May 5th - Cinco De Mayo - Freedom - and Oud

  Lots of buzz in the air -- lots going on....
As we move into these summer months -- this auspicious full moon -- the brightest of the year on 5.5.5!!, we reflect.......   jasmine is in full bloom, mangoes are ripening on the tree, and for the first time! There are so many mangoes on the tree -- I cannot even count them -- haven't seen that ever, since I have lived here!!   I have avocados on my tree (albeit - only 3).  I have waited for 8 years!! 
   So spring is in abundance -- with winged changes flying all around.  Freedom in the air.....
This past month was intense for me.... and yet, so full of grace and miracles -- ending up with a new car to drive - a Prius -- 50 mpg!  Now I get to have it smell gorgeous as well. As we look at this new summer season -- with a solar eclipse forthcoming, then a partial lunar eclipse -- then the solstice, all inside of Pluto conjunct Uranus -- all very significant activities...

OUD or Agarwood 
 I was reflecting on a particular colleague of mine, who has focused on the fine distillation of Oud.   Now Oud is a very unique essential oil -- not well know generally, except in those elite, rare circles of Asia and the Middle East.  Those who have perfected their noses to this fine oil.  To our noses, it is a shock at first, it is not like the rose, or neroli that we are use to.  When I received my 1st ml. vial, I was completely shocked. "Unaccustomed Westerner" indeed!  It was not especially pleasant, in fact I thought - "What on earth have I spent my money on!"  My next thought was to wash it off!  but a phone call came in which lasted about 10 min.  When it was over, I returned to sniffing the Oud.  Suddenly, different, still borderline revolting, but now interesting, complicated.  Another ten minutes, I could not stop sniffing it.  It was like something I knew from another time, another world.  Something simultaneously repulsive and irresistibly alluring.  Something profoundly nourishing that until now I didn't know was missing.

It actually comes from a decaying tree, that is riddled with fungus and disease -- to the new nose -- it almost has fecal notes.  However, this oil has been revered for thousands of years by the elite.  The best Oud evokes a sense of sacredness. Their dimensionality borders on the infinite -- it is impossible to fathom them, to ferret out every nuance.  There is always more, and more again.  They will last eight hours at least, sometimes up to thirty-six hours.  You begin to feel that Oud is alive.   It is immensely sacred, and almost holds such a mystical quality -- that it can truly transport the initiate to distant realms. You begin to feel that you have been granted temporary access to the very nectar of the Creator.

I bring this up at this time, specifically, because such an amazing oil is now being degraded in its original processing, and now disappearing completely from this planet.  Much like so many other things  on this planet..... and we don't even know it!!  Right, literally, under our noses!  Due to cheaper methods of production, the distinctly rich, inviting sweetness unique to this oil has been all but watered down to death.  My colleague, Ensar, has witnessed the blending, cutting and watering down that takes place in the products of so-called Oud.   Now, it is even more serious.  In the last two years, all the  wild Agarwood trees have been cut down.  They have been poached,  guards have been bribed, and even killed for these trees -- I kid you not! -- and taken from public lands.  there are just a few left in Borneo -- but they will be gone -- possibly as soon as this is posted.  In addition, dealers are buying back woods that have been sold as incense grade -- why??? Because there is a huge market in China that is paying enormous prices for this wood -- so it can be carved into bracelets, statues, etc.  It is known as "lucky wood".  No more will these olfactory concoctions be available.  Today, I looked to see what Ensar had available in his inventory -- and there was almost nothing.  What was available was high..... like $10,000 for 3 grams, or in two cases  $7 - 800 for 2 grams.  Whoa!!  I feel lucky that I got what I got last year -- precious as the price was -- it wasn't that!!

Two things touched me in this review.  First, the metaphor of this diseased wood, producing such profound oils, and then the disappearance of this fine wood and the metaphor of the temporarily of life itself -- and how much this reflects on everything in our life.   It is deep and profound to the point that we may never know the missing.  Even more moving, was Ensar's commitment to look at possibilities that could deliver  something of the elegance of the past Oud's, AND find a  grower/distiller that would meet his criteria.  His criteria is that the wood does not have any chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides or other forms of chemicals.  In his travels he found again and again the careless infusion of various chemicals - and often harmful chemicals being injected in the woods, thus contaminating the wood so it could not be used for our purposes.  He has found two growers/distillers that will work with him on producing strictly organic Oud.  

I loved his determination, his steadfastness in his procurement.  Not easy in a world that says "this cannot be done!  No one else is asking for this!  Are you crazy?"  This is what is required in our world today -- in the face of seeming insurmountable obstacles - especially profit over principles -- that seems to be so pervasive in the world at this time, we can do it.  Our connection with nature is so very important.   Our oils take us there -- they connect us, and yet are we protecting them?  So many of us are "losing our smell"  we don't have the distinction anymore.  I like to quote Ensar on the sense of smell:

"In the end, your nose will educate you profoundly.  You will not be able to bear the smell of anything compounded of synthetic chemicals.  They will stick in your nose like glue and create a really uncomfortable feeling.  They may smell good for a minute, but then they begin to fall apart.  A true essence is a harmonious unit from beginning to end.  Each one has a unique personality which you often have to study individually over the course of many days.  In the end, it really depends on the purity of your own understanding and heart."

Metaphorically, this is where we are as individuals, as community, as a world.  We are being called to be true to ourselves, to be harmonious, to be patient and to honor each and everyone's unique personality.   I give thanks to God for our plants, for the profound teaching of nature itself.

BTW -- if you want to experience the Ouds -- you are welcome to make an appointment with me, and I will be happy to share the smell experience. 

Hopefully, I have left you with something deeper to think about - something that takes you beyond your daily issues -- into the depth of life itself

With Great Love and Respect  --  Aromatically

Patti