Taoist View of Life.

Aromancy’s is based on Taoist concepts of Yin and Yang, and Five Elements. One can explain all the Universe’s creation with these concepts, including our lives. All manifestation, from macro to micro, “lives” by spinning. Explain this phenomena with a Tap, you recognise that there are five distinct energies at work. These can be spoken as directions or vibrational frequencies. In axis, there are energies that reaches to heaven and to the earth. To spin, there are centripetal and centrifugal energies at work. And at the centre there is consciousness to disperse and distribute these energies. This consciousness is indeed life and love. 

 

Five Stages

Man’s growth stages are comprised of water, Metal, Earth, Wood, and Fire Elements. In each stages we face unique challenges and the success in life depends on how you face them. Accumulated experiences are imprinted and appear as personalities. As the saying goes, Man is a creature of habit, it is not easy to alter personality but it is not impossible. First we must recognise our trait and try to alter it. The important is not to judge. Accept the things that does not or can not change, and change what can be changed with earnest, and know the difference of these. As you may see the beauty in crooked tree by the sea cliff, find love not despite but because of challenges.

 

Yin and Yang, the polarity.

Yin and Yang is the foundation of the teaching of Tao, describing energetic opposition i.e. male-female, stillness-activeness, passive-aggressive. When we speak of life’s challenges into such, then there are “things you can not change”, and there are “things only you can change”.  Things you can not change is due to someone else’s action or free will. It sounds reasonable but many are wasting life because of this fact. It is because “others” are often parents, siblings and people near and dear. Our birth right is to live. It is only to accept and honour this right for everyone even if injustice have been made by them. At the same time, you can not blame others for things only you can change.

The cause of challenges of Water and Metal Elements are mostly from outside, and Earth and Wood Elements are mostly from within. Fire Element is about consciousness, or “Who am I” 

 

Sense of Smell within Five Senses

Among our sensory system, the sense of smell has the direct connection to the limbic system of the brain where memory, intuition, and emotional activity is regulated. Scents can wake up the forgotten memory and allows us to meet the self beyond time and space. Aromancy is a process work which considers our intuition is the best doctor. In expressing the quality of scents, we often use words of taste like sweet, and salty, but in the perfumery language we use words of music like notes and harmony and say we listen to the scents. Perhaps because these senses are developed later thus culture of language had time to develop.

 

The Role of Scents

Humanity has used plants not only for food, clothing, and housing, but discovered survival wisdom of plants through observation. There are over 500 plants used as herbal medicine in Orient, and many have aromatic compounds. There are two reasons both plants and animals excrete scents. One is for attraction - to procreate and prosper. The other is for repelling - to protect and disguise. One is perfume, the other is deodorant. Humans also found the use in religious practice, to commune with divine.