The Essentials: Pleasure

Everyone knows that it takes an egg, a sperm and a uterus to conceive and nurture a new human being. Similarly, there are three foundational elements in the Rebirth Journey: Pleasure, Turn On, and Desire. As I explained in a previous blog post, I learned the importance of all three during my two years at the School of Womanly Arts (SWA). There are other practices that also will become second nature to you on this journey, and we will get to those later. But for now, we will begin by diving deeper into these fundamentals, beginning with pleasure.

In her first book, “Using the Power of Pleasure to Have Your Way in the World,” SWA founder Mama Gena refers to the “pleasure revolution.” Why a revolution? Because pleasure flies in the face of traditional patriarchal principles. If you’re like me, you were taught the value of hard work and sacrifice when you were growing up. The dominant societal messages urge us to go to school, study hard, make good grades, get a job and then keep working hard to succeed  – day after day, month after month, and often year after dreary year.

If you’re in corporate America, you most likely are subject to metrics that ensure you’re working hard. In this digital era, efficiency and accountability are the name of the game. Your productivity is no doubt being tracked, recorded and ranked, and so is your “inactivity time.” Often those metrics will be shared with others on your team, using peer pressure to ensure compliance. While this kind of productivity leads to many of the innovations and advancements that we all enjoy, it also leads to burnout, especially if you are on the feminine path.

Most of us have adhered to this type of go, go, go schedule throughout our lives, and the thought of doing otherwise is revolutionary. In fact, capitalistic societies in the Western world have thrived on what sociologist Max Weber labeled, The Protestant Work Ethic. Not surprisingly, this phenomenon has its roots in Christianity and Calvinism in particular.

The brief version of John Calvin’s 16^th century teaching goes something like this. You are born with a pre-determined fate. God has decided in advance whether you’ll be going to heaven or hell when you die. So, what are good Christians to do to get reassurance about their fate? The answer is work hard, reinvest whatever is left over after you cover basic necessities, and don’t spend your money frivolously on anything pleasurable. In fact, if you succeed financially and practice ascetism – or denial of pleasure – then heaven is your destiny. But it turns out that’s a kind of hell on earth that many non-Calvinists perpetuate in the modern day.

While the doctrine of pre-destination and asceticism was abandoned long ago, something just as extreme has replaced it. Mindless consumption. We now work hard so that we can spend money on products that we think will make us happy, and that is a different kind of hell on earth. Whether it’s the latest fashion, makeup trend, or plastic surgery, the more we buy, the more we need. But we nearly always come up empty. And while asceticism might be a thing of the past, the Protestant work ethic is alive and well even among those who have never set foot in a church.

What if you chose to replace productivity with pleasure every now and again? I’m not suggesting that you quit your job or spend your days eating bon bons. In fact, most of us still live in capitalistic societies that force us to conform in order to survive. But there are ways to weave pleasure into your everyday life, Once you prioritize your pleasure, you will find that you are happier, and usually more successful as well

Pleasure revolutionaries look for ways to make life easy and fun, understanding that this can be a different path to success. When you’re in a high vibration and co-creating with the divine, work is easier, the right people are naturally drawn to you, and you will find yourself inspired by new ideas. I’ve learned from experience that pleasure can bring more success and happiness than working hard.

Consider how you might adopt this approach in your own life. How could you make your job more pleasurable? Is it working from home? Taking your lunch hour to be outside? Or maybe finding another job altogether? Just as importantly ask yourself what you could do to make your life outside work more pleasurable. Maybe it’s taking a bath instead of a shower, setting a beautiful table instead of grabbing something on the go, making time to sit in nature instead of zoning out on your phone, or turning on your favorite song and dancing. You are only limited by your imagination, and most of the time, pleasure is free for the taking. Become a pleasure researcher and try something new. If it brings you pleasure, do it again. If not, move on to something else.

What is your pleasure? Share your favorite ideas in the comments below!