June 8, 2019

1. We are addicted to our 2-Dimensional devices but they are not satisfying the needs of our 3-Dimensional bodies
2. Under-stimulated senses can make us feel a ‘hunger’ that will never be satisfied by external devices
3. Focusing on our senses can help us to be mindful
4. Changing our intention to fully engage with all our activities can improve both our stress levels and our relationships

We seem to live in a world where we are all at the beck and call of our smart phones.  We feel lost without it and just watch the look of disbelief on someone’s face if you suggest they switch off their phone for a few hours.  While running around to tick off our to-do-lists, we feel out of control, out of touch with ourselves and like we need a 6-week holiday.  Most of the time our only remedy to escape this madhouse is even more time on social media, Netflix or YouTube.   We never seem to catch up on the back log with loved ones or our workload.  We always need more, more time, more space, more food, more alcohol, more shopping or more of ‘whatever-your-choice-of-drug’ is.  This hunger for more may just be our forgotten senses crying out for a piece of the action.

We might think we are oh so very advanced, living in the 21^st century, but while our phones might be up to date with the latest technology, our bodies take a little bit longer to evolve.  Technology might have evolved at the speed of light, but history tells us that evolution takes hundreds, if not thousands of years.  Just maybe our phones and brains are already somewhere in the future while our bones, muscles, nerves and sensory receptors are still stuck in the now.  With microwave dinners, dishwashers and keyless cars, we got used to ruling our world with the pressing of a button; and solving all our problems with the swipe of a finger, or a tap with a credit card.  These time and energy saving devices may make life a lot easier, but at the same time they are robbing us from being in physical contact with our environment and loved ones.

We are 3-Dimensional bodies with biological, physiological and sensory-motor systems that are intricately woven together, like the finest spider’s web you can imagine.  Any imbalance in this web disturbs our homeostasis and leads to disease.  Every single part of this web needs to be maintained in perfect order to keep our systems going.  We know our bodies need exercise and nutrition, but did you know that your senses need stimulation too?  Just like our muscles need movement so they don’t atrophy, our eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin need stimulation too.  As our bodies haven’t evolved as fast as our technology, our senses are not satisfied by the artificial and 2-Dimensional stimulation our devices provide in megadoses.  Our senses are still primitive by comparison and need direct stimulation from our 3-D material/physical world.  We need to see, hear, touch, taste and smell nature, real food and clean water, and be in contact with real people.

Spending a day on the beach or anywhere in nature will remind you just how good you feel after a day in touch with the ‘real world’ around you.  Watch how children lose themselves playing with sand, mud, water, sticks and stones.  We must be especially careful with our children, if we don’t help them to develop all their senses and systems, we may just set them up for a life of disease and dissatisfaction.

Our sensory systems are unique and respond to stimuli in different ways. It is important to know your own system and be aware of sensations that stress you out.  Our senses can help us in two different ways:  they can serve as a gauge to warn us when we are overstimulated or stressed, and we can use our senses to get rid of or discharge some of the stress.  For example: if you are stressed, you might find some kind of movement helpful to get rid of the stress.  You can go for a walk or a run or do some stretches at your desk.  Letting your muscles do heavy work is another useful way to discharge some stress.  Weight lifting, stress balls or just pushing against the wall might help.  Stress affects our jaw muscles and chewing is a very effective way to discharge stress.  The trick is to know this and deliberately choose healthy options such as carrots, apples or homemade popcorn.  Munching down a bar of chocolate may feel like a quick fix because of the sugar rush, but the inevitable crash make you crave more sugar and establish a very unhealthy sugar addiction.  Chewing a carrot helps to physically discharge the stress and except for rabbits, I don’t know of anybody who would overdose on carrots!

So, what I’m trying to say is that if we feel stressed, irritated or hungry, we should check in with ourselves to find natural solutions to our problems.  If you’ve been at the computer for too long, try to find a sensory-motor activity that will stimulate one of your senses, while also using it as a pathway to discharge some stress.  This can be an opportunity to do some exercise or to tick off a chore on your to-do-list.  Go for a walk and concentrate on hearing all the noises around you, see if you can smell what season it is.  Put your hands in a basin with hot soapy water and enjoy the sensation of the water, look at how the bubbles pop and wash your dirty dishes at the same time.  Do some gardening, feel the sunshine on your back and relish the dirt under your fingernails.  Decide to cook a meal from scratch and fully engage with each ingredient, involve the rest of the family and spend some quality time together with real humans while feeding your tummies. 

We don’t have to go back to the dark ages.  We just need to make a conscious decision to make technology work for us and not the other way around.  Think about what you like and don’t like about your daily routine and chores and find ways to involve your senses.  Delegate all the chores you don’t like to the machines in your life, while choosing to fully engage all your senses in some of the remaining ones.  Be creative.  Find new ways to make your job, exercise or chores literally ‘sense-sational’ and involve as much human contact as possible.  While focusing on how your senses are experiencing the moment, you are inadvertently also training yourself to be more mindful, fully present in the moment.  Talk about multi-tasking!

Consciously satisfying all your senses and giving them the ‘food’ they crave, may just make you feel more in touch with yourself, more in control of your situation and more satisfied with life.