phantom incense?

[kamikat]

I've been going through the conversion sticky and found a common theme of people smelling incense in random situations, not inside a church. I thought it was just me I'm just curious how many of y'all have every smelled incense when there was no visible source?


kamikat

 

[Philip]

When I was teaching undergraduates, this was a common occurance.

 

[Dust and Ashes]

I've smelled myrrh at work before.

 

[Monica child of God 1]

When I was in my inquiry period I would often smell incense randomly. Now I like to think it was my angel(s)

M.

 

[eoe]

It has happened to me as well.

 

[VickiY]

Yes, I have...usually rose scent.

I've also been privileged to venerate relics that smelled like myrrh

 

[Matrona]

All over the place.

 

[Tsarina]

This may sound awkward, but here is a little story.

Couple of months ago, my Mother in Law decided to buy my hubby an icon.
Anyway there was this number attacthed to the pamphlet so people can order their items over the phone. So, she decided to order it over the phone, but she didn't know where she was calling exactly, she expected that her call was being made in an Icon store or in some company building.

During her call, she says she started to smell incense around her, and most of the smell was coming out of the phone. How weird!

My mother in law came home and told my Hubby and I what happened, and all of us took another look at the pamphlet, to see where her call went. It happend to be that she called a Monastery to make her order.

How weird is that?!

 

[Jebediah]

Happened to me.

 

[gzt]

nope, never.

 

[Llauralin]

Me neither. But then I don't really like incense, so it'd kinda be wasted on me. I hardly even smell it in church.

 

[repentant]

It has happened to me and members of my family. There is a superstition that it is your dead relatives coming to visit you, lol. But it could maybe be a Saint, or Angel or something.

 

[ThePilgrim]

Yup, it's happened to me.

 

[lionroar0]

Me also.

Peace

 

[MariaRegina]

Me neither. But then I don't really like incense, so it'd kinda be wasted on me. I hardly even smell it in church.

When a heavenly aroma is detected, it won't be wasted. I think people with damaged sense of smell can also appreciate this heavenly visitation, this sign of holiness.

When I visited a monastery of Catholic nuns, I brought with me a cotton ball soaked with miraculous oil from an Orthodox Icon of the Theotokos that was weeping 100% pure olive oil. The prioress noticed the heavenly aroma immediately and mentioned that she was severely asthmatic and allergic to flowers. All during my visit with her she continued to state that she might have to leave to get the inhaler, but she never came down with the asthma attack, even though she acknowledged the strong aroma of flowers.

My husband and I have noticed the aroma of a heavenly bouquet of roses many times ... too many times to count.

In fact, a bunch of us also noticed it during Holy Week and there were no flowers or incense being used at the time. Besides I am also allergic to flowers, but I wasn't sneezing, wheezing, or coughing.

Usually, we notice the aroma when we are praying or when we lift our thoughts to heaven in prayer to the Theotokos.

What is really weird is that we also noticed this fragrance in December when we watched the video tapes of Myrna from Syria when she visited Los Angeles around 1993. There were no flowers blooming outside either. The aroma was coming from the TV set.

 

[Annoula]

on the funny side....

i smell incense almost everyday in the morning or when i get back from work.

it is my mother using incense!!!!!!

 

[theoforos]

It happens with me every now and then. In fact it has kept happening for the last 20 years, ever since I visited an Orthodox church for the first time, reminding me of orthodoxy...

Someone mentioned damaged sense of smell, I think mine is slightly damaged due to strong-smelling photography chemicals I've had to inhale, but it still works and I'm able to smell incense pretty well at church too, but it must be great for the ones without any sense of smell at all to be able to sense the "phantom smell". By the way, don't also blind people see in their dreams?