Scent is subjective.  What I love, others may be repulsed by.  What others find positively incredible, I might find to be disgusting.  So there is no way that any two people can experience an incense in exactly the same way.  All I try to do is write as clearly as I can what my impressions of a given incense are and whether I personally like it or not.  It goes without saying that some incense is of high enough quality and of such good formulation that most people will find it palatable.  Satya Sai Baba Nag Champa is a good example of this.  There is a reason it is the number one selling incense in the world.

So why do I stock incense that I don’t particular care for?  Because what I said in the last paragraph remains true.  Even if I positively hate an incense, someone somewhere will love it and be glad that I have it in stock for a fair price.  The opposite is also true of course.  I might be delighted by an incense that others may find to be an assault on their nasal passages, but I will be happy to find someone who sells it at a fair price and treats me well as a customer.

With that being said, my reviews and impressions are as honest as I can write them.  Everyone may not agree with me, but that is what makes the world a wonderful place.  You don’t have to agree with me or like the same things that I like.  You are free to pick and choose and explore and find the things that make you the happiest.  Never take anyones word on what will make you happy and please you.  Figure it out for yourself.  I think you will find you are a lot happier that way.

I hope that I can help with that as far as incense goes by being honest about the things that I sell.

While attempting to research the subject I discovered there really aren’t any references on the web to popular incense types of the 1960′s.  So I polled a few friends and noted their comments.  I combined that with what I already knew about the subject and the things I discovered in my research and extrapolated what I hope is a helpful short essay on Hippie incense.

Incense did not appear in the Sixties.  It has a rich social and cultural history that extends thousands of years.  Some of the incense ingredients that have a prominent place in history are Frankincense and Myrrh, Amber, Musk and Sandalwood.  The first three in particular were highly prized.  Blends like “Cherry Banana” and the like are a far more recent invention.

From the limited research material available I can postulate that incense in the Sixties was heavily influenced by the growing interest in eastern spirituality during that time.   For instance The Beatles were students of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi for a time and George Harrison was intrigued by the stylings of Indian Sitarist Ravi Shankar.  With the interest in Eastern religions and spirituality, in which incense plays a vital role, the traditional scents would have made their way to America and other countries as part of the counterculture movement.  Once there certain scents would have gravitated naturally to being the most popular because of the quality of the scent.

Sandalwood, Patchouli, Amber, Musk, Lavender and Champa flower are a part of Eastern cultures and have been for thousands of years.  As part of daily life and worship, these scents among others would be the ones most likely embraced by the youth of the sixties.  Like all things human beings enjoy, some would have been enjoyed more than others and strong evidence points to a clear top three.  Those are Sandalwood, Patchouli and Champa flower based incense.  In fact, a band I cannot recall the name of once released an album soaked in Patchouli oil.  The scent was so strong that retailers insisted the album be pulled and a non-Patchouli version be substituted instead.

In 1964 Shri Satyam Setty founded Shrinivas Sugandhalaya in Bhatwadi, Ghatkopar, Mumbai.  That would give the world Satya Sai Baba Nag Champa, named after the Indian spiritual leader Sathya Sai Baba.  It is a Champa flower based incense in a distinctive blue box that is arguably the best known and best loved incense in the world.  No clear information is available, but my guess is it would have taken a few years for Nag Champa to become a part of Western culture after its introduction.

So, with the obvious leaders according to anecdotal evidence and the limited information I could find being Sandalwood, Patchouli, Amber and Musk followed by (and in some cases overcome by) Satya Sai Baba Nag Champa, I can make the following statements pretty confidently.  If you want to smell what it was like in the Sixties hanging out with your friends, I would suggest Patchouli and Sandalwood and Nag Champa. If some of those fragrances do not appeal to you, you would be equally safe with Musk, Amber, Lavender or Sage.

In conclusion, my personal belief is that Sandalwood and Patchouli would give the best representation of that Sixties scent.  I like to imagine so anyway as I listen to my Led Zeppelin and Grateful Dead albums and while away some quiet time.

You can buy incense practically anywhere for cheap and it is a wonderful way to scent your house. The different flavors can also be used to enhance certain moods, or treat different problems.

