This post explores the concept of “aletheia,” connecting truth to sensory experiences, particularly in natural environments. Does a complete immersion in the environment heighten sensory awareness, especially regarding taste and smell?
Aletheia relates to truth, unconcealdness and revelation. Aletheia is about a process of revelation and uncovering something that was previously hidden or obscured.
This all sounds very profound and a bit philosophical, but the ways by which we connect with the environments we are in can help us to reveal more about our own nature, as well as the nature of the space we occupy.
We can achieve this is either by being in nature, or by creating built environments that stimulate our senses that can replicate the experience of being in our ‘wild’ state.
A sensory environment
As I have mentioned before, biophilia is all about making sense of our world by experiencing sensory stimuli that complement each other to tell us the whole story about where we are rather than confuse us with mixed and contradictory messages.
In many buildings, biophilic design focuses mainly on visual elements, followed by the acoustic environment and then textures and materials. Our chemical senses – essentially smell and taste – are ignored or only partially addressed by incorporating scents. This makes me wonder whether we are missing out on something.
Is it possible to incorporate taste and smell as part of the aletheic experience?
In an aletheic environment, we should expect that our senses are heightened and that we could experience things with greater clarity. This is likely to be amplified when we make the maximum connection with our environment and uncover our whole selves and stand naked in nature and be naked together.
It is true that direct, empirical, research about whether naturism heightens the senses is limited. However, there is some research that supports the idea that nudity enhances the awareness and receptivity of the senses – especially what is known as heightened interoceptive awareness.
There is also – often anecdotal – evidence from the naturist community . This may be more a shift in perception rather than a measurable increase in sensory acuity.
The most direct sensory impact is on our skin and the bundle of senses we often refer to us touch. Being in a natural space without clothing allows for direct contact with the elements. We feel of the sun’s warmth, the breeze, the ground beneath our feet. Many naturists feel that this direct contact with nature’s elements can foster a sense of grounding and a deeper connection to the environment.
By shedding the barriers to our senses (such as clothing), individuals may become more attuned to the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and sensations of a natural space.
While there’s no conclusive scientific evidence proving that being naked makes your sense of smell or taste sharper, it seems unlikely that nudity will dull them. It is known, however, that nudity increases interoceptive awareness – our perception of the sensations inside of our body.
So, how can we bring taste and smell into an aletheic environment?
I recently wrote a post about meditation. The practice centres on noticing how you feel. Noticing our feelings when uncovered brings them sharply into focus, so let’s think about how we feel when we taste and smell.
An extra dimension to your sensory experiences
If you have ever been to a tutored wine tasting, you will have been taught how to maximize the experience of the flavours in the wine. You will have discovered how to smell the wine before it even gets to your mouth. Then how to slurp the wine in such a way as to aerate it and release some of the volatile chemicals in it. You will learn which parts of the tongue and mouth are most sensitive to wide variety of flavours in the wine and you will discover why some wines complement some foods and not others.
Wine tasting (or purposefully tasting anything: cheese, coffee, freshly-picked fruit, etc.) can make the experience of consuming food and drink much more profound.
Naturists know that dining naked, outdoors, in a nice environment adds an extra dimension to the experience of a meal. I would like to believe (and I would like to test) whether we really do perceive tastes and smells differently when all of our senses are working together in concert.
In vino veritas? In wine, there is truth
If anyone (e.g. a wine merchant and / or naturist group) would like to join me in setting up a naked wine tasting event, in a natural or biophilic environment, to test this hypothesis, get in touch. What’s the worst that could happen?
