Pleasure/Leisure/Joy

Pleasure is:

  • Fleeting raw feelings
  • Experienced through the senses and emotions
  • Often brought on by physical, social, or environmental factors
  • Is in the moment, is now
  • Is easy

 

Cultivating Pleasure

Pleasure pitfall:  It habituates easily.

  • You can avoid habituation by spreading out the instances of pleasure in your life so that you experience them more intensely.
  • You can enhance your experience of pleasure by savoring it.
    • Attention to the present (not thinking about the future)
    • Conscious focus
    • Sharpening perceptions
    • Absorption
    • Sharing
    • Memory-building
  • Mindfulness is a careful observation of the present in a slow state of mind.
    • Slow down
    • Sense your surroundings
    • Meditate 


Pleasures List

Circle the activities that you would like to engage in more or for the first time and add goals for incorporating these activities into your life.

 Pedicure Movies
 Go to the Plays Walk
 Hike Spend time with family
 Spend time with friends Lunch with friends
 Shop Sit in the backyard
 Watch the 3 Stooges Watch “I Love Lucy”
 Listen to old radio shows Be spontaneous
 Rearrange a room Try a new recipe
 Listen to the birds Bird watching
 Looking at my landscape Sit in the sunroom in the morning and look at  the flowers
 Taking a long shower Being around creative people with new ideas
 Skiing Being outside
 Golf Knitting
 Biking Watching birds or animals
 Take naps Get hair done
 Read Massage
 Rent a hotel room somewhere for a short trip Visit Museums

  •  Art
  • History
  • Science
 Go to Borders Bookstore Look at catalogs
 See Authors speak Go to Pasadena
 Travel Amusement park rides
 Fairs Pig races
 Reconnect with long lost family and friends Zoo
 Go to car shows Watch old “Saturday Night Live” Shows
 Go to Musical Comedies Go to Hermosa Beach, Venice, Santa Monica
 Watch sports in person or on television Play sports
 Read the paper Play poker with friends
 Go to the horse races Read “People” magazine


Pleasure List


Goal Column 1

Goal Column 2
 

 

 
 

 

 
 

 

 
 

 

 
 

 

 
 

 

 
 

 

 
 

 

 
 

 

 
 

 

 

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