Pleasure as the healing balm and the catalyst for being present to the moment
When I decided to make 2024 the year of pleasure, it came from a place of pain in my own body. I find it quite fascinating that although there has been such an abundance of pleasure in my life this year, there is still pain in my body, yet my relationship with this pain has changed entirely. I completely forget about it quite frequently. It no longer takes up so much space in my life. When it is present, I don’t get so fixated or bothered by it. I may have a few moments of anguish, but mostly I hold a space of compassion for myself and my body and allow it to have it’s say before moving on to my next focus. I am a believer in getting to the root cause of pain and listening to the body to support healing. I have also come to understand how this Shamanic body of mine is a reflection of the big pictures in life, a reflection of cultural and environmental impacts on the planet and our bodies, as we are all just a part of the wondrous earthly ecosystem. Pain is an invitation to listen to the wisdom for healing potential. Listening to the voice of loving awareness and listening to the voice of peace & pleasure is the healing balm.
I have learnt so much so far this year with having the focus of pleasure. I am happy to present to you part 1 of my pleasure project and look forward to presenting part 2 when we get to the end of the year. This may be anecdotal information, or it may have been read, heard or scientifically discovered. It is amazing how information streams in from so many avenues once we set an intention. Here are some philosophical highlights from my pleasure project:
There is a huge range of activities and perspectives, large and small that can easily be incorporated into a day, a month, a year. The more pleasure is practiced, the more it can spontaneously arise and grow in life. Pleasure can be found in a quiet peaceful moment, in a loving look, a bird call, my husbands voice, in a memory of joy, in a moment of simply being present and sensing the beauty and wonder of life.
Diversifying experiences of pleasure is a great way to exercise cognitive function, find new perspectives and diversify neurology. For example, on one day I was dreading having to make a certain phone call and recognised it was a big pleasure blocker. When I asked myself the question: Do we really have to do the tough things in life? The response that came to me from some deep inner wise place was: Is it simply that the mind perceives it as tough and judges it to be difficult, or wrong, or hard - which taints the experiences of life? What if I could perceive this situation more neutrally and not have any judgement or perception about it? What if I viewed it instead as a truth that must be lived in order to grow in love and joy? I came to a place of pleasurable peace in myself, made that phone call effortlessly and was happy with the outcome.
Having things to look forward to can be a pleasure in itself. In fact positive anticipation has been found to be very good for mental health and happiness.
Introducing more activities of pleasure increases health, wellbeing and happiness. It also inspires a reduction in activities and thoughts that are anti-pleasure or that bring me down. I came across a love summit this year which was a delight to listen to. Especially because it had some of my favourite inspirational women; Marianne Williamson, Marci Smirnoff, and Anita Moorjani. I will give you some pleasure building references of theirs below. One particular message that they had in common was this fact - activities that bring peace, love and joy are important for building health and happiness. These are all embraced as pleasurable states for me. In short, focusing on pleasure has increased my vitality and happiness.
I also came across a podcast which shared some research findings about mitochondria from Dr Martin Picard. These little organelles (necessary machinery for the cell) fascinate me. I have been studying them for a couple of years, and exploring how they impact the health of the body. I use muscle testing with clients to discover feedback from the body in relation to what is affecting mitochondria and what implications it is having for people’s lives. Research has discovered that mitochondria are important for so much more than simply making energy for the cell, which was the previous scientific understanding. We now know that they have an important role in metabolism, supporting healthy brain function and mounting appropriate immune and inflammatory responses. Dr Picard’s research showed that the mitochondrial function dipped the day after there was a dip in people’s mental health. Therefore I would advocate for ensuring each day you engage in something that uplifts you, so that you can increase your health-building body functions.
It is a well known fact that pleasure increases the brain chemical oxytocin in the body. This is the most illuminating connection between pleasure and health. Oxytocin is an influencer for other hormones, and supports general health, adaptation to stress, mood, sleep, appetite, healing, reproduction and social behaviour. These are the common signs of oxytocin deficiency:
Poor ability to manage stress
Difficulty with soothing self
Poor immune function and ability to recover (frequent illness)
Poor cellular regeneration, particularly muscle cells.
Muscle and joint pain due to oxytocin pain-dulling and anti-inflammatory effects
Poor bone mineral density.
Poor ability to connect socially and feel open and trusting towards others
Problems with sexual pleasure, intimacy, and intimate relationships
Poor appetite suppression
High blood pressure and stress levels
This is an extract from my Soul Nurturing Lifestyle tool on brain chemistry which is available on my Soulful Support Subscription site. https://www.soulnurturing.com.au/member-homepage
If you are suffering in these ways, I highly recommend the prescription of pleasure.
