What does “pleasure” mean to you?
I still remember how in my childhood this word immediately evoked guilt, due to a distorted view transmitted to us (me and my classmates) by the nuns from whom we were taking catechism classes.
Everything concerning the body and physical senses was taught as potentially dangerous and immediately dragging us towards… hell.
I was lucky because my curiosity about the human mind and body, and different spiritual paths and views, allowed me to understand that if there was an issue, it was inside those nuns’ point of view.
For sure, my body gave me many health issues to learn from since my teenage years, and so I learned that our culture at the time was not really helping us - especially us-the-women - cultivate a healthy and pleasant relationship with our body.
In my teenage years, as many of my peers, I experienced hormonal unbalance, eating disorders, issues about body image… That was already a hell, or at least a nightmare. Only a patient and constant work on myself (thanks to my determination, my thirst of knowledge about mind-body-spirit connections, and the work alongside extraordinary teachers, guides, and healers) brought me to overcome all the challenges when I was still very young, before my 30s.
Between my 30s and 40s I had already realized that our body is our temple, and even if pain is a huge motivation to learn more about ourselves, pleasure is a door to wholeness.
Then the last 20 years brought me much more insights and understanding of how much it’s important to open our doors to pleasure. I’m not speaking just about “sex” or “sexual pleasure”.
Pleasure is about enjoying our life. Pleasure is about body awareness. Pleasure is about enjoying every single sensation we experience.
We can experience pleasure when we look at Nature and its beauty.
We can experience pleasure by smelling the fragrance of a rose.
We can experience pleasure when we listen to music, or to the bird singing.
We can experience pleasure by drinking a cup of hot tea or coffee.
We can experience pleasure when we taste our favourite food.
We can experience pleasure when we feel connected to a community of like-minded people.
But most importantly, we can learn through pleasure.
Pleasure is something we need to cultivate, because it’s about our experience of this world through our body.
Our body is our temple. It is the instrument through which we build our sense of self. Pleasure is about opening ourselves to our ability to enjoy life and express our gratitude for it.
Pleasure is about feeling fulfilled and living fully in touch with our body and Nature.
Pleasure is about creating a better world by becoming aware of the importance of respect and healthy relationships.
The first step towards a healthier life is always about improving our connection to ourselves. Let's reconnect to the sacredness of our body.
Let's reconnect to the sacredness of pleasure.
Let’s cultivate a pleasant and fulfilling relationship with our world starting from within.