– Heartwood Path Waypoint 1.101 –
Octagon Of Joy
Play With The Eight Forms Of Pleasure The Pillars Of Happiness described previously apply to the eight forms of pleasure: primal, pain relief, elemental, mental, emotional, sensual, sexual, and spiritual. Without each of these forms of pleasure one will not have the steadfastness to endure the pilgrimage to Gladandgreen Junction. Instead of being carried forward by your pleasure, one will likely become weary, distracted, or disinterested. Without pleasure any endeavor becomes a tedious chore and the positive results are left to those who, instead of focusing on the languor and length of the pilgrimage, find some sort of delight in each step along the way.
Here are our substitutes for longueur (fatigue from lengthiness) ––our ways to keep any pathway of growth from seeming to be protracted, dragged-out, or interminable: Primal pleasure is feeling good by going with the flow; walking on air; and feeling buoyant, elated, exulted, and high. Soothing aches and pains through therapeutic or emphatic touch is the pleasure of pain relief. Elemental pleasures include play, movement, and making pleasing sounds. Curiosity, the craving for information, and learning are all mental pleasures. Love, avoidance of fear, and moving away from threats as a result of anger are the components of emotional pleasure. Love moves one toward what promises emotional nourishment. Love sires all positive emotions: including liking something or somebody; feeling thankful, hopeful, trusting, eager, and enthusiastic; and feeling exultation, awe and bliss. One experiences sensual pleasures when one lingers over and enjoys a stimulus. Spiritual pleasures need not be limited to relating to God or cultivating the immortal Soul. While religious fervor can certainly be a form of spiritual pleasure, what is really producing the pleasure is the feeling of being a part of or connected to something that is larger than one’s self. Fulfillment comes from coming to terms with deep spiritual matters such as life; death; one’s place in the whole scheme of things; and being a part of something good, larger than one’s self, and divine. Limiting your capacity to experience any one of the eight forms of pleasure will, in turn, limit your capacity to enjoy all the other delights. Also, cultivating your capacity to enjoy some of the more basic forms of pleasure—such as laughing or feeling buoyant—adds to your ability to heighten your response to more complicated forms of pleasure—such as sexuality. Laughter creates the shortest bridge between two individuals. It does so because it brings forth the kind of joyousness that counters contempt and indignation. When you are sad you attract emptiness. When you are happy, the world laughs with you.
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