Memories from the kitchen: the science of smelling and the stirring of deep memories

Charlie’s note: WOW! What a thought-provoking piece are you about to read. This post –another splendid essay by guest blogger Dr. Ellen Weber — is about the relationship between the ‘nog and the noggin; between the scents and the sentient being. You’ll find plenty of food for thought below (and links to even more good reading throughout the essay). Gentle reader, I give to you the art-of-scent….

AROMA’S PATH TO BRAINPOWER BOOST

by Dr. Ellen Weber

And oh how I love spices… I relish their rich aromas and flavors, which have summoned the gods… I am wooed by the earthy-dry-fruity-perfumy grassy-acrid-flowery-musky-woodsy pungencies that are sifted from nature and distilled by our imagination. (Charlie Fern … Memories from the kitchen …)

Who hasn’t had a memory flash of grandma’s kitchen when you smelled an apple pie? Or have you recalled a warm family gathering because cinnamon bun aromas send their flavors by to tease your nostrils? Memory magically reappears when you breathe in certain scents of soap, causing you to experience the flooding back of a forgotten holiday. Or when chemicals permeate the air, you may recall a specific workplace setting.

Even the smell of a funeral home evokes recollection, although not always one you’d choose. Simply put, smell stirs deep memories, increases brain chemicals such as serotonin, and alters emotions in the human brain.

Your sense of smell likely goes underrated, though, if as many people do, you use visual first to decode your world. A surprising reality, since smell enables you to gather key facts from any setting. Researchers affirm how different scents influence sensibilities – from well being to difficult decision-making. One recent study showed participants on a tight budget, who splurged on new clothing, when they smelled fresh chocolate chip cookies. Not exactly an ideal recipe for recession woes, as much as one perhaps to stoke an appetite for caution.

Sour as Lemon Juice or Sweet as Syrup?

The ability to smell offers an interesting dimension to life. One that could easily go unnoticed, in spite of the fact that humans distinguish more than 10,000 unique aromas. Is lunch today sour or sweet? Was that beverage bitter or salty?

Speaking of drinks, wine experts harnessed and identified many different categories of scents in an attempt to organize and standardize distinctive flavors in an aroma wheel for wine tasting. The idea was to provide a common language for odors rarely spoken of in similar ways.

It’s still difficult to describe any aroma, though, and we tend to disagree on good or bad scents. Yet different flavors impact our brains in strikingly similar ways. Even if you don’t drink caffeine, for instance, aromas from coffee beans likely leave you with a sense of well being. The same is true for chocolate, vanilla, and scents from freshly baked bread. You may not be aware that the olfactory bulb near your nasal sinus connects to a cranial nerve, or that impulses sent to your brain’s temporal lobes create an aroma, but you’ll often link scents to different reactions stored in your amygdala.

Research shows brains as better able to distinguish smells than previously thought. Scientists observed rat brains to identify coffee aroma effects on 17 genes in the brain. In addition they found that several brain proteins changed in ways that calmed rats under certain levels of stress. Furthermore some scientists suggest that caffeine aroma may be stimulant enough – even without drinking a cup of coffee.

Smell Can Cause Risk or Create Healing

About 3 million American lack a strong sense of smell through injury or age, and that impairment can lead to disaster. Smell something burning, and you’ll likely rush to turn a stove off, or unplug an empty kettle.

Smell gas and you’ll contact experts who can determine if your pipes have sprung a dangerous leak. Open the fridge and smell an odor in order to toss spoiled meats or clean out unsafe casseroles. Can you see where impaired smell can create hazardous situations?

Increasingly psychologists and other brain experts recommend aromatherapy, such as lighting candles or heating essential oils that stir emotions and inspire imaginations. Benefits of oils from sandalwood, peppermint, lavender and white fir, stretch from healing emotional upsets, to reducing stress, to increasing productivity. Not bad dividends for an average nose. Scents that trigger a variety of reactions from the brain, play key roles in healing people from horrific traumas. Through flavors that evoke positive memories, scents tend to bypass left brain thinking, and boost endorphins, that improve moods and alter right brain activity.

Research suggests several theories about how and why we crave some smells, repel others, since odors influence people differently. Yet experts generally agree that certain smells boost brainpower, through altered moods, and promote alertness while reducing stress. Could any aroma boost your brainpower today?

