As I sat in my garden this morning, long before any of my other humans began to stir, I found myself contemplating the possibility of a seventh sense: the sense of awe and wonder.
I thought about my life and the practices that have helped restore this sense within my own body and life. There have been the big, life changing practices - the ones that have become steadfast anchors, helping me drop beneath the maddening noise of the modern world and into a deeper inner spaciousness, where the quiet beauty of life becomes easier to notice and receive.
And then there are the small, simple things. The old adage, "stop and smell the roses," comes to mind. What a season summer is for that, offering endless invitations to notice the beauty all around us. I also know a common reality for many of us: when our nervous systems are overworked, overwhelmed and depleted, we may not even notice the roses, let alone feel inclined to stop and smell them.
My nervous system is no exception.
So lately, I've been experimenting with a new practice: going outside at sunrise. No phone. No distractions. Just me and the elements. I began with the intention of supporting my nervous system and reconnecting with my natural circadian rhythm but the most surprising result has been what happens afterwards. After sitting with the rising sun, listening to the dawn chorus and soaking in a period of much longed for quiet, I find I don't really want to go on my phone. Scrolling feels almost intolerable. Even responding to texts feels like hard work. What I've become aware of is how agitated my body feels when I'm on my phone, even for a minute; the exact opposite of how it feels sitting in the garden, taking in the sights and sounds of the first morning light.
“Lose Your Mind And come To Your Senses”
Fritz Perls
And so I'm reminded that cultivating this seventh sense requires internal space. Nowt flashy or grand but enough room to actually experience the quiet beauty of the world and drink it in. The surprise has not been that awe and wonder deepen when I sit and greet the sunrise. The surprise has been the ease with which I've begun waking at a previously unthinkable hour and the even greater surprise of watching a long established phone habit begin to loosen its grip without force or effort.
And maybe that's what happens when we give ourselves over to beauty more often. Though of course, it's not just beauty alone having an impact, it's the biochemical wisdom of nature and bodies mingling together in the healing rays of the morning light. But, what began as a simple sunrise practice has opened up more inner space, a deeper embodied experience of wonder and an organic shedding of habits that don't serve our sensual, living, animal body's.
So now I'm fairly convinced that awe and wonder qualify as a seventh sense! And I'm excited to see where this little sunrise experiment takes me next. Fritz Perls’ “lose your mind and come to your senses” is another phrase that springs to mind. It’s been a good, reliable phrase to live by.