You know of-or should know of- the first five ‘obvious’ senses…sight, touch, taste, smell, hear. But there are more senses that you use that are not quite so obvious to the usual human that I would like to share with you.
Thermoception
This is the sense of touch but one step further: the ability to feel hot or cold and all degrees in between. Nothing spectacular here. But still a sense.
Nociception
This sense I find interesting because its about detection. Your central ‘ease system’ has the ability to detect what can hurt you before said thing can hurt you. A stove that’s on, for instance. It’s your nociception that tells you that the stove is hot and could burn you.
Equilibrioception
This sense may sound boring, but it is uberimportant. This is the sense that keeps you from falling over. Your balance. Your orientation. And it will tell you when you are moving. This one is in the inner ear and actually is a physical tangible ‘tool ‘ your body uses every day.
Proprioception
The fact that you ‘know’ where your body part is without seeing it-the lights are off, your eyes are closed- is this sense. Detecting the correct working of this sense is what your friendly neighborhood police officer will use if you ever have the misfortune of being pulled over to question your sobriety by touching your nose with your fingers with your eyes closed…
Interoception
And, my favorite, interoception. sensing what is going on inside your own body. Your breathing, hunger, thirst, heartbeat, nausea, etc.
I love this because I have worked my emotional awareness a lot over the years. My detachment allows me to see my emotions as not me. I can sense an emotion as as separate entity. I can also ‘feel’ my brain when meditating or just learning or reading and its neuroplasticity skills kicking in as I process new information. To my knowledge, not many humans have this awareness or don’t know what it is they are feeling. I feel that this is a valuable skill.
There are more out there…
Depending on how you define these skills you have, there can be as many as 20 senses. this depends on which neuroscientist you ask. But just know that there are a lot of things about your body that you don’t know about that could enlighten your life a bit.
And again, you are most welcome.