Meditation: Using your 5 senses to ground yourself in the present moment

Meditation is a wonderful practice that can help bring clarity, peace, and relaxation to your life. This experience can be more enjoyable and effective when engaging your senses; sight, sound, touch, smell and taste. Symbols can be used to focus your attention and bring your awareness to the present moment. Visuals such as yantras, mandalas or pictures can help to keep your attention on the meditation. Calming music, the sounds of trickling water or other sounds of nature can help to create a soothing atmosphere. Speaking mantras and affirmations out loud benefit both our mind and body. Comfortable seating, such as cushions to sit on, allow us to better focus inward. Incorporating smells such as lavender and chamomile can also have a calming effect. Experiment with different tools to find what works best for you. Deep breathing can be associated with both touch and taste, continue reading to learn more about these methods.

Meditating with Sight

Meditating with yantras, mandalas or pictures is a powerful and ancient practice that has been used for centuries to help promote spiritual growth and inner peace. Yantras are geometric symbols used in meditation to focus the mind and achieve a specific goal. This practice is said to help focus the mind, clear away confusion, and open up the path to greater spiritual understanding.

To meditate with visuals, you will need a comfortable, quiet environment and the image itself. Start by choosing a symbol that resonates with your intention and place it in front of you while sitting in a comfortable position. Close your eyes and take a few moments to concentrate on your breathing. When you are ready, focus your gaze on the image and allow your mind to relax. Focus on the details of the symbol or picture and allow it to draw your attention inward. Let go of any thoughts, worries, or concerns and allow yourself to just be in the moment. As you gaze upon the image, focus on the meaning and message it holds. Allow yourself to receive the energy and guidance it offers. When you are ready, end your meditation by slowly opening your eyes and taking a few deep breaths. With practice, using these images can help you achieve greater clarity and concentration in your meditation practice.

Meditating with Sound

You can also chant a mantra associated with the yantra to deepen your meditation. Both mantras and affirmations can be powerful tools to deepen your meditation practice by helping you maintain focus and tap into the benefits of vibration within your body. Repeating a word or phrase can also help quiet the mind and reduce distractions. When choosing a mantra or affirmation, select something that resonates with you and reflects your goals or intentions. As you repeat your chosen phrase, focus on the vibration it creates within your body, allowing it to deepen your meditation experience.

Meditating with Touch

Touch can also mean comfort. The feeling of the earth or cushion beneath you. The more comfortable you are, the less distracted you will be. Sitting in a comfortable position while meditating is important because it helps you to relax and focus on your breath or mantra. It also helps to prevent discomfort and distraction, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in your meditation practice.

Meditating with Smell

Aromatherapy aids in improving psychological and physical well-being. Some examples are the smell of essential oils, flowers, burning sage, palo santo or incense.

Meditating with Taste

Engaging with the sense of taste can be a bit more tricky. You can take notice of how your breath feels against your tongue, do you notice a change in temperature with each breath? Did you just brush your teeth and notice the flavor of mint? Are there any flavors lingering from a cup of tea? Maybe you notice an earthly flavor or the sweetness of honey.

Another way to meditate while engaging the sense of taste is to practice mindful eating. This involves paying attention to the flavors, textures, and sensations of each bite of food, and fully experiencing the act of eating. You can try this by choosing a small piece of food (such as a raisin or a piece of chocolate), observing it closely, smelling it, and then taking a small bite and savoring the taste and texture. You can continue to eat mindfully, focusing on your senses and staying present in the moment.

Engaging Several Senses at Once

One of my favorite ways to trigger several senses at once is opening the window during a rain storm. The sound of the rain falling, the smell of the increased ozone, the feel of the wind and the sudden changes of light when it's lightning out. This combination always puts me in a higher state of mind. 

Better even, go outside and feel the rain dancing across your skin. Tilt your head up and catch the rain on your tongue. Is it cool or warm? How is the taste? Appreciate that everything is here thanks to the rain. We need it to survive, we need it to thrive. Have you heard of Dr. Emoto's water experiments? I'll leave a link to my blog post about that, below.

Meditating isn't about clearing your mind of all thought...

Meditation is more about being aware of your thoughts and feelings without judgment, and learning to focus your attention on the present moment.

When you're having thoughts come up, let them come and go. Acknowledge the thought and bring your attention back to your breath. Don't be hard on yourself about it, it's normal, that's why meditation is called a practice. :)