The POWER of Words and Pleasure

Pleasure. 

 The End.

 Just joking!

I am enthralled by the word pleasure with its use, connotations, and triggering nature. This word holds as much power as the word F*CK. I know this personally and am learning it daily as I serve in my therapeutic coaching and spiritual mentorship offerings.

If you receive my column, you will recall that I mentioned I would share more about how I am being invited into the exploration, teachings, and invitations of the power of PLEASURE. 

Let’s look at this description found in Ayn Rand’s book, The Virtue of Selfishness (yes the virtue!). A chapter in this book is titled, The Psychology of Pleasure, by Nathaniel Branden.

He writes: "Pleasure (in the widest sense of the term) is a metaphysical concomitant of life, the reward and consequence of successful action–just as pain is the insignia of failure, destruction, death."

Branden, a Canadian-American Psychotherapist dives into this topic on a consciousness level that is insightful and deep! And I get it! Have a read, it will stretch your mind. 

I get it because I had my own visceral and consciousness-expanding experience with the word “pleasure” and all that it meant to me leading up to a moment in 2008. I was studying at Yasodhara Ashram, and on this particular day we were dissecting this prayer:

Oh Divine Mother
May all my speech and idle talk be mantra
All actions of my hands be mudra
All eating and drinking be the offering of oblations unto Thee
All lying down prostrations before Thee
May all PLEASURES be as dedicating my entire self unto Thee
May everything I do be taken as Thy worship.

I had been reciting this prayer for weeks, and in this potent experience of examining each line, each word something in me cracked open. 

If you would like to learn more, and watch the Instructional Video of the Divine Mother Prayer Dance, you can watch that here.

I read the line, “May all pleasures be as dedicating my entire self-unto Thee”, and I began to weep. I wept and wept, as I realized that I had so much shame about receiving or being with the experience of pleasure. I realized that I had stopped myself from allowing it. I had conditioned myself to endure pain, discomfort and to overdo it. 

You see, as Branden describes pleasure is a metaphysical measurement of how we interact with our lives. It is a programmed psychology based on our experiences which birthed our belief systems and values. 

I was 30 at this time of cracking open. I was waking up to a whole new way of living: redefining pleasure; transmuting shame and fear; opening to an expansive way of living.  

That was 16 years ago. On both conscious and unconscious levels, I have been preparing myself for THIS MOMENT NOW. I am ready to launch into another level of Being Pleasure, to continue applying my core values of Love, Communication and Integrity to a pleasurable life. This is a life-altering CHOICE, thank the Goddess, because that is how I roll : )

So…of course I will leave it there for now. More will be revealed as my offerings expand to Bliss Out together.  

I complete for now with this note of LOVE:

Beloved, invite yourself into a pleasant, personal inquiry with what pleasure means to you. 

Ignite an exploration of what associations you carry with this word. Allow creative energy to inspire expression. Remember that living a pleasing, pleasant, pleasurable life will fuel resilience with the difficult moments and aide in the transmuting of pain into vital, wild, and free pleasure. 

With BIG BOLD LOVE, 

Michelle ~ Heart Light Woman