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.