I am a Church of England priest in the diocese of Lichfield.  A couple of months ago, we hosted a service intended to promote the full inclusion of neurodiverse people.  The organising committee was made up of people with lived experience of either neurodivergence or disability, and in some cases both.  As part of this service, I was asked to create some sensory prayers that would intentionally encourage us to focus on and pray through the use of each of our seven senses.  You may be more familiar with five senses but in addition to vision, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching, there is also the vestibular sense of how our bodies are moving and the sense of proprioception which is the understanding of where our bodies are in space, whether we are sitting or standing for example.

We acknowledged that some of those in attendance may find all of the sections helpful, others may find only a few to be helpful and need to dismiss others.  That’s ok.  The point of a prayers designed to engage the senses comes with an understanding that we are all gloriously diverse and relate to our senses in different ways.  As always, we bring our whole selves before God in prayer, knowing that we are all different, all unique and all wonderfully made.

If you choose to use these prayers in your own worship context, you are welcome to do so.  If you wish simply to follow along, you will need four things:  Something that you find relaxing to look at, this could be a simple candle.  We used a rainbow galaxy projector.  There will be something to listen to, some quiet music.  You will need something soft or comforting to touch, perhaps a fidget toy or a soft blanket. You will need something nice to smell, we used tissues with some essential oils on them. Finally, you will need something nice to taste and we used a packet of sweets.

Take a moment to gather those things and then we will begin.

Vision

(The lights are dimmed and the galaxy projector turned on)

Leader:           Lord, I hold before you the times when what I see feels overwhelming, when the colours, shapes and patterns of people, events, and circumstances blur together in front of my eyes and I cannot see you amid the visual stimulus… 

(pause as we visualise areas where we seek God’s clarity)  

Please Lord, bring clarity into these situations, help me to notice your light and feel it’s warmth, to allow my brain to focus on the pattern of how and where you are showing yourself in this world. 

(Pause as we choose to visualise God amid our situations, however this works for us. We may choose to look at the lights or we may choose to close our eyes and visualise the light of God as warmth shining on us.)

Hearing

Leader:           Lord, I hold before you the times when the noise of this busy world overwhelms me, when the sounds I hear are either too much or too little, the times when I struggle to process them and their meaning.  I offer to you the times when sounds overlap, distort and overwhelm me so that I cannot hear your voice amid the noise…

(pause in silence for a moment then we listen to “Kyrie Elieson” by Salt of the Sound)

Please Lord, help me separate and process the sounds of this world, so that I can recognise your still, small voice among them.  When I cry Kyrie Elieson, Lord have mercy, would you bring the silence, mercy and peace I so desperately need, so that my ears are calmed and the noise is stilled.

Movement (Vestibular)

Leader:           Lord, I bring before you the times when I need to move in order to regulate my body but instead the world insists that I should be quiet and still.  I offer to you the times when my nerves and muscles crave movement…but the world insists I should not, must not, cannot and so I limit my physical expressions in order to fit in…

                        (We take a moment to move our bodies as feels best to us and offer this regulating movement as our prayer) 

                        Thank you Lord, for the freedom move, to stim, to flap, to rock, to pace and to dance as I remember that all movement is a gift from you and helps us to connect our bodies, minds and souls with our experiences in this world. 

Body Position (Proprioception)

Leader:           Lord, when I cannot work out where my body is in space, when I find myself using too much force, or too little, when I cannot judge personal space and stand too close to others, when I move too quickly, or too slowly, and others don’t understand why I seem awkward, confused or out of place in my body…

(We take a moment to apply some deep pressure to our bodies, perhaps using our hands on our legs or wrapping our arms around our chests, as feels best to us and seek the calmness this deep pressure can bring)

Please Lord, would you hold me with the deep pressure of your love, bringing warmth, calm and steadiness to the experience of my body.  When I struggle to find my own body in space, help me to anchor myself in you.

Touching

Leader:           Lord, when everything in the world seems hard, jagged and painful, where the edges and corners of this difficult life are all that I seem to encounter and I am craving the comfort of a soft, loving touch…

(We take a moment to touch and hold the soft piece of fabric we have been given as we consider where we need the comfort of touch in our lives)

Please Lord, would you help me to find the moments and places where your soft, gentle touch can soothe the pain and edges of this sometimes dark world.  Help me to find that the comfort of your touch, can drive out darkness and fear and overwhelm it with love. 

Smelling

Leader:           Lord, when I am overwhelmed by the many, conflicting smells surrounding me, the perfumes, soaps, pollution, food, drinks and so many more that others seem to be able to ignore or dismiss, or when my ability to detect scent has confusingly disappeared, would you help me instead to breathe in the scent of your presence through the soothing, comforting scents in this world…

(We take a moment to breathe in the scent of essential oil on our tissues and centre ourselves on these calming scents)

Lord, help me to remember that the scent of your presence is as sweet as honey and calming as gentle incense.  Allow me to breathe in the soft, sweet, gentle scent of your presence in my life and in this world.

Tasting

Leader:           Lord, when some seem to enjoy tasting the sweetness of all that life has to offer, while I cringe away from the unexpected bitterness of changes to my routine, the saltiness of experiences I did not expect. At times like these, my mouth and tongue are overwhelmed by the sourness of the experience and I struggle to taste your presence…

                        (We take a moment to imagine a difficult experience with taste or texture and choose to invite God into this experience)

                        Help me to reach for the comforting texture of your presence and understand that in the diversity of your creation, we can each be ourselves and taste the experiences of life in our own way.

                        (You may wish to eat the sweet…or not!)

                        God, be with us as we experience this world and our lives, through the complexity of our senses, remembering that each one of us is different, unique and wonderfully made, just as we are.  Lord in whatever way we experience and use the senses you have given to us, may we experience your love, joy and peace in our lives.  Amen.

We are going to conclude this time of prayer with The Lord’s Prayer.  One version will be playing on the screen in musical form, and I would invite you to join in with the prayer in whatever way and language, whether spoken, signed or danced, works best for you.