Odilia Carmen Chirica

A man who had studied at many metaphysical schools came to Nasrudin. In order to show that he could be accepted for discipleship, he described in detail where he had been and what he had studied. “I hope that you will accept me, or at least tell me your ideas,” he said, “because I have spent so much of my time studying at these schools.” “Alas,” said Nasrudin, “you have studied the teachers and their teachings. What should have happened is that the teachers and the teachings should have studied you. Then we would have had something worthwhile.” —from " The Pleasantries of the Incredible Mulla Nasrudin" by Idries Shah Surface message The man believes knowledge comes from collecting teachings, schools, and ideas. Nasrudin says the opposite. Real learning happens when the teaching transforms you — not when you accumulate it. He studied teachings. He did not allow teachings to study him. Deeper meaning — “Which Way Round?” The title itself is the key. It asks: Do you examine tru...

I open the bottle with pure essence of my perfume, Adelina’s Dreams. A hit of something familiar and intimate runs through my body and I relax with a sigh. The fragrance wakes me up to who I am somewhere deep inside. A part of me that I never really met feels at home, as the perfume soothes needs that I do not remember. The open drawer I am looking at has many colorful bottles with all the scents I collected over the years. A couple of small artisanal bottles are empty, the ones with the thermal-printed label saying “Adelina’s Dreams”. They were holding the diluted eau de parfum created from the original essence. The Base It feels not so long ago. I am sitting at Odilia’s table, facing the window to her beautiful wild garden. Hundreds of small essential oil bottles organized on layered trays and categorized by rules known only by her. She expertly presents a selection of bottles. We are starting with the base notes. I am to smell first, no reading labels. Let it not be a creation of...