Restless sleep: If you are experiencing restless sleep or nightmares, try burning a sandalwood, frankincense, night queen or lavender flavored incense before bed.

Stress: try burning patchouli or lavender scented incense if you are dealing with a stressful situation, or there is a stressful mood in your household. These two flavors work on anger, anxiety, stress, depression, grief, negative attitudes, exhaustion, insomnia, moodiness, phobias, and emotional healing.

Loving mood: To enhance a warm, loving mood, especially at family gatherings, try burning Nag Champa incense. This flavor is also very good at eliminating bad odors because it is so sweet.

Grounding yourself: If you’re feeling indecisive, unsure or have a large task to do which you just can’t face, then Nag Champa, sandalwood, patchouli can all help a great deal.

Afternoon lifts: After lunch, when you are feeling sluggish and tired, instead of reaching for a coffee, try burning either of these scents to lift your mood and energy levels. Amber, night queen and frankincense.

Inspiration: Incense can be a wonderful way to inspire and give hope to people. Try burning strawberry, blue lotus, sweet musk or opium flavors.

Meditation: to help enhance your ability to meditate or concentrate try burning jasmine flavored incense which also has the ability to provide confidence, creativity, happiness, reflection and self-awareness.

Love: to bring love into your home, or enhance a romantic mood, try burning Rose, Musk, Lavender, Jasmine, Vanilla, Thyme or Cinnamon flavored incense.

Money: to promote a good money making aura in your home, try burning Cinnamon, Honeysuckle, Allspice, Clove, Sage, Pine, Ginger or Basil incense.

Protection: To protect yourself, your family and your house from evil spirits, evil aura’s or to protect a loved one from disease, burn Sandalwood, Sage, Frankincense, Anise, Cinquefoil, Hyssop or lilac incense.

As you can see there are many uses for incense. If you just enjoy the scent they produce or you are trying to enhance a certain mood in your home, incense has a use for everything. These are some of the uses for the different flavors of incense, but keep experimenting with your own scents and see what wondering effects you can produce!

This is a magical time of the year and throughout the ages of mankind religions have gravitated toward this date to hold major ceremonies, celebrations and sacred observations.

Our modern age strangely sees us returning to the age-old customs of noting and paying respect to the sacred cycles of nature and the part we play in it, for we are intrinsically tied to these cycles of nature whether we like to admit it or not, influenced by the stages of the moon with its ebb and flow of energy. The sun ‘ the life giver ‘ marks the days of death and decay back into regeneration and growth. None of us that live on this planet can escape Mother Nature, the Goddess and her womb, or Father Time, the God and his creation of all life from the elements. Light and dark, all is one, all religion, all life blessed be!

RETURN OF THE SUN/SON!

Winter Solstice is the shortest day and the longest night of the year. It marks the gradual return of the sun and signifies birth when new seeds of life will spring forth. Similarly, Christianity uses this time of year to mark the birth of the son, signifying life eternal for all who partake of the light and become the body of Christ.

A good way to remember this special Solstice is, as the hours of daylight grow, so too, we can let our inner light of understanding, love and intuitions grow. Allowing both the dark and the light to resonate within us, for it is part of us and we can practice new beginnings of unity, compassion, empathy and global love.

PREPARE FOR THE WINTER SOLSTICE

Spend the Solstice in candlelight, meditation, reflection and look forward to new dawn. Prepare some seasonal incense and an appropriate meditation for the magical night of dreams ahead. Decorate your home with the colors of winter; white to represent the winter snow, dark green winter foliage, red winter berries and fruits, gold to represent the returning energy of the sun and silver for the delicate frost that settles all around at this cold time of year. A Winter Solstice incense blend:

Fill A heatproof bowl with about an inch of sand or salt. Metals, stone & ceramics are ideal that have feet to hold them safely above a surface, or you can buy purpose made incense burners. Beware of hot ash falling when the incense burns, keep safe. Prepare by crushing the ingredients together.

