The sense in your world

Inside this guide, we inspire you to visit five different places and immerse yourself in the world of your senses. Make a note of your thoughts, emotions and memories with each place you visit. Notice how each location excites your five senses and appreciate how they add vibrancy to our experiences and enable us to connect with the world around us emotionally.

The beach

Visit your local beach when it is quiet to fully immerse yourself in the sights and sounds of the sea and its wildlife.

Immerse your senses

Listen closely to the sounds of the wind whistling over the rocks and sand. Watch the clouds blowing past in the sky. Search the sky for seagulls and other coastal birds and listen for the sounds they create.

Draw your focus to the waves crashing on the shore. Watch them rise and fall in the distance and then reach the beach. Listen to their noise as they do this and notice the different sounds waves each one creates. Close your eyes to immerse yourself in the sounds, and then take a deep breath soaking in the scents of sea and sand.

If you wish, take off your shoes and socks and listen to the sand crunching under your foot as you take a walk. Feel the sensation of the sand between your toes. Splash your feet in the water gently and then harshly, noticing the different sounds of each one and the feeling of the seawater swallowing your feet and hitting your leg.

Search the beach for shells and seaweed. Please pick them up and rub your fingers gently over them, noting the differences in texture. Close your eyes and place the shells to your ear to hear the wave sounds they have tucked inside.

Things to do

• Bring a book to read.
• Skim shells and stones
• Take photos of the scenery.
• Build a sandcastle.

The city

Cities are places full of too much noise, but we encourage you to use your senses to go beyond the dominating sounds that fill the landscape.

Immerse your senses

Visiting a city, you can hear noise everywhere; cars, buses, and sirens dominate your senses. Have you noticed, though, that a city hums?

Choose a bench or an outside seating area of a café, close your eyes, listen intently, and try to drown out the loud noises that distract you. Hear the hum of the city and notice the chatting and laughter of people as they walk past. Listen to the changes in their voices as they get closer to you and then further away.

Take a walk through the city streets and notice the music and sounds that drift out of shops as their doors open and close.

Lift your head and look at the skyline of the city. Follow the lines of the tall buildings up to the sky and look at how the light brightens the higher up you go and changes as it reflects on the windows of the buildings. Some cities are surrounded by history, and looking higher up than the shops, you may see engraved buildings or places of historical interest. Look at the different textures of the buildings as they differ from new to old.

Things to do

• Enjoy a coffee or a meal outside.
• Listen to musical buskers.
• Take photos of the skyline and architecture.
• People watch.

The countryside

Pack a bag of essentials and spend a day in the countryside. Plan a route before you go and pinpoint some areas or walks to visit.

Immerse your senses

The countryside is a place of a drastic change of colours, sounds and scents from season to season. We encourage you to take a day in the country each season throughout the year to appreciate how it evolves and adapts.

As you embark on your exploration, listen for the wildlife around you. Crickets are common in the summer, but you will also hear birds and bees. Depending on where you walk, you may find yourself passing a farm; if so, listen for the mooing of cows and the baa chatter of the sheep. Farms can be noisy with tractors and other machinery working the land. Smells surround farms, some pleasant and others not; however, take a moment to soak them in, pick up on the scents you like, and try to dilute the ones you don't.

Keep your eyes open for horses, and if you see one, listen intently to the sound its hooves make on the ground. Seek out a stream, take a seat and close your eyes. Make a mental note of the sounds it creates and the scents of the water. If you wish, dip your fingers in the meander of the water and feel it touching your skin.

As you look at the countryside, you may notice the changes in the colours of the land. Some areas are filled with crops of green, others with bright yellow rapeseed. You may find a lavender field with its intense purple waves of flowers and calming scents filling the wind if you are lucky.

Things to do

• Find wild berries.
• Touch wooden fences to feel the grooves in the wood.
• Take photos of nature.
• Sit on a blanket and read a book.

The park

Head out to your local park to soak in the sights and sounds of the laughter and fun all around you.

Immerse your senses

Visiting your local park on a busy weekend is a great way to appreciate life, relationships, love, and the vibrancy people bring to our world. Go ready to take a seat for a while to fully immerse yourself in the conversations and interactions that happen there every day.

Local parks during the summer months are full of an array of colours. Notice the bright colours of the flowers and the vivacious green leaves of the trees. Watch for the sunlight to sparkle through tree branches and dance and shimmer on the ground. If you arrive early morning, pay particular attention to the changes in light as the sun continues to rise.

Watch the people around you. Listen to children's laughter as they skyrocket on swings and watch their parents' faces as they soak in their happiness. Close your eyes and listen; take a moment to remember being that child and the excitement a day at the park would bring.

Focus on the scents that fill the air, from the freshly cut grass to the flowers. Try to identify each specific scent, how it makes you feel, and the memories they each evoke.

Things to do

• Enjoy some people watching.
• Have a go on a swing.
• Spark up a conversation.
• Look for hidden wildlife. 

Your home

Put on your comfiest clothes and enjoy seeing your own home in a new light.

Immerse your senses

Have you ever sat in complete silence in your own home? If not, now is the time to give it a go. If you live with others, ask them for some time and designate this for being alone at home.

Turn off all the noise by switching off your television or radio. Take up your usual seat and soak in the silence; perhaps you can hear noises in your home that you have never noticed before.

Now move seats. You may find that you see this room in a completely different way. Sit somewhere else and notice the change of perspective of the furniture and light in the room.

Visit each of the rooms in your home, even the rooms you do not typically spend a lot of time in. Again take the time to notice the noise in each room and the difference in the sunlight. Move around the room and look at it from different perspectives. Do your emotions change with each different view? How do the colours in the room affect your thoughts?

Things to do

• Enjoy the silence.
• Feel the different textures in your home.
• Bake some cakes.
• Close your eyes for 20 minutes and relax.