Smell Spirituality
Most of the churches I've attended over the years have not used "smells and bells." There are no chimes to mark key moments of the service, and the minister or priest does not pass incense over the congregation or the altar. No disrespect intended, but I still laugh at the story of the drunk who wandered into a Catholic church during mass one day and tugged on the robe of the priest, whispering, "Pardon me, but your purse is on fire."
With little experience with the communal use of incense, I am still quite taken with the use of it in personal devotions -- such as the simple practice as lighting a small stick of incense at the beginning of a prayer or meditation period and staying quiet until it burns down, letting the incense define sacred time and space.
Yacine Bell in the New Morning show on "
Awakening" helped me see the use of incense in a broader way. She uses incense to get in touch with her emotions, and I know that certain smells have definite effects on me. Citrus is invariably refreshing and uplifting. Nutmeg and cinnamon are calming and put me in a nesting mood, probably because they remind me of my mother's kitchen. The smell of Clorox® puts me back at the swimming pools of my childhood.
Bell takes it further than just associations with smells. She says that used with intention, incense brings you into your center. It quiets you and connects you with your own energy and the soul of the plant it came from. It also connects you to the places and the people where it originated. When you use it correctly, she points out, the smoke dances up and you are "knocking on heaven's door." Since I believe that spiritual practice consists of three kinds of connection -- to self, others, and God -- I now recognize the use of incense as smell spirituality!
I did a little looking around and discovered that there are places online where I can order things to use for smell spirituality. At
SpiritualScents.com, for example, I can get a "Celtic Blend" of resin incense, a blend of frankincense, myrrh, benzoin, and lavender, to be used for protection and purification. Or I may try a "Forest Blend," since I don't get to the woods very often, and it would be nice to be in touch with that energy. There are incense sticks and cones from China, Japan, and India. I already like to burn bundles of sage, dispensing the smoke through my home as I think about clearing out old, dead energy, and letting go of the past. On New Morning, Bell says one of her favorite is sweetgrass. It integrates the mind, body, and spirit. I think I need to smell and enjoy some of that.