The Incense Bible

Description

Cover......Page 1 Half Title......Page 2 Title......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Dedication......Page 6 CONTENTS......Page 8 Preface......Page 12 Acknowledgments......Page 14 A Worldwide Ritual......Page 16 Honoring the Divinity in Nature......Page 19 Unification of Mind, Body, and Spirit......Page 21 What Is Incense?......Page 23 A Quick Tour of Incense History......Page 26 Is Incense Safe?......Page 27 How Can I Use Incense?......Page 29 Chapter 2. The Sacred Sense......Page 32 Scent Through Time......Page 34 Scents in Ancient and Classical Times......Page 35 Christianity and the Odor of Sanctity......Page 36 The “Olfactory Revolution”......Page 37 The Essence of Cultural, Class, and Gender Differences......Page 42 Seduction and Scents......Page 44 Scents in Non-Western Cultures......Page 47 Synthetic versus Natural Scents......Page 49 How the Sense of Smell Works......Page 53 The Link Between Taste and Scent......Page 55 Scent and Memory......Page 57 Scent As a Direct Path to the Soul......Page 59 Perfume and Fragrance Allergies and Sensitivities......Page 60 Essential Oils and Flower Essences for Healing......Page 62 Incense for Keeping Time......Page 65 The Divinity of Scents......Page 68 The Early Incense Trail in Egyptian, Greek, and Roman Times......Page 72 Arabian Secrets......Page 75 India’s Bridges to Inner Awareness......Page 77 Following the Buddhist Path to China......Page 80 Israel: Incense Arising from the Holy Land......Page 91 The Catholic Church and Christianity......Page 93 North America: The New World’s Indigenous Incense Traditions......Page 98 Europe: The Old World of Incense......Page 101 From the High Andes to Deep in the Rainforest: Incense Use in South America......Page 103 Africa: The Origin of Man and Incense?......Page 106 Agarwood (Aloeswood/Jinkoh/Eaglewood): Promoting the Soul’s Development to Its Highest Levels......Page 108 Balsam of Peru/Balsam of Tolu: Two Soothing Incenses with Similar Names......Page 115 Benzoin: A Sweet, Fast-Burning Fragrance......Page 117 Camphor: Cool and Camphorous......Page 121 Cedar: Helping You to Find Your Vision......Page 123 Copal: Latin American Food of the Gods......Page 126 Dragon’s Blood: Smoke from the Dragon......Page 130 Eucalyptus: Beats the Toxins Out of You......Page 133 Frankincense: The Choice Incense......Page 134 Mugwort and Moxa: Protection and Medicine Worldwide......Page 139 Myrrh: The Female Quality of Incense......Page 143 Sandalwood: Sweet Sensuousness......Page 146 Sweetgrass: A Braid to Attract Good Spirits......Page 149 Vetiver: A Cool Relaxing Scent......Page 152 White Sage: Big Medicine......Page 153 Making Incense......Page 174 Forms of Incense......Page 176 Some Incense Materials and Symbols......Page 181 Chapter 6. Nature’s Divinity Awaits......Page 188 Different Uses of Incense......Page 189 Becoming More Alive......Page 208 Appendix A. Resource Directory......Page 210 Appendix B. Selected Experts......Page 212 References......Page 214 Index......Page 224