Though scent is often seen as the least critical in our array of senses, we do use scent to help navigate the world. To warn us of danger or detect opportunity (usually in evaluating food) but of all the senses, humans' sense of smell is relatively undeveloped. We tend to rely on sight and sound much more for situating ourselves. Regarding taste, the sibling sense of smell, we have a much more thoroughly developed understanding of the sense and much more nuance in what we understand. In fact taste, touch and sound all have large vocabularies of words to help with describing our experiences but ( in the english language anyway, there are a number of cultures with significantly more developed scent cultures) scent has relatively few specific words. We may describe a scent as sour or sweet but going deeper than that usually relies on an association, usually from the food world. We know the sweet smell of vanilla bean to be similar but with differences from that of caramel or white sugar but to really describe the difference we rely on terms from other senses. Vanilla beans may be “darker” or “ stickier” smelling than white sugar, both terms being borrowed from other senses. 

It is for this reason that scent is a great entry point into exploring the nuances in our senses. Without proper terminology to worry about there is no getting it wrong. The world of wine or gastronomy both have a wealth of sensation we can explore, savour and appreciate deeply but the practice of tasting in those worlds have established techniques, terminology and a whole culture that can feel unfortunately inaccessible to many people. 

For me, purposefully smelling & developing this sense is a sort of meditation. It is a practice that requires presence in the moment and an unhurried approach. Taking the time to sit and explore this sense is practice to be present with all of my senses. It is an incredibly subtle and slow process and a perfect foil for the pace of everyday life. In the beginning when I sit to do it I can feel my mind panic. Calibrated to the constant buzz and chatter of a life online, the slowness is frustrating. Once I start to get into the work of it I feel so engaged and am fully present not just in my mind but in my body, as well. For me this practice is a sort of meditation for my physical body.

The real work of it all comes in questioning and exploring what you are experiencing. There is an art to being open and relaxed while being investigative. Just try to work through the questioning in an open and relaxed way. To fully explore a scent you will ask yourself a series of questions in three layers, scent, association & emotion.

Once you have taken a few sniffs to get a general sense of what you are smelling you can begin to work through these questions. First you will evaluate the associations of the scent. I usually frame my questions around some of the other senses as described earlier, below are just a few to prime you but anything you notice is useful.

Does this scent have a distinct texture? (scents can have a variety of textures, This is one of the easiest ways of differentiating from other smells) Scratchy? Dusty? Smooth? Powdery? 

- Does it feel warm or cool?
- Does it seem light or dark?
- Wet or dry? 
- Is this sweet/ sour?
- Is it dense, or airy?

How powerful is the aroma? Does the scent really hit you or do you have to really try to notice it? 

Once you have pinpointed the general qualities, start to try making associations with other things in the world. This can be hard at first, it's a bit like a Rorschach test in that it requires a loose mind to freely associate with things other than the item you are smelling (saying it smells like a rose isn’t very useful) “does it have citrus elements?” “ Does it remind you of any other fruits? Florals? Does it remind you of places? Either general or specific?  

Finally emotionally I try to think of more specific emotions or memories it may bring up, thoughts of people or places or times in my life. All of these answers will be quite specific to you and we all create different associations but as James Joyce said “in the particular is contained the universal.” We all experience the world differently but our unique experiences are relatable and important.