This Summer, my partner and I traveled through back highways in three states filled with prairie and grasslands on motorcycle. Starting in Central Time Zone, we spent hours on the road until we reached our destination in Mountain Time. I often joke how we travel through time to visit our family and the special places in South Dakota. This was our first visit on two wheels and I learned first hand what saddle sore means. We would start off early in the morning when it was cool but by 10 AM it was roasting. To occupy my mind helping me to endure the Summer heat, I practice a meditation. Closing my eyes and becoming still, heightens my awareness, I focus on the one sense: Smell.
No shade out on the South Dakota prairie!
"Scent can have a profound affect on your meditation experience. Historically, and today, aromatic botanicals served to help calm the mind, quiet the inner chatter, and allow us to kindly "be" and connect with something greater, whether that's with our interpretation of Spirit, with our heart, or the heart of Collective." According to Erin Littlewood, Aromatherapist and Reiki practitioner
Fields of sunflowers on the back highways in South Dakota. I could smell them at least a mile before I saw them.
I inhaled deeply and focused on one smell. I tried to identify what it was. Some of the smells were not so pleasant like a dead skunk on the road lol but others were. I would ask myself the following : What is it? What memory did it bring up for me? The sunflowers in the fields and horses were my favorite scents( two of my favorite scents from my childhood). This meditation allowed me to relax and enjoy the travel.
Now that Summer is over, Autumn brings such enticing aroma's. If you feel inclined, step out side, find a comfortable place to sit, close you eyes and enter the lovely world of Autumn's scents. If you would like to learn more about using aroma in meditation, check out https://fivesisterswellness.com/
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