When I talk about cultivating sacred sensuality, people automatically think that I’m talking about sex. I am not. While sex certainly can be sacred and sensual, sacred sensuality in the capacity of which I speak (or write) encompasses all aspects of Life. You can infuse it in your parenting or your livelihood.
You can employ it to strengthen your mindfulness practices or transform your home environment. By sacred I mean that which is set apart, special and worthy of being revered. Sensuality refers to the condition of being in tune with your senses—all of your senses. Together, they encompass a larger exploration that can be understood as the art of using the senses reverently.
The pace of modernity can cloud the beauty that wants to reveal itself to you. It can be easier to tune into an article or a podcast rather than a flower or the change of the seasons, or the way your child looks when they become frustrated. When you do realize all that’s happening around and within you, your whole world begins to change. A wonderland of sensation appears, informing your life in ways you could have never imagined.
Here are four rituals to invite and infuse more sacred sensuality in your life. I recommend devoting at least 30 days to each practice to truly see and sense the enlivening effects.
Notice It All
There is a mindfulness practice that involves tuning in to everything in the present moment. Choose a time when you can tune in completely. This can even be done in times chaos (OH YES)!
Take a moment to close your eyes. Begin with your most subtle sense, which could be intuition, emotional sensations, taste or smell. Ask yourself the following:
- What can I taste in this moment?
- What do I smell in this moment?
- What do I feel in this moment?
- What do I hear in this moment?
- What can I see in this moment?
- What is happening in this moment?
The key is to answer your questions and to sit with them for a while, noticing how the answers ripple in your physical and energy bodies. As you sit with them, practice memorizing your answers. It may take several rounds to remain undistracted.
You can also do this same experiment in a more curated environment like a bathtub or while walking in the park. This simple exercise expands your awareness to the Life that is happening within and around you. After so many days of practice, you will notice a new level of lucidity in your conscious mind.
Slow Down
One of the simplest ways to tune into and elevate your senses is by creating time to slow down. This is special time where you DO LESS ON PURPOSE. Unsure of where to start?
- Allot time to try any of the following:
- Rather than multitasking, do ONE thing at a time.
- Allow yourself to be bored on purpose.
- Choose only ONE thing from your to-do list to do in a day.
- Walk slowly. Speak slowly. Eat slowly.
- Play a game.
- Rather than rushing to work, take your time and accept that you may be late.
Life is what happens between accomplishments. It is the in between that makes up the bulk of Life’s moments. When you are constantly in a hurry to get from Point A to Point B, you rush your life away and sacrifice enjoyment.
Your senses have more dimensions than you could ever imagine; yet, they only become evident when you slow down and create space to notice them.
Follow Your Yes
So often we react to life that even when we think we’re making a conscious decision, it’s actually a conditioned decision. We are responding from all the data that has been programmed into us from the time of our conception.
This can lead to living a life of grave dissatisfaction. The only way to know what is truly true for you is to tap into your YES. You may think that you don’t know what your YES is; however, it is wired into your body.
Ask yourself:
- What is true for you?
- What brings you deep joy?
- What would you rather be doing instead?
- If you knew you only had five years to live, how would you begin living?
- How ecstatic are you about how you will spend your day today?
One surefire way to decipher your wholehearted YES is to tune into your body. Whenever you make a decision, ask yourself, how does my body feel about this?
It may take a while before you receive an answer that you can decode, or you may immediately feel a pang in your stomach or a tightening in your throat. Pay attention to this because this is your truth.
Your truth transcends logic and conditioning. It flies in the face of the sophisticated labyrinths the mind creates to protect you. However, sensuality is stoked by spontaneity, novelty and courage.
These are available to you no matter how your life is configured, but it usually involves facing some level of fear or saying yes to a new possibility.
Create a Simple Sensual Devotion
One of the best ways to awaken the senses is to create a simple sensual daily devotion. Devotion is a ritual to which you commit. By choosing something inspiring, simple and joyful, you increase your chances of remaining committed.
For 30 days, commit to doing something that waters you. It could be walking in a garden or coloring a mandala. It matters not the activity, only that it feels meaningful and relaxing for you.
Practicing a daily devotion deepens your awareness and gives you the opportunity to witness your own transformation. By doing the same thing every day, you can better gauge the growth in what you feel and detect through your senses.
What’s the difference between how you feel in your devotion and how you feel in the rest of your life? Where can changes be made?
Najwa Immanuel is a freelance writer and modern-day medicine woman based on the East Coast, USA. Her moments are spent studying the energetics of wellness, tending her Substack newsletter, Extraordinary Moments, Everyday Miracles and midwifing persons birthing everything from babies to businesses.
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