Vision : Purifying the Heart and Mind with 5 Sense Therapy

Whenever I mention the ayurvedic 5 sense therapy to clients I see their eyes lit up. It sounds like some feel good spa treatment nobody wants to miss. In truth, 5 sense therapy is an active practice and YOU are the practitioner. Your sense of seeing connects to the fire element and allow you to digest what you see culminating into your outer and inner vision or intellectual and spiritual outlook.

We are in an extremely visual time in our culture. You can see your friends thousands of miles away from you and all the scenes which the medias find worthwhile to capture on screen. You can create and share your images for the world to see through YouTube. This blog allows me to communicate my thoughts to you. Everybody (except me) seems to have a phone equipped with camera and internet so you can always fill your vision with images and words of your own or of others.

Your reality is shaped by your perception. Your choice of visual input influences your perception and creates your world. It's impossible to see an alternative reality if you live your life surrounding by the same scenes and expose yourself to the same point of view. With the technology and the precipitous choices you have, how do you bring balance to your sense of seeing or your vision?

The more I study yoga and ayurveda the more I realize that nothing happens for no reason and there is no such thing as accidents. I used to get in tiny accidents all the time - a bruise here and there, dropping things and so on. They don't happen so often now. I contribute it to my mindfulness of the five senses. If I happen to fall and hurt my foot or have a headache I take a moment pause. I look back and connect the result which is how I feel to the cause which is what I was doing before the condition occurs - eating, watching, hearing, touching or smelling.

Observing your use of the five senses cultivates reasoning strategy. It allows you to fully live your experience, to be here and to witness. Eventually, you become adept to listening to your inner needs and feeding your body properly through the five senses at any given moment. You become intuit(ive). Your intuition allows you to live with ease in an unbroken flow. If an accident occurs it too is a part of that flow and you can appreciate its gift and grow from its lesson.

Slowing down and having a period of fasting is crucial if you have been over-exposing your sense of seeing. Stop watching TV, texting, facebooking, twittering and entertainment reading for a day or more. Purifying the heart and mind requires that you cleanse both. You make space then afterward fill the space with what feed and nourish both your heart and mind the most. What you choose to watch, read, write and share through words and pictures should give you and others intellectual and spiritual wisdom which uplift the collective vision.

There are certain qualities which purify your heart and mind. Your chosen visual fares should support the health of your body, mind and spirit. The followings are the main ingredients which bring balance to your sense of seeing and support your inner and outer vision.

1. Sadhana
Does your surrounding, what you read and watch provides you a means to connect to your spiritual life? I am assuming that if you are reading this blog you are somewhat open to the idea that spiritual life uplifts you and material life brings suffering. When you are stuck in the material perception your vision is limited by shapes, forms and words. You are possessed by comparison to others' look and material achievement. Sadhana means spiritual practice. When you practice Sadhana you associate with subjects and objects that would inspire spiritual living. What you see cultivate gratitude, love and kindness as opposed to desires, clinging and aversion. Your awareness is internal and your vision is expansive.

2. Sattva
Does your surrounding, what you read and watch bring spaciousness, ease and calm to your emotional mind? Are the contents and colors soothing or irritating? Do they influence your mental faculty toward purity and spiritual enlightenment or toward material obsession? For more on Sattva please read my past blog "Cultivating Sattva." Exposing yourself to Sattvic material sooth, clear, and calm your heart and mind.

3. Dharma
Does what you choose to see communicate truth or perpetuate dramatic illusion? Dharma is the ultimate reality or truth which operates nature. When you live your Dharma you live a life of purpose. Notice your surrounding at home or at work. Are you surrounding yourself with natural objects such as plants, flowers, rocks, wood, water or man-made objects? Do you read or watch subjects which communicate truth or perpetuate dramas? Do they instill anxiety, fear, cynicism and hatred which separate you from the rest of the world? Nature functions as interconnected parts. Exposing yourself to nature and its universal law cultivates truthful perception of the natural cycle - birth, life and death. There is no ending nor separation. There is nothing to fear when you know your true nature as spirit intertwined with matters.

As you can see all the three ingredients direct you toward spiritual realization. Yet you are not just a spirit because if you are then there is no need to balance your sense of seeing. Purifying the heart and mind is not about denying the worldly reality in order to pursuit the spiritual reality. You feed both intellectual and spiritual- heart and mind. By understanding and balancing all aspect of yourself you are the artist of your five senses. You can create a masterpiece of your life and live its full potential.

I have just realized that I am reading three books simultaneously. I read The Dhamapada:Verses on The Way by Glenn Wallis after the morning meditation, Dancing with Life by Phillip Mofitt whenever I have time during the day and The Book of Secrets by Deepak Chopra before I go to bed. I normally read one book at a time so, this new pattern is fascinating to me. It is no accident. I am overcompensating the use of my sense of seeing. Yes, I have been blogging, facebooking, news reading and movie watching. I live in the world and I appreciate worldly activities and vision that connect me to my fellow beings.

I draw my balance through reading spiritual books. Those that would support my highest vision and cultivate within me Dharma, Sattva and Sadhana. So that I can connect to myself as pure awareness or spiritual being while living in this body, seeing from these eyes, processing the worldly information and keeping it all real.