INCREASING PLEASURE
Pleasure enhances life. But sometimes we overdo pleasure and achieve the opposite effect instead. Or, we may undermine our ability to get the full pleasure that’s possible by not being fully attentive.
So, if we try to increase pleasure by eating more of something delicious, it may result in discomfort and eventual weight problems -- diminishing and spoiling the pleasure and bringing us unsought displeasure. Or, if we’re distracted by meandering thoughts, conversation, TV or reading, we reduce eating to a mechanical semiconscious act and don’t fully enjoy what we’re eating. But with increased awareness we not only experience tastes, smells and textures better, we also sense our true needs better. At this level of awareness, we’re more discriminating and intuitive and can more wisely choose what, when, where and how much to eat as well as which foods to mix or not mix. And thus, we maximize our pleasure by increasing health and our sense of well-being, as well as by fully enjoying the food we’re eating.
So overindulgence and under-awareness are two ways in which we may keep ourselves from having a most pleasurable life. However, if we approach increasing pleasure from a quality-of-awareness perspective instead of a quantity-of-intake one, we can increase pleasure without negative consequences, as well as reap some additional benefits (i.e., better health and appearance).
This applies to all forms of pleasure and activity. The more we fully focus our attention on what we’re doing -- i.e., practicing mindfulness (an aspect of focusing on a master mind level) the more pleasure we may receive from what we’re doing.
Goodness and joy to all, Joseph.
SPREAD AWARENESS ... FORWARD THESE THOUGHTS TO FRIENDS.
