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My Journal
This is a quiet space for aromatic thoughts, research, observations, and occasional journeys.
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Leleshwa: the scent of East African shrubs, open air, and pastoral landscapes
Read more →: Leleshwa: the scent of East African shrubs, open air, and pastoral landscapesLeleshwa is a dry, camphoraceous East African aromatic plant woven into pastoral landscapes, smoke, medicine, and movement. This article follows leleshwa from its traditional uses and ecological role to its essential oil chemistry, scent profile, safety, and modern aromatherapy potential as a respiratory, clarifying, and insect-repellent oil with a deeply rooted sense of place.
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Beyond the five senses: a history of human perception from antiquity to neuroscience
Read more →: Beyond the five senses: a history of human perception from antiquity to neuroscienceAsk most people how many senses humans have and they’ll say five. Ask a neuroscientist and you’ll get a longer pause. This is a history of that pause – from Aristotle and Avicenna through Buddhist philosophy and classical Chinese medicine, all the way to interoception and what we’re still figuring out.
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The American summer I kept walking and walking
Read more →: The American summer I kept walking and walkingNew York in July smells like warm concrete and humidity and, if you’re honest, a little bit of piss. Then Washington. Then a balcony full of lavender somewhere in Maryland. Three cities, three weeks, and a lot of walking. The kind you do when you’re not quite sure what else to do.
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Cold hands and cold feet: Why it happens and how aromatherapy can help
Read more →: Cold hands and cold feet: Why it happens and how aromatherapy can helpCold hands and feet aren’t just a winter nuisance – they’re your nervous system tightening its grip on circulation. Essential oils can actually help, not by warming you directly, but by helping the tiny muscles around your blood vessels let go. Here’s the chemistry behind it, and the blends that work.
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Why is cherry the scent of 2025? Psychology, symbolism, and something more
Read more →: Why is cherry the scent of 2025? Psychology, symbolism, and something moreCherry is back, but not how you remember it. Not lip gloss, not candy. In 2025, it’s something darker, more honest. Sweet and sharp in the same breath. It carries contradiction in the way we carry ourselves right now: layered, a little bruised, and refusing to apologize for taking up space.
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The role of scent in Eastern Orthodox spirituality
Read more →: The role of scent in Eastern Orthodox spiritualityWe’ve been taught to think of religious experience in terms of visions and voices. But what if we’ve overlooked something far more ancient? In Eastern Orthodox spirituality, scent isn’t decoration, but theology. Fragrance fills us, enters us, transforms us. It’s the sense that grace most resembles: unbidden, pervasive, and impossible to fully contain.