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my question is this....has anyone else other than me ever experiences smells that cant possibly be from anything around you that remind you of a loved one that has passed on and then felt a certain presence around them? like for example their cologne they used to wear or something like that....if you have please share because this is happening to me and i am curious to know if anyone else has experienced this type of thing?

Pipe tobacco and noone smokes that in my home.

Scent is our strongest sense for reminding us of things.

It's also one of the trickiest senses, since so many things smell similar... or we translate the scents as being similar.

I don't know if I would read too much into an "unusual scent..."

That's just me.

I was wondering when someone will put somthing like this up.
I have!
I would all of a sudden smell the stench of death arround me.But,there is nothing arround me to give off the smell.And yes..I make shure its not me!lol.
One time..I was even in a floral shop..And all of a sudden I felt cold..and a smell or burnt pine..was arround me,then it whent away and the smell of death came by my nose..almost making want to puke!
It's been months sence then..But I wonder..
was it just somthing that my sences was making up...or was there a spirit or somthing arround me..making that smell.?

thanks for the responses so far :) i just want to find out others opinions on this

Yes that has happened to me quite a few times. Especially it has happened very recent to when a loved one has died. I'm not sure of what this proves or disproves, but the mind has a way of making us remember things. I think that this is one way that our minds do this. When we are thinking and missing a loved one, sometimes our mind creates this image, scent, etc. of the person we are missing. If we want to remember a certain scent, I believe our mind has a way of making this scent appear in our thoughts, and possibly in reality.

It has happened to me. My mothers perfume. I thought it was wishful thinking and then decided...what the hell...I would rather believe she was there in spirit.

I smell strange scents all the time... a few times I have awoke thinking I was at my grandmothers because the scent was so strong. But then realize whats going on, it is kind of weird but it happens.

my brother died 9 years ago and i still keep smelling his cologne all the time around me when im alone and no one but me lives here

I have had it happen to me, some undescribable sometime, Knowing that I am all alone. I try to reconize the sent whether being male, female or animal, pasts or present. I think of where it is I am and try to tune myself to the sent. I have had my father visit me a couple of time with the smell of his smoking.

I use to work for a hospice agency and I often catch the scents of the women I use to care for who have passed on..

Yes, I usually smell roses around our closet in our bedroom. There are no air fresheners, perfumes, colognes, or cleaning products that could possibly explain the smell. But as already stated, it could just be my nose playing tricks on me.

yeah!
An ex of mine used to think of her grandma and suddenly smell Violets!
not every time, of course, it was when her nan just "popped into her head" as it were, then she'd say she could smell Violet.
I never could, so i presumed it was psychosematic, but never said so. But one day, i got a very distinct whiff of it, and some sweets i used to buy as a kid.
I said I could smell "palma violets", and when turned around, she had a tear in her eye and was looking at something that reminded her of her nan!
I felt great!! :)
Since then, i used to go out and buy those sweets again and hide them just so she'd smile more often!
:)

it's never happened to me personally though....
i usually get a distinct feeling, if that makes sense.
more nostalgic about the WAY i felt when around that person etc.

Seems like evryone has a connectiong to the smells they are smelling outa noplace.But what about the smell that are not connected to anything?
Like when I smelled death and decay..or burnt pine?
------
I was wathing the dicovery channel..once about a year ago..and they had somthing about people that can smell words!
Like someone will say a word..any word..and it dosent hav-ta be a food word..and they smell pizza or roses.Each word that everyone says..these people smell it.
very strange.
They still cant really explain it.

Yeah..... sometimes I can still smell certain perfumes or colognes that people used to wear.

i have smelt my grandfathers tobacco pipe.. but im not sure if its because i had recently been talking about him and he was subconsciously still in my head or him stopping by for a visit

I guess it's olfactory recall.
I smell the ocean when I think about it while I am laying out in the backyard and I dont live near the ocean.

I aould smell my grandmothers hand soap or the smell of her toothpaste.

