Day 4 ~ July 12, 2023

Welcome back to the challenge! Today is Day 4 and it is all about Opening our Senses to the Present!
I think we truly take our 5 senses for granted – sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch. I know it happens to most of us, we scarf down a meal because we are in a rush only to notice that we didn’t taste it or maybe an hour later we don’t even remember what we ate. Or we are listening to what someone is saying, and we must ask them to repeat it a few times because our mind is wondering. Or maybe we run out of the house for work or school, and we can’t remember if our partner, child, or animals have hugged or kissed us goodbye; we cannot recall the physical touch that happened moments ago.
Today’s challenge exercise will help bring what we do routinely to the present. Setting our intention to be present to experience these events through our senses will get easier the more you do it. Remember, our intention is key here. As we do each task, we need to set our intention for what senses we want to engage and what we want to receive from it.
Also note that some tasks will include more than one sense. For example, as I sit to eat my breakfast, I state my intention to myself or outload.
I taste this bowl of berries, I see its colors of blues and reds, I feel the ripeness and the bumpy texture. These berries nourish me, make me feel important, and will fuel me.
So even if I only have a few minutes to eat, I am intentionally tasting it, seeing it, knowing what I want to receive from it.
It only takes a few moments to pull ourselves to the present if we choose to. Be curious about your senses, what you do during your day, and what senses you use for what.
Imagine if every time you had your morning coffee that you intentionally tasted the coffee and flavors, felt how it warmed your mouth (or cooled it ice coffee), smelled the aroma of the beans, or heard how it sounded as it was poured into your favorite coffee cup. And then adding the intention of what you want to receive from the coffee – this cup of coffee fuels me, or this coffee is part of my self-care practice and makes me feel love.
And imagine what this practice can do for you on such a larger scale than coffee. I’m very excited about this one!
Let me know how this works for you. I’m so curious.
Till tomorrow.
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