Scents & Sensibilities
Latest finds & insightful podcasts.
While this isn’t a themed newsletter – unless the color coordination below gets me a hall pass as a theme – I enjoyed gathering these items, ranging from home goods to good scents.
1. Cinnamon Projects Incense, EyeSwoon: Duo
Cinnamon Projects’ incense are a splurge given they burn away, albeit in 25 minutes, but the decadent scents and beautiful packaging make them a great gift for yourself or others. This duo is a collab with EyeSwoon founder, Athena Calderone.
2. Henry Rose Eau de Parfum, Flora Carnivora
Henry Rose fragrances are both clean and sophisticated. They’re also notably EWG verified with no known carcinogens or endocrine disruptors. I have my favorites, but honestly, there’s not one in the whole collection I dislike after making my way through the Full Collection Discovery Set.
3. Rural Retreats Coffee Table Book
Without many summer plans on the horizon yet, the gorgeous “12 noteworthy global countryside homes” in this book will have to serve as my vicarious getaways.
I’m loving this inexpensive travertine incense holder with a brass insert designed to fit various sizes.
5. Cultivate Elevate, Freshwater Pearl Capsules
Cultivate Elevate produces lab-tested, small-batch products without fillers or GMOs. Pearl has long been used in beauty products but is also considered a superfood dense in protein, trace minerals, and amino acids. I also really like this company’s Shilajit Cold-Pressed Tablets.
I received this pan for Christmas from my mom and as a cookware minimalist (my kitchen is tiny), I appreciate this stylish multi-tasker. It comes with a wooden spatula that nestles on the handle during cooking and a steel insert for steaming vegetables. You can even put the 2.0 version in the oven, which I do to finish steaks. The main selling point is that the pans don’t include PFAS and PTFE, the forever (and very toxic) chemicals, in their ceramic coating.
Worth a Listen
Big Pharma Insider: Exposing The Truth About Chronic Disease
This is a powerful interview with Calley Means about Big Pharma and Big Food. Means shares insights into the incentives and kickbacks that have contributed to America being one of the sickest nations in the world.
This is especially alarming in terms of childhood obesity – according to Means, Japan's childhood obesity rate is 3% and the U.S. rate is approximately 25% (with those percentages varying a bit by source). The episode explores the downstream, catastrophic impact this has on a system that perversely thrives on us becoming sicker and sicker.
They specifically discuss how the Food Compass study, funded by the Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and Vail Innovative Global Research, was designed to “influence childhood marketing guidelines for childhood nutrition.” This study ranked Lucky Charms and other sugary cereals ahead of ground beef. While seemingly amusing, the report influenced school boards and lunchtime offerings.
Switching gears, they also dive into how we’ve been “taken by trillions of dollars of interest away from awe and interconnectedness” and expand into psychedelics.
It does lean politically at the end, but no matter where you land, I think most people will find the discussion around policy changes that could positively impact health as hopeful.
The Science of Effective Communication
We communicate constantly, but whether we do it well is another thing entirely.
My main takeaway from this podcast was the importance of identifying what type of conversation you’re having with someone and adapting appropriately. If hoping to shift the tone, then some “quiet” negotiation will need to take place to transition from one type to another.
Notes on the three conversation types taken from the episode with Charles Duhigg:
Practical: Decision-making. What do we want to discuss; what do we want out of this conversation? Then can make a plan. Most conversations usually start here. Where to eat, critical points of a business meeting, etc.
Emotional: How we’re feeling. The goal is not problem solving, instead the important part is that the other person acknowledges your feelings and perhaps shares their own. Conflict often occurs when one side engages in an emotional conversation and the other person approaches it practically.
Social: Who are we? How we relate to other people and society. Sharing our backgrounds and perspectives; how circumstances made us who we are and how we relate to others. Conversations on how we relate to society, how society relates to us, how we relate to other people, and how they relate to us.
For effective communication to occur, both people must be having the same conversation, at the same time. Whether communicating your vision in business or maintaining important personal relationships, it’s worthy of a listen.
Take care this holiday weekend.
x- BB