Friday, December 12, 2014

A Sensual Life

Image from mynewmaster.com



At first glance, you may think a sensual life is the same as a sexy life.  But it’s not, it’s far more than that.  The base word of sensual is sense, and to live a sensual life is to live a life where you take full advantage of all five (or is it six?) senses.

I’ve certainly been guilty of relying too much on one sense in the past, the sense of taste.  But we can make ourselves feel good without jeopardizing our svelteness by employing our other senses too.  Let’s go through the senses.

Sight.  The sense of sight means you will notice beauty around you – particularly nature’s beauty in the form of the sky, trees and plants, human being and animals.  Man cannot build these things, so how did they get so perfect and well-designed?  Who chose all the different and brilliant colours?  Even for non-religious or non-spiritual folk they must admit some form of higher power must have had a hand in somewhere.

There is also the beauty you can create yourself.  Taking care of your home, your family and you, and creating a nurturing space in which to live.  Dressing in the clothes that make you feel special and wonderful (and considering donating the so-so items, ones that have bad memories or taunt you for not fitting them) and taking the time to groom each day.  I know that the times I don’t shave my legs as often I’m not pushed for time, I’m just being lazy.  And smooth, moisturised legs aren’t just nice to look at, they feel nice to the …

Touch.  Silky moisturised skin, clean and bouncy hair, clothes made from fabrics that feel good on your skin. I’ve donated a few tops that were quite nice on but they felt greebly again my skin.  I think I made up that word but it describes the feeling, I just wanted to get the top off.  One of my favourite things to do in the world is come home from work and change into one of my home outfits in softest cotton.  It’s pure bliss.  Patting our cats, feeling the sun touch my face, a footrub from my love and having a good stretch all feel amazing and they are free.  If you don’t have someone to rub your feet, having a creamy lotion or a pot of body butter in the living room means you can give yourself a footrub whilst watching tv.  Take the time to rub it in and really massage one foot at a time and if the product is very rich, have socks to put on afterwards so you can lie on the sofa without fear of getting it mucky.  I promise your feet will feel like they are levitating off the sofa cushions with bliss.

Smell.  I love pretty smelling things.  I have a fairly decent (ahem) collection of fragrances and perfumed body lotions, creams and butters which I enjoy using every single day.  I also like to spritz myself lightly when I get home from work and when I go to bed.  What can I say, I love perfume.  Thankfully my husband is very laid-back and doesn’t ask why I’m always wafting around on a pink scented cloud.  There are also the wonderful aromas of fresh coffee whether it’s being ground or brewed, bacon cooking (even though I’ve never eaten bacon and don’t plan on starting), the honeysuckle growing on our fence, the lawns when they’ve just been mown, a freshly cleaned house, dinner roasting in the oven.  There are so many wonderful scents around us if only we’d take the time to notice them.  And maybe that’s what sensual living is all about, being aware of our senses on a day to day basis and not rushing past all the micro-experiences that make up our life.

Sound.  My most favourite and luxurious sound of all is silence and I love to indulge in it where possible.  I also like to play a game with myself where I only speak when necessary because I know I talk quite a bit.  I’ve realised I just don’t need to go around narrating everything as I go!  There are also other beautiful sounds in the form of music that you can create the soundtrack to your life with.  I like to imagine I am in a movie when I am deciding which music to play.  I have loads of cds on my iPod and I also love the internet radio stations such as Pandora where you can try out all sorts of genres.

Taste.  We can’t discount taste altogether though, just because I’ve decided I use this sense more than my others.  It simply means I can be more selective and happy with smaller portions because I am savouring and enjoying the taste of what I’m eating rather than shovelling it in.  One is chic, the other is not…

And the possible sixth sense, intuitiveness.  I heard it explained really well the other day that your intuition is your subconscious which notices much more than your conscious.  So having a hunch or intuition is actually your subconscious nudging you with information that you need, that your busy and distracted conscious mind has not picked up on.  Isn’t that cool?

Since I started thinking about the senses and that nurturing each one is the key to living a sensual life, I was excited to write them down and brainstorm  ideas for each one so I could not neglect any one sense.

I’d love for you to add any suggestions if you have an idea for a certain sense.  A sensual idea if you will!

100 Things

I am retiring 100 Things for the year as I am busy at work and don't have as much time or energy to potter around home at the moment.  I have only gathered one item this week!

61.  A book by Joanna Trollope that I just finished so I will be donating it.  The title was Marrying the Mistress and I loved it.

