Written by I was sitting amidst a sea of grey-haired oldies at a concert in Peery’s Egyptian Theater when suddenly, I found myself flashing back to the driver’s seat of an orange VW hatchback, windows down, singing at the top of my lungs. My body might not have left my theater seat in Ogden, Utah, but my heart and mind were blasting down the road somewhere in Middlesex County, New Jersey.
Strange as it sounds, I could even feel the wind in my hair—
The only way I can describe what I felt is free.
In that instant, I wasn’t days away from turning sixty-four; I was seventeen and, for a moment, unbothered by uncooperative hair, relentless acne, or unrequited love from my high school crush. I was alone in my car, with only The Eagles blasting on the radio as I sped down the road.
For a second, I wished that moment would never end.
Well, I’m standing on a corner
In Winslow, Arizona
And such a fine sight to see
It’s a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford
Slowin’ down to take a look at me
Come on, baby, don’t say maybe
I gotta know if your sweet love
Is gonna save me
We may lose, and we may win
Though we will never be here again
So open up, I’m climbin’ in
So take it easy
By the time the band finished the final song of the night, I was fully back in my body, although my soul was still feeling the benefits of my retro-high. Incredibly, almost 24 hours later, I can still tap into that joyous feeling.
Is it possible to bottle that experience?
I decided to figure out how.
The Brain and the Body
The way positive memories, smells, and songs get stored in the body is a mixture of neuroscience and embodied experience.
Here’s a basic explanation of how positive experiences get coded into our bodies.
When we have a joyful experience—like hearing Take It Easy by the Eagles while driving with the windows down on a beautiful summer’s day—our brains encode the sensory input, emotional state, and physical state of the experience. The hippocampus is the part of the brain that processes and stores long-term memories. The amygdala tags the memories with emotional significance—especially those associated with positive or intense emotions.
Even though memory is stored in our brains, our body also “remembers” through muscle memories, visceral reactions, and somatic markers (like a warm feeling in our chest or warmth in our stomach). A song, smell, or place can activate bodily memories.
In my example with the Eagles’ song, the melody and lyrics were stored in my auditory cortex, the carefree and happy emotion in my amygdala, and the bodily sensations (like the wind in my air) recorded as a somatic experience. When I heard that song again almost fifty years later, my body lit up. I was there again—emotionally and physically. It was weird…
…but mostly, it was wonderful.
Smells can have a similar effect on our bodies since smell and emotion are stored as one memory. According to Harvard professor Venkatesh Murthy:
“Smells are handled by the olfactory bulb, the structure in the front of the brain that sends information to the other areas of the body’s central command for further processing. Odors take a direct route to the limbic system, including the amygdala and the hippocampus, the regions related to emotion and memory. The olfactory signals very quickly get to the limbic system.”
This is why scents can transport us to another day and, more importantly, another mood.
This explains why when I smell honeysuckle, I am immediately transported back to Switzerland, where I spent time strolling along the flower-packed walkways as a child. I experience immediate peace when that aroma hits my nostrils.
As I considered this incredible phenomenon, I wondered why I don’t use this gift more intentionally to anchor my soul to God.
After all, God’s people have done this from the beginning.
God’s People Anchor to God
The Israelites’ use of memory stones and altars was a deeply embodied and spiritual way of marking moments of encounter with God.
In the Old Testament, stones of remembrance or altars were often set up at key moments when:
- God made a covenant or promise. An example is in Genesis 35:14: “So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where God had spoken with him–a stone marker–and he poured out a drink offering on it and anointed it with oil.” The pillar serves as a physical reminder of God’s presence and promises.
- A miracle or deliverance happened. An example is in Joshua 4:1-9 after God parts the Jordan River for Israel to pass through. Joshua commands one man from each tribe to take a stone and build a memorial. “These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever” (v. 7).
