“Our senses are indeed our doors and windows on this world, in a very real sense [they are] the key to the unlocking of meaning and the wellspring of creativity.”
Jean Houston
If there is one thing which I think has the power to transport us back to a memory, it’s a smell. Do you agree?
Whether it’s the Lynx deodorant of your first crush, the incense burner from your favourite student hangout, or your favourite candle scent, smell is an incredible way to dive deep into our memories and experiences, which of course are what constitute our creativity!
So today, I’d like you to join me down the nasal corridor of scent! (I’ve no idea if that’s a thing, but it is now!) And let’s use our sense of smell to encourage more creative thinking in the week ahead.
“Certain fragrances can … evoke powerful emotional responses by stimulating the release of neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins, which in turn can unleash creative thinking and problem-solving abilities.”
Lavender is often associated with relaxation and might aid in creative problem-solving by reducing stress.
Citrus fragrances are known to increase alertness and could potentially enhance innovative thinking.
Peppermint is known for improving mental clarity and clearing the mind, which makes way for unobstructed creative thinking.
So here are your creative thinking prompts for this week:
Creative Thinking Prompts (w/c 8 April 2024)
Devote half an hour to your nose (or whatever time you have)! Smell things you wouldn’t normally smell - do they have a smell? How does the smell make you feel? Does it remind you of anything? How would you describe it to someone in words?
Try out different scents as you work - do you notice that you work better with a certain aroma?
Our ‘olfactory’ system is the only sense we have which activates the part of our brain associated with emotion, learning and memory, hence why our smell is so strongly linked to our previous experiences. Think about any particular smells which take you back to a fond memory. Could you introduce this smell when you need to ‘be creative’? The association of a ‘good memory’ may well pave the way for an exploration into something exciting and innovative!
I really find it fascinating how our sense of smell is so powerfully related to our emotions, and our emotions heavily impact our state of mind and therefore the efficiency of our creativity. So it pays to bear this sense in mind when planning to ‘be creative’, or even just having certain smells around you in the knowledge that they’ll contribute to your creativity!
I’ll leave you with a final quote:
“...developing our olfaction can make us think differently and even speak and write more vividly.”
I love the idea of our spoken and written word being more ‘vivid’ - a lovely way to describe how something can be so much more vibrant after we’ve really put effort into thinking about how it could be improved. Exactly what your regular creative thinking practice is doing for you!
P.S. If you like your scents and room sprays, why not try Beautiful Thinking - the room spray mentioned in the article I quoted from above. It has been designed specifically with creative thinking in mind! Find it here: https://beautifulthinking.co.uk/products/beautiful-thinking-fragrance Think that might be going on my birthday list!
P.P.S. I found this person on Insta in my research on this topic - if you’re interested in the power of our sense of smell, have a peek at her work: https://www.instagram.com/futureofsmell
Also, I should add a link to my friend Sarah who runs Evergreen Scents. She is an expert in scents and well worth a look at her beautiful instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/evergreen.scent
“Wonder makes us more creative and more desirous of studying the world around us. It makes us humble, less materialistic, more generous, and better community members… Wonder makes us less stressed and feel like we have more time… Wonder quite simply makes us want to be better, more tolerant people.”(Parker, 2023)
📸: Paris' Perfume Museum - a lovely place to shelter from the rain (but with nothing to smell except the perfumes they were trying to sell! Slightly strange, but still, I learnt lots about the history of perfume!)
