One of the ways to stretch our mind is to improve our perception. Our mind offers us our senses to perceive and understand the world. Yet, how many of us really go through each day with our senses on full alarm in every second? We really need to sharpen our perception skills and make good use of our senses, but… how? What do you need to do to improve our perception?

The five senses are sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste respectively. Which sense or senses do you like the most? Sight? Or taste? Which sense or senses you have chosen doesn't matter, once you have understood which of your senses you prefer to use for discovering the world around you (you can use all of them), you should make the best use of it. Every one of these senses can be trained and developed.
For sight, we can simply go to a restaurant, a park, or anywhere that is busy and crowded. Look at the people coming and going, then you'll discover which ways they are different and which things they are similar.

On the other hand, for sound, it is even simpler. Now try anything to make yourself become blind, then you are forced to rely on your ears. (Just kidding…) Actually, closing your eyes for a couple of minutes also have the same effect. Try to concentrate your full attention on the sounds around you. What sounds do you hear? How would you describe the sounds you have heard? Soft? Or loud? You'll suddenly release how much you can hear and how hard it is to give a specific name for each of these sounds.

For touch, it is similar to sounds. Close your eyes or use something to cover your eyes, then try to touch the things around you. How do you feel? What have you touched? Is it smooth, or tough? Can you recognize what are they? A table? Or is it the lamp near your bed? Also, try to recall whether you have touched that thing before or not.

This time for smell, you don't need to close or cover your eyes anymore. Take a walk along the road near where you live and focus on the different smells that are floating in the air. Now, try to describe these smells. Do you recognize where does each of these smells come from? Which of these smells are similar?

I bet this is the most enjoyable exercise, because it is to do with eating and drinking. For taste, try to totally concentrate on the taste of the food you are going to eat during the next meal. Remember to eat slowly and taste the food carefully. How does it taste? Is it a similar dish for yesterday? Is there any other new ingredients added? If there is, what ingredients are they? What is the difference?