Smells and Bells

6th Sense The definition is a power of perception like but not one of the five senses A keen intuitive power We see the unseen world through our five subtle-senses We are able to see the subtle-world or subtle-dimension This is known as a spiritual experience The subtle world is all around us Hard to perceive this world Spiritual practice can grow the sixth sense Increases the ability to connect to the subtle-world

Hearing is often times considered the most important sense because it allows us to communicate with each other by hearing sounds and interpreting speech. To me, hearing is the most important sense because of my passion for music. One of my main hobbies is listening to music and avidly going to concerts to listen to my favorite Djs mix music live. I’ve been to a lot of concerts and have seen many renowned Djs/producers from around the world. My favorite DJ/producer is Martin Bresso from Paris, Francee who goes by the name of Tchami. He ironically wears priest attire when he Djs, which is of not much religious relevance to this post but explains his clothing in the attached photo. For years, Matisse and I have consistently followed Tchami’s work and were lucky enough to see him live at Webster Hall in New York City on his rare visit to the east coast. Above is a photo of Tchami Djing in his priest attire. Below that is a  photo that I took myself of Tchami at Webster Ha...

When it comes to the 6th Sense it is sometimes viewed as a controversial sense, some may believe in it others may not. It is the power of perception LIKE, but not one of the five senses. It is similar to knowing when the unknown will happen. For example I consider myself to have a 6th sense of knowing when someone is going to enter a room or when I will get a text message.  However aside from an example like that I did not know much about the 6th sense and I wanted to learn more about it. I searched the internet for interactive activities and I was able to find this video which tests ones 6th Sense. After taking the test, with a score of 200, I was told that I have a 6th sense for Psychometry. The response for this was , “you   could be able to sense past events through the feel of objects that were there when the event took place. Some detectives are touch sensors, using their skill to solve crimes.  Overall, this was a fun interactive way to s...

Touch Four other senses are located on specific parts of your body Touch is everywhere on your body Feeling is received from tiny nerve endings under your skin These nerve endings are inside the dermis The body has twenty different types of nerve endings Pain receptors are very important Protects you by warning your brain of injury When you bite your tongue it hurts more because of more nerve endings Itching is caused by different neurons on the skin and spinal cord

In the very intriguing Visual Presentation from class, we looked at aniconic and iconic religious images. Iconic images represent something like or recognizable with the mythic subject. For example, an image of Christ or Mary, which is used to represent a deity. Aniconic images represent a symbol for the mythic subject or deity. For example, the cross in Christianity, or the linga of Siva, and the natural stone salagrama of Visnu, or other natural symbols used in the non-Vedic sultus of India. I really like to relate material we have learned in this course back to my own personal experiences. In this post, I’d like to share a story of when I was in Rio de Janeiro this past summer. I was selected to represent a local non-profit organization at the Global Youth Leadership Forum sponsored by Sony Mobile and the Streetfootballworld network. Many of the young leaders were visiting Brazil for the first time. For some, this was their first time even leaving their home countries. During...

In thinking about the escapable absolute definition of what the sixth sense is, I thought back to fantasy books I had read as a child. The Golden Compass Trilogy provides a good perception of humans relationship with the natural world. Within the confines of this alternate world, the human soul takes the form or lifelong animal companions, referred to daemons. There is an indestructible tether between an individual and their daemon, they cannot be separated by more than a few feet at a time. It is believed that the daemon shape shifts at will into any animal until it's human enters puberty, at this stage the daemon achieves permanence of one animal. This seems to symbolize how, as we get older, our personality solidifies and settles. We gain a more distinct identity than we had as a kid. The word "daemon" has old religious context as well. In Christian writings the word is used in reference to a demon, or evil spirit. The Greeks used the term in mythology to explain a ...

In Abram's The Spell of the Sensuous he emphasizes that we have a penchant in Western society for understanding spirits in the likeness of human form. To me, this may stem from the depictions of the intangible dieties in Greek and Roman mythology; while the gods and spirits take many forms and are symbolized by different objects their primary form is that of perfected human physique and unmatchable beauty. This perspective, Abram points out, is somewhat of an anomaly because in indigenous cultures sprites and dieties are "primarily those modes of intelligence or awareness that do not posses a human form."  Taking cues from this, I believe that Abrams sixth sense is more of an indescribable comprehension and enlightenment as to the existence and operations of spirits in the natural world. Our preconceived notions of what we believe to represent spirits, limit our receptibility to the wonders of the natural world. Everyone has the capacity to gain englightenment via the...

When talking to our class, massage therapist Elizabeth Robinson, briefly discussed and demonstrated acupressure.   Acupressure can help immune support, tension, circulation, pain reduction, balance of the body, and emotional healing.   It uses what traditional Chinese medicine calls Chi, which is a human energy that is at certain junctions or points of the human body.   When these points are stimulated with pressure by a finger or tool, endorphins are released as well as increased blood flow, causing relaxation and healing.   Relaxation and increased blood flow also allows the releasing of toxins, which allows for a healthier body.   Similar to acupressure, acupuncture uses these junctions on the body as well; placing needles at these points to encourage chi and blood flow. A few years ago I has severe tendonitis in my foot and when western medicine was no longer working, I turned to acupuncture.   A family friend worked with me...

Rachel Fulton’s article “Taste and see that the Lord is sweet” (Ps. 33:9): The Flavor of God in the Monastic West” opens with a discussion about the ways that taste is used in language.   She explains that people describe others as “having taste” (positive) or having “bad taste” (negative), which are aesthetic judgments by another individuals.   This relates to her later explanation that we refuse to taste certain foods, because we have already structured what we do and do not like, therefore we fear those things which are mysterious to us.   The fear of these objects, I believe is what pushes us to judge others about what they taste as “more or less civilized or socially acceptable” (Fulton, 171).   I was interested in look deeper into the connection between culture and food and stumbled across an article, by anthropologists Yuson Yung and Nicolas Cisterna, which discusses food and sensory experience.    The authors ex...