What's your favorite sensory sensation?

In My Humble Opinion
1

So, whats your favorite sight, smell, taste, sound and feeling? Lets try to stick with G-rated answers please. Otherwise, this thread could quickly slip into a den of erotica, not that there’s anything wrong with that. I’ll start…

  1. The feel of the radiating heat from my macadam driveway on the soles of my bare feet on a cool spring evening.

  2. The smell of a blooming lilac tree or honeysuckle bush as I pass by. I think it reminds me of the perfume a girlfriend once wore.

  3. The sound of my childen playing upstairs. Their laughter is the best thing. 'Course it tends to unravel into arguments and fighting routinely.

  4. The sight of a woman’s smile.

  5. The taste of a decent red wine right after a bite of red meat, like lamb or beef.
    Dave

2

Well since we can mention the obvious ones, I’ve always been partial to the smell of gasoline.

3

The sharp bite on the tip of my tongue from the salt off the rim of the glass washed over by the sweetly sour icey limey taste of a margarita that tickles the way back sides of my tongue.

The smell of freshly cut grass.

Rubbing the tops of my feet back and forth over my sheet and feather bed covered mattress as I fall asleep. I’m a belly sleeper and this ritual always helps sooth me to sleep. Must be something left over from my childhood.

4

A good dark red wine dissolving the remanants of a bite of bleu cheese of the back of my tounge.

The sound of a slowly strummed four finger G chord, on a perfectly tuned steel string guitar, with new guitar strings.

The first cold wave over my head as I paddle my surfboard out to the line up.

The first sip of an ice cold martini.

A (very) slight sunburn.

A strong ocean wind on a rainy day.

5

The sound of happy children laughing. Especially if it’s me that’s entertaining them.

The smell and taste of Stilton Cheese (I know millions can’t stand it, but to me it’s irresistible).

The taste and sensation of slowly eating good quality white chocolate.

The ‘high’ from a really hard, tough gym session on the treadmill, when I know I’ve just beaten my personal best.

The ‘mental’ high from stuggling with a tough section of a poem I’m writing, and then finally finding a way to slot it all together so it works.

The smell and touch of fresh, clean bedlinen (surely this is on everyone’s list?)

The sight of magnificent scenery, such as the view from the top of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.

The just-slightly-happy feeling of everyone having drunk enough to be chatty and convivial and in a good mood, without being sooo drunk that we’re all just tedious.

That mental glee when someone says something really smart, sharp and witty.

The first good stretch of the morning after a good night’s sleep.

The smell of stores that sell old books.

The welcome warmth of a warm home after being out in the freezing cold.

Seeing a loathsome boss, manager or supervisor get fired.

The sight, sound and motion of the sea at high tide.

The sight of magnificent architecture, e.g. Il Duomo in Milan.

6

I like the sort of stillness I get when I meditate to classical music. I sit on the floor in front of my computer, all lights and the monitor off, I put my headphones on, assume the most comfortable position practical and meditate until the piece ends. After about three minutes, I stop feeling my arms, and there’s where it gets fun. After about five, I feel light. I feel like I’m flying. Then I go to bed.

As for less trippy sensations… I like the feel of cold bath water on a hot day and hot bath water on a cold one. I like the taste of a well-brewed cup of tea, still warm. I like sunrises on cold winter mornings. I could also really go for a nice back-scratching now…

7

Puting on clothes (expecially socks) when they’re still warm from the dryer.

Hot chocolate after coming in from shoveling the driveway on a wintery morning.

8
  1. The feel of heat;
  2. The smell of laundry;
  3. The sound of a forest;
  4. The sight of a cat;
  5. The taste of shrimp with lemon and garlic.
9

Popping my knuckles, or any other joint.

10

I don’t know about absolute 100% favorites, but I can take a shot at “Gee, I think these are swell.”

Touch: Human skin. Still attached to a live body, as should be obvious.
Smell: Wet dirt. (Or, for the more poetically inclined, “damp earth.”)
Sound: My kids laughing…or a particularly evocative key change in a piece of music.
Sight: The shade of green on plants in the early spring, right after a moderate rain, when the sun has just barely had time to peek back out from under the clouds right before dusk.
Taste: Clean still-attached-to-a-live-body human skin.

11

Smell: Coffee, definitely :slight_smile: (Even though I try to avoid drinking it, and even then only decaf)
Touch: Massage probably. I tend to build up a lot of tension in my muscles, and a massage helps with that a lot.
Sight: Scottish countryside, on a nice day, viewed from the top of a hill. Photos won’t do it, I actually have to be there to appreciate it properly.
Taste: Hmmm. Not sure. Possibly really good quality bitter dark chocolate.
Sound: Not really sure. Gentle rain is nice.