CITRUS SOLSTICE

1 tbsp dried Orange Peel, 1 tbsp dried Grapefruit Peel, 1 tbsp dried Lemon Peel, 1 tbsp dried Tangerine Peel, 1 tsp Orange extract, 1 tsp Lemon extract.

WINTER SOLSTICE

One part Pine Needles, One part Cinnamon, One part Apple Rine, One part Myrrh, One part Frankincense

Experiment and find a blend you like!

SEVEN REFLECTIONS WINTER SOLSTICE MEDITATION;

There is an Old Russian divination that took place on the evening of Winter Solstice where – usually a young lady – would set up two mirrors and two candles into a position that they would reflect each other. One should then peer into one of the mirrors and seek the seventh reflection, where she would catch a glimpse of her future or her one true love!

Find a comfortable place where you are least likely to be disturbed. Get your mirrors and candles ready, be sure to position them facing each other with the candles reflecting in each – use a stable, fireproof surface. Please take care that you cannot fall into the mirrors or candles as meditation can have a very hypnotic effect! Position them safely & far enough away.

You should sit facing the mirrors so that you can see into either mirror with the reflection of the other, if in a chair sit with your feet flat on the floor or sit in your usual meditation position. Sit upright but comfortable. Try not to hunch as this is not a relaxing position. Rest your hands lightly on your lap. Start the sound session.

First, concentrate yourself fully on the following breathing technique (do this about five – ten times, you don’t have to count ‘ do what feels right);

Take in a deep, slow breath, fill your lungs, expand your abdomen, hold for a few seconds then very slowly breathe out, try to take about twice as long to breathe out.

Now begin to look into one of the mirrors, whichever one is up to you, search for the seventh reflection. After a while the image may change in the mirror, other faces may be seen or other images. Allow your mind to go along with the experience and always write the details in a diary immediately afterwards – this is for later reflection and things may make sense later that were not obvious at the time.

THE LAWS OF ATTRACTION MEDITATION

Before beginning the meditation, read the following reading I personally got during meditation regarding ‘THE LAWS OF ATTRACTION’ and try to understand the message contained within.

“Every negative word, deed, glance, thought, and action will come back to you. It is the indisputable law, the law of attraction. If you play with it, study this in earnest, you will find it, without doubt, to be true.

Imaging you are communicating with the physical world via a mirror. The person who stares back at you is the equivalent of every other person in the world. Frown at the person in the mirror, the person frowns back at you. Become angry at the person, see what comes back to you, look at the anger on that face and look into the eyes. How does that make you feel ‘ good? Bad? Imagine a child being confronted with that face, those eyes, that anger. Imagine if that small child was you!

Smile and you receive the same, laugh and the image laughs with you. This is how we create our world, by reflection. This is a warning so don’t discard it. Keep it with you and discover it!

But what if you are a child? You didn’t yet throw anything into the water to cause a ripple. You were born in innocence! No! You chose to be a victim for a short time. You agreed in your ancient wisdom to become the effect of a cause and those who peer into the mirror will see you. Your reflection will call to action better judgment, better discernment and a better future for all.”

NOW, get your mirror ready and find a comfortable place where you are least likely to be disturbed. You should sit in a chair facing the mirror with your feet flat on the floor. Sit upright but comfortable. Try not to hunch as this is not a relaxing position. Rest your hands lightly on your lap. Start the sound session.

First, concentrate yourself fully on the following breathing technique (do this about five – ten times, you don’t have to count ‘ do what feels right);

Take in a deep, slow breath, fill your lungs, expand your abdomen, hold for a few seconds then very slowly breathe out, try to take about twice as long to breathe out. Keep your breathing deep and regular and begin to stare at your reflection in the mirror, focusing on your eyes. Imagine that every other person in the world reflects the image that stares back at you.

Notice the expression, smiles, frowns, anger, study what comes back at you through the mirror.

Now allow yourself to absorb the powerful sounds and simply stare at the mirror. After a while the image may change, other faces may be seen or other images. Allow your mind to go along with the experience and write the details in a diary immediately afterwards Allow yourself to adjust when your meditation finishes and drink a fresh glass of water.

