A Bible study can cut an interesting new path in thought. And that is exactly what happened today while I was studying the weekly CSBL on Spirit. One citation from Science and Health arrested my attention. As I read it, I took a detour in order to explore the word, aroma. My detour may interest you.
Aroma is powerful. It is an almost unerring form of identification. Animals are known to depend on aroma for food, fight/flight and most importantly for family identification. So it was strange that I was surprised by a young Vietnamese neighbor who spoke with such reverence and grace about the scent, aroma, of his wife. It was what he yearned for, her smell - she had not yet joined him here. Aroma was the way he could recognize her. With her aroma came peace and joy and freedom and comfort and love. He kept her scarf close at hand. You have seen his response to her aroma mirrored by an eyes-closed infant being cradled by its mother.
I had never heard someone speak of smell that way. He said that Americans had no scent. They smelled of soap, cleansers and perfumery to hide their aroma - to remain unknown. He didn't understand how we could find each other. He wrote poetry for his wife that gave me an understanding and appreciation for the sense of smell. It was not sensual, it was deeper.
So what does this have to do with Science? In Science aroma is discerned by the sense of Soul. Aroma assures us we have never left Love's embrace. Aroma is an ephemeral message that identifies our Father-Mother God, Spirit. It tells us softly and with authority that we are safe, loved, cared for and that we are to just rest and know and watch and gurgle. It conveys God's will for us, "Let Me love you." Aroma tests the spirits. It verifies Spirit. It is the porter that we never notice is always on duty to safeguard us.
To me aroma is is simply the essence of what is. It is the essence of essence. Aroma is apple pie and by reflection it is the divine signature of God's presence. Aka smell, aroma's value is recognized in the Song of Solomon. It has no single language. It goes beyond the limits of language and it speaks directly and intimately to us and we understand it's meaning.
Aroma is powerful. It is an almost unerring form of identification. Animals are known to depend on aroma for food, fight/flight and most importantly for family identification. So it was strange that I was surprised by a young Vietnamese neighbor who spoke with such reverence and grace about the scent, aroma, of his wife. It was what he yearned for, her smell - she had not yet joined him here. Aroma was the way he could recognize her. With her aroma came peace and joy and freedom and comfort and love. He kept her scarf close at hand. You have seen his response to her aroma mirrored by an eyes-closed infant being cradled by its mother.
I had never heard someone speak of smell that way. He said that Americans had no scent. They smelled of soap, cleansers and perfumery to hide their aroma - to remain unknown. He didn't understand how we could find each other. He wrote poetry for his wife that gave me an understanding and appreciation for the sense of smell. It was not sensual, it was deeper.
So what does this have to do with Science? In Science aroma is discerned by the sense of Soul. Aroma assures us we have never left Love's embrace. Aroma is an ephemeral message that identifies our Father-Mother God, Spirit. It tells us softly and with authority that we are safe, loved, cared for and that we are to just rest and know and watch and gurgle. It conveys God's will for us, "Let Me love you." Aroma tests the spirits. It verifies Spirit. It is the porter that we never notice is always on duty to safeguard us.
To me aroma is is simply the essence of what is. It is the essence of essence. Aroma is apple pie and by reflection it is the divine signature of God's presence. Aka smell, aroma's value is recognized in the Song of Solomon. It has no single language. It goes beyond the limits of language and it speaks directly and intimately to us and we understand it's meaning.
Mind, God, sends forth the aroma of Spirit, the atmosphere of intelligence.
~Mary Baker Eddy
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