Lunaea Weatherstone; Come to Your Senses

I have been fortunate enough to come across this exquisitely talented woman's writings on more than one occasion. She is a featured author on my personal Wicca site , she publishes articles regularly in the wonderful magazine of Goddess - Sage Woman, and has always been a kind, open, sweet woman in correspondence. Today, I didn't have time this morning to do any ritual and while I'm displeased with myself, I knew I could find something to put in today's post. Find it, I did. Lunea Weatherstone; writer extraordinaire provides in today's post an article about summer, with a short exercise that in just a few moments will inspire you & help you get grounded again.

Many Thanks Lunea for the writing and the permission to post it today. It is always a joy and a refresher, revitalizing my soul, when I get to read your inspired works.
Muse

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Come to Your Senses
by Lunaea Weatherstone

Summer was never my season. Too darn hot, too many tourists in the beach town I live in, too much traffic, too much. Just too much. And then, one summer, I fell in love. Swoony with passion and sensuality, I suddenly realized what the lure of summer was to many people. The lusciousness of ripe fruit, the slow touch of sun-warmed skin, languid listening to soul-stirring music on long summer nights… it all made sense to me (pun intended). And since then, summer has been the sensual season for me. I invite you to come with me on a summer celebration of the senses.

When we are locked too much into daily routine or into our heads, as I know I get, the senses sometimes become merely an irritant. Only the things that annoy us manage to get through the filters of concentration and work. "What's that NOISE?" we snap. This house is a mess, there's a strange smell coming from somewhere, the neighbor's dog won't stop barking, there's an itchy spot right there that I can't reach, this milk tastes funny, yadda yadda yadda. Sure, we will stop and smell the roses just as soon as we get this report typed up, but in the meantime, would someone PLEASE take that smelly tuna can out of here?

Yet, it is that very scent of the rose that brings us back to center, and so quickly. I have been struggling to write this column, even though I knew what I wanted it to be about, until I remembered that, of course, I needed to awaken my own senses before I could write about the senses. And in so doing, I awaken myself to life, to contentment, to hope. In times of depression or stress, we often deprive ourselves of the very things that would bless and heal. The realm of the senses is filled with the Mother's gentle remedies for whatever ails you, from trauma to the blahs. Here, take my hand and let's explore.

With your right hand, gently caress your left hand as you would soothe a fretful loved one, then clasp your hands, in full awareness of the feel of the flesh, the skin, the life pulsing beneath the surface, the warmth. Just hold your own hand for a moment, until your senses are fully attuned to each touch. See how simple it is? You are back in your body, back in the Goddess's mobile temple of the senses, ready for more. And boy howdy, does She have more!

Begin with sight. As a child of Oshun, the Goddess of beauty and art, there is no such thing as merely utilitarian for me. The humblest soapdish has to have morning glories on it; the measuring cup in my kitchen is cobalt blue glass that delights my eye each time I use it. Conversely, outer disorder creates inner chaos for me. When my Virgo eye focuses on the mess or dirt in my home, it practically immobilizes me to the point where I can't even do anything about it. That's when it's time for a beauty transfusion to change my focus.

Right now, wherever you are, stop and look around. Find three things that please your eye, your sense of aesthetics. Just admire them for a few moments. Here in my office, for example, my sense of sight is awakened when I turn my attention to a small statue of the Virgin Mary draped in Mardi Gras beads (Our Lady of Les Bon Temps also awakens my sense of humor), a pattern of huge cabbage roses on the vintage curtains, a deck of tarot cards tied with a white and gold ribbon that reminds me simultaneously of Greece and of my friend Katlyn, for some reason. Almost anything can open your sense of sight if you bring your full attention to it. And so it is with the other senses as well.

Now find something in your immediate vicinity whose smell you enjoy. This could be a beeswax candle, baby lotion, a carnation, a book, a pencil, an orange. Did your mind's nose smell each of those as you read the words? Each inhalation draws scent into your being, into your soul, and yet we often neglect to pleasure ourselves with this sense. It's important that we use scent every day to keep the senses awake. Aromatherapy oils are excellent for this, as all you have to do is breathe them in, right from the bottle. One of my favorites is bergamot, a citrus-y bright scent that lifts my spirits and cleanses my mental palate. Breathe deeply of many different smells to awaken this most evocative sense. You are embedding memories with each sniff.

Hearing is perhaps the most invasive sense, and the one we most often need to defend ourselves against in this hectic world. Even more important, then, to remember the blessings of sound, and to give thanks for it by listening to what gives us pleasure. For me, the most sublime expression of sound is music. I was talking to someone recently who said that all music was just noise to him, and I was shocked to my core. I'm just unable to imagine life without music of some sort… of many sorts! My sense of hearing brings me comfort, energy, sorrowful release, great leaping joy, all through music. And there are so many other sounds that bring pleasure. Think of a sound you love. The first notes of a favorite song, windchimes, your beloved's laugh...

Change as many of your daily sounds as you can control to something that pleases you. If the ringer on your phone makes you jump every time, find one that does not irritate you. There's no need for an ugly little "bloop" noise when your email comes in when you can have, for example, the dulcet accent of Counselor Troi telling you she senses something from the holodeck. If neighborhood noises intrude, play a tape or CD of rain falling, and feel your shoulders relaxing when you no longer feel bombarded by the world's avalanche of sound. Sink into the vast ocean of all the beautiful things there are to hear.

Mmmmmm, taste… perhaps the sense we all indulge most often. Think of it: probably there's not a day that goes by when you do not give yourself at least a taste of something yummy. The only thing is, you didn't think of it! Bring your attention to the sense of taste. When you eat or drink or kiss or lick (even an envelope!), keep your senses alert to every nuance of flavor, all the vast smorgasbord of deliciousness the Goddess has laid out for you. Find something right now to taste, and give it your full focus. Savor the juice and sweetness of a summer fruit or the eye-opening chill of mint. How much better everything tastes when we remember to taste it. As a friend of mine once said, "There's really nothing like food when you're hungry!" Simple truths make us smile...

Now touch your own hands again. Come back to the sense of touch. Run your fingertips over your keyboard, the chair you are sitting on, your hair, your cheek. Feel your feet on the floor. Wiggle your toes. Feel the surface of a table, a stone, a glass. Touch is perhaps the easiest sense to get pleasure from, as so many things feel good, or at least interesting. Again, it's a matter of bringing your attention to the details. That table, for example. Touch it quickly, and your impressions are "hard, chilly, flat, so what?" Now slowly, with the whole surface of your hand flat upon its surface, touch the table. Smooth… polished… firm… silky, almost… made by human hands… touched by other hands… infused with energy…

And what you may find happening -- as with the scent of the rose, the taste of the fruit, the sound of the windchime, the sight of your own face in the mirror -- as you turn your gentle attention to the table, it becomes something you love. And surely that is why nature gave us these five seductive senses -- to find more ways to love.