Come to Your Senses

How are you reinforcing the lessons you want to learn well? Do you trigger more than one sense?

I was listening to my father teach Sunday School this morning. We talked about a lot of things. Most of them had to do with Paul challenging people to live what they believe. But we also talked about communion. 

In my faith communion is a sacrament. It’s a sacred act that reminds us what we believe. In particular, it reminds us what we believe about our relationship with our God.

Communion involves eating a wafer of some sort and drinking a liquid, often dark juice or wine. These two elements are symbols of significant acts that we want to remember. Until today I had not thought about what a remarkable lesson this is. It involves all our senses.

During the ceremony surrounding communion we are reminded to look within. To examine ourselves. We hear the important lesson. 

Many times, we must rise, leave our seats, and walk to the front of the room. That is not one of the five senses, but acting intentionally is another good method of reinforcing a lesson. 

When the wafer is presented, we reach and pick it up. We touch it. It is a tangible reminder of an intangible concept. Likewise, when we drink we feel the liquid on our tongue. 

We smell the sweetness of the juice, and sometimes the fresh smell of newly broken bread as we bring the elements to our mouths.

We taste both the wafer and the liquid. We literally ‘take them in’ to our bodies. It is truly a multisensory experience.

I know I have friends of many different faiths here on Facebook. Do you have similar traditions or ceremonies? 

The lessons don’t have to be faith-based. Do you have examples of important life lessons that you are continually re-learning or re-celebrating? Do you use multi-sensory triggers to keep the lesson close? And if you and I don’t, how can we incorporate this lesson that I’ve taken for granted for more than half a century to make sure we hold onto the things worth keeping?

Thanks in advance for sharing!