Donna Oxley strives to provide relevant information & insight into the many liberating benefits of meditation & self improvement. Also her website athttp://www.relaxmp3.co.uk provides inexpensive Mp3 sessions relating to meditation by sound – including hypnotic binaural beats, brainwave entrainment, simple nature sounds.

Incense burners come in every shape, style, and color imaginable. There are incense burners for stick incense, coil incense, and resin incense. You needn’t store incense burners away or hide them in a corner. The burners themselves can be great focal points in your decor. There are incense burner boxes, bowls, statues, bottles, carvings, and hangings. From intricately detailed, to sleek and simple, there’s an incense burner to match your decor and set the perfect mood.

Of course, the most beautiful incense burner is one you can make yourself. Simply choose a heat-resistant bowl in whatever material and design appeals to you most. It can be a simple terra cotta bowl or a detailed carved bowl. Fill the bowl with enough sand to hold up an incense stick. Then decorate by placing any non-flammable material on top of the sand. Seashells, river rocks, and sea glass are all great choices for decorating your incense bowl.

Use the incense burner and the incense together to set the mood. Want a calm, soothing effect to relieve stress? Choose sandalwood incense in a lotus flower-shaped burner. Need a pick-me-up for your mind? Use a lavender or rosemary scented incense in a burner box which releases the smoke in unique patterns through the top. Feeling irritable? Try ocean or spring scented incense in a burner shaped like your favorite animal.

So when you want to set a mood with incense, don’t forget the visual delight added by a great incense burner.

When herbs and fragrant woods are burned slowly, their essential oils are released and carried by the smoke into the lungs of those that are near the smoke. Bronchial inflammation can be relieved by beneficial herbal properties that are directly applied to the tissue using this method.

I know of one woman that had been dealing with such a strong cytokine response during a bout with the flu that she was choking, vomiting and struggling for air. Her husband filled the house with cedar smoke by closing the damper on the wood burning stove and placing the wood into the firebox. The cytokine storm stopped right away. Twenty minutes later, she had no more mucus and was relieved of her flu symptoms. They have been able to use this remedy on other family members – airing the house out afterwards – to good effect.

Native Americans often used the smoke of Cedar to cleanse their homes. Smoke can be used in rustic conditions as a cleanser to rid a person, bedding, clothing or shelter of vermin, viruses and harmful bacteria. Priests were instructed to use Cedar to cleanse a house of the plague in Leviticus 14 (towards the end of the chapter).

HOW TO USE HERBS FOR INCENSE

Carefully place a hot ember or coal from a hardwood fire (use tongs) onto a heat resistant surface. Assemble the herbs around and onto the ember and watch for smoke. Allow the smoke to waft over you and inhale. The goal is to encourage the plant material to produce smoke, not to ignite into an open flame. The smoldering is accomplished by using hot coals rather than an open fire; you can also tie your herbs or wood into tight bundles.

Herbs tightly bundled for incense are called smudge sticks. Some branches, twigs or leaves are supple enough to form into tight braids. If you only have dry leaves, these can be tightly wrapped in unbleached paper and tied with cotton thread. To use a smudge stick, hold one end of it to a flame until it ignites. Then the flame is gently blown out leaving the plant material to smolder and smoke. By binding the plant material into a smudge stick, you are better able to direct the smoke and slow the burning.

WARNING

Never inhale or come near the smoke of a plant to which you are allergic. This article is only for the information of the reader. People that try these methods assume all liability should follow standard safety precautions. This article is not a substitute for the care of a trained health professional.

Incense burning is a time honored tradition. Since ancient times incense has been used for cultural, religious, and spiritual reasons. Today incense remains popular worldwide, for olfactory satisfaction as well as traditional service.

Benefits of incense range abundantly. Scent, a most primordial sense, often moves us beyond reason to experiences including psychological rejuvenation and enhanced sensory reception. Scents also capture and recall pleasant memories increasing the desire for nostalgic fragrances.

Quality incense makes a perfect gift for a house-warming or birthday party, anniversaries or even weddings. Naturally incense would make the perfect complement to any home. Choose a scent you enjoy to enhance the mood and atmosphere you wish to create.

