Grounded in Pleasure
The word "pleasure" can connote all sorts of images - from dancing, to salivating over a favorite food, or even perhaps something a little more saucy. The thing is, there is a reason Joseph Campbell and then Oprah ran with the phrase "follow your bliss." When you engage and follow your pleasure - you feel more alive - and when you feel more alive you're more likely to do what you came here to do - and when you do what you came here to do you become a light for others, shining, inspiring, and elevating them into their own unique greatness.
Sounds pretty good, right?
But let's not get caught in what Culture teaches us counts as pleasure. I was just speaking with a client yesterday about her experiences over Mother's Day. She happens to be a mother but not a lot of hubbub was made about it in her family. While ordinarily that would be a source of anger and drama (understandably), instead, she found herself still reveling in the simple pleasures of the day. Savoring a delicious sweet treat. Taking a long, sunshine-filled walk. Even settling into the pleasure of watching a few episodes of a funny TV show. She asked me - was it OK to feel so pleased by such little things? Yes! I assured her. We should all be so lucky.
To me, her experience is the epitome of tapping into uncomplicated sources of pleasure. The pomp and circumstance of what we're told it should look like (the romantic fancy dinner and date night, the big spa day, the "perfect" trip we've been planning for months etc.), is often a lot more sizzle than steak. I'm interested in the simpler pleasures - the stunning flowers on the side of the road, the feel of a crystal in the palm of the hand during meditation, the snuggle of a beloved person or pet, the pleasure of hearing an old friend's voice on the phone. For this new moon and the entire cycle, I encourage you to come back to the beauty of pleasure and the pleasure of what - to you - is beautiful. Revel in it, enjoy it. You will thank me later.
Below, a few prompts, meditation, and musings to harness this new moon:
Writing and Ritual
- WISH | If you weren't afraid of what it would look like or what others would think, what are the 10 things you want? What are the things you desire and wish for? Don't be afraid to dream big here! Begin each statement with: "I wish..."
- PRUNE | Of the 10, circle the 2 or 3 that are really jazzing you up right now. That give you those spinal tingles, or excited stomach butterflies.
- GROUND | Taurus is an earth sign and it's time to ground these wishes into reality. What are 3 action steps you can take (this month) to move forward on said goals? For instance, my own wish of creating a digital coaching program/community is giving me all the tingles. My grounding statements are: figure out the best platform, actually write down a detailed outline of teaching topics instead of swirling them around in my head, and create a release schedule for these events.
- MEDITATE | I love sharing resources with this Wandering Wellness Tribe. You can listen to this gratis meditation or try this visualization practice. Set a timer for 5 minutes and sit or lay down. Begin to delight in visualizing how it will FEEL to obtain one or both of your goals. How will you feel when you jump out of bed? What will it look like as you move through the world? How would you act/dress/speak/think/play differently? This can be done at anytime throughout the cycle, and the more you do it, the more you organizes the creative forces around you to deliver it to you!
- GET ACCOUNTABLE | Employ the help of a friend or partner or book a session to have true accountability. Put your money where your mouth is - use the power and promise of your spoken word to someone you trust to make it happen.
- LOOSEN YOUR GRIP | Lastly, in this cycle of grounding into pleasure, don't take you or your goals too seriously. Let yourself be drawn by the things you love - however "out of the blue" they may seem. Get distracted by pleasure. Waste time reveling in the simplicity of being alive. And feel free to use these words of the prolific Rumi, to guide you on your way:
Today, like every other day, we wake up empty
and frightened. Don't open the door to the study
and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument.
Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.