5-Senses Sunday
The 5-things rocking my 5-senses this week
Taste:
Spicy Ramen Noodle Chips
I am always on the hunt for new food products, especially ones that offer novel flavor combinations or feel nostalgic in some way.
And I just have to say that these Spicy Ramen Noodle Chips, that I found online, but have not yet ordered or sampled, appear to check every box. (I’m not an affiliate of theirs by the way, just intrigued by their offerings).
They have other flavors like Sweet Kugel (!) and Rigatoni Basil Pomodoro.
They are also vegan and gluten free (for those of you who find that information important).
What do you think? Would you try these?
Scent:
Ok. I definitely do not have insect-smelling receptors nor do I ever want to know what bed bugs smell like. But, I do think it’s really amazing that some humans have receptors that can detect insect scents and some do not.
Can you smell bugs?
Sound:
In honor of Brian Wilson, RIP, and one of the most beautiful songs ever written.
Touch:
I became somewhat obsessed with the concept of phantom limb syndrome upon learning more about it in a novel I recently read. The protagonist lived with debilitating phantom limb pain that only resolved upon facing and moving through her trauma and chronic stress.
Phantom limb syndrome reveals something really amazing about our sensory system. When someone loses a limb, their brain often continues sending touch sensations to the missing body part. This neurological feat shows us that our sense of touch isn't always about just physical contact, but about our brain's internal compass of our entire body.
Research demonstrates that mirror therapy can help reduce phantom sensations by "retraining" the nervous system through visual feedback, highlighting the plasticity of our sensory processing.
Our experience of touch lives as much in our neural pathways as in our fingertips, challenging our assumptions about the boundaries between mind and body and of consciousness.
Relatedly, I find this experiment to be wildly fascinating. It’s all about what your brain EXPECTS.
»»» Think about how this concept relates to flavors and the food expectations we have and the food decisions we make every day. (stay tuned for more on this topic soon).
Sight:
Thanks to the National Science Foundation's Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, which recently received upgrades, we are now able to see specific striations in the sun’s surface in what looks like dazzling yellow curtains.
To me, the second image in this article looks like a flock of golden birds in unison flying across the sky.
I’m so grateful for technologies that allow us to see images like this that remind us how much we still don’t know, yet inspire so much more curiosity.
Tell me. What is rocking your 5-senses this week?