There was a recent time when I was sure that mindfulness was a withdrawal away from the senses and into the mind. What a mistake! I am both surprised and thrilled that the senses are a natural gateway for me into the joys of meditation. And it is a gate that swings both ways.
When I first learned to feel without touching anything, it was the beginning of the deep experience of letting go. It was only a short while before I could stare without seeing anything, and I began to suspect that my mind was actually in charge of my senses. Now I could choose to put myself in a state of mindlessness, immersed in a relaxed state with no imagination at work. I often tell my imagination to take a break, sit this one out.
The paradox for me has been that my senses then seemed to come alive and vibrant, ready for action. I soon could focus all my awareness on anything that I wanted to touch or gaze at. For me, it was as if I was feeling more than the surface of my large maple or the coolness of the granite counter top. The sidewalk suddenly leapt up to meet me when I walked on it, the road in front of my car took on a substance I had never seen before.
With this awareness came an immense feeling of joy. It was like being swept away with a wave of open-hearted affection. I realized that I had accidentally begun to learn how to look with a loving gaze, to touch with a loving touch. The gate of my senses did in fact swing both ways.
Now, when I am paying attention, every action I take becomes sacred. Touching the sidewalk not only affects me. That touch becomes my act of love, respect for what the sidewalk is, an acknowledgment of what it really is.
I can see more things as they actually are, and not as I imagine them. I see the granite top in my bathroom as it emerged from a sleep of millions of years in the ground. I touch my large maple and feel its massiveness and old age. I watch people getting on the bus and see so much more than I use to be able to know. To see and touch in this way is a warm gift I often receive. My senses bring me great joy.
Once I tell my senses to touch or see this way, the outcome is inevitable. Learning to be aware is not only a wake-up call to my senses. It also awakens my heart. My mindful act of respect is equally an act of love. My sight and touch are so much more vibrant and my heart falls into love so often each day that it almost seems normal and commonplace.
I actually think that what I am discovering is normal for humans.