The Power Of (nnon)Sense

God, how I love opening a paper with a paradox. Senses and powers. One is a part of all of us, the other, few and far between. One is taken for granted, and when lost, feel inferior, yet the remainder of the senses are thus heightened. The other, gifts, even though some consider it a curse, and go mad over time as a result of not being able to adapt to these gifts. Of course, I’m referring to our “senses” and “powers”.

Let’s start on our most basic, primal, physical level. The five basic senses. Sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. Everyone, for the most part, are born with these traits. Simple, and basic. Many, for a variety of reasons, be them hereditary or environmental, have one or more senses evolve to a higher level. Advanced, yes, but not necessarily to that of a power. Remember: the “powers” are grounded in the mind. As in ‘mind over matter’. Heightened senses develop over time, but aren’t recognized immediately until the level of awareness is established years later. Examples: the ability of a wine connoisseur or food critic to determine the premium vs. average palatiability of food or drink. Or the advanced techniques of a masseuse in relation to touch. Or the hearing abilities of musicians. Considered gifts, but not to the level of “powers”.

Senses vs. powers. We’ve established the five senses. But what are the powers? While numerous, the ones that come to mind immediately, are ESP and telekinesis. Extra-Sensory Perception being the ability to read others’ thoughts. Telekinesis, the ability to move objects. Obviously, ESP would be the one to drive someone mad, by its very nature. Very few have these abilities. And, for obvious reasons, can never, ever, reveal themselves without running the risk of persecution and/or being outcast.



Then there is the Sixth Sense. The sense that tells us the future. What happens next. Whether it’s within a few seconds, minutes, or hours; days, even years. This one differs in every case. Take “MASH” for example: the character “Radar” could hear the choppers seconds before they arrived, hence the nickname “Radar”. Appropriate, yes. But inconsistent. Why he didn’t “know” any other time was never incorporated into the series. Most unfortunate. It could have added so much more to the show. Then again, he wasn’t a major player in the cast, so his “powers” were never used to their advantage. But could have during a final episode during any particular season. The irony here is that it is referred to as a “sixth sense”, but seen as a “power”, since most don’t exhibit it. But wait, there’s more. If ESP and telekinesis are powers, and not really considered senses due to the abilities exhibited, this “sixth sense” should also be classified as a power.

LaFever believes the real sixth sense we all possess, is on a level that is spiritual in nature. And not even a “sixth sense”, but a “seventh sense”. And not a “power” either. LaFever believes the “sixth sense” rests one level up, on the emotional plane, that being common sense. When we “know better”, from knowledge and previous experience as it relates to what is pefceived as right or wrong, ethically, morally, etc. The seventh sense, subsequently rests one level higher, on the spiritual level, that being “intuition”. Knowing what’s about to happen, but only due to previous experiences, and not for sure, as in Radar’s case, combined with common sense. This “intuition” is more commonly known as, “a gut feeling”. You’ve been there, done that. Others refer to it as your “conscience”. Even more so, there are those who consider this sense as that of the Word Of God. God as your conscience. At a location you shouldn’t be surprised to hear: the heart. How existential.

LaFever has it figured out, though. Five physical senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch), one emotional sense (common sense) as #6, and one spiritual sense (intuition) as #7. Sounds a lot like dimensions. First dimension is a point, second is a straight line, third adds depth. All on a physical plane. Enter the fourth and fifth dimension – time and space. A whole ‘nother paper, for sure. But for now . . .

LaFever leaves you with this zen riddle:

“Why do those with special “powers”, “sense” things others do not?”