I got hit upside the head today.

Next, the sweet fragrance of roses mixed with just a slight tinge of oranges enticed my senses while meditating.

This followed the experience yesterday of missing keys mysteriously reappearing as I puzzled through my new life journey of “unnatural” awareness.

This morning, I jokingly  referred to my 22-year-old son as my “stupid student,” while travelling in the car and something smacked me on the right side of my head, just slightly below the hair line. I looked up at the sun visor, but knew I’d find nothing physical. I realized that some “non-ordinary” force had gently hit me ever so slightly.

I immediately referred to myself as stupid and told a series of self-deprecating jokes, making Nicholas feel better about himself. He chimed in a few of his own, showing me how much wisdom he actually does have. We discussed how difficult it is to “let go” of certain beliefs, even when we find ourselves beating our heads against a brick wall, when all we had to do was be open to a less rigid belief thus enabling us to simply walk around the wall to get to where we want to go.

My second encounter with unseen forces was a more pleasant one. While meditating, I smelled the scent of flowers.

Nature can touch us if we open our hearts to her . . .

It arose during a guided meditation when I was wishing that everyone could be free from danger, while obtaining happiness and good health while living a life of ease.

I realized that I had been smelling the scent more than a half a dozen times since the day before, and I had commented to my son about it. I hadn’t put the two things together until now. The “hit upside the head” and the caress of my olfactory senses occurred after a set of keys disappeared and then — like magic — reappeared some 24 hours later. No I don’t believe it was carried out by a ghost or a poltergeist. My house is not haunted. A Presbyterian priest once blessed it, warding off any evil beings or things, and I believe that blessing still holds.

Something holy and good has deigned to touch me.

I saw my keys vanish and then come back. I felt through the touch of my skin the slight pat on my head, and I smelled the lovely fragrance. It was the fragrance that got me thinking of holy things. You see, the Catholic Church calls it the “Odor of Sanctity,” or “Osmogenesia.”  They generally refer to the odor that emanates from the bodies of holy people or a holy person’s remains. The duration is brief or persistent; the scent is sweet or floral, such as honey-like, roses, lilies, violets, or incense, according to Sharing Catholic Truth, a spiritual website. (See: Supernatural Scents)

I thought of it after having visited the shrine of St Padre Pio outside of Pottstown, PA, where I once worked as a newspaper reporter. Padre Pio was reported to have exuded this “odor of sanctity” at a hotel room in Switzerland where the couple he was praying for were staying. In 1991, more than 10 years after his death, a man who underwent a quadruple bypass had awoke from the anesthesia, his right arm and leg was paralyzed. He prayed to the saint and after three fervent days of prayers, he noticed an overwhelming aroma of flowers. When the  aroma faded, he felt a sensation in his right leg and he knew at once Padre Pio had helped to answer his prayer.

Could a benign spirit reach out and touch someone now-a-days? Why not? I believe we are spiritual beings occupying a human body. Angels really do exist. I wouldn’t mind being guided by one because I’d know for sure that I was on the right path.

And having one helluva good time while I’m at it!