More on the Power of "Scents"

My summer garden.  Who doesn't love the scent of flowers on a warm lazy summer day?

My children loved to be read to when they were young.  One of their favorite books was Detective Arthur on The Scent.  It was the story of a bloodhound who had received a special gift from his grandmother on his birthday - a detective kit.  Inside was a detective hat, a magnifying glass and a detecting book.  When his birthday cake suddenly disappeared, his mother encouraged him to use his kit to find the robbers.

Rule #1 in his book said to search for any strange objects.  Rule #2 said to smell all objects.  Arthur went on to smell a banana, a bunch of cherries, a lemon, grape jelly, mint ice cream and finally his chocolate birthday cake which he found on a picnic table surrounded by all his friends.  This delightful story not only had a happy ending but was possibly our first introduction to aromatherapy!

I love learning new things.  Alan Hirsch, MD, author of Life's a Smelling Success tells us that the smell of peppermint or banana will reduce food cravings. By placing just a few drops of essential oil of peppermint on a cotton ball and placing it inside a plastic bag, we can smell it and reduce our hunger pangs.  By just smelling a banana we get the same effects and don't even have to peel it!  I'm really curious about this and want to learn more.

Use Common "Scents" to Improve Family Communication

Did you know that scents have powerful effects on our emotions - even to the point of helping to manage our minds and moods?  According to research done by Alan Hirsch, MD, author of Life's a Smelling Success, eating garlic bread at dinnertime helps to promote positive family interactions.  He  found that by eating or just smelling garlic bread, negative dinnertime remarks were reduced by 22% and pleasant remarks increased by over 7%.  I find that to be amazing!

Are you someone who needs to focus?  Then smell fresh flowers!  By smelling fresh flowers, your mental sharpness will increase along with the ability to focus.  This works for adults as well as for kids - especially when doing homework, when studying for a test or when practicing to give a speech.  For alertness and focus, place a vase of fresh flowers on your desk or table and stop often to "smell the roses".

The Privilege of Being Who You Are

American mythologist, Joseph Campbell said, “The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” Yet, how many of us really know ourselves?  How many of us take the time it takes to discover our true selves?  

First, find out what you really want and then follow that even if it means breaking old ways of thinking and behaving.  When I decided to become a full time artist, I was breaking new ground. If I had continued with the status quo of making art part time or when I had time, I might never have experienced who I believe I was meant to be.  Mr. Campbell reminds us that we must be willing to let go of the life we have planned in order to have the life that is waiting for us.

Are there things or people in your life that are no longer serving you or your best interest?  Do you believe that you are too old, too young, that there isn't enough time or money to have, be or do what you really want?  There is a wonderful lession that the Queen in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass teaches us.  She states, “Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast”.  Everyday I ask my self what I think is impossible and then I believe that it isn't.

 



This is the cover photo for an art suppy catalog - a place I sometimes buy art supplies.  It reminds me that I too can be an empowered artist.  All I have to do is believe.  When I woke up this morning I believed it.  I used to think it was impossible.

 

Jack Canfield, author of the Chicken Soup books, says that we are all born with a purpose and that by living true to that purpose and staying on course, everything will soon begin to fall into place. Invisible hands will reach out and help us every step of the way.

Resolve right now to be truly yourself…to be more of who you really are…to begin experiencing the privilege of just being you and see what happens!

Do Unto Others



This is Pete - a good friend's dog.  I realize that "doing unto others" can include acts of kindness toward our pets.

There is an amazing power that comes by giving to others that many of us are not even aware of.  I recently learned that by performing acts of kindness and by “doing unto others”, a primitive part of our brains actually “light up” allowing us to feel more joy, to create better health and to actually live longer.  I learned that even contemplating doing something good or kind for someone stimulates the brain to shift away from anxiety or despair, moving us toward inner tranquility, joy and contentment.

Activating this part of the brain is easy – all we have to do is begin to give of ourselves by volunteering a few hours a week, performing “random acts of kindness”, “paying it forward” or engaging in any helping or kind behavior especially without expecting anything in return.  As we “do unto others” with kindness, love and charity, in the end we create our own path for living a longer, healthier and more hope-filled life.

Life Is About the Process

This is a photo of shoes that were being hand made. 

