Use Your Senses - Sight and Hearing

By Susan Leigh
We often take our senses for granted. Being able to hear and see are often not really thought about. Just accepted as a normal part of life. Let us look at ways to really appreciate and enhance the best of all our senses.

Most people have one sense that is stronger than the others. We all tend to have one modality that we operate in more than the others, so some people may be very visual, others may be more auditory and this is often reflected in the way that they talk and experience the world. But we have the ability to improve our appreciation and experience of all our senses.

- Sight is the most acknowledged sense that people use to navigate their way around their world. Information is taken in through sight and we pattern match what we see with our database of existing knowledge and experiences, acknowledging old and incorporating new things that come along. When visual people understand something they will often say that they see or recognise it.

Language used by visual people often includes words like 'clarity, seeing, bigger picture', and talking in images. In everyday life words like 'vision' are often used to describe something that is lovely and breath-taking. Many people are moved to emotion by the things that they see. There is a strong correlation between sight and emotion.

Many people include soothing, visual pleasures in their homes. Pictures, wall hangings, ornaments and furniture arranged in a sensitive and comfortable way can make a house feel homely and welcoming. Colour is important in influencing mood and atmosphere.

Think of the ways that you can really focus and enjoy making more of how you use your visual senses.

- pay attention to the colours, pictures and images that you encounter in your day-to-day life, in magazines and in the media
- appreciate the many colours of the seasons, the plants and blossoms, the different shades of the leaves
- notice the many different shades of green in your garden or around you in life and in nature
- see the vignettes in everyday life, a robin on a fence, the moon setting or the sun rising
- be aware of the different uses of colour, on vehicles, the many shades of red or blue.
- notice the many cameos and pictures all around you throughout each day.

- Hearing is the usual way of interaction for many people. If we cannot hear properly we turn the volume up and adapt to the situation. Many of us regularly listen to loud noises. Loud speakers, announcements, music and television are often played at high volume. We hold our mobile phones right next to our ears.

Language used by auditory people is often quite logical, 'I hear what you are saying, you have explained yourself well'. They will often used words that reflect sound, like 'noise, volume, loud, musical, harmonious'.

To learn to tune in to this sense and appreciate it more think of ways that daily volume could modified at times, maybe amended or reduced. Consider times when music could be played a little lower or even choose to play a quieter style of music. Sometimes think of turning the sound off altogether and go outside to listen to natural noise instead. The sounds of life, birdsong, the noise of trees rustling, wind, rain, the sea. And in those situations we may even become aware of our own sounds, the noises of our bodies.

Think of the ways that you can really focus and enjoy the different kinds of daily sound
- the sound of a child sleeping
- the crunching of ice or snow underfoot
- kicking through autumn leaves
- popping the plastic bubble wrapping on a parcel
- a cat purring
- springtime birds nest-building
- children playing outside
- the excitement when someone scores a goal at a match
- identify the different instruments on a piece of music
- notice the different uses of voice on a song
- listen to a totally different type of music, something that you are unfamiliar with and really pay attention to how it affects you, how you respond to it.
- listen to how voices can be used in varied ways to convey emotion, persuasion, anger, love.

By tuning into to these points and appreciating the subtleties you can become more sensitive to your own hearing sense.

Susan Leigh is a Counsellor and Hypnotherapist who works with
- stressed individuals to promote confidence and self belief,
- couples in crisis to help improve communications and understanding
- with business clients to help support the health and motivation levels of individuals and teams