Smells and Bells

During the first week of May, we started a new unit: Touch. First, we had a massage therapist employed by professor give a presentation about her line of work. We also read The Deepest Sense by Constance Classen, which gave a history of touch in the Middle Ages. The masseuse’s presentation covered how she first got into the field, as well as how different massage therapies work on a patient. A memorable part of the presentation was the raki energy exercise with Ann and her sore shoulder. Three people got up, placed hands on her back, and directed positive energy at her shoulders. When they were done, Ann said her shoulder felt better. How? I could write this off as a placebo effect, but touch, after all, is the deepest sense. Touch is emotionally interconnected to our well-being, studies show babies need touch to develop healthily. In a theoretical sense, the raki energy exercise seems plausible because touch facilities the connection between two bodies, transferring warmth and go...

This book did a great job at illustrating all of the senses that humans possess by exploring how individuals explore and experience the world through these different types of observation.  I like how her book describes the scientific and subjective experiences of the senses.  Ackerman accurately describes the anatomy of our brain and how we process sound waves, light waves, etc.  Furthermore, she explains how even though people process this information the same way scientifically, we all share different subjective experiences and feelings about the information we perceive.  The part about hearing really interested me because of my love and awareness for music.  Although every individual experiences music through sound waves, music impacts each individual differently.  Music is known to have physical, emotional, cognitive, social, and therapeutic impacts on individuals.          ...

Surfing in Waikiki:              For the longest time that I could remember I have been surfing. From spending summers in California to moving there full-time, surfing has been somewhat a Davidson tradition. The greatest surfing trip I have ever had though was in Waikiki Hawaii about three years ago. We went to a hut to go rent surfboards and started hitting the surf. The first thing I noticed upon entering the water was the warmness the ocean held. In the whole world I have never been surfing where the water was on average 70-80 degrees. This caught me by surprise cause of the warmth and how differently it felt in comparison to the chilly coast of mainland America. Upon hitting some nice outside waves I noticed the sun was beginning to set, but to my surprise no one was leaving the water. I ask one of the surfers and he said people surf until the sun is completely set. This took me by surprise because around the time the sun se...

St. Johns Passion was an eruption of sound, a tremendous drama it seemed. Not being able to understand any of the words, I let the sounds wash over me, explosive in its volume and harmonies. I did not feel any particularly religious connection but I did feel the energy vibrations throughout the room increase exponentially. As the tones within the ensemble moved from full, passionate and voluminous, to calm undertones with a single voice cascading over them, I was able to feel invisible strings tugging at my emotions. I wasn't just hearing the music anymore, I was feeling the music throughout my whole body. This sensation put me in a state of feeling more connected to "something" greater than myself. This altered state of feeling includes a multitude of experiences: vibrancy, clarity, jubilance, clearance of negative feelings, being at ease and connected to everything and everyone around me. From my experience, I believe this sensation arises from being physically immer...