Meditation Gathering: 5 Senses Meditation

A warm thank you to those of you who joined us in our recent Journey You Own Meditation Gathering. If you missed us this time, we hope to see you in the future. Below we’ve included some highlights of the practice.

Intention for the Session: Be present

We asked everyone to come to this practice with the intention to be present in the moment.

We began our session by discussing the basic premise of this mindful sensory practice. By being present to our environment through our senses, we sharpen our awareness and decrease our reactivity. So, when we are in an environment where, for example, smell may be overpowering, we can be present to it and not let it take us over. The ability to allow things to be as they are, embracing our current circumstances with curiosity and without judgment, allows us to live in the moment without all the emotional ups and downs that undermine our overall well-being.

The Session’s Practice: 5 Senses Meditation

For this month’s session, we practiced a 5 senses meditation in which we use each of our senses to anchor us to the present moment.

When considering sound, we ‘tune in’ to what we can hear around us – not classifying it as good or bad – just acknowledging its presence without judgment.

Our focus on smell led to each person detecting what was in our environment and exploring it without judgment. Smell may not be a strong sense for some, so then a scented candle can be used for future practices involving their senses.

The focus on taste may seem strange in this exercise if you haven’t recently had anything to eat or drink. We suggested that people notice both the flavors and the sensations in their mouths: how their tongues feel running over their teeth or cheeks, for example. In the future, this exercise can be experienced by having a small fruit like a raisin or grape to put into the mouth and experience fully.

We explored touch through our hands resting on each other and expanded our awareness beyond hands to other bodily sensations. Lastly, we focused on sight. Many people naturally close their eyes for the other senses, but at this step I asked everyone to open their eyes and take note of the visual details of their environment – shapes, colors, textures. As before, when we find ourselves getting pulled away with thoughts triggered by our visual cues, we acknowledge what we are seeing and then let it go.

As we engage deeply with our senses, we are bound to be distracted by thoughts related to the experience. When you find distractions happening, gently bring your focus back, using your senses as an anchor.