This weekend I had the pleasure of traveling up to Maine with one of my daughters for a soccer tournament. It was an energizing experience of sensory stimulation. Seeing the vivid display of colorful fall foliage along coastal marshes, hearing the cheers of fans and players as goals were scored, smelling the salty sea air as we strolled by lobster shacks, feeling the warm embrace of an old friend’s hug, and experiencing the immense heart-opening gratitude afforded from uninterrupted one-on-one quality time with one of my girls. Sometimes moving out of the daily routine into a new surrounding can help one to be more present. The gift of this is the ability to live more fully in the moment, which will give you a heightened awareness and appreciation for each sensory experience. We notice colors more, are aware of new sounds, can smell foreign scents, and overall grow our capacity to appreciate and feel gratitude for this thing called life. What would it be like if you were able to open your sensory awareness, and enable yourself to move out of the habits of daily living into a place of constant appreciation and heart opening gratitude that would help your spirit soar?
Did you know that more than 86% of your behavior is based on habitual patterns that you do every day without even thinking about what you are doing or experiencing? These habitual behaviors create dulled sensations that move you from one activity to the next without thinking, feeling or sensing anything… unless for some reason you are jarred out of the routine and quickly need to think or experience, usually for safety sake. What if you could awaken your senses to experience more vibrancy, feelings of aliveness or being energized?
Let’s look at 3 simple steps to make this happen today!
1. Intentional Living
Take a moment to set an intention at the beginning of the day to live in the present moment becoming fully aware and appreciative of each experience that touches your senses. “Stop and smell the roses” is one of those sayings that we often hear, but don’t take the time to practice. Sometimes it takes moving out of one’s comfort zone (whether on a trip or experiencing something new) to shift gears. The repetitiousness of your routines puts one into a trance like the dance of rhythmic living that leaves you moving on auto-pilot verses noticing the intoxicating, beautiful, and awe inspiring world around you. Setting an intention at the beginning of the day can help you step out of these habitual patterns and help you to move to a new, energizing and spirit lifting beat.
2. Sensory Awareness
Take this week to become fully aware of each of your senses within your daily routine. Maybe on Monday you choose to focus on what you smell. Observe the aromas wafting through the air; notice the scent of each new place you walk in or through and how different things smell. Often times our routines become so rote that we forget to notice. When we first moved to our new town every time I would walk outside I would experience the faint scent of sea air. Now, four years later, I don’t notice it unless I purposefully take the time, and have the intention to be aware of the salty smell. Do this for each of your senses.
3. Attitude of Gratitude
Taking the time to write about your experiences helps to activate the part of your brain that has fallen asleep from years of inactivity. Otherwise, this inactivity allows the habit-forming center of the brain to continuously be in use, and this repetition creates the same effect as an over-flexed muscle, which builds strength. Writing about your sensory experience helps to move you from the autopilot mode to an awareness approach that assists you in fully experiencing the richer, deeper, and more vibrant sensations that you were meant to enjoy. At the end of your day evaluate which miracles you experienced that created a feeling of gratitude. It is also important to be aware of the sensations that you might not have enjoyed. I love the smell of lobster boats, my daughter, not so much. The gift is in the awakening of conscious awareness.
Reflection and gratitude increase your awareness and move you from habitual routine to joyful creation. This helps you to draw more of those sights, smells, feeling and sounds to your consciousness and opens your heart to experience these inspirations at every turn.
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Happy Soaring!
XOXO
