One of the beautiful songs, created by the Baul Mystics, of Bengal India, says:

 “All of us in different ways
Think of God
Beyond senses and feelings
And yet it is only
In the essence of loving
That God is found”

What a divine world awaits those who take a pilgrimage inside their own body and discover all the magic and mystery offered by our senses! Our senses give rise to a multi faceted discovery of our inner universe. When moving on the spiritual path, it is always wise to begin with the body, for it is through the body that we first encounter the possibility of bliss and ecstasy. Raw orgasmic ecstasy is a gift offered by existence. It would be a crime to ignore it or to cast it aside. We have so much to learn from our sensorial experience of life.

One day, I was sitting with Osho and instead of asking me about my meditation practice, or offering me a new meditation to try, as he usually did, he remained silent, and slowly, sensitively, began caressing my skin. His touch was so profoundly aware, it unlocked my dormant long suppressed emotions. I began sobbing and crying. He stopped the caress and asked me what was happening. I blurted out, “I hate my body!”

He continued his caress, saying over and over, “Love the body. Love the body. Love the body. It is through the body you reach the divine.”

In that very instant, hearing his words, my being did a 180% turn. I shifted from being someone who believed I had to transcend the bondage of the physical, to someone who became a devotee of my own body and the wonders it reveals. Since then, I have travelled the path of Tantra, and found that Osho was definitely correct in what he expressed to me that day. It is indeed, through the body, we reach the divine.

Each sense has the capacity to offer us satori, spiritual awakening. Behind every sense, is a hidden sense, which is revealed to us as we dive deeply into that sensorial experience with awareness. Behind the outer eyes is the third eye, through which clairvoyance is awakened.

Hidden inside the two ears, is the third ear, through which we can awaken clairaudience. And deep inside the sense of feeling and touch, is hidden clairsentience. If we explore the sense of smell and taste, our olfactory ability is awakened to such an extent, that we can begin experiencing the ability to smell truth or untruth, and our discernment as to what is good for us or what is not serving our best interests becomes very pronounced. When all senses are vividly aware, we discover the phenomenon of ‘omni-presence.’

A wonderful Shiva Sutra from the Vigyan Bhairav Tantra says:

“When vividly aware through some particular sense, keep in the awareness.”

Osho’s comment on this sutra is:  “If you can look through the senses and remain alert, the world will by and by appear to you as illusory, dreamlike, and you will be able to penetrate to the substance, to the very substance of it. That substance is the Brahma.”

Each person usually has one or two senses, which are their main gateway to the world. For example, one person may be more developed with the auditory sense, while another may enjoy the visual. In general, our educational system rewards people who are visual or auditory and condemns those who are more kinesthetic, (feeling types.) Smelling and tasting is not even discussed as part of a school curriculum (unless it is a Steiner school of course!) This attitude sidelines a great many kids, not offering them the opportunity to develop their innate talents.

In the ‘Accelerated Learning’ method, it has been found that if children are taught with the 5 senses being used, then there are no laggards in the classroom. Each child can excel when teaching is done correctly with the 5 sense learning approach. As adults, some people carry wounding around education, simply because their particular sensorial doorway was not honored in the educational system.

When we embark on a journey of meditation through the senses, it is a very pleasurable way to open up our fuller potential as human beings.  We discover new avenues of creativity within ourselves, giving rise to boundless enthusiasm and joy. Life takes on more sparkle and a deeper resonance. We are embraced by bliss, and find our taste and smell acting as a homing devise, leading us where we are meant to be.

If you are more visually oriented, you represent about 60% of the population. Your world will have a tendency to be all about colour, form, light and dark, radiant or dull.

If you are more oriented towards auditory, (hearing), you represent about 20% of the population. You will be sensitive to sound or silence, the tone of a voice, and sense the intention behind the words.

If you are more of a kinesthetic type of person, you represent 15% of the population. You are open to emotional expression, and crave regular touch and physical contact with life, whether that be your lover, friends, trees or the sensual feel of a fabric.

