Life in Five Senses: How Exploring the Senses Got Me Out of My Head and into the World

This was more of a 3-1/2 star book for me so I rounded it up to 4.Life in Five senses resonated as well as provided thoughtful insight in spots but felt a bit uneaven at times. I can’t decide if that is the writing or if it’s simply what senses interest me more (or need more attention). I imagine other readers having a similar experience depending on what’s going on in their life.Without going into too much detail…a couple of summers ago, I experienced (without clear intention) some of the benefits of engaging the senses as I spent about 2 months spending time alone traveling. Without really being mindful of what I was doing…my senses were heightened and I noticed SO much more beauty in the smallest of things. It was incredibly healing. This book took me back to that experience and helped me understand just how much I needed to be more engaged with the physicalworld and get out of my head in order to heal. While in a good place now, i intend to do it again this summer and will take some ideas from Ms Rubin with me to enhance the experience.While reading this book, I found myself either nodding in agreement, feeling inspired to focus more on engaging senses, interested in learning more about how engaging our senses impact our lives, feeling ready for the chapter to end, or considering not finishing the book.Perhaps the later is a signal I need to focus more on the now. In any event…I did get something out of this book and am going to focus more on engaging allsenses and getting out of my head. 3,5 stars because, in my case, I suspect this book will get lost among the other self-improvement books I’ve collected over time. .

I enjoyed this deep dive into the senses usually taken for granted. Rubin illustrate s how she - and we - can strengthen and widen the pleasure of seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and touching. This book gave me many ideas of easy ways to brighten and deepen my life experiences and hopefully those of others.Highly recommended.

I selected this book for our book club for women leaders, because the experiential nature of the book appealed to me as a Summer read. So often we float through life, or just live in our heads and act on auto pilot and don’t pay attention to what’s really around us. I appreciate that Gretchen brought our five senses to the surface so we could experience the world around us in a new way, even the ordinary every day things. It’s led to great discussions in our group and I’m looking forward to getting together with all of the women to discuss How this has impacted our appreciation for life and how we can incorporate them in our businesses.

When Rubin encounters a health concern involving her vision, this prompts her to re-evaluate her relationship to her five senses, and how she can develop a greater appreciation for them and the world around her. Rubin readily admits that she enjoys structure, routine and predictability, and when life gets busy, many things go unnoticed in the day-to-day demands of life. This is a familiar refrain in society. The burgeoning to-do list that we feel compelled to manage, seems to squelch the true beauty and wonder of the world around us. In our constant quest to get everything done, we miss so much.To her credit, Rubin vows to embrace all of her senses more fully, earnestly trying to mine the gifts of her five senses and enjoy her life. In her trademark approach, Rubin turns to research to investigate each of the five senses, exploring ideas and interesting facts regarding sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. In addition to this, she immerses herself in classes, events and various “experiments” that broaden her knowledge and perspectives of each of the senses, all while taking the reader along on her journey.The result of her explorations is this engaging book. It’s refreshing to witness Rubin discover small delights and forgotten pleasures. It reminds us that renewal, joy and awe are everywhere, if we simply take the time to find it. An inspiring read.

I loved this book to kick off my summer being more attuned to my 5 senses! Gretchen Rubin gives practical applications in every chapter and shares from her own life so you feel like you know her. I also took the online quiz that revealed my “neglected sense” which has been fun to try to enhance. Very engaging, thought-provoking book!

Gretchen heightened my awareness of my senses by bringing up aspects of my senses I rarely give any thought to. I have implemented several ideas from this book that enriched my life.

Brought my back to using/appreciating the world/Everything around me

I love everything by Gretchen Rubin. I've read all of her books since she wrote "The Happiness Project." She's an original thinker, and loves to share her personal experiences, insights and even foibles with her audience.The book is extremely well written and interesting, as Gretchen takes us with her as she explores each of the five senses. She has daily visits to the Met; she takes her family on a tasting tour on the Lower East Side; she develops a sense profile of her husband Jamie; she even tries ayahuasca - among other experiences and experiments.What I found fascinating, however, was her inability to actually become totally absorbed in the various experiences, in the sensual side of life. Most of her life appears to be filtered through her enormous intellect. She rarely lets go and enjoys the sensual pleasures of life....be it losing herself in an erotic moment with her husband, crying while reveling in the absolute beauty of a painting, taking five minutes to savor a piece of chocolate, or forgetting herself while listening to a Beatles song. She's learned to appreciate all of her senses in a new way, but her life will be transformed if she can go a lot deeper.

Loved this book, so much more than a how to. An exploration, a discovery of what is already there and so much fun. Loved this book and recommend it highly, as a main read or a brain refresher!

Received my book as estimated. From what I have read so far it's great.

Like everything Gretchen writes , this book is thought provoking and just a delight to read. She writes in first person , from her own experience which makes it different from other books I’ve read about this topic . The book is full of insight and lessons about how to live a happier and more creative life through your five senses . I’m sure I will reread it soon , like all her previous titles.