Our body receives information through our five senses: Sight, Sound, Smell, Taste, and Touch. This week I explore the sense of Sight. We utilize our sight in many ways. It can alert us of danger and safety. It also can also trigger taste buds when we see something delicious. We use our sight for reading and learning, enjoyment, as well as decision-making.

Practice Mindful Seeing

I invite you to take five minutes to pause and simply be in the moment of wherever you are right now reading this. Look around the space you are in. Notice the lines, colors and shapes. When I teach mindful seeing to children, I ask them to have eyes like a hawk or a tiger. “Can you use your razor-sharp vision to see something new or different?” It might be a jacket that is lying on a chair that wasn’t there the day before. Right now, can you look around you and notice anything different?

You might not have realized that when you enjoy a sunrise or sunset, you are practicing mindful seeing. The key to practicing mindful seeing is to focus on your sight. Don’t overthink what you are experiencing. If your mind is wandering off or creating a conversation, notice you are doing this and then redirect your mind back to what you are seeing.

Mental Noting

To help focus the mind you can make notes of what you see. For example, if you are outside and see a tree – say to yourself “tree, green leaves, tall, short”. Notice that I am stating exactly what I see and am not adding in a judgement. The judgment would be “I dislike the bark but love the leaves”. Can you be a neutral referee, noting what you see?

Curious about other mindfulness practices? Check out these:

Touch + Our Connection to Nature

How to Practice Mindful Listening

Mindful Eating: A fun activity to do on your own or with kids!

 Photo Credit:  Edi Libedinsky