If you are an olfactive type of person, you represent about 4% of people. Life to you may be a kitchen, or a garden full of herbs, or the scent of essential oils. You will want to discover the right partner through how they smell or taste.

And lastly, if you are a conceptual type of person, you represent 1% of the population. A conceptual person has no sensory awareness, but rather operates solely through his or her mind. All of life is a concept, such as the phrase, “I think I love you.”

Of course, we all have our five senses in operation. But we are each unique in our orientation and how we place importance on one or the other of our senses. We can go through a process of awakening the five senses, and this gives rise to what is know as 6^th sense, or intuitive abilities.

Entering The House; Discovering Your Sensorial Map

To test your sensorial orientation, you can do the following exercise with a friend. Stand up and, with your eyes closed, imagine you are in front of a house. It could be a house you know, or a house you don’t know. Describe the house.

The friend can then guide you to:

1)   Take a physical step into the imaginary entry-way of the house and describe your experience.

2)   Step into the living room of the house and describe our experience.

3)   Step into the bedroom of the house and describe your experience.

4)   Step back into the living room, bringing some of the qualities from the bedroom into the living room.

5)   Step back into the entryway, bringing some of the qualities of the bedroom and the living room into the entryway and describe. What changes in the entryway?

6)   Step out of the house, open your eyes and come back.

This exercise is very useful as a devise for discovering and healing your sense orientation. The sense that is described first, (in the entryway) is your primary sense. The sense that is described second, (usually in the living room) is your bridge. The sense that is described 3^rd, (usually in the bedroom) is your hidden sense. In some cases, a person will have two senses in one of the rooms of the house.

In order to open all the senses, it is very helpful to use the primary sense first, and then use the bridge. Once the bridge sense has been connected with, then you can begin opening up the hidden sense. The hidden sense is actually the one where your potential is stored. But it may have layers of protection around it because it is ‘hyper sensitive.’ You will need to approach the hidden sense, slowly and patiently, over time.

For example, if a child was raised in a milieu where the parents were shouting a lot at each other, the child may have found it necessary to protect himself from the onslaught of unpleasant sounds by shutting down the auditory sense. It is in this way, relegated to the realm of the ‘hidden sense.’ Because there is trauma around it, the layers of trauma need to be healed before the person will feel comfortable bringing out their gifts in this area.

EXAMPLE:

1) If a person’s primary sense is visual, begin by looking into his or her eyes and using visual terms when speaking with him or her.

2) If the bridge is kinesthetic, you can then touch him or her, connecting physically and emotionally.

3) If the hidden sense is auditory, you can then begin speaking with a lot of sensitivity, about the subject you want to discuss.

By following the person’s sensorial map, you will establish trust and help this person to open all of their senses, drawing out clear communication and a sense of rapport.

It is good to use the Entering The House Exercise at least twice a year, and as you do so, slowly you will find that your senses are opening up and becoming more and more ‘friendly’ with each other. Of course there are many more exercises and meditations which help to open the senses. We will be sharing some, at the  Tantra Essence Festival 17–23 June 2018 in Corfu Greece.

The more we embrace our senses, the more of a paradise we will create on earth. This is a natural outcome of becoming more sensitive. Sensitive people want to care for their bodies, care for animals and the environment. People who are cut off from their senses will have more of a tendency to be violent or uncaring towards themselves, towards others and the earth.

It takes courage to become more and more sensitive, to the point where our sixth sense capacity is awakened. It is a hero’s journey to open up and dissolve the armor, which has been donned as protection from being wounded. One day, as we discover our great capacity for sensitivity, we dare to become naked under the open sky.

A poem from Saraha Doha, a Tantric Scripture, says:

“Here in this body are the sacred rivers
Here are the sun and moon
As well as all the pilgrimage places
I have not encountered another temple
As blissful as my own body.”