Why activating our senses is the most radical thing we can do.

Can you think too much? 🤯

Hey there,

DD HQ here. Don’t overthink this, but tell us if it resonates: Do you tend to run through a million different scenarios in your mind about how something might play out - only to find that you don’t end up taking action on it, anyway?

We can bet that as a reader of this newsletter, you may tend towards deep thinking 😅. As much as we love the brain at Daydreamers - we’ll be the first to tell you that as a society, we spend too much time living inside our own minds.

Here’s what we mean: although we often try to avoid it, we humans are instinctual beings. Our sense of smell, touch, taste, sight and sound drive much of our behavior. But, when was the last time you honestly smelled an orange? Or touched the grass (or let’s be honest - anything other than your keyboard)?

As scientists and natural skeptics, we know this may sound a bit fluffy. But, activating all of our senses isn’t just a nice-to-do; it’s a form of data-collection for our creative brain. And it not only helps us shift out of constant rumination, but ultimately, feel more open, curious and alive.

So, in a world that prioritizes our brains - maybe a little too much - how do we actually get out of the endless thought loop and into our bodies more?

Well, we have the answer here at Daydreamers (and TBH, it’s something our members practice everyday). We’ll dive into the science in a moment, but if this idea is stoking something in your - er, body - go with your gut-feeling and join our DD Early Access crew, now.

Here’s the thing - as human beings, our brains are our differentiator.

We’re not the fastest species. We’re not the most nimble. We’re definitely not the strongest. But, our creative, curious minds set us apart.

That being said, for centuries we’ve viewed our brains and bodies as separate elements. It wasn’t even until 2006 that the ‘mind-body connection’ became a mainstream, validated topic in the scientific community.

In fact, this divorce between our senses and our brain can be dated all the way back to philosophers in Ancient Greece. Plato believed that our mind was the only ‘rational’ thing we had access to, and our bodies could be ‘tricked’ by our senses 🤔

Modern science tells us that’s anything but true; though as time went on, our society became more and more reliant on our brains (hello sitting at a desk, thinking, for 12+ hours a day). Ultimately, we forgot that the main element of our bodies - our five senses - are literally the foundation of our creativity.

At a baseline, our senses have one job: to collect information. Hearing, taste, smell, touch & sight are the basis of our ability to perceive the world around us, and then take action on it. They help us make better decisions, formulate memories, and ultimately, develop new connections.

So, when we live in a world where our brains are severed from the rest of our bodies, it can have detrimental effects on our stress, mental well-being and creativity. Overthinking - otherwise known as rumination - can lead to worse sleep, make us less apt to solve creative problems and is often the precursor for deeper mental health struggles.

Even more - when we get stuck in the rumination-stress-cycle for too long, we become burned out 🤯

Burnout happens when stress becomes wedged in our bodies - and, surprisingly, the key to completing that stress cycle isn’t thinking our way out of it. It’s activating our senses. For example, when we begin to move our bodies - whether it’s a 5 minute brainstorm walk around the block or moving your pencil during a meeting - we literally jumpstart hormones that increase happiness, creativity + connection.

This is the exact reason why at Daydreamers, we focus so much on creative expression as the first step towards living a creatively fulfilling life. It helps us get out of our heads, and practice taking action without judgement. But, creating with your senses doesn’t just need to happen by expressing yourself. It can begin even simpler - like when you pay attention to the sounds around you. Or by using your sight to practice soft fascination.

No matter if you’re part of our DD Early Access crew or not, think of creative play as an adult way to defrost our brains, get out of our heads, and reconnect with all of our senses. Connecting your mind and body through creative flow is one of the most natural ways we can get back to our instinctual, human nature.

Ready to start living a sensory-driven life, again? Us too 🛸

Katina + Dupi

and the entire team @ DD HQ

Our Daydreamers Early Access community is expanding in the best kind of way. Sign up here to see if you’re a fit to join our private, thriving crew where we think together, create together, and experiment reconnecting with your mind, body + senses through creative flow. Your most fully-alive self is waiting 👀

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An idea to noodle on 💭

Our senses are core to creative data-collection

THINK ON THIS: We don’t live in a vacuum. That’s why at Daydreamers, we like to think of our senses as a big science experiment. Simply by tuning into our sense of smell, touch, taste, sight or sound, we can give our creative brain a tidal wave of inspiration. All our creative brain does is rearrange data-points to create something new; so why not collect info in the most natural way possible?

…MAYBE NOT THAT: Activating our senses isn’t just core to forming long-term memories - it’s the center of our emotions. That’s why smelling a nostalgic scent, like those old-school erasers, can bring feelings flooding back. Smells, in particular, activate something call the Olfactory memory center that’s associated with scent, taste and emotions. Yes, our feelings can be changed with a whiff of apple pie 🥺

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Inside our brains at DD HQ  🧠

A very meta view on AI - a writer asks, why do we want to read writing by humans, anyway? Speaking of, robots and “art” coincide at Coachella. Don’t apologize for your enthusiasm. Is rejection the new thing to celebrate? There’s an entire museum dedicated to the world’s biggest flops and we’re here for it. Creative ‘mortification’ is a fascinating term, and it’s definitely something you can overcome.