By Manon Chrétien

5 days, 5 senses

In order to be more self-conscious and be in a mindfulness state, I decided this week to dedicate each day to one of the five senses. I believe that being aware of your body, your feelings as a human being evolving in the world is really important to be in the moment and give 100% of yourself. Monday was smell day, Tuesday taste, Wednesday hearing, Thursday touch and today sight. Of course, some of these were harder to describe whether or not you can use the sense willingly. I couldn’t describe everything I saw or touched, but the idea is to be more conscious while doing it. It’s actually a technique used to relax the body in yoga, meditation and hypnosis. 

Monday, smell. Coffee. Clean sheets. Coconut shampoo. Almond soap. Stale towel. Fresh face cream. Indescribable deodorant smell. Mushroom notebook. Mint. Cigarette. Firewood. Damp leaves. Polluted air. Soil. Fresh croissant. Old leather. Cleaning lemon product. Peach soap. Laundry. Unknown woman perfume. Honey lip balm. Second-hand clothes. Green tea. Fresh pastries. Pop corn. Incense. Warm milk. Grilled cheese. Toast. Ham. Peppermint essential oil. Orange candle. New book. Lavender oil. Burnt pizza. Zucchinis. Thyme. Fresh basil. Nail polish.

While listing it, I realize that with only using smells, I can remember precisely every minute of my day, whereas usually it’s just a sort vague memory of the main events. This link between memory and smell t’s quite interesting, especially knowing that olfactive marketing is more and more used. It’s the only sense which is directly linked to the affective part of the brain without going through reason : it’s a direct way into people’s brain. Which of course can be dangerous concerning the whole manipulative aspect, just like subliminal images. 

Tuesday, taste. Coffee. Mint gum. Apple. Water. Almond. Cigarette. Mushroom. Rice. Vanilla. White chocolate. Dark chocolate. Wine. Cinnamon. Asparagus. Spaghetti. Parmesan. Olive oil. Pepper. Salt.  There is less elements because you can actually chose what you want to taste. It doesn’t slip into you against your will, unlike odours. 

Wednesday, hearing. Alarm. Water boiling. Spoon tingling. Shower running. Sirens in the street. Horn. Cars. Schubert serenade. Water flowing. Toilet flushing. Songe Bob voice. Snoop Dog song. Classmates voices. Mug being put down. Unknown Marc’s song. Footstep. Computer being switched on. Keyboard noise.  Music. Alex Taylor’s voice & campaigns. Evil laugh. Sneeze.

Thursday, touch. Soft cotton. Cold porcelain. Hot coffee. Water on my body. Rugged towel. Fabric. Liquid make up. Blow drying. Shoes too small. Wool scarf. Wind. Cold air. Comfortable couch. Viscous hand soap. Hot air. Paper pages. Hair on my shoulders. Hot soup. 

Friday, sight. This one was pretty obvious. As soon as you’re awake you « have » to see your environment. However the average person blinks 14 400 times a day so you still miss a lot. I won’t list everything I saw today because it would be way too long but I really tried being in the moment.  Today I was at the London College of Communication, where we’re having a pop-up shop for the launching of the magazine I’ve worked on. My drawings are exhibited and sold there. Well actually were  because I sold 8 out of 9 yesterday. All the artists who took a part in the magazine are exposed, so I it’s very pleasant to look at. Good day for choosing the sight !”