The pandemic was hard on eros. The past few years have aged us. Quarantines, masks and fear took its toll on our mental, emotional and sexual health. Some pre-pan relationships may have stress bonded more deeply and others may have become pandemic casualties. We were repeatedly told that being around people, breathing the same air was a direct threat to our health and the health of our loved ones. At the same time, the skin hungers for touch and the human heart yearn for connection. Fear suffocates pleasure receptors. Many of us have been in a state of pleasure atrophy or apathy these past years. As we continue to gently open back up to people, public spaces and pleasure, the nervous system needs practices to strength and fortify pleasure pathways.
When I was trying to organize the Beltane Community Ritual and open to the sexiness of the season, my body and erotic spirit were underwhelmed. I wasn’t called to recreate the naked ecstatic dancing rituals around fires of ye auld days. This Beltane season felt softer and more subtle – a return to simple mindful practices of pleasure – taking the time to fully dance to a favorite song, to experience the deep pleasure of a hot bath, to sound bathe as the peepers wake up in their vernal pools and create their evening sound scapes.
Mindful pleasure is a practice, and like all practices, when we show up to them, we become more adept.
Entering into the sensual nature of Taurus season, and with Beltane a few days away, my focus has turned towards cultivating small pleasures – stepping out onto the newly greening grass, turning my face to the sun to drink in the days light, savoring the feeling of lighter weight fibers next to my body, changing over my wardrobe as I begin to tuck away my wool sweaters and air out the linen, cotton and silks that have been hibernating in their upstairs storage bins.
I find myself wondering how others have faired during this time. Are you taking moments regularly during the day to dip into a practice of mindful pleasure? Are you finding ways to soften the tension and rigidity of the past years and offer some sweet love to your body temple and to gentle inquire What would give me pleasure right now? What is the deep desire within my body at this time?
thesensualshaman 