Life in 5 senses
... across space and time
In the past year, I learned a little bit about sensory overload and I could really connect with it. Knowing what sounds or things are a trigger or what spaces are comfortable became important.
Now I want to explore another idea on how to make the connection between the 5 senses and life. To shift from sensory overload to sensory focus mode.
Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul. - Oscar Wilde
At the SF Exploratorium, walking by the human connections exhibit, you could see and feel the magnitude of connections across space and time. And how trust is a two-way street.
At the SF MoMA, I had a chance to create a lotus origami. Each fold - a reminder of finding beauty in everything we do.
And 2025 being the year of the snake - a time for transformation, growth, and introspection, we also created a golden paper snake. Snakes are known for their ability to shed their skin, symbolizing the process of letting go of the old and embracing the new.
What a nice way to start the year. At the end of the year, I intentionally purge to make space and time for the next year. From files and folders on my laptop/drive to contacts to cookies. To start fresh and new.. to make space and time..
After 8 months of wanting to swim but not really doing anything, I had a chance to swim in a salt water pool, and I felt alive. The embrace of the water to calm my body and soul. And the best part, it was an outside pool and I love seeing the birds or clouds. Truly grateful for the chance to my dear friend.
Something inside woke up after the slow and challenging December. I was ready for 2024 to be over. I want to feel hopeful again.
Creative Soul
I got a chance to experience art therapy and emotional healing. A powerful way to connect our emotions to art and design. To express our feelings through colors and pictures.
We can connect with our five senses as a grounding and coping method. Think about what these are for you. Sharing my list of what I love to hear, smell, see, touch and taste…
Our 5 senses to find calm and relax at any time and space
Hear - ocean, nature, EDM music
Smell - rose, lavender, rain, orange, candles
See - sun, rainbow, moon, birds, sunset/sunrise, trees, waterfall, ocean waves, flowers
Touch - hug, flowers, water, hand on heart
Taste - dark chocolate, crepe cake, lavender, honey, rosemary
Our hand has the 5 senses for grounding us. A simple way to feel connected and be in the present moment… and reminded me of the palm hands at SFPL…
There was also an idea to have a mini self-care kit with things that will calm you during anxiety moments - a floral scented lotion, herbal tea bag, lavender would be a few items in my self care kit.
What will you keep in your self care kit? Take the kit with you everywhere you go.
And also learned about Solfeggio Frequencies in Music. We will explore more for our mindful core sessions. Truly grateful to the folks who took the time to focus on self care and show up for the mindful sessions.
bit.ly/mindfulcore
In the book Life in Five Senses, Gretchen Rubin is aware of how easily we take our senses for granted.
When was the last time you actually took the time, when you were at the beach to listen to the sound of the ocean waves and see the glory and majesty of the ocean. Watching the sunset and being fully present in the moment. To be in awe with the beauty around us and appreciate the little miracles of life.
I’d been taking it all for granted—the colors, the sounds, the feel of everything around me.
I needed to connect with my five senses.
Senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.
When we care for ourselves, we strengthen ourselves to care for others
The days are long, but the years are short
See something once—really see it—and it never looks the same again.
Do you love simplicity or abundance?
Our hearing anchors us in the world; it tells us what’s happening
Create an Audio Apothecary, a playlist of songs that give a boost.
My body was a refuge, I could return to it again and again to calm my soul.
The more I shaped my sensory world to reflect my individual tastes, the more enjoyable that world would be.
Proust effect - intense, emotional memory sparked by the senses.
What tastes do I remember from a particular time?
Sharing taste memories - A taste party to connect our sense of taste to understand people and memories. And deepen relationships with friends.
Taste (flavor and food) tied me to the present moment - and it connected me to memories from the past.
Did you have a regional hometown food that you can't find anywhere else?
Human touch may help to lower stress, blood pressure and pain; boost our immune system and mood; and help us to sleep better.
As I'm reading the book, some of the memories of food and taste came to the present from my childhood in Saudi Arabia - orangina drink, Lebanese mutabak, and Pheni fried vermicelli for breakfast .. which I can see in my memory but I couldn't remember the name. Thankfully Google search came to the rescue...
I love this idea of sensorium gift 🎁 and the taste timeline for memories.
I am Remarkable
Accomplishments don’t speak for themselves.
I completed my #IamRemarkable facilitator training and ready to share with the world. Excited to connect with folks on Jan 21st in the free online workshop to overcome our biases and celebrate our accomplishments together. Grateful to the I am Remarkable movement for creating this safe space to explore and learn from each other.
No better way than to start on 21st right? so, here we go…
Our 10 spots for Jan 21 12pm PT is sold out and I just opened up RSVPs for Feb 21 8:30 am PT and March 21 3pm PT. Join us to embrace our achievements together!
RSVP - Feb 21 | Mar 21, 2025
In the book Love Proof, I discovered a beautiful intertwine of time, space and love. To find true love, you have to believe in it. I smiled reading the future date referenced in the book - May 2048. And to wonder where I would be at that time…
55% of American adults said they felt like no one knew them well.
50% of adults say their relationships weren't meaningful and their ties to others were superficial.
Block theory claimed that all events in the past, present and future existed at once, frozen in a block of space-time.
The universe is always talking to us: through symbols, our gut or feelings we can't explain.
It was too hard to be around other people. Everyone else was so casual. She felt more.
The best parts of life come from being connected.
When connections are real, they simply never die. If you deeply resonated with another person or place, the connection remains despite any distance, time, situation, lack of presence or circumstance.. real connections live on forever.
When I see there's no one else doing what I'm doing or making the choices I'm making, I tell myself people are hive creatures.
In a hive, everyone has a role even if we don't understand it. They all serve a greater purpose.
When a queen bee dies, the hive replaces her - it's all about the hive.
Love is the bridge between you and everything. - Rumi
Introverts take more time than others to let their guards down. In a relationship, she finds companionship, passion, depth and trust.
When that relationship ends, she may not have close friends to rely on in the transition.
I think at the end of the day, we all just want connection to know we are not alone.
She wasn't trying to be difficult. She wanted to figure herself out.
You can't force people to love you. Either someone chooses you or they don’t. You can only control yourself.
Life is about how deeply you love and let others love you.
True connection is fulfilling. She was content with a simple life.
The depth of her mind was matched only by the depth of her heart.
The least understood, most important thing in the world is love.
Awe was submission, and love was connection.
Color is a function of frequency. Frequency is a function of time. Color could be broken down into wavelength and frequency - the number of waves per second.
She was as gifted with empathy as she was with intellect. Extraordinarily kind and sad.
She listened to songs that understood her, but where was the one person who had?
You are more aware than other people, but what you're feeling is the same. That's the way you've always been.
People are interconnected by invisible forces. Although we have the freedom to think and act, we stick together like stars with unbreakable connections.
These connections cannot be seen but we can feel them. - Nikola Tesla
When something unusual happens we feel time slow down
There is life after loss. It's not the same and you always remember but it doesn't have to hold you back.
Feelings don't leave just because people do.
Strength allowing to channel all of the energy into one lane of life at a time was a vulnerability too.
Achievement doesn't feed her soul. Connection does.
And for things that really matter, the mind didn't matter at all. The answer is not in the head, they were in the heart.
Goodbye is for only those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul, there is no such thing as separation. - Rumi