Continuing with the creative theme, incense fragrance is deemed a note. Incense scents evolve throughout the burning process. No stagnant scents or one-notes here. The top note starts it off progressing to the middle note and finishes with the base note. Each note carries a distinct fragrance and intensity which persists for predetermined length of time. The notes’ evolution enhances the overall experience of the incense.

The top note is the introductory fragrance; high and strong yet short lived. Top notes are emited prior to burning. A dry stick or cone carries the top note until lighting commences. The top note fades quickly once burning begins and is referred to as low-persistence.

The medium note mingles the top and base notes, lasts longer than the top note though is less persistent than the base note. Medium notes surface shortly after the incense begins burning. Slowly the medium note melts into the base note, a perfect harmony playing for the senses.

Base notes linger long after the incense has burned to ashes. This remaining scent is often woody and earthy, creating a tranquil atmosphere for spiritual and mental relaxation. The note combinations vary from one fragrance to another, allowing the individual to select and personalize each sensory experience.

Selecting incense utilizes an array of senses and preferences. From the style of incense, be it stick or cone, coil or otherwise to burner selection, simple or intricate, artistic or novelty, individuals create the experience. Uses of incense are about as abundant as scent selection, including religious and spiritual uses, perfuming a space or even for meditative or relaxation purposes. Memories derived from a specific sent can influence scent style as well.

Consider offering incense for any number of reasons: aromatherapy, inspiration, or as an introduction to your favorite scents. Burn incense to boost your environment. Give incense as a gift you can share. Compliment incense with a selection of burners and incense styles. Incense’s versatility makes it the perfect gift for all occasions. There’s no better gift than a healthier environment, a sound mind, and a nostalgic air. Our ancestors embraced the power of incense, a tradition hundreds of thousands of years in the making can’t be wrong!

Kristen Owen writes for ContentWorth (http://www.contentworth.com) and freelance. She is a work-at-home mother with a broad spectrum of writing, from SEO to incense, child bearing to viral marketing. For details or to contact Kristen please email kowen[at]contentworth[dot]com.

Incense has been around since man’s discovery of fire. Research has found ancient incense artefacts throughout the world, some of them thousands of years old, and it appears to have been part of practically every culture. Incense has five primary ingredients: wood pulp, an adhesive like gum Arabic, water, potassium nitrate (which is used to light the incense), and aromatic material. Many of the aromas come from woods and resins, like cedar and frankincense. What most people think of as incense is cones or incense sticks, although it comes in many forms, such as chopped herbs, raw woods, powders, pastes, liquids, and fragrant oils.

Throughout its history, incense has been made from a wide variety of materials, historically those locally available. Many different essential oils or artificial fragrances are commonly used for incense. Commercially retailed incense made from a blend of materials, is generally more expensive when higher amounts of essential oils are used than ones made with unextracted raw materials. Extracting essential oils from raw plant materials can be very time consuming and labour intensive.

Discover the 5 Most Popular Incense Fragrances

Today, the most popular fragrances are Frankincense, Sandalwood, Lavender, Patchouli, and Rose.

Frankincense

Frankincense is an aromatic resin from the Boswellia family of trees. Frankincense is available in different grades, based on its purity, colour, age, and aroma. Its aroma is characterized by a balsamic spiciness with slight lemon and conifer undertones. Frankincense has been traded throughout the world for more than 5,000 years. Frankincense aroma has long been used by the Christian, Islamic, and Judaic faiths, such as to anoint newborn babies.

Sandalwood Incense

Sandalwood refers to several aromatic woods, including Indian Sandalwood and Australian Sandalwood. Its fragrance provides a wood base note to many perfumes. Sandalwood smells similar to other wood scents, but it has a bright, fresh edge. Sandalwood oil is widely used by the cosmetics industry, and it is very expensive. True sandalwood is a protected species, but many plants are traded under the sandalwood name. Sandalwood has been treasured for centuries for its fragrance.

Lavender Incense

Lavender represents 39 flowering varieties of the mint family. The oil from its flowers is used extensively for aromatherapy, including incense. It has long been associated with medical uses, such as relieving tension headaches and respiratory conditions, and it can even work as a mosquito repellent. With its calming, sedative effects, lavender has long been used as an aromatic bath additive.

