Be Present: 25 Tips to Come to Your Senses

SIGHT

Look at everything as though you were seeing it either for the first or last time.

1. Watch the sun set (or rise) at least once a week.
2. Simply stand outside and slowly turn and observe what is all around you.
3. When dressing casually at home, wear something attractive, soft and feels good.
4. See yourself in a full-length mirror without commentary, (spoken or not).
5. Buy a bouquet of flowers and put them in a beautiful vase.

HEARING

Make passionate my sense of hearing…William Shakespeare

1. Go on a “listening walk” in your neighborhood and notice the different sounds.
2. Sit alone and listen to a classical music piece and try to identify the various instruments.
3. Open a window or better, sit outside and listen to the birds in the morning.
4. Listen to music sung in a foreign language.
5. Don’t turn on the radio or TV when at home or in the car.

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TASTE

Wake up and smell the coffee…Ann Landers

1. Taste a flight of 3—wine, chocolate, apples, honey. Notice the differences in each.
2. Try a new recipe. (Read Isabel Allende’s Aphrodite for ideas)
3. Cut up and slowly savor a fresh strawberry, peach, or an orange.
4. In your daily pitcher of water, slice and add a lemon, orange, or cucumber.
5. Wander a farmers’ market and taste samples of several fruits slowly and deliberately.

SMELL

Smell is the sense of memory and desire…Jean Jacques Rousseau

1. Visit an aromatherapy store. Smell a variety of essential oils.
2. Light those candles you’ve been saving for a special time. Today is a special time.
3. Layer the scent and buy and use lotions that match your favorite perfumes.
4. Open and use those wonderfully scented French-milled soaps.
5. Line lingerie drawer with scented liners or sachets.

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TOUCH

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch…Helen Keller

1. Stand barefoot on grass.
2. Touch all the textures you are wearing.
3. Take a bath—long, warm, delicious. Apply scented lotion after the bath.
4. Go to a fabric store (or designer dress section of a store) and feel the various luxury fabrics.
5. Handle food. Prepare food, noticing the variety of textures. Eat an entire meal with your hands.

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