Gifts for the Senses

The post below originally appeared on an old blog of mine in January, 2006. Because my senses, and sensual things, please me, I decided to repeat it. Great erotic moments engage all five senses, and the brain, too. Enjoy!

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Gifts for the Senses

One of my closest friends sent me a present. I received it yesterday. She and her husband are spending nearly four months in Santa Monica [note: they have since moved to southern California permanently], so she sent me her favorite California scents--lavender and sage. The lavender is in a sachet bag; the sage is wrapped in a bundle. (Some people burn the "sage sticks" as a way to purify their home. It's a New Age thing, I think.) She also sent me some hand-made soap that contains both scents.

Our sense of smell is our most primitive sense. Some think it's our most powerful because of the way it stirs our old, reptilian brains. I am in that camp.

Certain smells make me smile. They make me feel better, emotionally and physicially. They help me create.

Smells I dislike make me feel bad physically and unhappy mentally and emotionally. All I want to do is escape them.

Have you ever explored which smells affect you? I tend to like flower/herbal/woodsy smells. I am wild for lavender and pine/evergreen, in particular. Sage isn't far behind. Lemon and rosemary (I have a candle with this combination) seem to help me create. But it all makes me smile and feel good.

If you've never taken the time to explore different smells, I urge you to do so. You might find a scent that makes you feel better when you're down, or that helps you create. Even if you don't consider yourself creative.

If discussions of how our senses interest you, discover Diane Ackerman's A Natural History of the Senses, a well-written and fascinating book.

As for me, I'm off to sniff my lavender again.

Barrie