5 Ways to Add More Pleasure To Your Life

5 Easy Ways To Add More Pleasure to Your Life

Read this article for 5 quick and simple ways to add more pleasure in your life today.

– Tiffany Shelton, M.A. is a conscious lifestyle blogger and training to become a neuropsychologist in Los Angeles, CA. Her passion to elevate consciousness incorporates brain science, psychology, and spiritual philosophies. Her writing goes beyond the message of self-care or wellness, but instead consciously adds to these movements by demanding awakening and insight. Learn more about Tiffany Shelton by clicking here.

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“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”- Thich Nhat Hanh

Pleasure is something that we all crave and appreciate. So I think you will love these 5 ways to add more pleasure in your life. Our spirit is naturally pleasant and finding pleasure in life is one way to honor our inner spirit and connect with divine joy.

What’s the Real Story with Happiness?

Happiness is something that many psychologists either don’t believe in or don’t focus on. As an evolving clinician these are notions that I won’t adhere to. A new wave of psychology, Positive Psychology, emphasizes that well being isn’t solely about management of symptoms, but must also include the experience of joy which is very different than apathy or simply being symptom free.

Here’s the Deal

In my own mental health journey, I spent so many years working on managing my anxiety and processing past traumas that I was baffled when I still wasn’t happy. And when I was able to experience happiness it was coupled with an overwhelming feeling of guilt. When I began to process my relationship with self-gratification, I realized that although I had let go of many bad habits and had increased my self-care, I hadn’t added any intentional joy to my life. Once I really processed my right to feel pleasure (admittedly this a work in progress of course), my mindset changed completely and I began to experience life like never before. Trees were no longer just trees. Hugs were no longer hugs. And laughs were even sweeter. And on this pleasure journey it was like I was a bowl that was filled with dirty water and traumatic pain. I did the work to empty my bowl and clean it of anxious thoughts and pain. And then I finally figured out that I needed to refill my bowl with pleasing water. Now my cup runneth over with joy and pleasure in my life.

Picture from Goddess Life

You Have the Right To Feel Pleasure

So my first piece of advice is to confront your relationship with your divine right to pleasure. Is pleasure something that you believe you have a right to? The second chakra is all about our right to pleasure. The second chakra is called Svadhisthana, or The Sacral Chakra. This energy force is housed below our navel and above our pubis bone and includes the sex organs, hips, and lower back. Each chakra is represented by a color, and the second chakra’s color is orange. It’s symbolic element is Water, symbolizing flowing emotion and pleasure. It is only balanced by healthy boundaries and containers. (Click here to read more about the second chakra)

Why Does This Matter?

Are you ready to balance your second chakra? You can live a life where pleasure is a common occurrence. In this blog I will give you some easy ways to fill your cup up and add more pleasure in your life:

One: Gratitude Practice

By now you’ve likely heard that you should have a gratitude practice. But the reason why is fascinating. As Dr. Rick Hanson explains in his book Hardwiring Happiness, through evolution the human brain has developed a bias to focus on negative events and thoughts as a mechanism of survival. He prescribes a rewiring of the brain by frequently and intentionally taking in the good. In doing so, we train our brains to focus on the positive that we instinctively so often miss. Through this type of conscious rewiring you are able to program your brain for happiness.

How Can You Actually Use this?

A gratitude practice is the perfect way to start this type of consciousness work. Here are some ways to add a gratitude practice into your everyday life.

Gratitude Chat. Start a group chat with your besties or nightly conversation with your partner and each night each person shares three things that they are grateful for.
Gratitude Meditation. Start off your daily meditation practice with a moment for mindfulness of all that you are grateful for.
Gratitude Moments. Stop and smell the roses. Take time to linger in the moment to savor things you are grateful for.

Two: Indulge the Senses

Tapping into joy and pleasure means connecting with what we feel and sense. Pleasure incorporates receiving what we are sensing with appreciation and gratification. But the first step is to sense.

Neuropsychology teaches us that different senses are processed in different parts of the brain. Furthermore, different people vary on the spectrum of sensory seeking and avoiding temperaments. For example, I am person that is sensory seeking in most domains, which makes me love sensory indulging aromatic laundry detergent, tight hugs, robust flavor, and awe inspiring photos. However, we aren’t usually this way across the board. For instance, with audio stimuli I am sensory avoiding since I have heightened hearing abilities, and usually try to avoid loud noises or music.

Bottom Line

So first explore what sensory domains you find the most pleasure in (sight, taste, hearing, vision, smell). Once you know this about yourself, take a look at these activities that indulge the senses and are sure to bring you joy. Once we take the time to mindfully indulge our senses, the brain responds with the same pleasure principle (releasing dopamine in a cluster of nerve cells below the cerebral cortex called the nucleus accumbens) as any addictive drug, or sensational orgasm. So you can truly train your brain to become addicted to the mindful habits, and invite more adaptive joy into your life.