- There was a personal or communal encounter with the divine. An example is Genesis 12:7-8 when God appears and promises land to Abram. He builds an altar in response. “The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring, I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.”
These stories show how God met people in tangible ways—and how those people responded by making the moment permanent. Stones weren’t just decoration; they were anchors of faith for them and future generations.
“Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far, the LORD has helped us.” (1 Sam 7:12)
Application for Us
My experience at the Peers Egyptian Theater inspired me to consider how we might leverage our neurobiology and the example of the ancient Israelites to intentionally imprint our souls in an uplifting manner. Below are several ideas:
- Spiritual Anchoring: Consider creating an “altar”—a journal entry, symbol, picture, piece of art, or jewelry that marks where you encountered peace, healing, or clarity. When I came across the picture below recently, I was reminded of how God met me in a season of uncertainty and confusion. We had sold our home at the end of 2020 and bought an Airstream travel trailer to live in; we had no idea where God would take us. There were a fair amount of angsty days in the three-and-a-half years we lived on the road, but this picture reminds me of how much God blessed us in that season. I plan to get this printed and framed to anchor me spiritually.
- Legacy and Story: Like the Israelites’ children asking, “What do these stones mean?” (Joshua 4:7)—your markers can become stories that sustain not just you but others. For example, the Jewish people celebrate a Passover meal to remember how God delivered them from slavery in Egypt. The meal—roasted lamb, bitter herbs, and unleavened bread—was filled with symbolic meaning to commemorate what happened to them. The lamb represented the sacrifice that spared their lives. The bitter herbs recalled the bitterness of slavery. The unleavened bread reminded them of the haste with which they left Egypt.The Passover was not only about the past—it was about teaching the next generation: “And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt…’”(Exodus 12:26-27).The Lord’s Supper (Communion) is the new covenant meal of remembrance—not just of deliverance from Egypt but also from sin and death. Consider taking communion regularly with your family and friends to remember and celebrate what Jesus did. Tell your children the story repeatedly so they understand the significance of the ritual.Another idea is to choose a real stone (you can write or carve on it) and place it somewhere in the home to remember God’s provision. You can even design a stone and have it made commercially.Lastly, consider establishing a symbolic ritual of lighting a candle when family and friends visit your home. Say something like, “I light this candle to remind us all that God is with us.”
- Returning in Doubt: When faith gets shaky, returning to those “stones” reminds you of what you’ve already walked through. They’re reminders of the faithfulness of God when you couldn’t see what He was doing. This might include reviewing journal entries that recorded your breakthrough or playing songs that remind you that God sustains you. Matt Redman’s You Never Let Go is one of those songs for me. It could also involve hanging pictures in your home (like mine above) to remind you of God’s promises and faithfulness.
- Neuro-associative Conditioning: Create a strong link between a positive emotional state and a sensory cue (like a smell or sound) to later trigger that state on demand (see below).Photo by Наталья Кленова on UnsplashHow to Establish Neuro-Associative ConditioningHow to Anchor with Smell:
- Pick a scent you love but don’t use often (essential oils are an option).
- Experience a positive moment—or recall a vivid one (close your eyes and allow yourself to feel it).
- While deeply feeling that joy, peace, or confidence, inhale the scent a few times.
- Repeat during other feel-good moments to reinforce the link.
- Choose a song that makes you feel a certain way—safe, empowered, nostalgic. (Marvin Gaye, anyone?)
- Use it during journaling, meditation, movement—any time you’re cultivating that emotion.
- Over time, it becomes like an emotional switch—play the song, and the feeling follows.
I love how God created our brains to access past positive experiences in the present. It’s awesome that I could tap into my seventeen-year-old joy as a sixty-four-year-old woman. That experience wasn’t just for fun; the neurological process of remembrance also has implications for anchoring our faith throughout the generations.
It’s time to start remembering.
Our faith depends on it.
I’d love to hear if you have any experience creating spiritual or emotional anchoring practices. Do you plan to try something in the future?