When I decided over a week ago to organize my bedroom closet and shoes, I ended up taking a very circuitous route.  I don’t know why but I first cleaned out some boxes in the basement.  Somehow, it felt like the first best thing to do.  I discovered items I no longer wanted, so I took them to a non-profit - I had checked out their website Wish List earlier that day.  It felt good to do this.

Next, I sorted through and boxed some things from another closet - I'm thinking about having a spring yard sale.  I noticed again that doing this had nothing to do with my original goal but again it felt right.   Next, I checked out a pre-holiday appliance sale ad for a new refrigerator.  I shopped and bought.  It wasn't as impulsive as it sounds - I've been contemplating doing this for two years.  Things sometimes move slowly.

Finally, I got to my bedroom closet and as I was sorting shoes, I realized that getting here had been quite an interesting process and that no matter how many times I got “sidetracked”; it was simply my process of creating forward movement toward this goal.  I have suddenly become very aware that all of my day-to-day, minute-to-minute experiences are generally about process.  As I begin to appreciate this, more and more, the outcome almost doesn't matter - what's important is the process.  Process isn’t about doing it right or wrong, or about how long it takes, or where exactly it leads to and it certainly never, ever has to make sense to anyone else!  Our process is simply our process and ours alone and it is meant to be experienced and enjoyed.

Today, I am appreciating my process, even when it doesn't make sense.  I am always amazed at where it takes me.

Small Steps Approach

 

Deciding to do something, to take action or to make a change in our lives, can sometimes seem overwhelming.  I know from experience that I can find just about every excuse in the book not to do what I really want to do.  I don't know where to start.  The project seems too big.  There isn't enough time or money.  I don't have any experience.  I've never done this before.  There's no one to help me.  What if someone disapproved?  What if I make too many mistakes? There are other more exciting things to do.  And the list goes on.

I once heard it said that if we want to write a book, all we need to do is throw the ending out into the water and then start swimming after it.  This is a "small steps" approach...one stroke at a time...one page at a time...one idea at a time...one task at a time...a minute here...a minute there.  Keeping my eye on the goal but no rush.  Just one thing at a time.  Even thinking about something is a small step in the right direction.

My goal is to clean out a closet this week.  Today, I began by cleaning out a drawer.  I'm happy.  Maybe tomorrow I'll organize my shoes.  Or maybe not.  Small steps.

Strategies for Stress Reduction

It is estimated that well over 70% of all doctor visits in the United States are due to stress. We can’t eliminate stress nor would we want to because without some stress we could not survive.  However, it is when we continue to “react” to external or internal stressors (fight or flight) that we begin to “break down”. 

Remember too that ultimately, the fight or flight reaction is not all bad - it serves to warn us of imminent danger.    However, all too often, we begin to loose perspective and start seeing everything as a “wolf at the door”.  By keeping ourselves in this constant state of tension, stress reactivity and hyper-arousal, a myriad of health problems are ripe to develop such as sleep disorders, headaches, backaches, anxiety, high blood pressure, arrhythmias and other mind/body conditions. 

One quick way to short circuit our tendency to see things from this “crisis” perspective is to adopt several “stress response” strategies.  First, we can learn to respond by consciously giving ourselves time to appraise the situation as well as our thoughts about the situation. We can next choose to slow down and take a few mindful breaths. As we start to relax and become more present, we can view the situation in its fullest context and from a broader vantage point so as to decide what we can do next.

Other stress response strategies include dealing with the situation immediately (taking time to pay a bill today rather than procrastinating and getting charged a late fee).  If it is something that is clearly out of our control (when someone cuts us off on the freeway) we can simply acknowledge it and move on rather than clinging to a strong emotional reaction such as anger.  If it’s something we can deal with at a later time (such as preparing for a meeting next week) we can write it down on our “to do” list and get to it later.

The bottom line is this: more often than not we can take control of situations and events rather than letting them take control of us.  By developing strategies and a solution focused approach to life’s challenges, we can move forward with conscious choice when things come up - as they always will.  In this way, we will protect ourselves from the many harmful affects of on-going or long-term chronic stress reactivity.

2011 all rights reserved Ian Baker Johnson, MS, CEAP, IC®