5-Minute Wandering & Seeing Practice

Time needed: 5 minutes (90-90-120 seconds)

Setting: Any walkable space (indoor/outdoor)

Purpose: Cultivating fresh eyes through intentional wandering

Familiar Made Strange (90 seconds)

What: Walk usual route with “beginner’s eyes”:

- Choose familiar path/space you know well

- Walk slower than normal, pause frequently

- Look at three “ordinary” things as if seeing them first time

- Notice what you’ve walked past hundreds of times without seeing

- Ask: “What have I been missing here?”

Notice: How familiarity creates blindness, details emerging from slowness, assumptions you’ve made about “knowing” this place

Why: Breaks habitual perception, reveals richness in everyday, challenges autopilot mode

Unfamiliar Exploration (90 seconds)

What: Turn down path you’ve never taken:

- Choose different direction/door/corner

- Let curiosity guide without destination

- Notice feeling of mild disorientation

- Find three things you’ve never seen before

- Allow yourself to be genuinely surprised

Notice: Alertness in new territory, how uncertainty feels in body, what catches attention when not on autopilot

Why: Activates exploratory system, builds comfort with unknown, enhances cognitive flexibility

Integration Through Contrast (120 seconds)

What: Compare familiar and unfamiliar experiences:

- Stand still, look around with soft gaze

- Notice what’s similar between familiar and unfamiliar

- Find something familiar in the unfamiliar space

- Find something strange in the familiar space

- Let categories of “known” and “unknown” blur

Notice: How mind categorizes and creates stories, where wonder exists everywhere, what “knowing” really means

Why: Develops flexible perception, maintains fresh seeing, builds appreciation for both stability and novelty

Closing: Take one breath honoring your explorer’s curiosity

Notice: How wandering has shifted your awareness

Why: Anchors practice of seeing freshly

Tips:

- No destination needed

- Get slightly lost on purpose

- Look up, look down, look behind

- Follow what draws your eye

- Take “wrong” turns sometimes

- Document discoveries if desired