How did I miss this for so long? I’m definitely in big trouble. I just discovered the double whammy of the fact that one of my favorite actresses has set Rumi to scent.
If anyone wants to know what “spirit” is,
or what “God’s fragrance” means,
lean your head toward him or her.
Keep your face there close.
Like this.
Like This by Rumi & Tilda Swinton for Etat Libre d’Orange
“If this perfume was a light, it would be an orange glow. That’s what it is. Moreover, if you remove a letter from the word ‘orange’, you have orage – ‘storm’ in French – and that suits her. On the surface, the elements are rousing. On the inside, the fire is tamed, it burns gently in the fireplace of her Scottish home. The fire purrs, the ginger is crystallized, the milk is warm. The room is a sanctuary.
She said: I want a cozy perfume. And I hear the word ‘Cosi’ too. Comme ça. Like This. This perfume is her offering, inspired by a poem of Rumi, Like This. And in terms of this uncommon woman, I also hear: And like nothing else. It’s like this – punctuated with a bewitching smile. And that’s just the way it is. This is a woman who knows neither chains nor alienation. She deals the cards. There is nothing weak or diminutive about Tilda Swinton. She is fullness, a union of opposites. A woman, a soldier, a Don Juan, a girlfriend, a mother, a faun, a clown, a wise, old sage . . . She is the lover and his brother in the same body. An absolutist’s conception of a woman.”
I can’t wait to smell the strange pull of what I love found in the combination of Rumi and…
…Ms. Swinton, one of my favorites…a woman who sleeps inside the box, but always manages to seem to live so creatively outside. 🙂
Tilda Swinton at MOMA, New York City
Had left the following as a love note in a comment elsewhere, but it is too perfect not to share here as well:
seeingM 
And here’s another exceptionally talented Brit:
M – seems to be a muddle as to what comes out on the above (earlier) clip. Best delete that comment. It should be the ‘Waiting all night’ REMIX which I think is this:
No – sorry, that doesn’t work either! Scrap the whole thing!
I’ll get my coat.
H. ❤
Heart happy little chuckle. Such wonderful zest and happiness at a desire to share that what is shared becomes not really as important at all. No no no worries about mislinking of clips. That you would desire to link to begin with is the true share and gift to me 🙂 ! -x.M
At first I thought, you know what… I hate to see that perfume being used so shamelessly by that poem. But then I reminded myself. I don’t really understand what’s happening here. Or anywhere for that matter… I’m just staring dumbfounded into a swirling circus, filling up inside with a gentle warmth unrelated to any goings-on whatsoever…
Like this…
Michael
Ooooohhhhh YOU ARE SO GOOD M x! BIng BInG biNg. The bells and whistles of growth and freedom sound as we begin to question all our bleeding assumptions, which at the end of the day, usually all make an arse out of u and me when we ass/u/me ANYTHING as a right or wrong way to do or not do. Michael my sweet, you stink amazingly pretty today :). (reference to this post, just in case the word “stink” causes one a moment of pause: https://seeingm.wordpress.com/2012/11/29/stinking-pretty/ stinking in this way is always a good thing!)
-x.M
-x.M
What a great quote from your niece. That’s right up there with the picture drawn of me by a four year old in which I am the stunning rendition of the Predator. I had a pony tail then, but it came out in the hands of the master looking like Medusa’s coifure. And thanks for the heads up on the Tokyo Milk. I’ll be sure and steer clear of that business.
Michael
She knew the poem and then was inspired to create the perfume. She did not choose a big company to market it to make money, but rather choose a small little underground house that focuses on quality not $$$ and quantity (she flatly stated that does not need the money, but LOVED the experience of educating herself about scent). She wanted to capture in a bottle the smell of her dog’s paws, the fireplace in her home, the ginger and carrots and fall pumpkin smells 🙂 and whiskey and peat smells of her grandfather’s house. http://www.katiepuckriksmells.com/2011/01/katie-puckrik-smells-tilda-swinton-etat.html
I once gave an old leather wallet (black on the outside lined with pink leather inside) to a little niece. She took it, delighted (pink is her favorite color). Several months later I went back to visit again and saw it was sitting on her bedside table. I asked why it was placed there. She immediately held it to her nose, and taking a deep breath in, said she was happy to have it close because it smelled like Aunt Mim. (Aunt M’s heart burst in that moment.)
We all smell of God when we remember 🙂 .
-x.M
A brilliant closing! We all smell of God when we remember…
I like learning more of Tilda’s story here. Rumi really shrinks the world doesn’t he? I’m reading Cat’s Cradle by Vonnegut, and thinking we’re all in Rumi’s karass or something.
If you haven’t read it, the karass is like the little tribe of most meaningful and influential people in your life, not to be confused with blood relatives or politicians necessarily.
Michael
Tilda can set anything to scent! 🙂 Thanks M, it was a delight to hear this beautiful voice word his passion! P x
Yes, her read of that was absolutely divine. She was smelling the words I think 🙂 ! -x.M
When some unearthly BEing is whispering in my ear “like this,” I feel exquisite excitement of possibility, like doors are being thrown open where before there were no doors, all the while I also feel impossibly trepadacious, afraid to step for the floor falling away. This intimate companion is taking me to a threshold, showing me how to leap. I am excited and afraid – like this. powerful. So – M! xo.