilly air.
The glow emanating from my neighbor's window and the shadows cast against the wall of the bedroom.
The scent of lavender.
The thoughts continued in the periphery of my awareness, but they didn't have the same hold. I wasn't as caught up in them.
Each moment I found my mind thinking,
worrying,
planning,
I came back to the senses.
What is tangible in this moment?
What is here right now?
The senses are a powerful way to practice presence of mind. They are available to you at any time and the practice doesn’t require any special skills or training. It's simply a practice of noticing.
Below I have included a few of my go-to sense-building practices. If one of these piques your interest, I encourage you to give it a try and look for ways to integrate it into daily practice. See what happens not only in the moment of practice but also what emerges when you revisit it several times over the span of a week or two.
Sense check-in
This is a quick practice that can be done discretely and can help orient you in the current moment. Simply go through each of the senses and notice what is present.
What do you see in this moment?
What do you feel in this moment?
What do you hear in this moment?
What do you smell in this moment?
What do you taste in this moment?
Linger with each sense for a few breaths and allow your awareness to be filled with the experience of each sense.
Sense Count-down
Sometimes a longer sense practice can be helpful, especially in moments of higher anxiety or overwhelm. A recording of this practice is available here as well.
Start with the sense of sight and notice 5 things in your environment. Allow your eyes to really take in what is around you, notice textures, colors, shadows, shapes.
Then shift awareness to the sense of hearing and notice 4 sounds. Perhaps first notice what is most immediate in your environment and then let your awareness expand a bit further. Maybe noticing a sound from the next room, outside the window, or down the street. Allow your ears to open to what's around you without straining.
And now move to the sense of touch and notice 3 things you feel. I always like to bring my awareness first to the feet and notice the feeling of the ground beneath me or the feeling of my feet in shoes or socks, notice the texture of garments, the temperature of the air, the feeling of your breath.
Then bring the awareness a bit closer in, coming to the sense of taste. What are 2 tastes you can discern at this moment? Bitter, sweet, salty, sour. Perhaps a flavor lingers on the tongue.
And now bring the attention to scent. What is one aroma you smell at the moment?
Allow yourself to breathe deeply, settling into all of your senses.
Sense Walk
If you've been reading these dispatches for a while, you know I'm a fan of walks. Many of my reflections arise from my practice of walking and observing my environment.
During a walk allow each of your senses to guide you for a moment. Start with sight and really notice what things you see for a block or two. You don't need to dart your eyes around, rather notice the colors, visuals, textures, objects that come into your line of vision as you walk along.
Then shift to the sense of sound, keeping your eyes open of course, but see if you can heighten the awareness of sounds as you move. Allow sounds to emerge and fall away.
And continue this practice with each sense. Dedicating a few blocks or a few minutes to each sense.
These practices of coming to your senses, like many mindfulness practices, offer a dual benefit. There is the calm and ease that emerges in the moment of practice. The ability to temporarily step out of a spiral of thought or to come more deeply into the present moment.
There is also the benefit that comes from engaging in this noticing practice regularly. You begin to build a muscle memory of sorts so that when you find yourself in a moment of anxiety, you reflexively turn to the practice as a means of support. It’s a practice that not only offers a benefit in the moment but builds over time with regular practice.
What are other ways you can come to your senses?