Aromatherapy. Use essential oils in a diffuser, on a cotton ball, or on your skin (with a carrier oil like almond oil) to indulge your sense of smell. Click here to find out the benefits of essential oil and my favorite essential oils. Another addictive pleasure tip is to use face mists with invigorating scents such as rose or pomegranate to add a spritz of joy in your life. I like to use rose water to mist my face throughout the day, and I truly take time to savor the aroma each time.
Singing. Singing activates both sides of the brain and is a great balancing activity. Singing is pleasant to our sense of hearing and touch (vocal chord sensations), and encourages mindful breathing. And besides singing is a telltale sign of happiness, so why not start with the action and reap the accompanying benefits.
Healing Sound. Try sound healing using a singing bowl (for instructions on how to use a singing bowl click here) to align your chakras and experience instant pleasure. Here is a link to an affordable singing bowl. You can also try other healing sounds like getting a small water fountain and taking mindful moments to listen to the healing sound of the running water.
Sound Meditation. Practice meditation focusing on the sounds that you hear. Try releasing your attachments to identifying what the sound is, but just listen wholeheartedly with curiosity and acceptance of each sound and how it falls on your ears.
Mindful Eating. Eat flavorful food and take time to savor the joy of a delightful meal. You can also try a mindful eating meditation, engaging in eating by paying close attention to each bite, how the food makes it from your plate to your mouth, the sound of the food crunching in your mouth, and each unique flavor. Mindful eating also incorporates being mindful of what you are eating and making healthy choices that are sure to bring you good health and resulting happiness.
Body Work. Massage therapy is an incredible way to indulge your sense of touch. Take time to be mindful in your next massage, taking note of your ability to stay present with each rub and maneuver.
Nature. Nothing can provide the sense of awe like the sight of a picture perfect nature scene. Getting out in nature will likely indulge multiple senses, but the experience of seeing the magnificence of nature brings so much joy.

Three: Give More

An article in Psychology today cites a study by Norihiro Sadato and his coworkers at the National Institute of Physiological Sciences in Japan that found that charity or giving to others in need, on your own volition, activates the pleasure center (nucleus accumbens) and other reward systems in our brain. They found this is mostly associated with a sense of agency and social approval.

Bottom Line?

We are social creatures that gain pleasure from making independent decisions (as opposed to being forced to be charitable) to help others in our society. So start giving to others more and helping your fellow neighbor. Not only will you `get the pleasure of the “giving high” but you will also be fostering good karma by paying it forward and helping someone in need.

Here is how to start:

Make a list of social issues (i.e. women’s rights) and special populations (i.e. trafficking survivors) you are passionate about.
Evaluate your resources. If you are not able to give money to others, there are many other ways to help such as volunteering your time, services, and/or products.
Do your research or the organization or recipient before giving. Make sure you do your due diligence to make sure you are giving to an entity that aligns with your values.

Four: Be More Creative:

Creativity is uniquely tied to a sense of fun and pleasure. So it is important to intentionally set aside time in your life to be creative and let your imagination run free.

Flow theorist and author of the book Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi explains that an integral part of achieving a “flow” state (a conscious experience made up of a mixture of concentration and deep enjoyment) in our everyday lives is creativity.

Here are some ways to add more creativity into your everyday life:

Dress Up. Take time each day to honor your personal style and be creative with your wardrobe. Express your creative side with style that inspires you.
Decorate Your Workspace. This is helpful way to turn a mundane work area into a thriving creative space. Include items in your work space that inspire you and set an intention to create an aesthetic that is creatively pleasing to you.
Carve out Whatever Time. Whatever time is simply time that you block in your calendar to be free. Scheduling freedom? I know it sounds weird, but I have learned to love this block of tme on my calendar. Each week I schedule 3 hours of Whatever Time during work time to creatively work on something that I am excited about or something that gives me pleasure. This can vary from writing poetry, coloring, dancing or whatever. It’s so nice to have time carved our during the workweek to not stick with goals or plans and just be free and creative to do whatever I want.
Mindful Coloring. There are many mindfulness creative coloring books; which can be an easy way to add more creativity in your life.
Interior Design. Above we mentioned adorning yourself and workspace, but it can also be quite pleasurable to decorate your home. Find ways to be creative in your home and let your inner spirit shine through your home aesthic.

Five: Work Hard

In a PscyhCentral article, Joe Wilner explains that engaging in simple pleasures is not enough to sustain happiness. He states, “Positive psychology would emphasize we strive for more gratifying experiences. Those activities that offer more growth and allow us to use our strengths. These may not always even be pleasurable, and can be challenging and strenuous, such a mountain climbing, studying for a test, or doing a job well done on some task. These activities offer more lasting positive emotions and are not necessarily based on physical needs and ephemeral sensations.”

In addition to the tips above, it is important that we adopt a “Take the Stairs” mentality as author Rory Vaden prescribes. Cultivating this type of work ethic requires training yourself to not take the easy way out.

You can do this by placing more value on your hustle, and being mindful of the benefits of hard work. Such a an attitude will allow you to continually sow rewards and pleasure that you will continually reap in the future.

Divine Pleasure

When I experience the divinity that lives within, I know that this energy is full of joy. Take time to fill your cup up with pleasure and satisfaction. It’s okay to laugh, smile, and even enjoy your journey as you fulfill your purpose.

Let me know your thoughts on this article in the comments below.