I recently read a book with a character who was blind. Within his home were extravagant bouquets of flowers, lavish fabrics on the furniture as well as large speakers in the rooms where he spent his time. The character chose to heavily lean into the senses that he still held within his control.
Often when we acknowledge our senses in the form of a negative correlation ...
"What is that smell!??"
"These taste weird."
"The sun is hurting my eyes."
"Turn that down, it's too loud."
"Ouch!"
Such a display within the pages of the book reminded me of how grateful I am for my five senses. How I should really lean into all five, to appreciate each on their own, while using them to their full capacity while I have them and express my gratitude for these gifts. When is the last time you took the time to really speak to your body, specifically your five senses held in the nose, eyes, mouth, ears and all nerve endings?
Many complain that meditation is too hard. I hear many ask, "What meditation podcast do you recommend?" Or others use the excuse they have no one to guide their meditation and nothing to focus on. What we do not realize is that our own internal meditation guide can be found directly in our five senses. Whether bringing our focus on all 5 or just one during a meditation session, devoting time to acknowledge and appreciate each guides us all to another level of awareness, gratitude, and body/mind connection.
What beauty do you see? What is it that you hear? What is the smell that filters in? What does your skin touch? What is it that you can taste? Focus on those answers as you close your eyes and draw inward making no judgement only observations as the seer.
Please see the meditation below as a guideline to your next meditation session or to inspire your own.
*Find yourself in a comfortable seated position, either in a chair with the feet on the floor and back pressed firmly against the back or on the floor cross legged with the spine long and the tailbone anchored to the earth.
*Close your eyes to cue to the body to relax and rest.
*Take this time to take an internal inventory of not only how the body feels but how you, your person feels. Acknowledge all the sensations, aches, pains, ideas and thoughts --- then without judgment, let them go. Breathe.
*Please draw your attention to your breath, no need to control the breath just taking into account the natural pace and depth of the breath.
* Recall to sit tall through the top of the head, drawing the shoulders away from the ears with shoulder blades down the back. Low belly pulls in to support. Stack ears over shoulders, shoulders over ribs and ribs over hips.
*Begin to smooth the breath out by taking deep belly breaths in and long exhales out to clear the breath completely, please continue on your own for at least 5 rounds.
*Return the breath to natural order, whatever that may be now.
*As you inhale begin to notice the breath as it enters the nostrils, one stream up the left, one stream up the right.
*Bring your awareness to the point between the eyebrows where the two streams of breath meet. Continue to breathe into this space, softening the face and feeling a positive energy build in this space through the breath.
*Allow the breath to become a warm glowing light at the brow center. Begin to sense this light flood the brain. Continue a number of rounds with this imagery in place.
*On your next inhale feel the breath as light enter the nose and feel gratitude for your sense of smell, flood the nose with this light and breath. Exhale.
*Inhale next breath through the nose into the brow center and feel the light and energy flood and bathe over the eyes, feeling appreciation for your sense of sight, deepen breath. Exhale.
*Inhale past the nose over the eyes into the brain watching the light and sensing the energy bathe the brain and pour over the ears, awareness of gratitude and love for your sense of hearing. Take that breath into the belly. Exhale.
*Inhale through the nose, over the eyes, tracing the ears then continue tracing along the jaw into the mouth and over the tongue resting the light in that space for appreciation for your sense of taste. Travel the breath deep. Exhale.
*Bring the breath in through the nostrils, past the eyes, over the ears and through the mouth, traveling the light and breath through all areas of the body, to all the nerve endings resting in that glow and breath to find gratitude and wholeness in the sense of touch you are blessed with. Once you sip in all the breath and light you can exhale.
*Continue those deep inhales and exhales with the awareness around the traveling light. Sit in your gratitude, appreciation and love for your senses. Feel the senses re-energized, feel the senses alive with your breath.
*When you are ready, please bring yourself out by reversing the meditation starting with your sense of tough.
*Namaste.
Written by Brooke H.
Comments