My father used to wear this one particular brand of calonge and I know that there is no one around me that wears that stuff. From time to time I will catch a smell of it in the air here at home. So I know that he is watching over me. The very first time I smelt it I was a bit creeped out but that night I had a dream about my dad. That was how I knew it was him.

I felt a cold chill during the summer once with the back door open in my apartment and smelled a lemony/flowery scent...like really old perfume.

thanks so much everyone for your input on this subject its helping me a lot

Yes.. so many times. But never knew what the scent was..

That happens to me all the time. Some times it's just the mind fooling us and some times it is the scent of the "other world". I remember there was a place I used to live in, I would always smell flower perfume. I hate flower perfumes. They always make me all stuffy and my eyes watter..etc.... Anyway I found out that the woman that lived there before us had passed on and always used a lot of flower scented perfumes.

My mother died when I was fifteen and I loved the way she smelled...as cheesy as that sounds.

she smelled like "White Diamonds" mixed with a hint o' bakery (she liked to bake) and flowers (she was also a gardener). That's the way she always smelled to me. Two days after her funeral I was walking down the street and I swear I could smell it...it made me feel like she was close to me...

Sorry forgot the to type this part....but when I was 13 my step-mother died. She always wore sandal wood type scents. And every now and again I still spell her. Ok now I'm thinking about her and I'm all sad...:(....deep breaths...ok..... I'm ok now

I've had one that sticks out in my mind but it wasn't a person but the first cat I ever had... She had a nice musk to her and she was my pride and joy... I had to put her down but I still feel her around me....

I dont mean to be repititous, but I posted this on the forum once before, however I think it applies to this as well.
In the Pagan faith we belive that when a person and/or pet passes away, they still have the ability to hear you and be with you. This doesnt mean that they are "stuck" and can't go on, it just means that "Spirit" provides the deceased with the ability of lending love and support to those who are still living untill they realize in their hearts that death is not the final chapter, only a new one. Most Witches belive that once the deceased individual has given some type of farewell, that the Goddess our Lady will send a guide to ecort them to the Summerland, a truly wonderful place beyond our realms of understanding.There they grow strong again, review what they did in the last life, learn new things, and choose (or not) to return to the Earth plane once agin.
When dealing with death, the people left behind need some type of closure, especialy if the death was a sudden one. It is thought by some that there is a resting period from death untill the person is able to communicate with you, and for some this time will be longer than others. The condition of your emotions also has alot to do with their ability to communicate with you. If you are extreamly upset, or believe that the dead is dead is dead, with no hope of a message, then they may not be able to get through for quite some time. Don't fear it just because you dont understant it . Hope this helps some.

Oh YES.. Definately.
ONLY happened twice.

I was completely over-come by the scent of my Nana.. it was her body-scent mixed with her perfume! It was a unique smell and I thought of her immediately.

It was a calming and loving feeling.
:)

thanks for all the feedback on this everyone

I have experienced smell that came out of the blue...didn't remind me of loved ones but they were still sudden and without cause.

I have had it a few times, the strong scent of the ocean where I live 3 hours drive away from any beach.. the strong scent of flowers that I dont have growing or in a vase in my house... my grandfathers cologne which isn't even avaliable to buy anymore... or the smell of fresh bread when I haven't been baking. Lol sometimes I think it someone trying to contact me, or trying to make me remember something (usually from my guides), I find there is always a reason.

wow this is weird that you should post this I have been smelling my great grandmothers perfume alot lately it is weird cause it has a very calming effect on me it happens when I am stressed out I would like to think it is her way of telling me it will be alright

I've experienced it numerous times...Usually a loved one, or a a distinct smell I recognise from a place I was

Yes I often smell frakensence and mere, which tells me that someone who is special in aspiritual way will be comming soon, or harsh sences of liquor which tells me to steer clear, as well as blood, and often when I smell the two together I get a feeling that something bad will happen.

