singing bowls vs incense

When I started meditating, I used a singing bowl to help me focus on my breath. I still find it effective, but when I'm at school or people are still asleep at home, it can be distracting to others to hear a loud ringing sound for several minutes at a time. For my birthday, one of my friends bought me a pack of incense and a holder. I used to just light them occasionally when I remembered to. The smell of them felt strong at first, but gave me a sense of calmness. I started slowing down when I lit my incense and would just sit and appreciate the aroma of sandalwood floating through my room.

Eventually, I realized that incense could be my alternative to focus on while I meditated. I started experimenting with different scents and, keeping in buddha nature, tried not to fall in love with or be averse to any specific one of them. I found that meditating to a scent versus a sound helped me maintain my focus more because I didn't have to actively produce the smell. With a bowl, you have to focus on making the noise and then you have but fleeting moments to settle in the vibrations before they fade away and you have to do it again. With smell, I feel like it surrounds me in a way that sound doesn't. It literally forces me to focus on my breath, because on every inhale I smell the incense again. I never go nose blind to the smell during meditation; I think the slower you breathe and the more you focus on what you're smelling extends the amount of time you can smell something for.

After reading Diane Ackerman's section on smell, I could relate to the way she talked about a smell being intrusive. There's something about how a smell fills your lungs that is so much more personal and intimate than any other sense while meditating. It is one of the only senses you can't really control. You can choose not to taste or touch or see something, but it's almost impossible to avoid a smell. The smell of incense feels like a constant reminder to stay alert while I meditate; it has changed the way I focus on my breath and has helped me stay in meditation longer than any Spotify playlist or singing bowl has.