five senses: fall

{see}

{hear}

on a crisp and quiet early morning in abingdon, the wind whistled through the trees and a fountain softly gurgled and splashed.  even though it was way too early for actors, i imagined i heard muffled voices in rehearsal inside the theatre.  echoes of way too many hours of shakespeare in my lifetime.

{smell}

i enjoyed hearing the crunch of this confetti of leaves underfoot and the scent of woods and sweet decay released with each step was intoxicating.

also i cannot get enough of nag champa.  my house smells like peace and love.

{taste}

harvest table is a farm-to-table restaurant in tiny meadowview, virginia.  i discovered it while on a work trip in southwestern virginia.  friends, it is not easy to eat vegetarian or organic in some parts of virginia.  harvest table is a lifesaver and my new favorite place to eat.  locally-sourced organic whole foods are used to create simple and splendid dishes.

case in point (above):  frittata with caramelized onions, goat cheese, heirloom green zebra tomatoes and greens.

i devoured the plum bread pudding with fresh cream before i remembered to take a photograph.

they take food stewardship seriously, even putting up their own sauces, spices and herbs.

(purchased above-mentioned nag champa spritzer in the general store.)

{touch}

handfuls of leaves.
warm mugs of chai.
ugg-snuggled toes.

paper scissors paint glue

my myers-briggs type is intj.  this means that my dominant preference is intuition (n) and my inferior preference is sensing (s). 

when it comes to art i can dream (intuit) about it all day long:  the idea of art, the multiple layers of story behind any given piece, the process of creating, what color, aesthetic and form mean to the existence of humankind, the complexities of the artistic life.  the art world inside my head is mindblowing. 

my physical senses need to be engaged (the doing) to step outside my preference (the daydreaming) and bring balance to my artful life.  which means i have to get out of my head and step up to my art table.  this is uncomfortable for me.  all those supplies, tools and techniques are daunting.  but to be an artist, not just think like one, i have to see and choose color, hold a brush in my hand, dab paint with my fingers, scribble, hear the tear of the paper, choose the spot on the canvas, do too much, paint it white, start over, keep the message simple, quit before i overthink it.

this concept of approaching art through myers-briggs is changing everything for me.  i can't wait to share it with you. 

later i'll talk a bit about the reverse process for artists who prefer sensing.

in the meantime, live brightly.

balancing intuition

i want to write a bit about the second, and my personal favorite, dichotomy on the myers-briggs type indicator:  intuition (n) and sensing (s).

if, like me, the second letter in your myers-briggs type is n, the type of information and experiences you most easily take in and trust are abstract, imaginative, theoretical.  people who prefer intuition trust their internal ideas, thoughts and instincts.  those who prefer intuition primarily use their own internal world's lens to experience the world.  they tend to be imaginative and visionary. 

people who prefer sensing, on the other hand, trust and like concrete, physical and known information and experiences.  people who prefer sensing primarily use their five senses (sight, touch, taste, sound and scent) to experience the world.  they tend to be grounded and solid.

one of the goals of the myers-briggs is to help people become aware of their inborn preferences so that they can actively seek balance in the opposite preferences for a fuller, richer life.

as a woman who strongly prefers intuition, i can stay in the beautiful and magical world in my head for hours and sometimes days.  i like to daydream, imagine, and ponder.  i relish and trust those fantastical flashes from my unconscious. 

to balance intuition, i need to seek more grounded experiences and focus on activities that engage my five senses.  the element that best incorporates all five senses for me is water:

seeing water:  the sight of the great blue sea makes me feel part of a big world that i can trust.  the straight blue horizon line reminds me that the world is perfectly balanced in space. 

smelling water:  the salt, the lives (fish, plants, sand, shells) it holds and nurtures.  the scent of clean.  the scent of childhood.

tasting water:  it tastes like nothing.  like space.  like emptiness.

hearing water:  one of my favorite sounds is the lonely drip of the faucet when i am lying in a quiet bath.  its perfect cadence and tone ground me in the physical world.  sometimes i submerge my head to lose myself in the underwater world of silence.  the drip softly penetrates that world and calls me back to surface.  to breathe.

touching water:  as it rolls across my skin, the dirt of life--both physical and emotional--is cleansed.  floating in water, my body is weightless and fluid and returns to its first environment.  its home environment.

how do you experience water?  

what are some ways you can live today through your five senses?

{beautiful water images are from my pinterest five senses board.}

if you are interested in a more spiritual and artful take on the myers-briggs, i'm in the process of creating a program.  please see here.  i'd love your thoughts and comments.