skiing in fog; running blind

(removing sensory processing of sight)

While skiing in a storm last week I was enveloped in thick fog.

Visual perception became non-existant.

My body responded immediately to the lack of visual stimulation.

Rather than feeling restricted by my lack of sight, my body became MORE RESPONSIVE, spellbound by MOVEMENT.

joy unconfined

I went out for a short run last night.

Cloud cover extinguished the moonlight leaving me in solitary rural darkness.

breath, movement, the feeling of my feet pushing off of the earth,

coldness of the wind, the pressure of the wind,

the heat of my body

Today: short run, no ipod.

Blizzard conditions, white-out, blinding bleak grey-white nothingness, frigid wind,

I can't see.

I listen to the wind, and delight in its force against my body.

I am aware of my warm breath and the motion of my mortality, its rhythm.

Can i find my heart, a pulse?

Yes, but not "in" me. It's around me:

the wind, the dirt underneath my feet, my breath.

ONE

I can feel the heat of my body, the cutting cold wind on my face...my mind tells me "these are opposites", but they don't feel like opposites:

they feel the same.

ONE

my abandoned footprints in the snow erased by wind

there:gone there:gone there:gone

* * * * *

Nikoo, my esthetician (waxing, brows etc.), and Steve Jepson my dermatologist, have both independently proclaimed my skin the most sensitive they have cared for in their careers (a total of roughly 45 years of clients).

I find this fascinating. Is my skin that sensitive?

sensory processing:

ARE YOU A SENSATION SEEKER?

The brain sorts, prioritizes, emphasizes components, and then determines how to understand the available information received and what to do with it.

The nervous system's response to input determines one's "responsiveness".

Do you over-react, under-react, or have a balanced response to stimulation?

Consider how each of your sensory systems respond.

Do you have high sensitivity to sound?

Low sensitivity to smell?

Do you find enjoyment in movement?

Visual experiences?

Textures?

According to Nikoo and Steve, I have high sensitivity to touch:

Aston Martin skin.

SENSITIVITY = RESPONSIVENESS

Consider how this relates to pleasure, to pain.

This sensory processing directly impacts our perceptions, how we act, and how we feel emotionally.

Filter out the irrelevant.

Our senses, especially sight, can give us false perceptions!

Thus, paradoxically, our senses can restrict us from finding truth in our experiences.