“Smells are surer than sounds and sights to make heartstrings crack”
~ Rudyard Kipling
Today I am going to give you an exercise to immediately hone in on your keen sense of smell. Well, how keen is it? Do you breathe shallow or deeply through your nasal passages? Are you sensitive to smells? I hope you feel invigorated when a pleasing fragrance wafts by.
Ok, so scientifically, our nose has an olfactory bulb up inside that registers the particles in the air that we breathe and sends a message to the brain so fast as we detect scents, both pleasant an unpleasant (it is pretty focused on detail!) Like the difference between aromatherapy with lavender and Old Yankee Candles burning, and a dirty cat box or smelly socks! Hmmmm, that brain of our, just how does it know? It’s a miracle. (Remember, the miracle is YOU!)
What we breathe in is the entranceway into our sense of awareness. We can’t even help it! We just do it. We are always experiencing the present of presence with every breath, whether we are paying attention or not. Are you “aware” that every breath we draw in has a scent attached to it?
“Awareness” is our Sixth Sense. Start honing in with your schnazz. Scents and aromas in our environments evoke pleasant memories, like Pumpkin spice candles burning, lavender bed sheet sprays, chocolate chip cookies baking (mmmm!), apple pie fresh from the oven, freshly brewed coffee, or lemon-ginger tea. You can smell these too, can’t you? I love Happy perfume, and anything lemon. Smells can make you feel good!
Here’s today’s exercise: (60 second intervals) Really pay attention to the smells in your environment. By breathing deeply in and slowly out you will pick up on more of the particles that carry scent in the air. Bring the same awareness to the smells in your usual day as you would to your favorite fragrance, be it cologne, vase of flowers, or something cooking or baking. Hone in on the aromas and just really distinguish the scents ~ pleasant and not so pleasant! Pay attention for 60 seconds!
You might just want to bring some great-smelling summer flowers inside to waft their perfume in the air. You may find that you have missed some smelly socks pushed under the couch! And, if you have a cat, I am sure you will pick up pretty quickly if you need to change the litterbox!
So, sniff, sniff, and become aware to the everyday scents you encounter. Tap into your “Interior Design Blueprint.” When you know the scents you enjoy, surround yourself with them. When you find the offensive odors, get rid of them!
Aromatherapy is another topic, one that uses the sense of smell and aromatic oils to induce relaxation and improved feeling of well being. Very soothing!
I always have a candle burning in my office to keep me present and feeling great! Today it is lilac….Mmmmmmm (big inhale).
Awareness is always in the present moment. Pay attention, breathe deeply!
“Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul.”
~Oscar Wilde
Leave me a comment and let me know what your favorite and least favorite scents and smells are!
Don’t forget to smell the roses,
Marcia Ann
Mirror Your Reflection
[...] Using scents to help define your homes space is a great way to make a small changes that will help you feel better. You can read the article here. [...]
Ahhhh! Sense of smell! (My favorite). I have always had an unusually strong sense of smell. Many, many years ago, (right out of high school) I took a part-time job as a clerk in a shoe store. It was a very small establishment and only required one employee to be working at any given time. One day, a female middle-aged customer entered and as soon as she walked past me and the register, (and I got a whiff of her), I had an immediate feeling that the smell I was smelling, (an it was not an immediately identifiable odor) was something I hadn’t smelled since my childhood. I was going out of mind trying to figure out what it was she smelled like. I knew it wasn’t perfume, shampoo, etc. (it wasn’t that kind of smell). It wasn’t a bad smell or a good smell, just and unusual one that I couldn’t put my finger on?
I was absolutely determined to figure it out though. I began to follow her around the store, pretending to be straightening the shoes so I could get a closer whiff. I finally had to back off because I got the feeling I was making her uncomfortable…(I can’t imagine why, heh!), so FINALLY, just as she passed me for the last time on her way out the door, it hit me!
I didn’t think before I spoke out loud.
In fact, there was no screening of my words whatsoever. I was so excited that I simply blurted out, “I’ve got it! You smell like my blue cardboard stove!
I was absolutely thrilled. She however, was not.
I’ll never know to this day what she thought about my comment. Since I didn’t get the chance to explain to her, (because she ran out the door rather quickly after my neurotic display), I will explain the blue cardboard stove-thingy now.
When I was 4 I got a little play stove made of a durable, light blue-colored cardboard for Christmas. It was the zenith of Christmas morning. And it had a particular smell to it. A smell I never forgot. Asked me what it smelled like, and I couldn’t even begin to describe it. But if that women ever comes around again, I’ll try to take notes.
Elise Burdick
Oh, may I say THANK YOU! I got the biggest giggle reading this! It is the Deja Vu moments that are compelling to just how deep our subconscious mind is, and what is locked inside waiting to be tapped into!
I still have a visual of you following her around and having that “at the tip of my nose” confused look on your face!
If you can unlock that treasure, imagine your own Creative Genius that lays waiting for the prompting
Marcia Ann
I love the idea! I think every room should have a unique smell to it. You lilac candle is a great spring fragrance.
I am sure you know exactly how scents evoke feelings and joy! I was just thinking about YOUR soy candles last night! Saw your post about the wedding candles….I was a wedding floral designer for 25 years, and I really resonated with that post!
Thanks for commenting!
Marcia Ann
I am glad that you enjoyed the post. I think it is great that you are using smells to help with decorating.