I can't say that I have ever experienced anything quite like that but, I have had instances where I catch a scent of something familiar that triggers a memory of a time, person, or a place.

Like it was stated earlier, our sense of smell can be very complicated but, for me it does trigger memories just like a certain sound or picture does.

In our old home, we used to smell the ferret they had many years ago (it died of old age, I believe). It could only be smelled in two of the bedrooms.

Sometimes, I'll be sitting or walking through my home and there will be spots with certain odors--some pleasant, some not. It usually doesn't last but for a few seconds. I have yet to figure out why....

YES, my great uncle's non filtered camels and no one around me smokes.

i have it happen and it freaked me out.

Wow dragonspawn thats awesome I was close to my grandfather as well and I have that same calming affect. I also get visits from his favorite bird too lol

white shoulder profume and they only person who wore it wa my mom and she passed in 2000

No..but at times its like u smell the air and it reminds u of a certain happiness in ur life which you can relate to..for example my best days where those passed in high school..and at times i smell the air around Me and its the saMe of when i was young..

wow at least now i know im not alone and crazy from this happening to me.....

It happens sometimes......could be memories , or subconsious thoughts from a past experience that triggers a a familiar smell or feeling.

I smell strange things a lot, and the thing is, once i have pointed it out, others can smell the same thing, when it comes to locating the smell, nne of us ever can. Now to me, that is very wierd indeed.

It happens to me often.
It's usually this really clean scent- rose powder

Growing up I always loved being with me Grandfather. And he always smelled great, just like his cologne. Sometimes, especially when I am really down, I will smell his cologne. I am sure it is his way of showing me he is there. I don't even know what kind of cologne it was. He used to bring it home from his trips back to Sicily. But, I remember the smell vividly. And, it's nothing like any cologne I have ever smelled here in the states. Everytime it happens, it makes me feel safe and protected. And reminds me that my Grandfather always told me that even when he was gone, he would watch over his little angel.

mine is usually someones particular cologne or flowers that i know arent in my house

awww thats so awesome mechelle :)

Thats beautiful michelle I feel the same with my grandfather so I do know what you mean, it brings a lot of comfort to you as it does me.

i havent had the scent from any person but i have smelt things from my past, like my favour food, the ocean etc. it just depends on how i am feeling at the time wether i be calm or unhappy.

I think it's cool that to almost everyone the scent that reminds them of someone or something is calming...makes me think that loved ones do check in to make sure we're okay...

Yeah, phantom scents. It's your minds way of re-connecting memories

I don't have experiences with 'phantom scents' from say a past loved one, but when my Goddess is around I'll feel Her presence, which is also accompanied by a distinct smell of apples

my grandmother told me that one time when she was sick she smelt my dead grandfathers aftershave really strong and I thought that was weird.

Yes phantom scents have always touched me, like the saying above that our mind reactment to our memories.

I do not know if this is just a natural occurance when we remember things or if it is something that truly occurs and that others can smell it too.

I have had this happen several times. Not just a smell, but a smell and a sense of touch accompanied by it. Out of the blue, yet it was clear to my senses that is was a passed family member. My room mate at the time had a similar experience, yet we thought that was due more to their living in the person's old room.

i live in the house that was my great aunts( who is now no longer with us) befor it was mine, although i have seen spirit i have only ever smelt her and only on the stairs

My grandfather smoked cigars and every sunday you can smell cigar smoke, and no one here smokes them, unless its a blunt.

if it is going to snow, i can catch the faint smell of vanilla in the air outside.

i sometimes get a strong smell of blood - so strong it overwhelms me and makes me feel giddy. it is strongly metallic, and slightly stale - like dry or drying blood. i find it very unnerving.

i sometimes smell my grandads scent (RIP) he was always working with wood in his shed , he had a musty smell that always made my nose tingle

I wonder if the unexplained scents are really just memories randomly being triggered in our brains. We are wired in very particular ways and sometimes things may misfire in our minds or something around us brings up a memory that is stored in our subconscious.