Below is a summary of how my pleasure project has presented for each month.
January
The pleasure of Self Nurturing - support for the body with regular acupuncture visits and day trips to the beach. Deepening of my commitment to morning journalling of gratitudes and love letters from my soul.
February
The pleasure of Social Nurturing - events with friends and family and scheduling in time for more social activities. Deepening of relationships and gratitude for so many kind and supportive people in my life.
March
The pleasure of Space Nurturing - 6 weeks off work gave me so much extra space for new pleasure experiences. I visited my family spread out over east, and spent time on the spacious family farm, and in nature. I took many walks through Brisbane city while staying there, visiting my Dad in hospital.
There were some very special walks on the farm as well. They were always shared with Dad’s dog Ashley. A pleasure shared is a pleasure doubled in my books. One particular early morning, nature put on a beautiful display and smell of harissia cactus flowers. A noxious weed, and also known as moonlight cactus, showed another side, and revealed how prolific it was with its luminescent, heady scented flowers.
As I supported my Dad with his knee replacement rehabilitation exercises, we both had a lovely space of time to connect with, and appreciate body movement. I also continue to connect with the pleasure of moving and stretching my body with yoga.
April
The pleasure of Sweet Nurturing. I love cooking and sweet foods yet when things are too sweat and don’t feel so wholesome and nourishing, it can dampen the pleasure experience. During my time off work I discovered a beautiful cook book for slices at the family farm. I took some time to re-create some of the sweet treats into something a little more nutritious and pleasurable. My Slice Makeover was complete with Celeste Barber styling - photos of my gauche versions of recipe photography which attempted to mimic the photos in the book.
May
The pleasure of Partnership Nurturing. After returning from 5 weeks away from my beloved husband, quality time away with him was in order. We spent a night at Rosebridge Bed and breakfast in Kalamunda upon my return. I can highly recommend this to any couple for a romantic get-away.
https://rosebridgehouse.com.au/
They do a really nice breakfast and we had the pleasure of dining with their garden wildlife. I have never seen so many bandicoots and birds in one place.
A couple of weeks later we visited Hamlin bay, had a day at the beach and an overnight stay at Augusta. We named it massage month and gave each other a massage each week, which is one of my favourite pleasures - giving and receiving massage.
June
The pleasure of Nature Nurture. My husband and I had 2 nights at Dryandra woodlands and a long bush walk spending time with the woodland wildflowers. We marvelled at nature’s art and the messages from the trees. It was also a good month to remember how precious it is to have time in the garden, creating and tending to some beauty in the home. The beauty of nature and the messages that come from nature never cease to amaze me and light me up. The colours of nature I find so incredibly striking and supportive for enjoying the moment.
This was also the month I decided to do a hormone reset diet. Something which at first seemed counter productive to pleasure because I love my food. Yet this diet actually supported the process of appreciating the nature of food on a deeper level. I attuned myself more deeply to the feeling I get when I eat certain foods. It felt so nourishing and pleasurable to eat limited fruits, abundant vegetables and glorious nuts, chicken and fish. I deeply appreciate these aspects of nature which nourish me so completely. It seems there is a whole new level of appreciation that comes when you cut out foods such as dairy, grains, processed foods and red meat. I learnt how eating can become a habit and a convenience and therefore limit the degree of pleasure and nourishment that is possible. By stepping outside usual dietary patterns we can nourish ourselves in new ways.
So that is a wrap for the first half of the year.
These are the works of the inspirational women I mentioned:
Marianne Williamson - A prolific author, my favourite book ‘A Return to love’: https://marianne.com/books/
Marci Smirnoff - author of ‘Chicken soup for the soul' and ‘Happy for no reason’. I love her weekly podcasts for some positivity nourishment: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/living-in-the-miracle-zone/id1690203019&ved=2ahUKEwiY55u856eHAxXuxzgGHXlzCqYQFnoECBYQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2ZoluT4wPR-H7VHq3Pf8oH
Anita Moorjani - author of ‘Dying to be me’ and presenter of one of my favourite TED talks by the same title: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhcJNJbRJ6U&ved=2ahUKEwj50KqZ2qKHAxU6yzgGHZ4xDLwQtwJ6BAgTEAI&usg=AOvVaw0aXoSkUQDy-OOIvs2dujPS
The full pleasure project document including my recipe make-over, pleasure inspiring colour cards, pdf templates and suggestions for increasing pleasure will be available on my subscription site from the 1st of August. https://www.soulnurturing.com.au/member-homepage
Keep an eye on the Soul Nurturing Facebook and Instagram pages for some excerpts.