More pleasure? Yes please!
Would you like to end each day feeling satisfied and content? Then bring more pleasure in!
There is no doubt that feeling good is an inside job and that our ability to feel pleasure directly affects our degree of fulfillment.
Going through a health scare a while back made me appreciate that allowing myself pleasure is not just a nice thing to do for ourselves; it’s the answer to a healthy, prosperous life!
Studies have shown that pleasure stimulates nitric oxide production in our bodies which in turn allows more oxygen and nutrients to flow to our heart, body, brain, and inner organs. In other words, pleasure is one of the most favourable feelings not just for our emotions but for our bodies too! When pinching ourselves off from it, we struggle to feel complete. On the other hand, when we are connected to it, all thoughts of unworthiness and feelings of not enough-ness disappears.
If you are a natural giver, you might struggle to allow yourself to feel deep pleasure. You might have been taught that it’s more important to give rather than receive. Of course, serving is a beautiful thing. But if we cannot allow ourselves to receive fully, we will never enjoy life to its fullest.
Our ability to allow feelings of pleasure affects everything in life. When we are not allowing ourselves to feel the joy, we starve ourselves from life itself.
Working with my clients and with myself, I have come to realize that feeling pleasure is the antidote to low self-worth; it soothes feelings of shame and washes away sadness.
Many givers find it difficult and sometimes uncomfortable to be on the receiving side; instead, we focus on giving! But if we are not ok allowing ourselves to feel pleasure, how can we entirely give to others without tiring ourselves out over time?
How do you feel about receiving? When someone compliments you, is it hard to say ‘thank you and not give a compliment back? Or when you are given a gift or someone does you a favor, do you naturally think about how you can give back? These are all signs you might not be letting pleasure in.
Pleasure is such an essential aspect of life, don’t dismiss it even if you are a natural giver driven by giving back; filling our cup needs to be part of the equation if we want to live a long life!
To practice feeling pleasure, start tuning into the goodness of life in every moment. Start leaning into what feels good in each moment, no matter what the outside world looks like. Look for the space between your thoughts and try basking in the temporary silence in between your ideas as long as you can.
I have recorded a guided visualisation to help you connect to feelings of pleasure and deep inner peace. It’s best if you listen to it via headphones at a time you won’t be disturbed for 15 minutes or so. I hope it serves you. The transcript is below in case you want to read it.
In Love. Madelaine ♥️
Take a moment right now to feel into the present.
Feel your body resting against the seat underneath you.
Feel it holding you.
Feel your breath, feel your body, your legs, your tummy, your arms, your head. Feel the wholeness of you.
Feel the air around you, the soft air surrounding you right here and now.
Feel the breath in and out of your lungs.
Imagine yourself in a meadow in the middle of the forest now.
The sun is warm and you can hear the birds chirping & going about their day.
Maybe you can hear the bees moving from flower to flower.
There is a sweet scent in the air and you position yourself in the middle of the meadow.
The air is soft, the moment is fresh and you are safe.
Take your time now to enjoy this moment.
Take a moment to start noticing the feeling of peace in your body.
Where do you feel at peace right now?
No matter how small, feel where peace resides in your body.
Imagine leaning in to peace as you lean into something really comforting, like a warm hug from someone you love. When you hug someone you love you don’t think about giving back, you just embrace and stay in the warm energy of love. Giving and receiving becomes one.
Lean into peace like a warm hug right now.
Feel it expand in your body.
Feel it into more and more parts of you.
Let it fill all the crevices of you.
And as you allow it to happen you’re noticing more and more areas are leaning into peace with you.
Feel the pleasure of leaning in to it peace right now.
The joy of having this wholesome feeling to take over your body.
You know how to do this.
Ever since you opened your eyes for the first time and set your eyes on this beautiful world you knew peach.
You knew peace then, you knew pleasure then.
Peace is your natural set point.
Always has, always will be.
And as you enjoy revisiting this knowing you remember who you really are and where you come from. You were born from this feeling you have right now. That’s why when you allow yourself back to this state it feels so natural to you.
Silently say to yourself:
“The feeling of peace is inside of me. The more peace and pleasure I allow into my life the more life force I let in. Peace is my friend.”
Feel the feeling expand from the bottom all the way up your body, moving through every cell. Illuminating each and every part of your internal and external world.
Silently say to yourself:
“I open up the channel to project more pleasure into the world. By allowing myself to feel more pleasure I allow love to spread into the world around me.”
Pleasure is not external but internal and directly connected to gratitude, appreciation and deep love.
It’s not pleasure at the expense of others, it’s pleasure as a channel to connect to life!
If we don’t allow ourselves to feel pleasure and what’s good in life we starve ourselves from life itself and pinch ourselves off from enjoying this lifetime.
Life is meant to be fun, more fun than you might have made yourself believe.
It’s time to stop taking life so seriously. It’s time to relax and enjoy what’s ahead.
Gently say to yourself:
“I’m gonna learn to lean into more pleasure from now. I’m gonna enjoy the simple moments in my life from now on. I know that when I walk towards more enjoyment and more peace, things will start to happen for me with even greater ease.
I allow more fun into my life.
I allow more joy into my life.
From now, I’m gonna let life in.”
Take a deep breath in, and breathe out, and allow yourself to feel deeply the feeling of this pleasurable attitude to life.
And as we bring ourselves back to the present moment we allow ourselves to bring this beautiful feeling in with us.
Knowing that we can always connect to this feeling and come back here whenever we want. It’s always available to us.
Focus back on your breath.
Taking a few deeper breaths now, in and out.
Gently, slowly in and out of your nose….rocking yourself back into the present moment…. and when you’re ready open your eyes to the world around you.