12

Being in a thunderstorm at dusk in summer;
the rain’s warm, the lightning’s beautiful against the contrast between the orange sunset and the dark clouds, the sound’s awesome.
Also, slightly strangely, I like wrapping my hand around a 2 litre coke bottle when opening it for the first time, for some reason the plsatic crinkling when the pressure is released feels good, but maybe that’s just me.

13

Touch: cat fur, hugs from my family, back scratches
Smell: burning leaves in fall, burning sage, good coffee
Sight: the ocean on an overcast day, fire (I’m not an arsonist, really,) thick fog
Sound: Classical music, wind chimes
Taste: water, braised lamb shank, tiramisu, oranges

14

Taste: saffron, lemon, olives in vodka martinis, ice cold water
Smell: bacon, garlic, onions, and celery when I make stuffing at Thanksgiving; fresh tulips; almond or vanilla extract
Sound: fountain water trickles, snow crunching when I walk on it, cellos, thunderstorms
Touch: someone running their fingernails up and down the inside of my forearm; when a dog or cat leans with all their weight against me; gentle hair pulling
Sight: a stream after a sticky snow (when it clings to the rocks, and trees, but the water’s still moving), flower stalls in the city in spring and summer, when I go out to eat and I see the waitstaff approaching my table with what I know is my order

15

A sudden cooling breeze on a summer day.

The in-between state of precipitation, just over misting, just under a drizzle, with a strong wind turning it into fine needles.

The smell of old hay.

Smell of freshly-mown grass.

A really satisfying stretch, with popping vertebrae in a rippling crackle that unknots all the muscles along them.

A loved one’s face under the fingertips.

The feel of breathing when zazen goes properly.

16

Taste: Biting into a slice of lime, it makes my tongue do summersaults, 9v batteries do the same thing indecently but forget that.
Smell: of a newel born babies head.
Sound: A car crash.
Touch: Of a stranger’s pinching your ass.
Sight: Defiance in the face of adversity, very few things move me as much as the sight of that guy in Beijing in China facing the tank with his bag of shopping.

17

In no particular order

-Swallowing a bit of ice, and the way it melts on the way down

-Fresh-mown hay (my grandparents used to farm, and this smell makes me nostalgic for the summers I spent with them)

-Having someone gently rub my neck and upper back as I drift into sleep. This was what my mom always did if I couldn’t sleep.

-Waking up in a man’s arms.

-A slow stroll in a gentle summer rain.

-A winter full moon so bright it casts shadows and seems to reflect off the snow.

-Mozart, Serande for Winds, K. 361, 3rd Movement

18

The sound of my daughter’s laughter.

Fingers running lovingly through my hair.

The first sip of a glass of cold water, cut with a touch of lime juice, on a hot day or after hard physical labor.

The smell of commingled jasmine, honeysuckle, and lilac, floating on the breeze.

The feel of fresh cut grass under my feet (this smells pretty good, too).

The taste of a tree-ripe peach…

I could go on for some length, but these are what pop to mind immediately.

19

The sound of my daughter talking in her sleep.

The scent of a chambray shirt I have hanging on my chair right now. I can press my face to it, and smell the faint scent of the owner… heavenly.

The sound of wood burning in a fireplace.

The entire catalogue of works by Marc Chagall. Makes my eyes happy.

The cool air, just after sunset, on the deck, washing over my body.

A giggle. Any giggle. Hearing my kids giggle just sends me over the edge.

The scent of lots of banana bread, baking up a storm.

The heavy cold smell of a snowstorm, that’s almost hit.

The sight of Berry Berry lipstick. :smiley:

The smell of a used book store. Mustier than Barnes & Noble…smells like good old well bound books.

The sound of my chisel on stone.

There’s more, I think…but like others, these come right to mind as really big faves.

20

I love to hear my daughter laugh uncontrollably when she and I play.

The feeling when you hit a softball or golfball smack in the middle of the sweetspot is just plain awesome.

Ditto on the taste of a fine California Cabernet after my favorite bleu cheese.

The smell of my dad wearing Old Spice takes me back to seven.

The feel of cool wind rushing down from a thunderhead on a hot summer night as a storm approaches puts every fiber in my being on full alert.

The sight of my yard all perfecty makes me smile real big and cheezy.