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The senses are deceptive in nature
“The senses are gateways to the intelligence. There is nothing in the intelligence which did not first pass through the senses.” Aristotle
The senses direct the mind, guide our choices and ultimately drive our actions, we depend on them.
Reality, as we know it, is the result of coming into contact with our eyes, ears, skin, tongue and nose.
The objects we perceive must go through the sense doors before they can be translated into something.
Thus sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell are truly the mechanisms that bring the world to us.
We’d be lost without the senses
We rely on the information they render but seldom do we ask ourselves if these can be fully trusted.
In fact, we believe without giving it a thought, whatever signal we gather we instinctively accept.
We forget that our mind performs the operation of putting a name on the data the senses pick up.
Not only that, we generally overlook the subjective nature of the mind which interprets the cues.
Look carefully
“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” Antoine de Saint Exupéry
Beauty is seen through the eyes of the beholder so does ugliness and everything in between.
You may think that what you see is perceived exactly the same by another but it is far from true.
That might explain why we often disagree on the inherent beauty of a piece of art, or someone’s face.
Yet we’re confident about our labelling and selecting, an image appears and we think we see it as it is.
Seeing with blinders on
What we find attractive appeals to us, sparks feelings of desire and craving, a want to make it our own.
Inversely ugliness drives aversion, we reject things we find repulsive, we’d do anything to keep them out.
Our mind makes the call based on criteria we’re often unconscious of, still we’re confident it is objective.
Unfortunately, we do not take the time to look again or change perspective, one glance and the jury is up.
Can you hear me?
“Sound flows constantly, like the stream of a mountain valley.” Taigen Dan Leighton, Joan Halifax
The senses do not operate the same, for some we need the object to be present for us to sense them.
Hearing on the other hand operates differently for you do not need to see the notes to grasp a melody.
There is nothing to be seen and yet you can enjoy the music, recognize a baby’s distress by its crying.
Sounds come in invisible waves and yet we can discriminate one from another with our eyes closed.
With words it’s another story
However, when dealing with words hearing doesn’t necessarily bring meaning, we need context for that.
That’s why we fall into error, as our understanding of a word requires more than knowing the language.
To decipher a word tuning in isn’t enough, for us to decipher what it implies, we have to listen carefully.
We must pay attention to the tone and the story behind it, without it we are bound to get it wrong.
The senses ~ Touch it to feel it
“Touch once cut off, feeling will die away by itself.” Tony Page, Kosho Yamamoto
Our skin is set with a complex web of nerves and receptors, allowing the proper regulation of the body.
These are primed to perceive sensations like cold, hot, smooth, rough, tickle, itch, pain and vibrations.
Stimulated by touch they pass on information to the brain which reacts to adapt to the new environment.
This extremely sensitive web system is important when it comes to protecting us from harsh conditions.
So far so good…
Touch is essential to our wellbeing, vital to our development and acts to turn on the soothing mechanism.
Troubles with the sense of touch start when we cling to specific sensations and can’t bare living without.
Similarly, our inability to withstand the touch of particular things may exacerbate our nervous system.
Living with these extremes in mind can cause emotional distress which leads to needless suffering.
Beyond taste
“We cannot explain an orange to someone who has never tasted one.” Thich Nhat Hanh
Our taste buds are swayed by what we put into our mouth, whether it is sweet or sour, salty or bitter.
But it is the mind that names the flavors of the food, if we like it or not depends on our eating habits.
What we consider tasty our mind follows happily, what we generally don’t like it will pass on and reject.
As a result, our diet and eating inclinations are shaped by past experiences and what we’re familiar with.
The mouthwatering effect
In effect, we don’t even need to put something into our mouth to illicit a reaction, thinking about it will do.
Holding in mind the memory of a dish will trigger a bodily response, thus our mind dictates the menu.
Think of a fresh strawberry and your mouth will water, think of spicy red peppers and you’ll flinch.
Once you’ve made up your mind about a taste, you’ll have a hard time convincing yourself otherwise.
Smell the roses
“Smell is the mute sense, the one without words.” Dianne Ackerman
Among the five senses, smell is the one that keeps on going when all others turn-off while in deep sleep.
Smell is critical since it can potentially save us from a fire, so we should be thankful it never goes idle.
Regardless, odors can be neutralized by habituation, take a few whiffs through the nose and the smell is gone.
The sense of smell is strongly connected to our memory and will take us down memory lane in seconds.
Smell is very emotional
Whether we’re aware of it or not smells also play a role in how we perceive people, if you catch my drift.
The scent of perfume and body odors set off feelings and emotions, pleasant or unpleasant, it depends.
Because it is very personal, one sniff can bring about passion and desire or have us turn away in a flash.
Hence, smells can impact our objectivity and have a bearing on our willingness to get close to each other.
The senses and the mind
“The body is like an empty village or house; Senses are like soldiers and thieves.” Buddha
From the viewpoint of mind training, what the sensory system conveys should be carefully scrutinized.
Through insight meditation or mindfulness of the senses, we observe their complexity and learn to recognize the mind’s influence.
Understanding the mind body relationship allows us to reassess intelligently what we perceive and sense.
Given the mind is in charge of interpreting, we ought to realize that it is subject to making mistakes.
For the interplay of the senses and the mind works by association, in which our memory is a key factor.
Don’t get distracted
Our likes and dislikes are basically determined by what we’ve come across, we’re not truly free to choose.
Also, we tend to neglect the hypersensitivity of the nervous system which constantly probes for dangers.
Additionally, since we are prone to crave and grasp at pleasant and attractive objects, caution is advised.
If you’ll think things through, you’ll realize that we are subject to an illusion of reality, a product of our consciousness.
So before jumping to conclusions, take control of the senses don’t let your mind take away your freedom.
Nathalie Bizawi, founder of Wisdom & Mindfulness meditation center. Senior Meditation, Mindfulness and philosophy instructor, From Wingate Academic College. M.A in Education from TAU University, Tel Aviv.
Wisdom & Mindfulness your meditation center in Tel Aviv