Musings: Notes From My Daybook

Last month a new perfume went on sale--Virtue.  After six years of hard work, the manufacturers have, at last, produced a biblical essence that is designed to help you be spiritual--to the tune of $80 a bottle.  According to Virtue's website, a simple smell of your scented wrist will lead you into the presence of your Sacred Self.  They even misquote scripture--be still and know that I am God-- (complete incorrect references) to make their point. 

Of course, I see great potential here in developing disciples.  Quoting their web site:

"To be Spiritually Aware is to Be . . .Inspired. To be guided by your Spiritual Self. Virtue® was conceived out of our desire to provide a perfume that would allow a person to be reminded of God and their Spiritual Self, by a simple whiff of it’s fragrant essence. To help maintain that, sometimes tenuous, conscious link with our sacred center of pure Being, our Heart of Hearts, the great eternal ~ I AM. "

 So all a person needs to do is to follow their simple instructions:

• Begin your spiritual practice
(prayer, meditation, contemplation, etc.)
• Establish your desired spiritual state.
• Smell your wrist, maintaining awareness of your spiritual state.
• Keep repeating this association.
• In the course of your day, let it remind you of your spiritual state by smelling your wrist.
• Maintaining contact with the Spiritual Self brings inspirations and insights, only available by spiritual awareness.

 I guess I am a little outdated.  I always thought virtue was rooted in character, that spirituality was rooted in a life given to God, and that perfume was something you bought at the store to add a little spice to life.  I guess I am seeing things a little more clearly now.  Apparently virtue and spirituality can be bought as well!

For more reflection on Virtue see Joseph Laycock's piece in Sightings.