11. First 7 of 14 Exercises to pique your sensory acuity.

Choose one of these exercises on any given day and begin to increase your ability to really notice your life.

A measure of intelligence is your ability to make fine line distinctions. ‘Notice’ the world around you, how things connect, their relationships to one another, how the shifting of one thing affects another. This takes no time out of your day.  Do it on the way…

The first 7 exercises.

1. As an exercise, pick any color. Now see how many things show up in the day that are that color; gum wrappers, a glint off a tree, signs, buttons on a passerby’s shirt. You will be amazed at, maybe, how unconscious your journey has been until now.

2. Pick one shape. A triangle, oval, teardrop, etc. Notice how many things are formed in that shape. Tiny to large, from a matchbook to a building or a pattern on a scarf. Stretch yourself. If you are in a city don’t pick the obvious shape of a rectangle.  Go for the oval.

3. While you are sitting having coffee somewhere choose an object to consider; a handle bar, a fender, a napkin ring. Ask yourself, ‘what else could it be? Turn it sideways…in your mind’s eye. Now what could it be? Turn it upside down. What possibilities do you see now? Do it with images or pieces of images from magazine pages. A picture of a fish-tail, a pile of spinach, an egg. What else could they be? You can see that the images on these pages were created in this manner.

4. On the beaten path, find something you have not seen before. On a regular day taking the same road as always…Notice how often you have driven or walked this path in complete distraction. That old shed has been there for years and you never noticed.

5. Choose a car model or color. How many can you find in the next hour?  More than you thought probably. Have you ever noticed that when you are in the market for a particular car or phone, you begin to see it everywhere? It was always out there. You just didn’t need or want to know. You didn’t ‘notice’ them.  You didn’t ‘see’ ‘them. That is the scotoma factor…a blind spot and a sensory locking out of our environment mostly to keep us from going into information overload. But for a conscious noticing exercise your brain is intentionally searching for the “it” car, the “it” phone. And voila. It is everywhere.

6. Now, notice light. How does it show up? Sparks, shapes, splashes?  On what side of the object does it shine? We take light for granted but it gives shape and life to everything.

7. Shadows are very cool and a whole parallel universe…moving, dancing, bending, blending…and we rarely give them a thought. Shadows are fascinating the way they have their own life apart from the casting object. Notice their shapes. Notice the values of the shadows from dark, medium to light. Make it your observation exercise for the day: shadows, their characteristics and their morphing capabilities.

Next post:  The next 6 exercises. It’s not all about seeing with your eyes.