THE INSPIRATION
REVERIE was inspired by Commitment and is the first chapter of the apologue. Far from the ridiculed ‘daydreaming’, reverie is an ally in life. It is the beginning of the beginning.
Commitment starts with a need or yearning, then search, leading to discovery and an important choice: a decision to commit. It is in reverie that our intuition teases out what matters and what we must do. Here, with quiet, keen insight and forethought our intuition looks to our Self. We delve into the mysteries and signposts of our journey to make decisions along the way.
Remarkably, within the beauty of Commitment hides a secret about the end of things — in the beginning. The spirit in which a commitment is made… and the means by which it is later shepherded, determines the end. Each phase of Commitment’s power, if faithfully wielded by the Dreamer, brings a triumph beyond the expected.
THE CONCEPT
For REVERIE , the intent was to create a natural olfactive sensation of deep introspection and inner dreaming from the heart; the state of soul-searching for one’s own truth, who we are, and what we are meant to be doing. Or even to make one small, right-decision. All of which, only we can know. REVERIE aids a quiet, still state of search, a contemplation of a choice, the precursor to committing.
To achieve this, we looked to those aromatics from nature with elemental signatures of still water, (DEEP THOUGHT, WATER AS A TUNING FORK). We sought the embodiment of loftiness in the great conifers (HIGH MINDED, COOL HEADED). And because the act of reverie is a search, we chose the seed, (PENSIVE, EXPECTANT, PREGNANT, PORTENTOUS, PROMISE). Like a seed which holds the potential of a tree, a Commitment contains the potential of our dreams.
THE INTELLIGENCE OF THE INGREDIENTS
BERGAMOT (Tunisia), an elegant citrus note that brings lift to both the fragrance and the spirit. It’s a fresh, greenish-tart note for an opening nod to “green behind the ears”, (which we can be, many times over in our lives). The beauty of being green, (not knowing), is the openness to learning, even to seeking. The sunny aspect of citrus, (cheering) is toned in Bergamot to a balance between sweet and sour (neutral ground), a less disruptive presence to a meditative mind.
ORANGE BLOSSOM and NEROLI (Tunisia and Italy), flowery and green, are used in suggestive-dilution and in conjunction with other fresh greenery to link the mind to the promise and hope of flowering-to-come. Understanding that there are potentialities and possibilities beyond what exists now, allows the Dreamer to dream.
RHODODENDRON LEAF (Nepal), is a Himalayan evergreen shrub that carries a green and wet floral note, reminiscent of the tight buds and new greenery of early spring. It has an airy coniferous facet that interprets as fresh cool air and new beginnings. Rhododendron leaf is used in monasteries, where meditative states are sought. It opens doors inside the mind.
PINENE, FIR, CYPRESS, SPRUCE (France, Switzerland, France, Canada) were added in the top, middle, and base notes to nudge up the airy, inspiratory feeling, analogous to “inspiration”. The great evergreen conifers signal strength and standing tall; an aspect of self-possession. Conifer forests, typical of mountainous altitudes, speak to the climb involved in reaching a summit, a goal, or accomplishment. Fresh air clears the state of mind.
ZDRAVETS (Romania) continues the early spring feeling into the base notes, and is a segue from overhead leafiness to the more grounded mossy-green found on the forest floor. It’s rich, deep, verdant aroma, along with the other base notes recall the comfort of mother nature’s womb –the fertile earth from which all things grow.
OAKMOSS (France) along with touches of rooty, earthy materials, contrast with the airy loftiness of the conifers, bringing one back to earth. A path, after all, is the earth beneath our feet. A path we choose. Commitment is the transducive inner power that brings dreams into form. If the Commitment is kept, the path leads on and up to our dreams and goals. Thus, in REVERIE, the full range of the nature of Commitment becomes foreshadowed.
AMBRETTE SEED (India) lends comforting muskiness and gives note to the seed-like potentiality in a dream and the feeling of possibility. As tiny as a seed is, it is this small packet of wonder that becomes a mighty tree.
AMBERGRIS (New Zealand) is a gorgeous, deeply satisfying, animalic fragrance left in the ocean by deep-diving whales. It speaks to going deep within to search our soul. It speaks to our seawater-bodies of the origins of life, (our own beginnings, and cell-water as our core tuning fork). It is a soothing, physical, base-note-essence, yet its beauty shines throughout REVERIE. The pleasurable scent and creature-comfort it brings, joins the other essences in REVERIE to create calming cues to the body, as if opening a quiet room where the deep mind and heart may be heard.