The Tree in Action: The Five Senses Exercise

Benefits: Physical grounding, calming, centering; helps connection to Malkuth energies if that interests you.
Frequency: 2-3 times weekly, or whenever you are feeling disconnected from the world.

You need to assemble a few simple items for this exercise – specifically, a picture of something that you feel strongly about, positively or negatively; a small amount of flavoursome food or drink; something scented; and something with a texture that you can feel easily. Before you begin, put your items in front of you and make sure you won’t be disturbed for five minutes. Close your eyes and breathe slowly and deeply for a few moments, breathing in for the count of four, holding a beat, and then breathing out again for the count of four. After several slow breaths, open your eyes.

Pick up the picture and look at it. Consider the subject. Think about how it makes you feel. Remember a few facts associated with the subject, and previous occasions in the past when you have been particularly aware of the subject. Try to be aware of all your mental activity associated with looking at the picture. Now close your eyes, and tell yourself: “None of this is Malkuth.” (If you’re just trying to ground yourself, you can use the word ‘real’ in place of ‘Malkuth’ throughout this.) Open them again and look back at the picture. This time, make a special effort to ignore what it is about. Just look at the play of light and shadow, line and definition, colour and form, and do your best to ignore its overall meaning. Tell yourself: “This is Malkuth.”

Now repeat the process for your other four senses. You have objects ready for taste, smell and touch; for sound, use your hands to clap a musical rhythm or knock a familiar door-knock pattern on a table. In each instance, first make the most of the experience as a conscious event, linked to your thoughts, feelings and memories. Then remind yourself that such things are not of Malkuth/real, and repeat the experience. The second time, focus entirely on your sensory input, and switch as much of your mind off as you can.

You only need to perform this exercise a few times to really strengthen your understanding of and connection to Malkuth; just once is enough to get back down to Earth usually. It is the sphere we live in the most, and so it is the easiest for us to get a handle on. You can repeat the exercise any time you’re feeling disconnected from reality, or you feel that mental or emotional concerns are weighing you down and you want to get back to the solid world.