I will be completing my 100 Things in January.  Please don't let me stop you though and I would love to hear your progress.

13 comments:

  1. Wonderful post, Fiona! I'm going to try to incorporate more of these things into my daily life.

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  2. This kind of living translates into mindfulness, gratitude, and serenity. Great post, Fiona.

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  3. Dear Fiona, Thank you for the book reference. I just checked my public library for the author and found a whole catalogue of her novels. I will be heading over there to pick one (or two) up!

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  4. This puts the "why" into the reason's why it's worth it to go the extra mile to make sure what we experience is lovely in all areas. It really does give motivation into doing those little daily things that enhance our life.

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  5. This is really good! I'm with you on the silence. Silence is golden!
    --MJ--

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  6. Those sensual pleasures enrich our lives whatever our circumstances. I am home for a few months and will be starting the 100 things in the New Year. Your post inspires me to experience more calm and beauty in my daily life. Merci.

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  7. Such a good thing to keep in mind! It's very easy sometimes, I think, to get bogged down in being overwhelmed by the senses - especially in the city. Different smells that I don't care to find the cause of, so much noise, and so many things to eat. But even I take it all in as something beautiful with a deep breath quite often. I hope I will get to visit your New Zealand someday, Fiona. Are you hiring in your shop?? haha

    Lenna

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  8. Beautiful post, Fiona!
    Merci beaucoup.

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  9. I always found Italians to be sensual too. Your post is definitely something to keep in mind.

    100 Things Update:
    56. a light lavender scarf that I gave to my mother. It will go with her new charcoal gray winter coat well. I prefer more vibrant colors over pastel ones anyway. I now have ten scarves tied neatly onto two five-spot hangers.
    57-59. three pairs white ankle socks past their prime

    You're right; it does feel good. But... since I started with a decluttered home where I live alone and have managed to get rid of 59 items, I now feel stumped. I do not know what I can focus on next and do not believe that I can make it to 100. ...and that's okay. I still feel lighter and happier to be surrounded by only the things I use and love. Knowing one of my cast-offs might be someone else's favorite is a nice feeling too.

    I plan to keep going until around Christmas.

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  10. Fiona, one thing I like to declutter is what I get in my inbox -- and by that I mean unsubscribing from lists that no longer interest me. For a long time, I'd just delete those emails, but I realized that it annoyed me to see them in the first place, so now I take the five seconds and just unsubscribe entirely. Maybe enough "unsubscribes" could count as an item or two on your 100 Things progress.

    Cheers,
    Marsi

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  11. Thank you Tracy!

    Deborah, love the words you've chosen.

    Anonymous, I love Joanna Trollope books. They are always a great read as well as being stylishly written and they seem to have a calming effect on me. If you've ever seen pictures of the author she is a very refined and elegant lady.

    So true Stephanie, it's the little things that make up our life!

    MJ, it truly is.

    Madame La-Bas, you're right - one does not need to be rich to live a rich life.

    Lenna, I know what you mean about the city (although my city is only 1.5 million and I know NYC is a touch bigger). It can be sensory overload and that's why I love making my home my sanctuary, calm and peaceful.

    Thank you Princess!

    Michelle, I agree, Italians are tres sensual. And I also agree with your wisdom regards decluttering. You can't force it. 59 is a great effort!

    Hi Marsi, great to hear from you. I hope your shift has been a successful one. I have been unsubscribing from many mailing lists too and your comment made me do some more. It's so nice to have an uncluttered inbox. Unsubscribes totally count towards 100 things!

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  12. 100 Things Update:
    60. a pink shirt that has a faint stain I have been unable to get out. It's simply no longer fabulous enough to wear.
    61-62. two pairs of earrings I don't wear much anymore. One has needed an easy repair for awhile now.
    63. a pair of pajama pants that were a gift

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  13. I'm still motel-living and decided to re-read this. It's not easy being "sensual" in a motel room with 2 rooms and a bath. This has been a good test of our marriage - i.e., we're still madly in love after 25.6 years, not wanting to kill one another, but we do want get to moved to our home! I needed this reminder to get my lotions out of storage. I brought perfume with me (a no-brainer). We have free wi-fi so we can listen to excellent music. Everything eaten has to be purchased or microwaved (ick). It's going to be challenging but I'm going to work on being more sensual - he loves that, too

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Merci for your comment. Wishing you a chic day!

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