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September 6, 2013

Pleasuring the Self: Walking Meditation. ~ Lorina Manzanita

Want to walk in the world feeling connected, brimming with life and grounded in your own juicy brilliance? Turning heads and commanding presence?

Consider this option—walk around practicing stealth self-pleasuring. No, I’m not saying you should surreptitiously fondle yourself. I’m talking about walking mindfulness practices infused with liberal amounts of yum.

Curious? Sweet. I’m glad I have your attention, as I’d love to share with you my secret sauce for a delicious promenade:

Clear out anti-pleasure mind clutter, replace with pleasure enhancing beliefs.

Thoughts come and go. Some please, some don’t. The thoughts that land with conviction and take residence are called beliefs.

If you take a close look at how someones moves, you may get a sense of the beliefs they carry. That guy with his head low, shoulders slumped and shuffling feet might believe, “I am not good enough.” That woman with confidence in her footsteps, a special swing in her hips and head held well? “I am wanted,” could live in her consciousness.

What beliefs are you walking around with?

The most high impact ones tend to be the ones we have about ourselves. With pen and paper, try completing the following statement 20 or more times.

“I am ….”

See what’s in there. Have fun walking around with the ones that have the most energy; both the good and the ugly. Notice how each thought influences how you hold yourself, feel and move as you walk. Create new, more awesome ones to get into.

I hope you practice pleasuring yourself by bringing lots of attention to fabulous thoughts that light up your whole body. Mental masturbation par excellence.

Tune into what’s pleasing and attractive in your environment.

As I walked around my neighborhood today, I let my attention wander freely until my eyes found something pleasing. I felt drawn to a tree and took in the way the leaves were flickering in the wind. Something about it was felt uplifting: the wild chaotic motion of the leaves held in contrast to the still solid trunk.

I let myself be moved by what I saw—consciously appreciating subtle sensations and feelings as they surfaced. My breath got a bit deeper, my walk a little more fluid and sense of expansion filled my chest. A touch of sadness emerged and I moved to the next pleasant thing—a dragonfly darting down the street. I felt a rush of excitement, goosebumps happened and my feet perked up. I liked it.

I call this “the hummingbird meditation.” Like a hummingbird, my attention moves freely from one sweet thing to the next, sipping nectar and moving on.

The process is simple:

1) Let your eyes wander until they find something attractive.

2) Notice and enjoy the details of it.

3) Bring awareness to the pleasant subtle shifts in your body and mind.

4) Move on when something uncomfortable surfaces and…

5) Repeat until satiated.

You can focus on anything really; a finely shaped bum, the subtle colors in a windowpane, an image on somebody’s T-shirt. Anything that pleases you is fair game.

This is my favorite way to “be here now.”

Play with your body as if it were a musical instrument of consciousness.

I invite you to drop into the possibility that your body is like a piano. Each body part, tissue and organ can generate a unique vibration and experience when you play with it. Consider these anatomical bits the keys of your piano.

Your attention is like the finger that strikes these keys. How your attention meets each body part is akin to how your finger strikes (or caresses) a key.

Here’s an example: ately I’ve been walking around with my awareness in the middle of my chest. I feel into my heartspace with sustained attention and sometimes silently say “I love you” to that part of my body.

The key: my heart. How I press this key: sustaineld focus and whispers of affection.

And the wondrous music it makes? I feel a warm yummy pulsing sensation in my pelvis, my spine lifts towards the heavens and my face softens. My whole body is more fluid as I walk about. I feel happier and more loving.

When it comes to making beautiful music with your magical body—aim for balance and harmony.

Feel heady? Get intimate with gravity as you explore different ways your feet can touch the ground. Could use more backbone in a situation? Enjoy giving solid attention to the one you have. Need more breathing room? Find your juicy edge as you play with the boundaries of how much air you can take in.

There is no limit to the ways you can play with yourself and offer attention to your amazing body. Let pleasure and presence be your guide.

I hope you feel drawn to explore these juicy walking meditation practices. With play-filled practice you can enjoy being a potent, artful, walking embodiment of pleasure and presence that others will naturally be drawn to appreciate.

 

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Assist. Ed.: Jade Belzberg / Ed.: Catherine Monkman

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