How many senses do we have?

Do we know the answer to this question?

We start with the five commonly known senses:

  • Sight or vision
  • Hearing or audition
  • Smell or olfaction
  • Taste or gustation
  • Touch or tactition

Then there are often the following additional senses mentioned:

  • Thermoception – the sense of heat and/or cold
  • Equilibrioception – the perception of balance
  • Proprioception – the perception or awareness of the position and movement of the body
  • Nociception – the perception of pain

And then there are all the other senses that are less frequently mentioned, like:

  • Sense of electromacnetic fields
  • Sense of time
  • Language and articulation sense
  • Sense of humility, appreciation, and ethics

There is an interesting list of Dr. Michael Cohen, where he differentiates between 53 senses, categorized into four main areas.

Next time you are out and about, concentrate on what you experience, not just the commonly known senses but all the sensations: cold, warm, and balance. Don’t just think of them but apply them actively.

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101 km on classical cross-country skis

06.02.2023 – It was my longest distance ever on cross-country skis. It was a challenge for me, not from an endurance perspective but more from a muscular one. Because the classic style is slower than the skating style, it is more demanding.

The key is, as always, a strong reason why, motivation, a variety of landscapes, and to take step-by-step, or translated to the cross-country ski alphabet, glide-by-glide.

There is usually always something that hurts after a while. However, without certain pain, the challenge wouldn’t be the same.

The emotions after the execution are usually redemptive and satisfying. And so it was this time.

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Impressed by the sky

Why are we so impressed by the sky? Is it a longing for the unknown, awe for the light show, or the constantly changing image? Is it because we see ourselves so small in our subconscious or because we feel how lifeless we are without “our” star or other stars? Whatever the reason. It gives you a calming, satisfying, and grateful feeling. When you catch the sun’s rays, especially at sunrise or sunset, your heart warms up.

It’s a blessing to live on this Earth – Thank you!

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To choose is to sacrifice

The way we live our life is a choice. But it comes not without a cost. In every moment, you have to make choices. You can only choose one option out of an infinite number of possibilities. So once selected, you have to live with your choice. And the more important it feels for you, the greater the sacrifice during and after the choice.

Sure, sometimes you can reverse your chosen path. But it is another point in time; thus, it is not the same. How to handle this tricky situation? There is no right or wrong, and it’s just the process of life. Trusting your intuition seems to be often wise advice. So trust your gut and heart and try to be aware of the consequences.

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Having an attitude of gratitude fuels our hearts

Isn’t gratitude often the key to a more meaningful life? Expressing gratitude expands our hearts and lets us feel better. But because we are so busy with our thoughts and what we want to accomplish, saying a thank you or expressing gratitude in a similar way can be forgotten.

“What we appreciate appreciates.” We learn an appreciation for the service of others in our youngest years. But what is more important than expressing gratitude and not just thinking about it? Thinking and praying gratitude is a very healing practice, expressing makes it even more tangible for others and ourselves. It is a blessing for others and fuels our relationship with them.

As A.A. Milne, author of Winnie-the-Pooh, so aptly wrote “the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.” The littlest of gestures can fill your heart with gratitude and joy. 

So choose to be kind, not right, and make others feel important!

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When do you want to suffer?

Don’t we often want to get things done or receive material goods and accolades as soon as possible? The easy way looks often like the most obvious and desirable one.

However, as Les Brown puts it so well, “if you do what’s easy, your life will be hard. However, if you do what’s hard, your life will be easy.” When you choose the easy way, it benefits you probably in the short run but costs you more in the long term. Additionally, the easy way seems to give you rather a less relaxed feeling of having done something valuable. Suffering seems to be an inherent part of our life. Even “to love is to suffer, to suffer for and with others.“

What’s interesting is that people often overestimate what they are able to achieve in the short run but underestimate what they can achieve in the mid- or longer term. So “active patience” seems to be a solid option. That means being patient, but still executing consistently because consistency compounds.

