We all have moments where our thoughts turn colder than an arctic winter. The constant self-doubt that plagues our thoughts and the nagging voice in your head that tells you that you aren’t good enough. The thoughts that send chills down your spine and intrude on the good ones.
One thing that I’ve turned to in order to warm up those cold thoughts was a wax warmer. Smells have always been one of my biggest soothers. A nice, calm, relaxing smell will typically put my mind at ease.
The smells transport my thoughts to something different. The smell of Beach Air brings me to a yellow beach with crystal clear waters as far as the eye can see. Calming waves slap against the shore, leaving white outlines in their wake.
The smell of Forest transports me to a cabin in the woods. Birds chirp around me as a stray deer feeds in the distance. The aroma of fresh morning dew resting on the leaves of the tall trees.
Lavender is one of my all-time favorites, though. Folk medicine circles have often touted lavender as being a natural aid for anxiety and depression. There have even been studies done on a certain kind of alcohol found in lavender and other flowers that resulted in a reduction in anxiety in mice.
Anyway.
There are so many scents to choose from that can transport you to countless places. Our senses are some of our most powerful tools, and using them to help soothe our cold thoughts is a valuable thing to know how to do.
So when you have your wax warmer plugged in and you’ve picked the destination scent you want to travel to, now what? Turn the lights out and allow the dim light from the wax warmer to warm the room.
Lay down and close your eyes. Focus on the place you want to go. Imagine every detail of the forest, from different creatures scurrying through the brush to the smells of a wood-burning fireplace and hot coffee. Take a deep breath in and hold it. One. Two. Three. Exhale.
Repeat that until your body becomes enveloped in the smells. You’ll feel weightless as the weight is lifted off of you. Hold on to that place for as long as you can, following the breathing process.
I have a goal of owning a cabin in the woods one day, so often my smells are forestry or calming smells. I transport myself to watching the morning sunrise and paint the fog orange. The tips of mountains around me come to life as birds wake up and begin singing.
I’m sitting there with my wife, drinking coffee on our porch overlooking the surrounding mountains. The smell of the coffee often materializes in between the smells of Grey Mist. I have a wonderful book in my lap, one of my books.
That’s where I choose to go when I need an escape from reality. It’s my calm place, the place that can warm those cold thoughts. It gives me hope.
Hope for a better future.
Tyler Wittkofsky 