the eight sensory systems
We all learn about the five senses from a young age.
Visual
Auditory
Gustatory
Tactile
Olfactory
Sight, smell, taste, sound and touch are explored and celebrated throughout our childhood. We are encouraged to explore our surroundings and learn through play. We form our likes and dislikes based on the information we interpret from our senses. Our brain takes in and organizes the information from our senses to create our reality. We begin to interpret who we are from that information and thus how we interact with the world around us.
The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain and its job is to coordinate movement and maintain balance. It’s also the area where most of consciousness lives. From our future plans to old memories, the cerebrum has us covered. Assuming there is no illness or injury, the brain takes all its structures – frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital, limbic and insula- and works together to shape our reality. They key here is OUR realty.
We miss a lot of information during this process and we don’t notice that we are missing information. We can’t possibly take everything in. Based on our brain’s experience with the world around us, it filters the information on a needs-to-know basis. The brain determines what it feels we need to pay attention to then it uses our past experiences to predict our future.
How does our brain choose what to pay attention to?
Survival
Reproduction
Fitness
Being part of a group, creating offspring and being fit enough to survive our environment are our “old brains’” priorities. It’s the first area to make any decisions for you. So, when we look at behaviour change and you wonder WHY you’re doing something you don’t consciously want to be doing, blame the old brain! Everything filters there first.
Take a few minutes and ask yourself- what are the things you’d like to change?
Where do you feel stuck?
Where do you struggle?
What challenges you
Where do you want to grow?
From there think about how those things make you feel. When you feel “stuck” what exactly are you talking about? Are your actions misaligned with your values? What barriers are you facing that may be out of your control?
Remember everyone has constraints. The question is are you working around YOUR constraints to the best of YOUR ability?
Your biology- how’s your body working? Social context- what’s going on around you? Finally, your psychology- what’s in your mind? These all play a factor in how you perceive the world and how you may or may not approach change.
Now analyze these situations. When you tried to (insert activity) and didn’t feel successful what happened?
What were you feeling?
What was the temperature?
Any pain?
Hungry?
Were there people around or were you alone?
That’s where the other three senses we don’t talk about as much come into play.
1. Proprioception- body position and movements
2. Vestibular- balance and motion
3. Interoception – internal body feelings and conditions
Everything you take in provides a data point for the brain to use in its decision making. Try noticing how you experience the world through these different categories. You might be surprised how your internal world influences how you experience the outside world.
When you start to notice these things, you can begin to make the changes you desire.