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Today’s guest is a happiness expert and devout non-meditator. In her latest book Life in Five Senses: How Exploring the Senses Got Me Out of My Head and Into the World, she describes how a routine visit to her eye doctor made her realize she’d been overlooking a key element of happiness: her five senses. 

Gretchen Rubin is the author of many books, including the New York Times bestsellers Outer Order, Inner Calm; The Four Tendencies; Better Than Before; and The Happiness Project. Her books have sold more than 3.5 million copies worldwide, and have been translated in more than thirty languages. She also hosts the top-ranking, award-winning podcast Happier with Gretchen Rubin. 

In this episode we talk about:

• What led Gretchen to explore the five senses
• How we often take our senses for granted
• How our senses work with the brain to impact our perception 
• The relationship between the senses and nostalgia 
• The surprising power of ketchup and vanilla when it comes to the sense of taste
• The sense of hearing and what she calls her “Audio Apothecary” 
• How to be a better listener
• The interplay between the senses of taste and smell
• The sense of touch and the use of comfort objects   
• Why she decided to visit The Metropolitan Museum of Art everyday to explore the five senses
• And how she uses the five senses to boost creativity  

Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/gretchen-rubin-588