Self Care Advent Calendar Day 21

Regular readers (hello) may have noticed a pattern emerging in the last few posts. On the 19th we looked at sound (so to speak) on the 20th taste. Following on with the theme of senses let’s spend some time thinking about smell.

Our noses are spectacular – not as good as many other animals, but still spectacular.

We can recognise different scents – some we may love, others we may hate, but all of the smells we smell have memories and associations with them. It is often said that scent has the strongest link to memory. Have you ever caught a whiff that sent you straight back to childhood? Or another that made you feel like you did at the dentist?

One way that we can self care through smell is to make sure that we, and our environment smell nice. Make sure things around you are clean. Then choose the scents you want to experience. If you want to feel refreshed and invigorated go for more citrus scents. If you want to feel more relaxed and calm go for more earth scents. Want to feel like you’re on a beach holiday – coconuts and mangoes.

Another way is through therapies like aromatherapy. These use specific essential oils either just as a scent or as part of a massage to make you feel well.

Think of a happy memory, or just some place that you really enjoy. Think of what scents you would notice if you were there, and try to recreate them in your environment. Maybe your subconscious will then give you more positive happy thoughts to brighten your day?

 

 

What does the moon smell of?

If you want to see what it looks like on the other side of the world you can look at a picture.

If you want to find out the history of a building you can read a book.

If you want to hear what it sounds like in the jungle you can listen to a recording.

But, what does it smell like?

In the film Good Will Hunting, there is a famous monologue…

“So if I asked you about art, you’d probably give me the skinny on every art book ever written. Michelangelo, you know a lot about him. Life’s work, political aspirations, him and the pope, sexual orientations, the whole works, right? But I’ll bet you can’t tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel……”

That part of the speech has always stayed with me and one day I hope to visit the Sistine chapel and get a good nose full.

One place I can never expect to visit is the moon. I’ll never get to smell what the moon smells like – but then I thought that no-one else could either. I mean, even if your lucky enough to walk on the surface, you’re still in a space suit with a helmet and breathing air that you bought with you, right?

But then I heard someone talking on a daytime TV show. They had interviewed someone who had walked on the moon and the guy had said that he was bored with all the usual questions. The interviewer asked him what he’d like to be asked, and he replied that no-one had ever asked him what the moon smells of. The interviewer laughed and said that this was a trick question, because no-one could take a sniff when they were on the surface of the moon, but the astronaut replied that when he came back to the space ship and came through the airlock, he took off his suit and it was covered in dust – and he had smelled that. ‘What did it smell of?’ the interviewer asked. ‘Rusty buckets in the rain’ he replied.

I may never see a rusty bucket again without wanting to sniff it and think about what the moon smells of.

Smell to get ahead

Smells and emotions are closely linked and we can use this to help us to feel the way we would like to feel, and to achieve the things we want to achieve….here’s how

Can you think of a smell you associate with being on holiday?

For me it’s the smell of baking cookies from Main Street in Disney and it makes me feel excited.

Can you think of a smell you associate with being at school?

For me it’s chalk and it makes me feel focussed.

Can you think of a smell you associate with being at the dentist?

For me it’s antiseptic and it makes me feel anxious.

Can you think of a smell you associate with being with your Grandmother?

For me it’s fruit cake and it makes me feel safe.

So. think of a situation that made you feel the way that you want to feel, and then think of the smells that you associate with it. Then surround yourself with that fragrance. It really is that simple.

You can also create scent associations that are useful to get you into the right head space.

Whenever I see clients I always use the same perfume. It creates the right associations for me and I have also had feedback from some clients that they start to feel more relaxed whenever they come across that scent.

When ever I blog, I spray the room with a scent called Karma from LUSH – it helps me to feel creative and focussed into writing.

When I meditate, I always light a vanilla candle, and now the smell of vanilla always helps to calm me.

You can use this trick for all sorts of things, from revising for an exam to sitting a driving test. Just make sure that you use the scent every time you are practising or revising and then use it in the exam to help bring back all the facts and focus.

My Happy Jar

This is the latest post about my Happy Jar.

It’s a way to look back on things and remember all the little things that make us happy.

The idea came from a nice story I once heard about a woman who had a jar. Every time she thought of something that made her happy, she would jot it down on a piece of paper and put it in the jar. Whenever she felt down, or fed up, she would go to her jar and find all the things that made her happy. Some things were big things, events that happened that she could look back on and smile, but most were little things that she could cherish and maybe even recreate to make her feel better.

So here are a few things from my Happy Jar this month

Having a drink that I used to drink as a kid

Seeing a guy dressed as a vampire waiting at a bus stop

The smell of pine needles

Partying with friends

Making someone smile when they are in a bad mood

Achieving my blog a day for 90 days goal

Eating left over Halloween treats

A new note book full of clean empty pages

Getting great feedback from a client

Being at a fancy dress party where everyone has made an effort to have really great outfits

A dog running up to greet you, wagging it’s tail

The sparkle of fireworks in a dark sky

I know none of these things are amazing, there is nothing earth shattering about them, but all of them have made me smile and brought a least a little joy to my soul.

What will you put in your happy jar this month?