Sensing Mind

(Part of an ongoing series on mindfulness.)

Sensing mind is the part of us which is pure experiencing.  We see, we hear, we feel, but we don't judge.  At the moment that we are in sensing mind, we are not judging.  We are probably not worrying.  We are probably not feeling despair.  We are just in touch with our senses.

Sometimes with patients, as I am trying to get them to focus on the present, I will ask them, "How does that chair feel?"  (I have two green wingback chairs in my office.)  Usually, the client will say that it feels soft and comfortable.  I then go on to ask them to notice other sensory stimuli in the room at that moment--the lighting, the air temperature, and so on.  When focusing on these, we are not focused on whether we will be able to pay the taxes six months from now.  We are not focused on what our lab tests will show next Friday.  We are just sensing.

I want to oversimplify a little here.  Pure sensing is direct and bypasses the emotional centers of the brain.  It is in someway a focussing process based on the occipital cortex, the auditory cortex, and the sensory motor strip of the brain.  It is not focussed on the limbic system.

What are some of the things which I might sense directly?
Blue sky
Green grass
The color red on a car or anywhere else
Yellow traffic lines
The colors of flowers
The color of my wife's eyes
The smell of roses, or of food
The taste of food or drink
The soft feeling of a chair
The feeling of acceleration in a fast car.
A cool breeze.
And so on.

Mindfulness therapy teaches people to do things, sense things, see things, etc. in a deliberate way.  All too often we lives our lives on autopilot.  We don't slow down to really taste our food or to really see our environment.

The value of sensing mind is in part how it can distract us from painful emotions.  In addition, it produces pleasure.  There is pleasure in sound, in light, in color, in contrast, in texture, in smell, in taste, and so on.  Our autopilot selves know little of this.  Our autopilot selves live in an abstract world: turn left, take care of that letter to insurance, see 9 AM patient, return telephone call, and so on, as we tick off a list of things to do.  I'm not saying that such a list may not necessary or helpful; it just produces little pleasure.  Yesterday, as I walked my dog, I saw one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen in a long time.  It looked like the sky above the horizon was on fire.  I tried to take it all in.  I just focused on the color, and the variations of colors.  It was quite enjoyable.

Related to Sensing Mind is what I would refer to as "Aesthetic Mind." There is a major difference between just seeing colors and seeing a Renaissance Botticelli of a Madonna and Child. Much more is coming into play in the mind besides color or even color and form.  When we see or listen to something which is complex, then a whole new level of beauty is added.

Music can range from the relatively simple delights of the sensing mind (the sound of birds, or a simple but pleasant childrens' song) to something quite complex and aesthetic.  I would suggest for example, listening to Barber's Adagio for Strings as an example.  Experiencing such a piece of music goes beyond pure sensing to something more, something transcendent.  And again, there is pleasure, and there is distraction from unpleasant emotions.

Note: In addition to seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting, there are internal sense states--proprioceptive and kinesthetic sense states. I want to acknowledge that there are some situations where paying attention to stimuli, particularly internal stimuli, might actually make things worse. For example, being aware of our internal sensations (such as heart racing, stomach churning, heavy breathing) can actually heighten anxiety during panic attacks. Being aware of some external stimuli (e.g., hearing people talking) might heighten anxiety or paranoia. I will deal with this problem a little later on in a different blog.