Life’s many pleasures

I received many e-mails about my article where I featured excerpts from Paul Wilson’s Little Book Of Hope. They were asking if that particular book was part of a series. If it was, they requested me to feature excerpts from his other books.

Luckily for them, it is a series. I also happen to have his Little Book of Pleasure. Pick what you like and have a blast!

Here are some excerpts from his book:

• Go back. Relive one forgotten joy from your childhood. Carry that feeling with you all day.

• Give shoes the boot. Feel the relief when you kick off your shoes and meander barefoot across soft, damp grass.

• Smile strangely. Smile at a stranger, while making no effort to communicate, and enjoy the surprise it engenders.

• Go bananas. Find the pleasure in potassium foods, such as bananas, because they’re associated with feelings of well-being and cheerfulness.

• Do it alone. Luxuriate in the pleasure of your own company from time to time. Be comfortable with having nothing to do, and you will luxuriate all the more.

• Chill down. Imagine the pleasurable sensation of a cool cotton pillow case on a hot sultry night. Just leave it in the refrigerator for 15 minutes before retiring.

• Hear nothing. Listen for the sound of your own silence, and there you’ll find perfect harmony.

• Remember the child in you. Life is much more fulfilling and uplifting when you choose to look at it through a child’s eyes. How would a child see what you’re seeing?

• Remove your bra. Feel the relief that comes from shedding the garments that restrict you: your necktie, your bra... everything.

• Turn on the heat. One of the cheapest, yet most indulgent pleasures, is to simply unwind in a steaming hot shower after a day of intense activity.

• Search for the upside. You will be pleasantly surprised to learn how good life can be by taking one simple step: Strive to find the good in all you do and encounter.

• Give yourself permission. You can make yourself feel wonderful simply by making the decision to feel wonderful. Give yourself permission to feel good – right now – even if it is only for a short while.

• Turn on your enemies. Whisper something positive and "unnecessary" to a person you thought you disliked.

• Bare your sole. Submit yourself to the pleasure of having your feet rubbed (or do it yourself). Rubbing the acupressure points on your soles will ease you into a relaxed state.

• Massage your sockets. Discover unexpected pleasure of massaging your eye sockets for two minutes by using two fingertips in a circular motion just beneath your brow. By simply doing that, you’ll access a range of pleasurable, relaxing acupressure points.

• Seek justice in a shop. Think how delighted you’ll feel when you find the garment you’ve searched for all year – on sale at half price.

• Resign your maturity. Become as spontaneous and as content as a child by substituting a few child-like qualities – even for superficial ones.

• Linger longer. At least once a day take your time over something that gives you pleasure – dwell on it, linger.

• Tap your face. Feel a warm glow flow through your body as, slightly bent at the waist, you lightly pat your face with the fingers of each hand. This stimulates vital blood vessels and acupressure points in the facial area.

• Waste time dreaming. It is no waste of time to daydream about pleasurable events: Seeing, hearing and feeling the things that give you pleasure.

• Bestow an award. Give yourself an award that you really deserve (best mother, best lover, best worker).

• Giggle. Giggling and laughing are known as aerobics for the inside. Find something to laugh about and you’ll feel better immediately.

• Create. Paint, play, sculpt, write, dance – to create anything is one of the greatest pleasures of all.

• Take the whole day. Dedicate a day to just being with someone you love without distraction or expectation.

• Warble. Choose any song in a major key, sing it loudly and enthusiastically, and you’ll feel better and will have forgotten your blues by the end of the 36th bar.

Paul Wilson says in the beginning of his book, "When you think about it, it’s impossible to feel bad, or stressed, while you are feeling good."

And I definitely agree with him. Choose one or more of these and just enjoy life! Don’t take it too seriously. It is meant to be fun. Take each one and feel guilt-free pleasure!

(E-mail me at babyjackster@yahoo.com)