We’re all familiar with using different incense in ritual to kick us into certain states of mind, but what if we used them in our mundane lives for the same purpose.
The basic idea would be to carry around the incense corresponding to the energy you would want to invoke, and when the time comes for you to get into that state of mind, you pull out the incense, inhale, and you’re immediately transformed into whatever state you wanna be in.
If you dont use incense, you can just buy a little vile of perfume that you like, then do a ritual corresponding to the energy you want to invoke while wearing it and smelling it the whole time. The more times you do the ritual, the stronger the connection between the energy and the scent.
Scent is the only one of the five basic senses that is connected directly to your brain, making this powerful even for beginners.
Yes, it’s a known phenomenon called “conditioning”, where your brain has an association between different stimuli.
You can take advantage of this to condition yourself on purpose. It’s just takes repetition and avoiding the scent at other times so the effect isn’t diluted. So I wouldn’t wear it, as you have too many other stimuli coming in and the conditioning won’t happen - you want the association made to be very specific. So carrying around a vial makes sense, after the association is made with the state of mind.
I think if the association is strong, you can imagine the scent and it would help you attain the state you’ve already used in many rituals. But it would be better to have the actual scent and directly stimulate the brain neurons for scent.
I have an association since childhood that links Coca Cola brand coke and plain potato chips - if I drink coke I automatically think of potato chips and would like to eat them with the coke, and not just any potato chips, specifically Walkers brand “crisps” from the UK… and conversely it doesn’t work for Pepsi or any other brand.
It’s fading as I continue to drink coke without chips, but it’s been decades and it’s still there. Another example is people trying to give up smoking, if they always smoked and drank alcohol at the same time, if they drink it can trigger the cravings to smoke.
Only if you condition yourself to that specific association. By itself there’s no reason for ylang-ylang to trigger anything, as the conditioning doesn’t exist. Conditioning is a change in the individual’s brain it’s not universal. And you can get triggered for bad things as well, as seen in sufferers of PTSD.
It may also depend on the brand of essential oil, as different brands use different extraction techniques with different varieties and source materials, making tiny changes in scent that matter to the brain chemistry.
Lots of us have many mild associations, and some not so mild, and understanding what these are is part if the advice to “know thyself”. Because these can control your behavior without you being consciously aware of why you’re reacting the way you are.