This principle keeps your stress level hopefully on a more balanced level. It’s on you – you have the choice – so choose wisely!

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What makes you most aLIVE

What are we striving for in life? What do we often or at least sometimes miss? Isn’t it, amongst other important needs and desires, a feeling of aliveness? Aliveness is the state of being alive, defined as vigor and intensity, often also associated with joy, vibrancy, enthusiasm, presence, consciousness, adventure, awareness, expression of a cheerful moment in life, joie de vivre, passion or exultation of spirit.

I was always amazed by the aliveness and positive mood of my father, who spent most of his days outdoors and was practically never sick. Thus I asked myself, in which moments do we feel most alive in the sense of a strong body feeling? I tried to summarize my personal experiences of intense moments:

  • Moving/exercising our body extensively so we feel our breath and heartbeat more intensely.
  • Outside in nature, especially under harsher weather or environmental conditions.
  • When soaked with love.
  • When you feel that the heartbeat relaxes, for example by receiving a good massage or by releasing pressure on a pain point.
  • When we have stark gratitude for something or somebody.
  • When we have the impression that we have given everything it that moment.
  • In general, when we have very strong feelings.

Personally, I feel most alive when I do intense interval workouts, especially running sessions.

What makes you come/feel alive?

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Benefits of cross-country skiing

What is one of the most effective sports? Effective in terms of benefits for body and mind? I often asked myself this question and I frequently listed Norway’s national sport, cross-country skiing, at the top or close to the top. Why? Here you go:

  • Strengthens your muscles and cardiovascular system, and improves your reaction, coordination, as well as your cold tolerance.
  • Improves your sensomotoric capability, the interaction between stimulus reception (sensory) and stimulus-response in the form of movement (motor). This includes particularly our visual, auditory, vestibular and somatsensory (proprioseptic) system. A good summary of sensomotorics can be found here.
  • Stimulates lots of our senses, while reducing sensory overload.
  • Feeling more present by being completely absorbed in nature.
  • Feeling more alive due to increased heartbeat and breathing.
  • Often a sense of freedom is accompanied by moments of awe.
  • Stimulation of the thought process thanks to inspiring moments (when your body moves, your brain grooves).
  • The stimulating and at the same time relaxing effect after the workout. It gives you a satisfying and pleasant feeling. You feel thankful for what you have done.

This can be enhanced by mixing both cross-country techniques, skating (freestyle) and classic, also known as skiathlon.

If you find more benefits, please text me or send me an email, I’m more than curious. Now go out and let your skis fly over the snow!

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Can you hear the silence?

Try to go to the most remote place. Somewhere where you can no longer hear anything. And – can you hear it? There is always a sound, isn’t it? Aren’t waves perceptible everywhere? From the out- or inside or just as a reflection.

Pristine silence is so precious at these times when everything becomes busy. Quiet times in nature give you peace of mind and gratitude. When we are outside in the green or at less busy hours, we feel more relaxed and experience less distress. If we still feel stressed, it is more in the form of eustress, described as moderate or ‘normal’ psychological stress, leading to a beneficial response.

When asking other human beings what their deepest silence moment in their life is, they often respond with the following moments of:

  • Birth
  • Awe, especially in nature
  • Death

Sometimes it is a quite loud atmosphere around, but room for true silence often comes from looking at the internal state of quiet. Actually, the absence of noice, as silence is often described, sometimes seems to be scary or uncomfortable.

Now it is your turn. Think about silence and let your auditory sense be silently inspired.

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You are rich when you feel rich

Forgetting all we have achieved, all we have materially acquired – what counts is the precious present moment. What more do we have? It is not by chance that our health is our wealth. Richness comes from a deep feeling of gratitude. When you ski through the Norwegian forests and fjells, sometimes meeting a person or animal, it becomes clear that presence is key. It not only unlocks your curiosity but often liberates you and makes you more playful and joyful.

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