As I sit here on my front porch on a stunning September day with the feel of fall in the air, our adorable puppy lounging on her bed, the wind chimes sounding in the breeze, the rustle of leaves in the trees, still wearing sandals but with jeans and a sweater, my senses are delighted. I have never been "high." And maybe this is why.
With the first day of fall arriving tomorrow, the temperature in NJ is expected to drop as if on cue. We can utilize this season that is chock-full of change to drop into our senses more and be "high" on just how amazing our experience is here on earth if we are present. That's the gift of having a body. We know life through our senses. Even if we lack one, another kicks in stronger.
When we are caught up in our thoughts, we miss out. I don't want to get to the end of my life, whenever that may be, and wish I had savored these sounds, sights, touches, tastes, and smells one more time. I want to do it now.
This fall, in A Mindful Life, we are focusing on the senses as a way into presence, and I want to share the theme with all of you because the benefit is available to all of us in this very moment. With our eyes, ears, touch, smell and taste, all we need to be in the present is to fully experience any one of them, and we are right here where "the gift" has always available.
Last week I shared this guided practice on seeing and welcome you to try it out:
- Close your eyes and imagine yourself on a very busy morning — one where there are many tasks just to get out the door and you have somewhere to be at a certain time. Imagine yourself going through those tasks. What are your eyes like? What are you seeing? How are you seeing? Sense them.
- Now let that go and just breathe.
- Now imagine yourself on a day when you have little you need to do (just imagine) and you are in a setting where there's a wide expanse in front of you -- open fields/meadows, at the top of a mountain looking out, somewhere where there is a big sky, or maybe looking out into a large body of water. What are your eyes like now? What are you seeing? How are you seeing? Sense them.
- Now go back to the busy morning again and see if you can apply the same open, soft eyes to the busy scenario. How might you do that -- still get stuff done, have many tasks, but keep your eyes soft, expansive? How does the experience feel different?
Of course, there are times when having a narrow focus is helpful and necessary, but I think it's fair to say that because of our busy lifestyles and the amount of time we spend looking at screens, our expansive way of seeing is less exercised. We can make it a practice to see differently and let it change our nervous system.
My invitation to all of us this week is to set the intention to have micro-moments throughout our days of dropping into one of our senses fully. Really see the sky, listen to the wind, see the beginnings of changing colors on the leaves, feel the water on your hands. Just this -- notice your physical experience, again and again, throughout your day. When we open up our senses, we open our minds and hearts. We move from a narrowly focused way of being to an expansive way of being.
I may not know what it is to be high on a drug, but I do know what it is to be high on the experience of what is available right here.
Wishing you a colorful fall!
Jean
