We use our senses in most types of meditation. Those types of meditation include mindfulness, concentration, movement, etc. But we can also meditate on the senses themselves — their input & their means of perceiving “reality.”
We gain benefits from sensory awareness. These are generally the same benefits which we acquire from mindfulness meditation: we acquire more information; we perceive more accurately; we increase our understanding of the physical body; we learn to “live in the moment.”
Sensory Awareness is a mindfulness practice through which we connect with our own natural intelligence & vitality; we discover what responds in us in the midst of change, & we learn to rely on our sensations as guides to the fresh terrain of each moment. When we surrender to our own natural responsiveness, we do rise up rooted like trees, ready to meet what comes.
When we develop sensory awareness, our senses become more acute; we notice more details & nuances & the uniqueness of the individual objects around us. We experience more pleasure from the objects of perception & from the energized sense-organs themselves (a tingling sensation in the eyes or ears, for example). We become able to derive that pleasure from subtler stimuli, our preference might change from loud, thumping rock music to subtler classical music which requires greater attentiveness & perceptiveness but rewards us with a meditative serenity & a stimulation of our higher Chakras.
When our use our senses to connect more fully with our environment, we are establishing a warm, nourishing contact with our body, our human identity, & the physical world.
There is something very sacred about our nature & the nature of things—the nature of coming together, being together, getting in contact with each other & having a sensitive connection to what we are doing.
I hope you enjoy this week’s Mindful Minute, Sensory Awareness: Sense of Touch.
Love & light,