Patchouli Incense

Patchouli is another aromatic member of the mint family, with a heavy, strong scent. It is commonly used in perfumes, especially men’s perfumes. Patchouli scent has been referred to as powerful, pungent, mossy, and musty. Originally used to prevent moths from infesting silks as they were transported to Europe from Asia, patchouli has become associated with exotic, far-away lands. It has widespread commercial uses, including as a fragrance additive for paper towels and fabric softeners.

Rose Incense

From the earliest periods, the beautiful rose fragrance has been used throughout the world. Oil from roses has a distinctive floral scent, often used in aromatherapy for relaxation. It takes several pounds of rose petals to produce one ounce of rose oil, making it an expense process. Even with its high prices and the availability of synthetic compounds, genuine rose oil is still very popular for perfumes.

There are hundreds, perhaps even thousands of subtly different incense aromas available for you to try. Consider trying some of the most popular fragrances to begin with then move on to discover the amazing properties to calm and invigorate in equal measures.

By: Victor Epand

Incense is an aromatic substance, which is obtained from certain resinous trees. It releases fragrant smoke when burned and is largely used for the purpose of religious worship. Indeed incense has been used for centuries in religious ceremonies and spiritual purification rites, a practice that persists to this day.

Incense has been used by humanity since the dawn of civilization. The oldest sources we have regarding incense are the Indian Vedas. Herodotus testifies to its use among the Assyrians and Babylonians. Egyptians used incense in religious ceremonies and also to counteract unpleasant odors and drive away demons. It is also used by the Jewish, Christian and Islamic faiths as well as the Buddhists, Hindus and many others. In Japan, there is a strong relationship between nature, incense, poetry, and the human spirit.

Use of incense in religion is prevalent in most cultures. One common use of incense is as a form of sacrificial offering to a deity. It is used almost universally across the globe for religious purposes, to mask unpleasant odors or just to enjoy its pleasing scent. Incense is said to have several medicinal effects too. Many earlier civilizations used incense as a herbal medicine for treating health disorders. Even to this day, many incense ingredients are used as medicines all over the world.

Incense fragrances can be of such great strength that they obscure other, less desirable odors. This has led to the use of incense in funeral ceremonies because the incense can smother the scent of decay.

With their sweet-smelling perfume, many types of incense are considered quite valuable.

Many people burn incense to appreciate its smell, without assigning any other specific significance to it. It should be noted that those with asthma should carefully test incense before buying large quantities of it as some incense can give you a violent allergic reaction. Though these incenses are few and far between, it is better to be safe than sorry.

Incense was and continues to be used to alter consciousness through the sense of smell. Incense during meditation is said to dissipate negative energy. Burning of incense helps to create a positive state of mind and helps condition the mind to associate the typical fragrance with a positive and calm mind. Careful consideration of its influence will help us determine the scents that are best for us. This means that each of us has to test the scents that lift us into higher vibrations, higher states of consciousness.

Incense has the power to remove distress and uplift the spirit. The sweet aroma of incense creates a sense of joy and peace as well as enhances your environment.

About the Author

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for Krishna art, religious gifts from India, and Hare Krishna books. You can find the best marketplace for Krishna art, religious gifts from India, and Hare Krishna books at these sites for Krishna art, incense gifts from India, and incense books.

(ArticlesBase SC #486866)

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ – What Is Incense And How It Can Help You

The incense race is a Lunar New Year tradition. It is believed that those who put the first incense sticks in temple burners will have the best luck of the year. Traditionally, the event takes place at 11pm on Lunar New Year’s Eve, which people in ancient times regarded as the beginning of a day.

Crowds gathered in front of the nation’s best-known temples, including the Jenn Lann Temple (鎮瀾宮) in Dajia (大甲), Taichung County; Feng Tien Temple (奉天宮) in Chiayi; and Chao Tien Temple (朝天宮) in Yunlin. People pushed through the doors as soon as they were opened and sprinted to the burners.

The temples had prepared red envelopes and gifts as rewards.