Sniff your way to nirvana

Sniffing meditation? Really? Okay. You might not be able to sniff your way to nirvana. But you can use smell or scent as an object of meditation.

Scent evokes memory. Those memories are thoughts I will discuss more later. Be aware of the difference between the scent itself and a memory, which is probably an image or inner monologue. Instead, notice any place in the body where the scent resonates. That would be a felt sense rather  than a smell, but it is important to notice.

One of my favorite seasons to use scent meditation, or “sniff meditation” as I like to call it, since I often run with my sniffing dog, is during the spring when the lilacs bloom.

I start out and let my awareness float, noticing any scent that arises. Spring in central Ohio smells fresh and green. This loamy, bright scent evokes pleasant body sensations and visual images of the green fields where I grew up.

As I run, I look (with my nose) for lilacs. Often, I smell them before I see them. Does purple have a smell? If so, it’s lilac. I take care not to crave the scent, but to let it waft to me and let it go when it is behind me.

This one is a bit trickier, because I do want to smell lilacs. I enjoy them so much. And so, I make any craving part of my practice, noting the almost painful feeling of hoping I pass a lilac bush, and also a slight tinge of sadness when I’m far enough away that the scent fades to memory.

And the memory, too, becomes the practice.

I have included more than twenty “Your Turn” exercises in the book Make Every Move a Meditation.

This excerpt is from Make Every Move a Meditation by Nita Sweeney which is available now through Amazon and Mango Media.