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Garlic! The stench of it on another person’s breath when we haven’t indulged. It’s up there with stale coffee, cigarettes and the smell of old beer in the carpet of a clubhouse floor (trust me on that one!)
Of all our senses smell is perhaps the one that is given least credit. Is it really possible, not to mention probable, to ‘smell’ our way through life without ever being aware of it.
Your unconscious mind, however, has built up quite a library of smells and the associations (both physical and emotional) that go with them.
Smell can be the most evocative of the senses when memories are involved. Case in point is a certain shampoo that reminds of a holiday taken, a flower that evokes the smell of childhood or a hand cream that will forever be the essence of my nana.
Is there any smell in the world like the skin of a newborn baby? The familiar warm smells of your own child as they cuddle you or your partner when snuggling their neck in the night. What about the immediate anticipation evoked on entering the house and the smell of baking wafts to greet us at the door?
While smell definitely comes into play in a physical and tangible sense in many instances most people rely heavily on their visual, auditory or kinesthetic (feelings) to explain their world.
We fling these primary predicates around when we speak as part of our internal operating system all the time.
A visually dominated person may state that a comment was illuminating when they imagined what it would look like. “I’m all ears”, says the person depending on auditory input to best express the ideas that “harmonize” with their inner self. And of course there are others who grasp at an idea with a gut feeling that they’ll get a handle on being kinesthetic, or ‘feeling’ some how.
Knowing this, and harnessing the power of the knowledge, is a wonderful way to build rapport with others.
So what about smell? This is your olfactory system and sometimes the unconscious mind will pull out its associations to that part of you as well when it is seeking to explain the world around you in words.
- “I’m just nosing around here and something smells a bit fishy about all this!"
- "The lingering scent of success is in the air. He’s really got a nose for this work!”
Now lest someone has a sour taste in their mouth about me overlooking the gustatory system I should also briefly mention ‘taste’. I would never spit on its significance! This sensory system is also little used orally (how ironic) but from time to time it expresses our bitterness, sourness or the sweetness of life. Of course it’s only a secondary operating system so it’s understandable that many take it’s importance with a pinch of salt.
Well, having focused on this article long enough to grasp some of this I hope you’ve found it all resonates with a part of you. I have to say that I anticipate now you’ve got a whiff of it all it’s left a sweet taste in your mouth.
Thanks for reading!
What a nice article that has been Heather! Congratulations. That is all I have to say for a subject that I am also interested about. Excellent presentation.
I heard somewhere that our sense of smell has the strongest bond to our memory. I admit I'm more visual than anything as far as new info input but love the various smells in the world as you so nicely describe and tastes! I'm all about taste - love the nuances of well prepared food. Thanks for writing this article.
What you say is so true, AnnMarie. Tonight we ate curry for dinner and at the first mouthful I was transported 'home' to Australia as it's a meal we ate weekly there. Amazing how we have these associations buried away!
Wonderful. Yes, we each tend to explain the world around us through our unconscious mind and our own focus. Harnessing the power of your unconscious mind smells is a great idea. Thanks for sharing! And yes, it sure takes a lot of mouth, teeth and gum work after each garlic meal, doesn't it? I don't chew gum so I end up grinding toothpaste into every pore:-)
Where did this one come from? You have the ability to bounce out an article unforeseen that takes my breath away. This being one of them, this is the true brilliant Heather that I have come to know via this site, one that can come up with the goods time and again, and deserves a higher ranking than shown. In fact if I could abdicate and announce my successor, it would be you. True brilliance this, true brilliance.
Oh you make me smile Rob! In fact even laugh! Just tapping the keyboard about what interests me, like we all do! ;-) Thank you for such kindness.
Don't be modest now accept a complement when given and begin to realise like I've said before, your good and should be pounding out a book, it will sell.
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