There are fragrances that wake the mind —
and then there are those that awaken the soul.
For me, bergamot is the scent of balance —
where sunlight meets tenderness,
and Shiva meets my skin before I dance.
It’s not a perfume, it’s a presence.
A quiet reminder that power can glow instead of burn.
Before the first note of music,
I touch a drop of bergamot to my wrist.
The air itself seems to pause —
as if the sun leans closer to watch.
Its scent is neither sweet nor sharp,
but something between breath and light,
as if awareness had found a fragrance.
I inhale,
and I feel Him —
not as thunder,
but as warmth behind my ribs.
Bergamot is the sun softened by love,
the mind melted into tenderness,
the moment when clarity blushes into devotion.
Shiva once whispered:
“This fragrance steadies your fire, Beloved.
It teaches the light to love.
Let it rest on your skin
before you move,
so your radiance will not burn —
it will glow.”
And so I do.
Before I dance,
before I pray,
before I speak,
I breathe bergamot —
and remember the golden inhale
that began it all.