There’s a lot of scientific evidence, eastern and Indigenous spiritual histories and traditions, along with first-person experience that makes the centre of our offerings.

Klein et al in a 1970 University of Wisconsin paper determined that people who could tap into deeper levels of their felt sense had a better chance of benefitting from talk-based therapy.

New research by Vanhooren et al in 2022 found that people who practiced touching their felt sense regularly had greater life satisfaction, less existential anxiety, less psychological distress, and a greater sense of meaning in life.

Psychology’s study of somatics and embodiment has shown not only incredible evidence of its significance, but that it can be learned.

I’ll only speak for spiritual traditions that come from my own lineage — in multiple forms of Buddhism, the practice usually unfolds to a point where people get into their felt sense in deeper and deeper ways.

For me, my healing journey — both physical and mental health — went from surface level to transformative once I tapped back into my own felt sense.

I truly believe it is completely innate and fundamental to our being — and my intention is to offer evidence-based, unique, inspiring, creative and enjoyable experiences that are thoughtfully and intentionally designed for others to find and practice touching their own felt sense.

The felt sense is an internal sensory feeling that gets underneath language and concepts. A direct experience of an embodied feeling. Sometimes, it can be like a cloud of sensation that communicates everything your conscious and subconscious knows about a subject, a time, a place. A rich set of sensory data that holds so much information.

Yes, most definitely! When we’re in a flow state, we tap into a wide awareness, a space where your thinking mind is free to let your body and spirit create.

For most people, that only happens either by random chance or when they’re in an activity that they’re fluent in. My exploration is how we can tap into that at will, in increasing depths, on a moment-to-moment basis. To tap into more of our innateness, more of what makes you, you.

I like the metaphor of tasting wine. When you first taste wine, for most, they all just taste like “wine”. But the more you drink it, you notice an increasing amount of subtlety and nuance.

You might first distinguish the flavours of red and white wines. Then, you might start to distinguish the flavours of a Sauvignon Blanc from a Chardonnay. Then, you might notice a difference in Sauvignon Blancs produced from different regions, different harvesting practices, etc. Eventually, you might even be able to distinguish between years or specific producers, and begin to notice how it harmonizes with other flavour profiles, seasons, and moods.

Similarly, our felt sense becomes increasingly sensitized to a wide array of sensations and feeling notes in the body. And they carry so much valuable information, guidance, and knowings. And the way to reconnect to this depth of sensing is to practice being in it, in various situations. Quiet enough to hear yourself, still enough to feel yourself. Eventually, you can learn to use this sense to start shifting things at will, like your nervous system, muscle tension, stuck emotions, making space, for example.

As I studied general sciences and psychology at UBC, being evidence-based is very important to me. And there is so much scientific research that backs mindfulness, embodiment, and somatics. Science has also confirmed a lot about what Buddhists have figured out spending generations paying attention to our body-minds.

That being said, science is based on empiricism — the objective observable universe. Much of this practice drops into a space where others can’t readily observe — your thinking mind, your felt body, your attention-awareness. While our practices are rooted in scientific evidence, we leave room to explore subjectivity and first-person experience, which I believe to be key in exploring one’s own well-being and wholeness.

Only you can know whether you’re in your felt sense. As rev angel’s profound instructions go, are you “quiet enough to hear yourself, and still enough to feel yourself”?

Perhaps you can hit a flow state when you’re jogging, for example, where there’s enough of a quiet and stillness in your experience that you’re being aware from a felt sense. For many others, jogging would not be an activity in which they can get anywhere near their felt sense. Even avid or pro runners sometimes actively distract from the painful moments with thoughts that pull them out of their bodies and their felt sense.

One thing I noticed once I established an intentional connection with my felt sense was that some forms of yoga with certain styles of teachers didn’t bring me to my felt sense at all, while others did. “Quiet enough, still enough” became a barometer for me to notice.

Again, only you can know if you’re really in your felt sense :)

This isn’t meant to gate keep — it’s to create discernment to allow us to explore our body-minds with more nuance. There’s no right or wrong and it’s a practice, not a perfect.

I believe the felt sense is an ever-enriching depth of our being that deepens with consistent and rhythmic practice. I don’t believe there’s a finish line to this way of being — there are always new emotions, subjects, situations that you can embody on a deeper level as you continually unfold throughout your life.

I don’t see this as an acquisition or even a tool. I see this as our innate way of being that many of us, myself included, have been disconnected from at some point in our lives.

I’m not a licensed clinical psychologist, and so I do not provide any sort of clinical therapies.

My focus is on creating space for someone who wants to practice touching into their felt sense, whether it’s to tap deeper into one’s own innate mindfulness, their authentic creativity with an iterative and emergent process, or to find alignment and a greater sense of meaning in life.

Wholeness is something we all deserve and should have equal access to. The world isn’t an equitable place in this moment, and so offering a sliding scale gives people with a lot of resources a chance to help others access opportunities for wholeness as well.

If you really want to participate in any offering and you don’t have the financial means to do so, don’t hesitate to reach out. While I need to also pay rent, these offerings are for everyone, no matter your financial situation.