Maia, the studies that have been done are ones where the smells actually were used to trigger the memories in the brain.

I do not know of a study that looked at this process ins the reverse. It would be interesting, although difficult to try to achieve.

yes oatmeal I dont really know why but every morning my house smells like oatmeal
its wierd

my friend steve who i was with when he died some thingsd he did after he died i will not say but one day i was sitting at my computer at home and he always had a smell of old spice and tobacco and the window was open with a calm breez and then a gust of wind cam through the window and around me of old spice and tobacco. it was him.

oh yes... when my grandad died i was given a pendant of his, on a night out i lost it in the pub but didnt know. in the morning i could smell insense all over the house, then i realised i lost the pendant i did get the pendant back later that day and the smell of insense disapeared

Yeah I have had experiences like that before, it was with my grandfather he passed on afew years ago. He always used to work in his garage cutting up pieces of wood and using the saw blades and whatnot so whenever he came in the house he always smelt like fresh cut wood. Well when it was just me and my two aunts at his house while my grandmother was at the hospital for a surgery I went to bed that night and stayed awake for a while and all of a sudden I smelled saw dust and fresh cut wood. So I went in the kitchen and right where he always used to be sitting to watch tv it smelled just like him and he hadn't been there for like two weeks.

yes it was shortly after my uncle died we were very close id smell old spice

thanks so much for everyones experiences being expressed here for me :)

i have experienced this also, not only the scents of those who have passed on but those who are no longer around me and i would later find that that person was thinking of me at that time...

i also have a similar experiance that is the scent of a certain flower when nothing of the type is present. i have come to associate this with the touch of a deity or an avatar

yes, a few times. admists my runs through the woods. i have caught a hint of a smell that i could not place, nor find.. and it struck me as odd... because my nose is pretty good...

not only scents and smells of others, around mine have a set odour of cooking, one special type of meal that only my great grandmother cooked as a child. who knows. I think its just her way on checking to make sure all is okay and thats her way of showing shes been

We keep smelling cigarette smoke in our house and we can't figure out why. But, then we have alot of strange things in our house that happens that we can't really explain either besides odd smells. Might have something to do with the fact that I live less than 100 ft. from a cemetary.

I have it's a bit disconcerting to be honest but then it is also heart worming as memories seep back

Thank you, BUDDHA! lol

I know that personally I smell honeysuckle before I get a full-blown migraine. That's the only time.

There is usually some sort of physical or physiological explanation for this phenomenon, HOWEVER, there is no way to exclude the potential for other reasons for otherwise unexplained scents. The possibilities are approaching boundless.

I think alot of us have! I know many people who have had the same thing happen to them.. they stop in the middle of a sentence and look around.. wondering where it just came from, It usely happens to me in the middle of he night.. but its not a smell.. its a sence.. and sometimes a giggle will echo through my mind before I open my eyes... I think it might be just our loved ones checking up on us.. making sure were alright...

just my thought....

i have experienced the scent of star gazer lilies often in conjuction with the strong memories of my grandmother.. if i take photos (digital) at the time, lots of orbs show up in them...

i always smell cookies it reminds me of my grandmas house an she passed away 4 yrs ago...

i still smell his cologne and his breath..not bad breath..but distinctive..vaugley of cigarettes...but still clean. lol. god i miss him.... rawr!
this is such a weird sensation...these smells like this... reminding us of our past. wont let us forget. maybe it means somthing more?

I am fortunate to say I have not lost very many people in my life. I have a grandmother that is on up there in age, and would shake her head for a day if she saw my profile, that will not be around for much longer. I am hoping the bond we have now will follow in after life. We love each other alot and she has shown me how to be a grownup. I hope this helps.

i can smell the perfume my mom use to wear alot manily when im sitting somewhere alone

ive had this happen to me alot like latley i smell a strong body spray thats for guys and i feel like im warm and there is someone wraping their arms around me or a sent will make me have flash backs and stuff like that

well the brain is an amazing thing and we only use a very small percentage of it so can you imagine what we would be able to do if we could use a 100 percent so anything is possible...

