Five Senses—Three Systems

Early in life many children learned to identify five of the senses by pointing to eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin. Unimpaired humans can use all of those senses, although they may be much more aware of one sense over the others in specific situations. For example:

• At a symphony, they may be more aware of the auditory sense

• At a birthday dinner, they may be more aware of smell and taste

• In an art gallery, they may be more aware of the visual sense

·        At a clothing store they may be more aware of the tactile sense in terms of how clothes feel against their skin. 

W  When learning a sport, they may rely heavily on muscle perception. They may also be more aware of one sensory system over another based on their sensory preference. You are most likely to feel most comfortable, affirmed, understood, nurtured, and even loved when you receive sensory stimuli in your sensory preference. Consequently, you tend to gravitate toward, and feel most comfortable in, environments that acknowledge and reward your sensory preference. The ideal is to know your sensory preference and build sufficient skills in all three systems so you can access any or all by choice, as required by the situation at hand.