Five Senses Meditation

Meditation used to be a big part of my life. I’ve kind of let it slip away over this last year. But I’m trying to get back into it. I’m starting slow and working my way back up too much heavier and productive practices. When I first started, I had no idea how to begin. I was in rehab the first time when I was first introduced to it. I had of course heard of it but never found an interest in it. So it was advised to try the Five Senses meditation. Things that are readily apparent to you and easy to identify. Humans have more than five senses but that’s a discussion for another day.

It was taught to me as an easy way to start slow and build up from there. So I tried it a few times and something clicked with me. Meditation didn’t have to be difficult. It is something anyone could do. I’ll explain in the way it was taught to me. It’s brief because of how easy it is.

All you need to do is identify what you feel with each one of your senses. It’s easy as that. There’s no expectation of being perfect or reaching nirvana. It’s just a way to get I tune with your own body and mind. When I started meditating, this helped me understand my body and mind better. I was able to identify how each of my senses worked in tandem and helped ease your mind and focus on something besides your ego. Which is always one of the more difficult things to breakthrough.

Below is how I describe each of the five senses and how letting myself feel them helped me graduate to more difficult meditation practices.

Touch can be one of the most intimate sensations you have. This step wants you to identify what you physically feel on your body. The way I started with this was planting my hands on the ground and identifying what I felt. For example, I plant my hands down and feel the grass tickling my hands. The cold feel of the dirt below. The pressure of my hands as they push down. It can literally be anything you feel over your body, not just your hands.

Taste can be a difficult one because when meditating you don’t typically have anything in your mouth. This relies more on what you previously drank or ate. It can also include if your mouth feels dry and you, or even over salivating and identifying the taste of what you may have eaten last. When I get to this sense, I usually identify the flavor from my vape that I just hit moments before I started meditating. Again, this can be limitless.

Smell is an easy one. All you must identify is what you smell around you. For me I breathe heavily in, taking in all the scents around me. When I meditate I typically light incense so I try and identify the different fragrances being put out. I pick out the different smells that are in the incense like sandal wood, musk, roses.

Sight can be a tricky one because we usually meditate with oru eyes closed. This goes against the gran of what we are told and allows us to open our eyes and take in all the sights around ius. For me I look up at the sky and work my way down identifying the different things around me. Like the light blue of the sky, the trees swaying in the wind, the people around me meditating, etc.

Sound is one of the easier ones. We don’t have to adjust our senses to hear what’s going on around us. I identify the breaths of others meditating, the bees buzzing around, and more. This one allows you to be better attuned to your surrounding sounds and helps teach to focus on individual sounds.

Once I started meditating this way, I started to understand myself better. How my body worked, how I felt mentally, and how I connected to the universe. It helped me better understand how my mind and body work while being hyper-focused on individual things. I became aware. Which is huge for someone to do. Awareness is hard to get to, but once you are there, you are golden. There are a lot of other ways to meditate for beginners and seasoned practitioners. Below I have listed five beginner meditations and five intermediate meditations. This is from my perspective and practice.

Other types of meditation for beginners.

• Guided meditation: This can be one of the easiest ways to start meditating. As it is called, you are guided through feelings, thoughts, and emotions. Having direction can but huge for people just starting. They can range from breath exercises to thought guidance, and more.
• Body scan meditation: Another easy beginning meditation is a Body Scan. You identify your feelings and sensations in each part of your body. Starting from the top of the head, down the neck, the torso, legs, and every other part of your body. This helps you become attuned to your body and how it works. Identifying each sensation can help you stay aware even when you aren’t actively meditating.
• Breathwork: This calming exercise helps you take mindful breaths in and out and connect to your surroundings. It involves inhaling and exhaling at a regular interval, slow breaths, and deep inhales help regulate your body and allow you to focus on your thoughts.
• Walking meditation: Another easy one is to take a walk. Simple as that. You can do it in silence or focus on specific things going on in your mind. It allows the cardio work to allow you to get in touch with your inner self.
• Mantra meditation: Manifestation is a huge part of Mantra Meditation. By repeating the same phrase or ohm you reach the inner parts of your mind, as well as bring things to life in your world. It also increases self-awareness.

More intermediate meditations.

• Silent meditation: Sitting in silence can be one of the most daunting things you can do. We thrive on noise from our mind and outside of us. But once you have improved your meditation skills, this once can be super beneficial. It allows you to connect to your mind in endless ways. After practicing this one for s while it can be one of the most calming meditations you a practice.
• Visualization meditation: Imagine yourself on a beach with the sun shining warmly on your skin, feeling the sand between your fingers, and hearing the waves crash on the shore. That’s what this type of meditation is. It can be any scene you choose, if it brings out emotions for you to process while meditating.
• Noting meditation: This one can be frustrating. You are constantly calling back emotions and thoughts to make the whisp away into the wind. It helps you let go of things. For example, every time a thought hits your mind you use a word or phrase to identify the thought and to let it go. For instance, if you think of a bad memory, you can say “center” to mark the thought and then to let it go.
• Resting awareness meditation: Also known as open monitoring, this can be a difficult one because there is no real goal here. Many people need a task or direction, but this one relies on your ability to calm yourself after thoughts come across. You become aware of your thought and cast them aside.
• Concentration meditation: Almost being the opposite resting awareness, this one requires you to focus on one individual thing and feel the emotions and mental state it puts you in. It helps you learn to focus on one thing at a time, which is beneficial in everyday life.

This is just an example of meditations you can try. There are plenty more and I encourage you to explore as many as possible. Just remember, start slow and build from there.