Walking across Central Park one recent morning, I noticed that my eyes experienced a delight and happiness that hadn’t previously been in my awareness.  As I looked at the beautiful trees along the way, and the lawns, birds, dogs, people, and patterns of light and shadow, I became aware of how much my eyes enjoyed seeing all these things.  Then, I noticed that my ears were also happy, filled with the birdsong that is so vibrant in the mornings in Central Park.  Then I noticed how happy my whole body felt, walking in such a bountiful, generous environment.

Now, I know this may sound strange - to think of eyes, ears, and other body parts as being happy - but that was how I experienced it, and it got me to thinking about the gifts of the senses.  When you taste delicious food, do you take time to really enjoy the fullness of the experience?  When you see a color you love, do you stop a moment and really soak it in?  When you hear music, or some other sound that moves you or fills you up, do you take time to listen and take it in? The surprising thing about taking time to fully experience our senses is that, when we do, the positive feelings we have, the delicious sensations, tend to expand., spreading out to include even more of our body-mind experience.

For this week’s experiment, I invite you to pay attention to your senses.  Notice what your senses enjoy and what makes you want to turn away.  When you do find an experience that’s delicious, or in some other way fills you up in a good way, pay attention to what happens when you really focus your awareness on what’s happening inside you.  What do you experience when you notice your physical sensations and just hang out with them?  Does this enhance your experience, or do you find yourself aware of tension instead of pleasure?  Whatever you experience, that’s fine.  It’s all about just being aware, being fully present without having to *do* anything in particular with that awareness.

Also notice how moments of pleasure arise and then move on.  One of the reasons to savor experiences that feel good is because they won’t last forever.  They’re here right now and then they rapidly become a memory.  The good news is that uncomfortable experiences also arise and move on, and allow us to practice being aware without requiring us to become stuck in discomfort.  It will pass just as surely as good things pass.

As with all the experiments, this is an invitation to play with being aware, with living consciously.  There’s no right or wrong way to do it.  There is only an opportunity to notice yourself being aware and how that affects your quality of daily life.