I personally have never experinced this, but their are a lot of cases of people smelling tobacco and perfume of people they knew or family members so it is pretty common...

the tobacco thing you know what that means people smoke to much.

Never experienced it. Or haven't paid attention to it, that could also be it.

But it could be possible. Scent is one if not the most powerful tool to remember something. So it could also be possible that if you happen to thing about someting of someone, the scent can "appear".

na i know the old spice and tobacco was steve. but it is a possiblity that we could do it ourselves since we remember them in some cases. but i like knowing/thinking it was my steve

I had a couple of specific scent that were poping up by stranger then just left and the stranger was still there, like from one of my dead ex bf, his perfum, and also his scent just that at times when I go to places and I am totally alone like a bathroom restaurant

My daughter woke up one night laughing and crying at the same time when I ran up to find out what was going on she said she could smell her papa's smoky mustache on her lip. When he was alive he used to brush his mustache on her lip to make her laugh cause it tickled. She was happy cause she felt her papa had come to visit her then.

Has anyone every had the scent of flowers fill the room for no apparent reason?

I heard the growl of a wolf or something like that and was afraid and wide awake, it was that heart racing bolt upright in bed fear...then suddenly felt relaxed and sleepy again and the scent of flowers was all around me and I just went straight back to sleep.

Yes its true the passing of a loved one is true they can and they do come back to you to show you everything is ok. Its a proovon fact, cause I use to see my grandma and smell her too when I talk with her and visit her grave also, so yes I belive this too be true logic .

Ive had the scents before! It makes me feel like im going crazy at first. Then I realize hey maybe its just them letting me know that they are still around. Its calming after awhile.

Just remember this after thinking about it. It may help

When I was 17 my mother and I were sitting at the kitchen table talking. All of the sudden the sent of burnt hair was overwhelming. We both looked high and low for the cause of the smell but did not find anything. 15 minutes later the hospital in TN called my mom to tell her that her dad had passed away. When they were explaining everything to her they told her that they had shocked him over 5 times and it did not help. She left and went there to ready the body. When she went to the hospital she noticed his chest was burnt. She asked about it and they told her the hair on his chest was burnt off when they were shocking him. Now that is weird and made total sense to us. I was not close to him at all, but if my mom smells burnt hair it reminds her of him.

I cant say ive ever expreniced this.
However i have been around before and smelled strange scents that i couldnt identifie, maybe it was the colone of someone i did not know.

Great thread! yes, whenever I am gonna be ill, like with a cold or whatever. I smell my grannies perfume around me.But it's comforting to me.
Sometimes I smell my Da's cigar smoke, I haven't linked anything special with this occurance,other than I miss him.And perhaps he there or thinking of me.
On the other hand,I do get a scent of my ex.who is very much alive.Not such cologne or anything.Just "his" scent.Usually when I am getting off of work and going to my car, I get this scent of him.Like he saying,"night sweetness"It's just the whole feeling and scent at the same time.

When I smelt the scent of my nana.. I was instantly Calm..

I miss her terribly and WISH she was here today to see & hold my children. I know it was not meant to be, But I miss her.
I was not able to say goodbye to her so I still hold on to her in my memories.

I've smelt her, twice. I smiled and felt totally at ease.. if she manifested right in front of me.. I'd not at all be afraid.
She was one of the most beautiful people I have EVER had the PLEASURE of meeting.
I, on occasion buy parma Violets, (sweets/candy) because I have found that they smell the same as her perfume, that I can not find in the shops.

ya i have it kinda remindes me of that phantom fealing

Lilies, gardenias, and something I can't identify.

I too get a strange feeling and smell odd things where they don't belong...such as I'll be sitting with my cat and all of the sudden smell this weird mix of flowers. Sometimes it's other things I can't put my finger on.

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