I wish someone had told me we have more than five senses

“I wish someone had told me” is a series of posts that feed into our inquisitive nature at CN&CO. From time to time we hear from someone in our network about something interesting or surprising that’s recently happened or occurred to them – or lessons they learnt. These blogs are a way to pay it forward and form part of CN&CO’s belief that the world can be a better place – and we all have a responsibility to make it so. This post is by Stella Carter.

Remember those school lessons where we learned about the five senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell? That was the extent of it. Or so I thought.

Then I came across Dr Tara Swart, a neuroscientist and author, who revealed something astonishing. We have far more than five senses. Beneath the brains sensory information filter lies an array of signals we often don’t consciously notice.

Take balance, temperature, or proprioception – your body’s built-in GPS that knows where your arms and legs are without you looking. There’s also your sense of time, hunger cues, and even subtle social cues. These “hidden senses” quietly guide our behaviour, helping us navigate the world.

But the ones that really stick with me are the less tangible ones: trusting your gut and picking up on the vibe in a room.

Think about those moments when you meet someone new and just know whether you click or not, before a single word is spoken. Or that instant when you walk into a room and sense tension in the air, even though everyone is smiling politely.

On the flip side, there are people whose energy makes you feel lighter, calmer, more open, without them doing anything more than showing up as themselves. That’s not imagination. That’s your senses working overtime, gathering signals you might not consciously register but that shape how you feel and respond.

I wish someone had told me sooner that we’re wired this way – that our bodies and brains are constantly gathering information beyond the obvious five. It makes you realise, if in 2025 we can “discover” more senses, what else is possible? The world is changing fast, and sometimes it asks us to unlearn what we thought we knew, opening up to new perspectives – whether it’s about sensing energy, trusting your intuition, or noticing subtle cues in people and situations. Our hidden senses aren’t just curiosities, they’re tools that help us navigate complexity, connect deeply, and live more fully.

At CN&CO, we love these little sparks of discovery – moments that remind us there’s more to learn, more to notice, and more to explore. Because if we can expand our senses, we can expand just about anything.

What to learn more? Watch Dr Tara Swart’s full discussion on discovering our hidden senses here – it just might change the way you experience the world.