Countdown to Christmas: 12/15/23 — “Use Your Nose Mindfully”

This year my Countdown to Christmas is a nontraditional Advent Calendar centering (pun intended) on mindfulness.

On the front of each card is neat little picture, and on the back are the instructions for the short meditation.

Today, the 15th Day of Advent … USE YOUR NOSE MINDFULLY.

Here are today’s instructions:

Your sense of smell can be one of the most powerful factors in getting you into the Christmas spirit. Today, let your nose take centre stage and be alert to all the festive aromas you come across both at home and outside.

Fresh pine, gingerbread, incense, cinnamon, candles, nutmeg, peppermint – the list goes on. When you notice a smell that you associate with Christmas, stop what you are doing, bring your nose to the scented object, close your eyes and focus on the sensations and feelings that come with the experience of smelling that aroma.

Perhaps the smell reminds you of a specific time or place from a past Christmas. Maybe it stirs a familiar or unexpected emotion in you. Maybe it ramps up the anticipation or the feeling of goodwill. Whatever feelings or thoughts you experience in this moment, just acknowledge and examine them for a lingering moment, then reopen your eyes and ease back into what you were doing before.

Focusing solely on the scent of an object lends an immediacy to our attention and brings us into the moment. Scent can also be very helpful in reducing anxiety.

What a wonderfully fun meditation this is today! I hope you try it.

Make your sense of smell bring you joy.