About Charlie Fern

Strategic Communications Consultant
Owner, Principal of Charlie Fern Ink, LLC

Charlene “Charlie” Fern has spent 26 years in communications — as a journalist in Texas in California; and as a press attaché and media advisor for elected officials and business executives in Texas, Washington, D.C., and New Jersey, as an adjunct professor of public relations, and as the founder and principal of a strategic communications consultancy, which is now in its 13th year.

Ms. Fern has worked as speechwriter in the Texas Governor’s Office, the Texas Attorney General’s Office, and the White House. She served as director of executive communications for Merck & Co., Inc (then the world’s second-largest pharmaceutical company). She has also taught public relations at the university level.

In 2003 Ms. Fern launched Charlie Fern Ink, LLC, a privately owned strategic communications consultancy. Her clients include musicians and celebrities, professional athletes, executives, diplomats, opinion leaders, global and government leaders, elected officials, corporate boards and CEOs, non-profit founders and leaders, and other writers, public speakers and public relations professionals. She provides strategic communications counsel in a broad range of industries including music and entertainment, health and medicine, government, education, high-tech startups, small businesses, national franchises, Fortune-500 to Fortune 10 companies, government agencies, trade associations, advocacy groups and non-profit organizations.

She has volunteered as a board member or advisor for causes including the Austin Children’s Shelter; Friends of Texas Public Schools (she co-founded and served as a board member for this statewide non-profit through 2008); A Happy Healthy Child; They Often Cry Outreach (TOCO); Mobile Loaves and Fishes; the Wright House Wellness Center and the Texas Book Festival. She has served as Chairwoman of the Texas Book Festival’s Children’s Entertainment Committee in 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2013.

Ms. Fern has served as an adjunct professor of public relations at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, and she continues to lecture at colleges, universities, conferences and forums on subjects including leadership, the art of storytelling as a global business tool, writing and communications in life and management, effective leadership, public relations, strategic engagement and deployment of personal and professional communications, social media, event planning, and corporate, politics and government communications.

Charlie Fern Ink, LLC, is a strategic communications consultancy that provides services including public relations and publicity, tour and media management, strategic message development and deployment, media relations and media training, executive coaching, speech writing and public speaking coaching, event planning, social media strategy; cross-platform branding, and professional writing and editing with areas of expertise that include international relations, business, and diplomacy; government, education, non-profit/advocacy, music and entertainment, healthcare, biotech, technology, social media, entrepreneurial/startup and general professional communications. She presently lives and works from her home studio in Austin, Texas.

Accolades

“This is like a big Hollywood party,” exclaimed NBC’s Chris Matthews after the entertainment at the Kuwaiti embassy dinner Tuesday celebrating Marvin Hamlisch’s birthday. Truth be told, it was actually more like a night on Broadway. What’s not to love: Hostess Rima Al-Sabah’s dinner … and Ambassador Salem Al-Sabah’s witty speech, incorporating titles of the honoree’s songs (“Nobody Does It Better,” “Ordinary People,” “Sunset, Lollipops and Rainbows”) introduced the show.

— The Washington Times, May 18, 2007

“Charlie Fern has the ability to take complex information and quickly turn it into meaningful material for the general reader. Her greatest talent is in her ability to create memorable language and with her assistance over the years she has opened many doors for me to be of greater service to this community.

“As a non-profit executive director her assistance has allowed me to effectively communicate with the media, government leaders on every level, grantors and big money donors. As a result there are hundreds of people in Austin living an enhanced quality of life. Whether it is an abused child, an individual living with HIV/AIDS or the hungry, Charlie Fern knows just how to craft the argument to get the attention of your audience. I could not recommend her more highly.”

– Susan Wills, MS, LPC Executive Director, the Wright House Wellness Center.

“Charlie Fern has a lot to offer a professional communicator. Her expertise in platform building and speech preparation helped our team provide a top-notch product to our CEO in a timely manner.”

– Linda Rutherford, Vice President, Public Relations and Community Affairs Southwest Airlines

“Outstanding. Top Notch. Best ever. These are some of the responses we received … on this year’s Zhone Tech…They also mirror the reaction from our staff, partners and organizers. What distinguishes my commentary from the others is my full awareness of the substantial role that you played in the terrific success that we enjoyed. I am grateful for not only your expertise and your exceptional gift for prose, but also for your patience and dedication in working under demanding and often unreasonable conditions. Throughout the ordeal you demonstrated nothing less than composure and professionalism. It has been my pleasure to have had the opportunity to work with you on this outstanding engagement.”

