intimacy won’t give you the same kind of pleasure as working
toward a meaningful goal or even simply being immersed in a
project or task, just as no amount of work satisfaction will give
you the particular joy you can get from cuddling with a child.
Likewise, none of these pleasures can be exchanged for the joy
of creativity—the rush of happiness chemicals that overwhelms
you when you experience inspiration flowing through you,
whether you’re making art or reimagining the way you live
your life. But even pleasure from creativity can’t equate to
the profound experience of mystical union, the pleasure of
pure being.
Sensual Pleasures
Sensual pleasures include the taste of food, the touch of a
dew-spangled rose, a lover’s embrace, the sight of an arrestingly
beautiful face, or appreciation of a great piece of art. They can
be fairly primal or highly refined—a Hostess Twinkie appeals
to a coarser part of the palate than a perfectly balanced crème
brûlée. But both appease the gnaw of hunger; both stimulate
the pleasure centers in the limbic system—though when the
ripples of pleasure from an expert lover’s touch or a great
chef ’s flavorful dish reach the higher centers in the cortex, the
appreciation they stimulate may cause shivers of delight that
coarser pleasures can’t match.
What does it take to deepen sensual pleasure? Maximum
enjoyment requires maximum attentiveness—the ability to
become fully present to a taste or a touch or a fragrance. The
more present you are with the physical universe and with your
own body, the greater your pleasure experiences will be.
Distraction is the great enemy of enjoyment. When we’re
distracted, we’re liable to substitute quantity for quality,
reaching for another helping or another stimulant or a different
body because we haven’t been present enough to fully enjoy
what we have. So, when you’re feeling a pleasure deficit, great
masters of this subject recommend turning your attention
inward and savoring the smell, the touch, the sight of a sensual
experience. The Tantric text Vijnana Bhairava offers this
practice: As you’re eating a ripe peach, or watching a sunset, or
being aroused by your beloved’s touch, focus on the sensation
of pleasure within rather than on the phenomenon that has
triggered it. Let the sensation expand. When you can be
inwardly focused and completely present
with any form of sensual pleasure, it can open the door to a
profound yogic samadhi, a kind of joyful physical rapture.WISDOMWORKSHOPS
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