We humans were born to experience unlimited pleasure and joy. It’s our birthright. Pursuing pleasure and also allowing ourselves to receive it on a regular basis are absolutely essential to creating and maintaining vibrant physical and emotional health. That’s right—the pursuit of good feelings is not an indulgence. It’s a life-affirming necessity! Pleasure in all its many forms literally stokes our life force (our chi or prana) in the way we’d stoke a fire by throwing another log onto it.
Think about the last time you really steeped yourself in something pleasurable—when you took that positive feeling right into your bone marrow. Maybe it was savoring a bite of gourmet chocolate, the smell of salt air at the beach, or an exquisite back rub. Everyone has a distinct pleasure profile, and you can count on your senses to let you know when you’ve dialed into yours. Remember the intensity of your pleasure. (If you can’t remember what it feels like to lose yourself in bliss, hang around a 2-year-old for five minutes.) When you’re lost in the joy of pleasure, you are, in that very moment, renewing your cells, increasing your blood circulation and creating health on all levels—body, mind and spirit. In fact, you’re probably getting a healthful boost right now just imagining that wonderful experience all over again!
Another way to understand how potent pleasure is as a health enhancer is to imagine what happens when you aren’t feeling any of it. Think about a time when you were totally burned out. You probably felt like you were running on empty, right? Guess what? You were! It wasn’t just energy you were lacking; it was vital life force. Compare them in this way: Energy is what it takes to get through the day. Vital life force is what it takes to put spring in your step as you get through the day. See the difference?
Because pleasure fuels your life force, you’re naturally drawn to it by divine design. Your body is actually programmed for joy! But before I go any further, let me explain what pleasure is not. Pleasure isn’t getting drunk or high and doing things that will embarrass you the next day; and it doesn’t mean renouncing your family and job to go live in a spa or escape to a desert island. Even though cutting loose once in a while can provide you with a temporary high that relieves tension, getting high, drunk or going on a sugar binge won’t provide you with sustained pleasure—or vibrant health. Most likely, you’ll end up feeling worse. Avoiding responsibility and being physically, emotionally or even financially reckless actually undermines your ability to maintain positive feelings.
When I recommend the pursuit of pleasure, I’m talking about learning how to recognize and value the things that bring you lasting joy, and then bringing them into your life deliberately on a regular basis. Think of it this way: Your body itself was conceived in orgasm—the most exquisite pleasure humans are capable of experiencing. From that perspective, how could pleasure not play a vital role in the optimal functioning of your body?
The preceeding is an excerpt from The Secret Pleasures of Menopause, by Christiane Northrup, M.D. To learn more about Northrup and other inspirational authors, such as Dr. Wayne Dyer, Doreen Virtue, Congressman Tim Ryan, Kris Carr and more, attend the Hay House I Can Do It! event in New York City, Sept. 20 and 21. For more information, visit HayHouse.com or call 800-654-5126. See ad on page 13.
