Nature's Innate Processes: How To Expand Your Senses This Coming New Year

This photo (see below) came up in a memory, and it got me wondering. As humans, we like to think we have a pretty good handle on reality: we see, we label, we decide. Case closed.

Except… Nature is a much bigger picture, and it’s pretty amazing. 

Dolphins see a very different world than we do. They send sound into the water and feel the shape of things as it returns. Their world is sculpted out of echoes. 

Birds and insects (and more) track magnetic fields—an invisible map generated by the planet. 

Many animals navigate primarily through scent, which we can’t even begin to detect.

Same world, a completely different experience.

Plants respond to light, vibration, chemistry, touch, and one another. They communicate through leaf scent and roots, warn their neighbors of danger, and feed each other during tough times, adjusting themselves constantly in response to their environment.

We only see out of a very limited central area of our eyes, and our brains make up the rest! 

Which raises an interesting question: what if the world isn’t as solid and obvious as it looks to human eyes?

What if we’re only tuned to one narrow channel in a vast field of information?

And then there’s this: what if you are perceiving more than you’ve been taught to trust?

Almost everyone who has come to me for training or bodywork has said the same thing: I’ve been seeing and feeling these things all my life and, until now, I haven’t had anyone I can talk to about it. 

Energy, sensation, intuition, subtle shifts in a room, a feeling you can’t quite explain—they aren’t imaginary. They’re simply part of an essential language we were never encouraged to learn. 

Just because we don’t have a cultural name for something doesn’t mean it isn’t real. Dolphins don’t need a philosophy to use sonar, birds don’t debate magnetism, and plants don’t second-guess themselves.

They simply respond.

If you could see energy–really see it–and we all agreed on it, how might your perceptions change? 

Would we all be gentler with one another if we noticed the heaviness someone carries? 

Would you feel safer and more connected knowing that you can trust your perceptions? 

Nature isn’t asking you to suddenly perceive like a dolphin or navigate by magnetic fields (though that would be very cool!). She’s simply reminding you that perception is vast and flexible–and that you are far more attuned than you’ve been led to believe.

You don’t have to “believe” in energy for it to exist. 

You don’t have to see everything to sense what’s true.
You have much more awareness than you’re aware of! 

Here’s a 3-minute tiny but mighty practice to help you remember that you know much more than you think you do: 

• Step outdoors. Breathe, center yourself and relax. Come into the present moment by noticing what you’re sensing: the air, light, colors. 

• Now, raise the palms of your hands towards something: a tree, sky, ground, moon, yourself.  Don’t analyze, just notice: tingling, warmth, coolness, a subtle hum.   

• Imagine that, like animals and plants, you’re sensing rather than thinking. Let curiosity replace certainty. Ask quietly, What am I picking up right now? Then listen, not for answers, but for awareness.

Be gentle with yourself! It may take time, but switching from one thing to another and comparing what you experience will eventually open the doors of perception. 

Trusting Your Inner Senses

As we approach the new year, we're often encouraged to set big goals and make sweeping changes. Marketing is centered around “New Year, New Me” and other clichés. But what if the most powerful shift we could make is to simply trust our inner senses? Remember, "you don't have to 'believe' in energy for it to exist." Our inner wisdom is always available, even if it doesn't fit into traditional notions of reality. There is so much about Nature and life that we don’t see, but we know exists. Just like this well-known elf from the movie “The Santa Clause” says, “Seeing isn’t believing; believing is seeing.” In order to do that… We need to let go of our doubt about how Nature works.

Letting Go of Doubt

Imagine approaching your intuition like a plant responds to light – without questioning, without analyzing, just responding. Remember, "plants don’t second-guess themselves. They simply respond." Nature’s processes don’t require proof in order to occur; they just occur. Animals and plants, wind and rain, energy, all of it just acts in harmony.

What might happen if we trusted our inner senses in the same way? Perhaps we'd navigate life with a sense of ease and flow, tapping into a deep wisdom that guides us.

Cultivating Trust in the New Year

The new year is a powerful time to cultivate trust in ourselves and our perceptions. Take a moment to reflect on times when your intuition has guided you well. What did it feel like? How can you build on that trust in the coming year?

Expanding Your Senses in the New Year

Consider that "perception is vast and flexible.” Maybe, instead of setting a bunch of big goals just for the sake of having goals, maybe this year should be a year about expanding your senses and opening up to the processes of Nature.

 As you set intentions for the new year, what new ways of perceiving the world might you explore? How can you tap into the "vast field of information" around you and expand your senses?

Simple Practices for Expansion

• Take a few moments each day to notice your surroundings without judgment. What do you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel?

• Try the practice shared in the email: step outdoors, breathe, and sense the world around you. What subtle shifts do you notice?

• Ask yourself, "What am I picking up right now?" and listen for the subtle responses.

By cultivating trust in our inner senses and expanding our perception, we may discover new depths of wisdom and connection to the world around us. 

Reflection Questions

1. What are some ways I've been ignoring my intuition, and how can I start trusting it more in the new year?

2. How might my life shift if I approached challenges with the same openness and responsiveness as a plant responding to light?

3. What new ways of perceiving the world am I curious to explore in the coming year?