Purifying through smoke: How the practice of smoking contributes to the harmonisation of thoughts and feelings

In her compact guide “ Smoking for the Soul ”, incense expert Annemarie Zobernig presents background information and methods as well as more than 60 incense plants and resins, which fragrantly accompany the mental processes associated with healing from within.

Ancient traditions rediscovered

Not so long ago, houses and stables in rural areas were traditionally smoked out every Christmas with myrrh and frankincense or homemade candles made from spruce resin, herbs and hay flowers. On Epiphany, the carol singers come into the house with frankincense and songs of blessing, and when a storm was approaching, dried pussy willows and boxwood branches were thrown into the fire.

Today, people who burn incense can be found everywhere: at home, to have a positive effect on families and relationships; in schools, to support teaching, learning and togetherness; in care facilities and hospitals, to give more strength to those who help and those in need of help; in offices and businesses, to be better able to cope with working life; in hotels, to promote the well-being of guests; on farms, in stables, in veterinary practices, seminar houses, in churches and temples, and to provide support in all situations. The profession of incense master, which once existed in ancient Egypt, is slowly becoming established again today. Annemarie Zobernig has discovered this calling for herself and presents incense and its many advantages in a very contemporary form. Her compact guide "Incense for the Soul" therefore creates a connection between tradition, esoteric energy work and modern science.

Smell awakens memories

Smelling means remembering. Smells open doors in the body, in the world of feelings and images, on an emotional level and in memories, in the conscious mind and in the subconscious. Smell came from the water, from the depths of the primordial sea, the darkness and silence. The first living creatures used the water to send chemical messages that could only be picked up and understood by their peers with the appropriate sensors. This is how they found food, recognized enemies and were able to reproduce.

Most of these receptors are unchanged and have been passed on to mammals and humans. When life came to land, the air became the carrier of scent molecules. In humans, more than 350 receptors form a scent alphabet with which the sense of smell can perceive and specify thousands of combinations. The sensitive noses of early humans warned of changes in the weather, wild animals or indigestible food - to this day, the sense of smell serves as a warning sense. Every plant had to be tested for edibility, and aromatic woods, resins, roots and herbs were discovered in the process. The scent of the plants was inhaled, stored in the memory and, like all smells, linked to our archetypal world of images and feelings.

Smoking as a way of mindfulness

Smoking is one of the most comprehensive ways in which humans and plants can meet. The skin reacts to heat and cold, the mucous membranes absorb the taste and active ingredients. Images and memories are activated in the brain, and the eye enjoys the beautiful ceremony. In this way, the entire essence of the plants communicates with us - through the smoke. Directly and intensely or subtly and finely - depending on which smoking method is used. Incense sticks, bunches of herbs, incense cones, individual dried plants, loose mixtures and sophisticated compositions can smolder and glow on the stove or the coals and have a fragrant chat with the smokers.

A good start to the practice of smoking is to master the application, understand the basic principle of the respective method and admit your own preferences: "Find out which type of smoking is suitable for you and for your project," advises the experienced expert. Some people hope that smoking will solve all their problems, that physical and emotional pain will disappear and conflicts will simply dissolve. But it is more about lovingly tackling the challenging situation: "When smoking, we do not fight against the problems, but rather consciously look at them and try to learn."

Book tip:
Annemarie Zobernig: Smoking for the soul (compact guide). Cleanse, harmonize and strengthen energies. Contemporary smoking for people, animals and the home. Mankau Verlag, 1st edition November 2019, paperback, 11.5 x 16.5 cm, full color, 159 pages, 9.99 euros (D) / 10.30 euros (A), ISBN 978-3-86374-535-6

Link recommendations:
More information about the compact guide "Smoking for the Soul"
To the reading sample in PDF format
More about the author Annemarie Zobernig
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