“As for hearing, the sloth is not so much deaf as uninterested in sound.”  Yann Martel – ‘Life of Pi’.

We’ve all had days when we’ve felt like a sloth; tired, uninterested and keen to shut the world out. But then you get hungry – you might even crave your favourite meal. In an effort to lift your mood you put on some music, your favourite song even – that always gives you a buzz. You decide to visit a friend and noticing you’re a bit flat, they give you a hug – you feel loved. They offer to cook you dinner – the smell of garlic frying always smells amazing. On the way home, you marvel at the full moon – the world is a beautiful place.

Our senses are the windows through which we form our perspective of the world. They are the medium for all the things that make us feel ALIVE. But, did you know that according to many schools of thought we actually have not five, not six (sorry Bruce), but seven senses?

The famous five are our external senses, portholes to the world immediately around us. The other two are often referred to as our internal or silent senses, they are Proprioception and Vestibular.

Remember playing “Ring a Ring o’ Roses” as a kid? Well the “we all fall down” bit is the result of the Vestibular system, otherwise known as our sense of balance.

As for Proprioception, that’s our ability to sense both our body parts relative to one another and the level of force our body parts are exerting. Nicely put, it’s our sense of self. Can you touch your nose with your eyes shut? That’s proprioception. Walk up stairs without looking at your feet? Proprioception.

At the start of this edition, we posed the question of whether being alive was simply a symphony of the senses or if perhaps there was some magic or meaning hovering beyond the tangible experience? While Vestibular and Proprioception may just be the tip of the iceberg, they are certainly proof that our perception of the world goes beyond just the things we can see, feel, taste, hear or smell. Or as Michael Scott in The Alchemist puts it, “Magic is really only the utilisation of the entire spectrum of the senses.”