– David Markowitz, VP Marketing, Zhone Technology

“Charlie Fern is an alliance partner of Excel Meetings and Events and provides speech writing and coaching to our corporate clients. She has an impeccable background and brings exceptional professionalism to her work. As an alliance partner, she is an invaluable asset to our business.”

– Jon Wollenhaupt, Vice President, Excel Meetings and Events

“I have been honored by the friendship of my colleagues in the White House speechwriting department: Michael Gerson, Pete Wehner, Matthew Scully…Charlene Fern… — altogether the finest presidential speechwriting team since Alexander Hamilton and James Madison collaborated on Washington’s Farewell Address.”

– David Frum, The Right Man: The Surprise Presidency of George W. Bush

Clients

Ms. Fern has worked extensively in both the public and private sectors, with celebrities, musicians, government leaders, heads of state, corporate executives and board members. Her strategic communication consultancy includes speechwriting and coaching, public relations and marketing, media training, public speaking and teaching.

On Stage:

She delivers motivational speeches and informative lectures nationwide to groups of all sizes. Topics include leadership, strategic communication, public relations (including case studies), and her experiences as a speechwriter in the Texas Governor’s Office and at the White House (where she worked on 9-11).

Clients and Industries:

Ms. Fern works with clients on-site, on the road or virtually. She and her team handle each project and every client with the utmost care, professionalism and discretion. Our experience includes work in areas that include:

Airlines
Celebrities
Colleges and Universities
Diplomatic Corps – Ambassadors and Heads of State
Event Planning
Education – Early Childhood to University Instruction
Elected Officials
Embassies – worldwide
Entrepreneurs – CEOs and Boards
Foundations – Local to International
Fortune-500 to Fortune-5 Companies
Franchises – executives and Franchisees
Government – Federal
Government – State
Healthcare
High Tech
Music and musicians – artists, songwriters and labels
Non-Profits
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
Oil and Gas
Pharmaceutical
Political candidates
Professional athletes (NFL, olympic stars, etc)
Public Relations, Marketing and Advertising
Real Estate and Realtors
Specialized businesses
Start-ups

In the News

Rolling Stone Magazine Interview of Charlie Fern

St. Edward’s University magazine interview of Charlie Fern

Article on Speechwriting and Geopolitics

Interview with the Garden Island

2016 TIPA Hall of Fame Announcement

Gulf Coast Business and Professional Women

Services

What do we do around here? The ABCs and 123s of this strategic communications consultancy include nearly every service you can imagine across the wide world of professional communication and human interaction. Our services include, but are not limited to:

• Strategic communications consulting
• Speechwriting and coaching
• Communication plans
• Message strategies
• Executive briefings & correspondence
• Corporate, government & non-profit white papers
• Professional document editing and optimizing
• Publishing industry editing & writing
• Event planning
• Public relations plans, strategies and tactics
• Public service announcements
• Press releases & media advisories
• News & opinion editorial writing
• Public speaking & lectures
• Media – writing and training

Contact Charlie for more details.

Writing & Resources

As a journalist, Ms. Fern wrote and edited in all styles – hard news, lifestyles, sports, columns and editorials. More than 20 years later, she continues to write for all media and consults a national list of clients in the art and skill of writing and public communications, including public relations and strategic messaging. When she is not a featured writer, or featured as a writer in the news, she lectures at the university level and delivers seminars and motivational speeches to organizations and groups nationwide.

You will have heard Ms. Fern’s speeches on national television, national and international radio. You will have read her work in prominent newspapers and magazines worldwide. And on this Web site, you will find examples of her own writing on a myriad of personal and professional topics — from leadership and public speaking to storytelling and strategic communications. You’ll also find blogs, essays, and speeches, quotes, and writing tips by Charlie and her staff, here and elsewhere on this site. We hope you’ll find this information both useful (if you’re considering our services) and entertaining (if you’re just browsing for fun and inspiration). And if you want to stay put on this page, you’ll find a few samples below.

Personal Blog Posts:

Eight months pregnant and counting

Extolling the virtues of baby containing contraptions

Excerpt from memoirs:

A small excerpt

On Writing:

The Dirty Dozen of Grammatical Errors

Tips and Tricks

Newsletters:

Imagine Greater Possibilities