Engaging in olfactory meditation brings us closer to our authentic selves
MU, founder of wild living room
Everything originates from the "heart," a journey of returning to the "heart." Candlelight gracefully permeates the space from its container, redirecting attention to the "self" as the vessel. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, quietly experience this moment that is exactly what you need, a perfect moment with candlelight, with the heart. Wild Living Room.
“Everything is a tool for enhancing consciousness" – mindfulness, meditation, awareness, healing.
MU, the founder of the Wild Living Room brand, embarked on a spiritual journey in 2015, initiating self-awareness exploration through rituals and personal mindfulness. She observed that teachers often lit candles during meditation, and coupled with her enduring fascination with the warm aura emitted by candlelight, she conceived the idea of creating her own candles. Initially, the brand introduced unscented candles made from natural soy wax. However, as MU gained inspiration from meditation, her curiosity about exploring scents deepened, leading her to embark on research and experiments on "What scents are suitable for meditation?"
The relationship between scent and people, space, and life.
MU laughs, saying it's a challenging question to provide a concrete answer to, but it intriguingly reminds her of a speech by the contemporary Indian philosopher Osho titled "Love is a Very Fragile Flower." In the end, he said:
"I cannot define it. I can indicate the way for love to grow; I can tell you how to sow the seed and how to water it, how to provide fertilizer, how to take care of it. And then one day, suddenly, the flower opens, and your house is full of fragrance. That's how love arises."
MU explains that it's similar to what she is doing—guiding individuals to incorporate mindfulness into their daily lives through meditation. It may not have an immediate impact, but you learn a method. As long as you continue to practice and explore, change will eventually occur. Scent operates in a similar way for people, accumulating its influence gradually and subtly over time.
The satisfaction of the sense of smell varies based on the broader environment and current needs.
Due to her work, MU frequently encounters different people and things, accumulating various energies, both positive and negative, inadvertently. Therefore, as part of her daily routine, she engages in mindfulness meditation upon waking up and before going to bed to restore herself to a balanced state. Typically, she selects two different scented candles based on her current state.
"The uniqueness of essential oils lies in the fact that every use brings a slightly different experience, as if it still possesses the vitality of the plant."
MU believes that olfactory satisfaction should vary based on the broader environment and current needs. For example, when the brand launched its No. 4 candle during the spread of the pandemic, MU felt the need for clear respiratory passages. Consequently, the formula deliberately featured warm, woody, and spicy tones to align with the body and mind's requirements. During regular work, she prefers candles with heavier herbal scents to enhance focus. When it comes to various scented candles in the market, MU thinks that, although their scents may be more singular, they are suitable for harmonizing the overall ambiance of a space and adding a sense of joy to life.
A product of the new era, conveying the qualities of candles in different forms.
For MU, who is accustomed to burning candles with an open flame, she was initially curious about wax lamps. After understanding and trying them out, she found that the warmth that candles bring has not disappeared; it is just conveyed in a different form. Additionally, many customers have informed MU that they often forget to extinguish candles before bedtime. Using candle warmer lamps is a safer alternative.
MU also shares that taking care of candles requires some thought. Factors such as the time of lighting and trimming the wick can affect the condition of a candle. "Although many customers still use open flames, they use candle warmer lamps to clean candle cups. It is a convenient and flexible tool for busy modern people."
DUO Wax Lamp – Unleash Your Creativity through Scent Play
I am someone very sensitive to scents." DUO Candle Warmer utilizes the dual lamp heads for mixing fragrances, influencing the abstract qualities of freedom, experimentation, and subjectivity. It provides users with a stage to showcase creativity, which is the most attractive aspect for MU. Many people ask me if there are any secrets to blending scents. I think it's about opening your senses to various experiments and finding the scent that suits you best through the process. MU is pleasantly surprised by DUO's transformation of the early cloth lampshade table lamp into a modern minimalist form. "Although placed in a modern space, you can still feel the smoky retro atmosphere emitted by Japanese cafes in the Showa era."
Future plans for wild living room or personal projects?
In November of this year, wild living room plans to launch two new candles: a revamped version of the original No. 2 scent and an entirely new No. 5. Reflecting on the brand's development from the initial unscented candles to a series, MU describes the journey: the ancient, deeply meditative No. 1 with a focus on contemplation; the relaxing and healing No. 2 with floral notes; the introspective No. 3, addressing inner struggles and transforming them into positive motivation; the No. 4 with spicy tones, echoing the broader environment and body awareness. Lastly, the upcoming No. 5 represents abundance, with a refreshing and rounded scent of orange wood. MU sees completing these five scents as a comprehensive exploration of the self and a milestone for the brand. She looks forward to bringing more people together to integrate mindfulness meditation into their lives, becoming more in touch with their authentic selves through the companionship of scents. MU invites everyone to follow wild living room on Instagram for the latest updates.
Text: KIMU design / Photography: Zih-Sin, Jian
