Charlois Principles

Principle #6

We are sentient beings that can best partake of the magnificence of creation by refining our seven senses.

“{Leonardo reflected that the average human] Looks without seeing, listens without hearing, touches without feeling, eats without tasting, moves without physical awareness, inhales without awareness of odor or fragrance, and talks without thinking.”

     The senses are the keys to opening the doors to human experience.  With the vast array of things to experience, it would be a shame to let our senses so deteriorate that we miss the pleasures they bring.

     In Raja Yoga, the fifth practice is, according to the Yoga Sutras, the act of sensory inhibition.  This in no way is meant to infer that the senses are wrong and feelings bad; actually, it is preparation for the higher reaches of Yoga.  In fact, in some meditative practices, the act of canceling out most feeling is crucial to experiencing the focus of meditation in its fullest.

     It should be noted that the act of over-indulging the senses goes contrary to most faith traditions.  However, the act of refining the senses, not to indulge, but to more fully appreciate the gifts God has so freely given makes perfect sense.

We have been created with various gifts and characteristics which enable us to experience the universe around us. The first of these are…

1) Sight

2) Hearing

3) Smell

4) Taste

5) Touch

These five constitute what is commonly believed to be the way sentient beings experience the world.  Because of that we feel it would be unnecessary to elaborate here.  The last two are what we would call extrasensory.

6) Intuition

     That extra sense that we sometimes speak of when we say things like, “I feel it in my gut,” or “I just know.”  It is the sense that is difficult to explain.  However, research shows it does exist and can be developed to our benefit.

7) Emotion

     Peace, joy, happiness, anger, sadness, and the list goes on, these are the extras that move us more so than the basic five that begin our list.

By refining these senses, developing them to their full capacity, we enhance our ability to experience life. Since all of life is a gift from God, we believe that enhancing the experience of living it to its fullest extent helps us to draw closer to Him from which we come.

All of these gifts are malleable which suggests that we should strive to malleate them as possible.