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Sense and Sensitivity

With apologies to Ms. Austen...

This morning I read this article:

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20141118-how-many-senses-do-you-have

This is something that is very interesting to me. We (as human beings) like to reduce things to quantifiable experiences. It helps us provide order and clarity to an otherwise difficult-to-understand world. This is particularly true of human senses. The "five senses" include taste, touch, smell, sight, and hearing. The article points out that this is a very limited way of thinking.

The article goes on to explain that each "sense" is linked to other senses. We are influenced in what we taste by what we see, for example. And there has long been an understood connection between what we smell and what we taste. So, while we don't taste everything we smell, we almost always smell everything we taste.

There's also the connection between a past experience and the flavor or smell of a food. We can get transported back to an earlier time/experience when we taste or smell a particular food. This can even be true of other kinds of experiences and associated smells. The whole thing becomes much more complicated and difficult to quantify - connecting a smell with a memory almost becomes more of a psychological exercise than a quantifiable scientific one.

While the article doesn't discuss it, I would also add the feelings of the Spirit to the senses. These feelings may be even more difficult to quantify, as they seem to be even more unique than fingerprints. And that's really what we feel - the fingertips of the Infinite tracing across our souls. But how does one describe such a thing? And how can you differentiate this experience from others? People say it's a warm, peaceful feeling. But are these feelings always the Spirit?

I don't know what others' experiences are like. What I do know is that we all have access to the feelings which come from outside of us and influence us in gentle, sacred, and indelible ways. Scripture calls it the still, small voice. Others have called it a voice that is more felt than heard. And still others call it intuition, revelation, or other such feelings. I believe it is at turns all of those, and something else besides. I also believe that we can know for ourselves the truth of things by understanding and responding to these feelings.

It almost always makes me cry. I don't know why these feelings are connected (for me, anyway) with my tear ducts. But it seems to be a genetic thing. My father, and his father, and even my son...  I don't know if this is learned behavior, or if it's somehow a y-chromosome thing, or if it's just how the Spirit touches us. I know it's not the same for everyone.

I also know that people try to cast doubt on these senses/experiences. They point to deep breathing, collective emotion, etc. as affecting people's minds and emotions and causing them to think they've had a particular kind of special experience. And yet... And yet...

People also seek for similar feelings through thrill rides or adventures (skydiving is NOT for me...) :), through drugs or alcohol, or through other kinds of shortcuts. From what I understand, these experiences are not a good substitute for these spiritual feelings that touch this spiritual sense.

Anyway, I like the idea that our senses are not limited to the physical sides of our bodies. Those are relatively easy to quantify, but we are not limited in our experience to what our bodies can measure. We are, in fact, complex beings, subject to emotion, passions, and desires, as well as the physical side of our humanness.

Comments

Bill Cobabe said…
PS - I know the Jane Austen book is "Sense and Sensibility". I was trying to be cute. ;)
lillysmum said…
It was cute, and I got it, at any rate.
Interesting blog post. I know with smell, it definitely brings back memories. I have a lotion scent that I love, primarily because of the memories it brings back to me. It's the only lotion I could find in Camden one day when my hands were so dry. I used it the rest of the time I was in London and even now, nearly 20 years later (yikes) it still takes me right back.
I like the idea of not being limited to what our bodies can measure. What a beautiful thought.

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