Step 1 - The Sense of Sight

Focus your full attention by looking at and deeply observing an object, person, or something in nature and notice everything about it.

Study the texture, colours, shape, size, movement, etc., and do this without any judgement (easier said than done, so just persist and practice).

The mind will want to comment, as this is its nature, “Oh, what a pretty flower,” or “Wow, look how the sun shines through those leaves.” Take no notice of the mind's chatter, but really notice what it is you are observing.

Your role is to just observe as the silent witness and notice everything about what you are looking at.

Notice how when the mind quiets down, you start to see more of what is there and you come into present time.

This is mindfulness.

Do this exercise for about 3 - 5 minutes with each item and then select something else to observe, or finish off and notice how you feel.

Ask yourself these questions:

Do I feel more present?

Do I feel more alive?

Did I “see” or “feel” something about the observed item, object or person that was not only present to my eyes, but felt real?

This could be what your 6th sense of intuition may have been picking up, which goes beyond your normal perceptions.

Don’t invalidate this and negate it, as this is what true mindfulness provides, a full spectrum of what is there, plus a sense of what is unseen.

Step 2 – The Sense of Touch

Seek out something to touch and feel deeply with your hands or any part of your body, such as feet or arms. Our hands have about 200,000 neurons and are excellent conductors of information, so if you are starting off with his this process, your hands are the best way to give you a heightened experience

Notice fully, the texture, temperature, hardness or softness etc., again without judgment.

To shut off the other senses, which will automatically want to be involved, you may want to close your eyes for this exercise.

Feel deeply what you are touching, going deeper and deeper into it, breathing into it and registering the sense of touch and the “messages” you may be receiving back from the object.

Don’t allow the mind to take over (as it will want to) and make up stories around your sensations of touch, but effortlessly observe closely what you are experiencing.

Do this exercise for about 3 - 5 minutes with each item and then select something else to observe, or finish off and notice how you feel.

Ask yourself these questions:

Do I feel more present?

Do I feel more alive?

Did I “see” or “feel” something about the touched item, object or person that was not present to my 'normal' sense of touch, but that felt real at an energetic or intuitive level?

Do not be concerned if you didn’t have any experience at an intuitive level, it will come with more practice.

Step 3 - The Sense of Hearing

Put on some of your favorite relaxing music or better still, go out into nature, sit down and listen intently to what sounds are emerging.

Pick out one sound and put all your focus on it, absorbing deeply the sound and listen carefully without judgement.

Listen for the pitch, level of sound, tone, rhythm and clarity, noticing the variations as they occur.

Once again, this is a good exercise to close your eyes, so your sight does not distract your attention away from your listening process.

Going deeper and deeper into the sound as you breath into it, listening with your whole body.

Do this exercise for about 3-5 minutes with each sound and then select something else to listen to, or finish off and notice how you feel.

Ask yourself these questions:

Do I feel more present?

Do I feel more alive?

Did I “see” or “feel” something about the observed item, object or person that was not present to my sense of hearing, but that felt real at an energetic or intuitive level?

Step 4 - The Sense of Smell

Have you ever walked past a bakery or coffee shop and stopped for a moment just to take in the rich, delicious aroma wafting out onto the footpath?

If you have had that sensation, it probably bought you into present time, if only for a moment.

In this exercise, stop everything else that you are doing and focus 100% on the sent or aroma that you are experiencing, going deeper and deeper into the aroma as you breath into it, taking in each and every element of what you are smelling.

Your receptor cells called receptor neurons located in your nose, are capable of detecting thousands of different odours.

Once again, this is a good exercise to close your eyes, so your sense of smell becomes heightened. To start with, you may use flowers, incense or an aromatic oil, you choose.

Do this exercise for about 3-5 minutes with each item and then select something else to smell, or finish off and notice how you feel.

Ask yourself these questions:

Do I feel more present?

Do I feel more alive?

Did I “see” or “feel” something about the smelt item, object or nature that was not present to my sense of smell, but that felt real at an energetic or intuitive level?

Step 5 - The Sense of Taste

This is the last of the physical senses we will explore and one we generally take for granted as we eat and drink, barely taking notice of the sensations on our taste buds and the after taste in our mouth.

What a shame!

For this exercise, it is best to start off with something you really enjoy, progressing later to some things you are not so fond of, where the mind is likely to judge like crazy!

Once again this sensation is best experienced with your eyes closed, as you want all your attention on what you are tasting.

Chew slowly, many times (experts suggest we should chew every mouthful of food at least 50 times, but with our busy lives, we sometimes have to make compromises). When you have finished swallowing, check for any after-taste on your tongue or in your mouth.

Do this exercise for about 3-5 minutes with each item and then select something else to taste, or finish off and notice how you feel.

Ask yourself these questions:

Do I feel more present?

Do I feel more alive?

Did I “see” or “feel” something about the tasted item, that was not present to my sense of taste, but that felt real at an energetic or intuitive level?

The Sixth Sense - Intuition

Intuition: noun

The ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning.

A thing that one knows or considers likely from instinctive feeling rather than through conscious reasoning.

Intuition is an inbuilt capacity to KNOW things, without having to use the mind to analyse and figure it out. It can be as simple as “Knowing” who is on the phone before you even pick it up or look at it.

We all come “downloaded with this software”, but historically, women generally have a better sense of intuition than men, primarily because when they assume the role of motherhood, they have to know what their baby needs and wants, because the latter cannot express themselves through speech.

Whenever you happen to “know” something in advance, just quietly acknowledge it to yourself and your intuition will become more frequent and heightened.

Learn to listen to your intuition and trust it, for it will, in conjunction with your intelligent heart, guide you to where you need to be in life.

The left-hemisphere of the brain will always demand facts, proof and logic, but the intuition comes from your right hemisphere and sees the bigger picture.

You can’t make intuition happen, it just spontaneously occurs, so enjoy it when it does.