Odors during Meditation

[JustARandomPanda]

What does it mean according to Taoism if during meditation one often smells odors of wood burning?

[joeblast]

earth being replenished? if my fuzzy memory serves me well, your balance of earth needed a jolt. but I might be incorrect

[Pai_Mei]

I see two possibilites here: 1. Your base chakra has been activated (which is more of a tantric explanation than a strictly Daoist although the chakras are known in Daoism, too )as the base chakra is connected to the sense of smell. 2. A strong energy blockage might have been "burned" away which could have caused that kind of smell. A third possibility might be that you are meant to learn that you should not leave the stove on while you are meditating

[Birch]

Why not odors when meditating? They're memories too. What does the smell of burning wood recall for you?

 

I'm only suggesting this from personal experience of 'unearthing' memories from body in the process of qi-gong.

 

Of course there's that whole n'other stuff about roaring waterfalls and the scent of flowers (I do recall roses just one time but it hasn't recurred)

 

----opinion alert---

[ChiDragon]

Maybe it was your neighbors were doing some BBQ with mustique wood.

[Marks of Glory]

Swami Satyananda Saraswati says in oe of his books.. I believe a systematic course in the ancient tantric techniques of yoga and kriya, or kundalini tantra, that the astral plane (at least a certain astral plane) smells like sandalwood incense.

 

... Pai Mei went spot on... base chakra activation. I've hear of people that simply can't stand the smell of other people (smells that ordinary people can't sense), due to their own chakra activation.

[Diamond Spectrum]

It's a very good sign, it's not a bad smell right? I ionize the air in the rooms I practice in all the time, makes it smell sweet almost like ozone, sometimes other fragrance are there as well. Flowers or mineral and metal smells, it's an interesting phenomenon.

Edited August 5, 2012 by Diamond Spectrum

[Guest RBSA]

I too happened to smell incense and other odors and don ' t get their explanation . It happened intensively in 2008 .

[JustARandomPanda]

Hmm....

 

Well I don't equate this smell with something like sandlewood burning. It literally smells like burning wood from a campfire or a house on fire. Yall all have sat around a campfire at one point or another in your life right? Remember that smell? That's what I smelled.

 

Anyway...it's not happening now. Don't know why. It seems to come and go. If it is a sign of the root chakra activating I'm very glad for that!

[Maddie]

I've actually noticed lately that I stink to myself when I meditate :-/

[ChiDragon]

I've actually noticed lately that I stink to myself when I meditate :-/

 

wow.....

You are making progress.....!!!....

[Maddie]

wow.....

You are making progress.....!!!....

 

I am?!

[ChiDragon]

I am?!

Yes....!!!

 

It was called the detoxication. Actually, you were going through a process of detoxication.

Edited August 28, 2012 by ChiDragon

[Alchemistgeorge]

My experience is that there are certain practices that make my ability to smell very very good - ie increase my ability to smell faint odors - for the duration of practice - often my hearing too - it can be really inconvenient - gotta make sure clothes & room & body are clean before practice.There is a qigong set called something like 'fragrant qigong' - supposedly people doing it smell incense like smells, and purportedly people who aren't practicing who come into a room full of people who are practicing can smell it too. You can google it and find the instructions for the first level practices for free on the net.

Edited September 2, 2012 by Alchemistgeorge

[doc benway]

What does it mean according to Taoism if during meditation one often smells odors of wood burning?

The nature of the thinking mind is to look for meaning in experience.