Writing Your Senses

For this creative mindfulness exercise, all you will need is a piece of paper and a pen or pencil to write with. Sit down at a table or somewhere you’ll be comfortable writing. It would also be useful to have a watch or timer (but preferably not your phone so you avoid any unnecessary distractions).

Take a moment to first connect with your breath.

Take a few deep breaths. Breath in for a count of 4; breath out for a count of 8. Do this for a few breaths before moving on to this creative mindfulness exercise.

Instructions

You can pay attention to your senses in any order you like but here’s my suggestion:

• For 1 minute, write down exactly what you see. Perhaps the paper in front of you; or your hand holding the pencil; maybe the view from your window. At the end of 1 minute stop and move on…

• For 1 minute, write down exactly what you smell. The smells in the room, from other people, animals, or outside? At the end of 1 minute stop and move on…

• For 1 minute, write down exactly what you taste in that moment. The remanents of a coffee or your last meal perhaps. At the end of 1 minute stop and move on…

• For 1 minute, write down exactly what you hear in the room and beyond. Outside or from within your body. At the end of 1 minute stop and move on…

• For 1 minute, write down exactly what you feel, from the clothes on your skin, the pen in your fingers, the breeze in your hair. Include sensations inside your body.

After spending time with your 5 physical senses, sit back and reflect on what you have written.

In just 5 minutes, this exercise in creative mindfulness and paying attention will have reopened and returned your focus to your immediate presence, in the moment, to your-Self. To your sensory ‘being mode' rather than the ‘doing mode’, with its self-conscious, never-ending to-do or must-do list.

How to Extend the Practice.

You can use this exercise to reground yourself just about anywhere you can find a place to sit and write. Do it before a meeting, before the school run, after a stressful moment, or to capture a beautiful moment.

In fact, do this exercise at different moments of the day and see how your attention shifts and what you notice depending on your frame of mind.

You could extend the time spent with your senses too - say 5 minutes on 1 sense. Or even shorten the time. You could try just 10 seconds for each sense. Try varying between long and short moments of awareness.

Reflection & Enquiry

What did you notice? How do your senses differ from one another? Do you find noticing one sense easier than another? Or perhaps you found it difficult to concentrate on each sense individually, in turn.

If you tried varying the amount of time you spent with each of your senses, what did you notice in 1 minute compared to 5 minutes or just 30 seconds?

I would love to see pictures of your creations. Email your images and thoughts to info@georgiestclair.com or tag me @georgiestclair on Instagram

Have an inspired day!

Georgie x