[To view a video of this blog, please click here: https://youtu.be/e5bdz_RycRQ or if you'd like to listen to an audio version, please click here: https://soundcloud.com/lex-mckee/it-is-well]

When I stroke the velvety-soft fur of the cat, and hear her purr – it is well, it is well, with my soul.

When I smell the scent of grass freshly mown – it is well, it is well, with my soul.

When the rain kisses the newly tilled earth, and the scent wafts up like an offering - it is well, it is well, with my soul.

When the early morning dew on the grass washes and caresses my feet – it is well, it is well, with my soul.

When the crescent moon winks at me at dusk – it is well, it is well, with my soul.

And what to say of the delicate scent of the Alpine Sunset rose, its petals dusted with dew drops?  What of the texture of polished olive wood?  The new wine of a child’s laughter?  Or the explosion of flavour when Salmon Caviar bursts upon my tongue?  It is well, it is well, with my soul.

I woke up this morning with the tune and chorus of an old hymn we used to sing at school,  “It is well, it is well, with my soul.”  Like so many of those childhood tunes, it’s easy to hum along to, and a great comfort.  It’s even lovely to say quietly to myself as an acknowledgement of the gratitude I’m feeling.

One of the wonders of neurology is the fact that “neurons that fire together, wire together.”  In practical terms, this means that all the senses that were stimulated simultaneously during an experience of well-being can act as triggers to recall that feeling of well-being.  Every time I stroke the cat and hear her purr, all the other times my nervous system has ‘recorded’ that experience are cross-referenced in my magnificent mind and an emotional label attached! 

This is effortless but also unconscious. How much better, therefore, to, “Sense Ourselves Up for Success!”?  How much better to deliberately and intentionally set out to stimulate sights, sounds, and scents that we know will remind us of a state of well-being?  Mix in tastes and textures, and we have a recipe for shifting state whenever we feel like it. In fact, I jokingly said to some friends who are also into positive psychology, “I’ve realised I’m a Shift Worker!”  By this, they understood that I work with clients to ‘Shift’ their state of being.

Making your brain your best friend is a question of understanding that it amplifies and augments the signals you send it.  By intentionally selecting sensory signals that have great feelings associated with them we create a great way to tap into a winning experience of past-proven wellbeing.

Curiosity has me in her embrace: what sensory stimuli do you so strongly associate with ‘wellbeing’ that you could legitimately say, “It is well, it is well, with my soul!”?

Kindly share the sights, the sounds, the scents, and the tastes and the textures. We’d relish an opportunity to dip into your delights – your own wellspring of well-being.

Lex

A Moodscope member.