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Things My Dogs Teach Me About Sensuality

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  “Today's fashion is really about sensuality; how a woman feels on the inside.”                                                                                                         - Donna Koran I learn a lot about life from my dogs, from nature, and from my students.   One of the reasons I love to teach is that I get a chance to learn as well as help others. Every time I teach something I learn it at a deeper level. My dogs teach me without either them or me realizing it. As I watch them move, run, stretch, and play show me poetry in motion.   They aren’t self conscious and when they want to run, they run. When they find a smell that is wonderful to them, they luxuriate it and roll in it. They naturally embody sensuality. As humans we also are meant to embody sensuality.   The very word “embody” implies we are in a body that feels and senses.   One of the reasons we are put on earth is to feel; to enjoy our senses and our bodies.   When we are disconnected or

Connecting to Our Senses

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  “To all the sensual world proclaim, one crowded hour of glorious life is worth an age without a name.” -   Sir Walter Scott Many of us disconnect from our bodies and aren’t even aware what is going on internally and in our bodies when we are reading, in a discussion, or doing those rote daily activities that comprise the essence of our lives. Sometimes we catch ourselves doing this – like when driving home and suddenly finding ourselves in the driveway without any memory of the drive.   Intellectually we know we must have disconnected, but we don’t usually exhibit much control over this disconnect. Perhaps this is why so many have a hard time with being sensuous.   Being sensuous and aware of our sensuality involves being in our bodies and connecting our bodies with our other senses. When we smell bread baking, we have a feeling connected with the smell. When we touch something soft or sleep on very soft sheets, we have a feeling connected with the touch. Our sens

Sense and Sensbility

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                              What I love is near at hand,  always, in earth and air. -   Theodore Roethke I recently came back from a vacation to Cabo Mexico. One of my favorite things to do was to walk the beach in the early morning. At this particular resort, at 7:00 or 8:00 in the morning, there are very few people on the beach, the wind is fairly high, the waves are crashing onto the shore, the sand is cool to the touch (and fairly firm for easier walking).   The crabs are scurrying to their holes, the pelicans and sea gulls are foraging for food, and all my senses take in all of the beauty.   As I walked I could feel the sun warming my skin and the sea air combing through my hair. I felt awed, free, and inspired. Do you like the ocean, or the mountains, warm or cold climates? What kind of environment brings you full alive?   What places and conditions fill your senses with awe, freedom, and inspiration?   Where do you feel most immersed in your senses and how can you

Sense-UALITY

  To be sensual, I think, is to respect and rejoice in the force of life, of life itself, and to be present in all that one does, from the effort of loving to the making of bread.” -   James A. Baldwin I love the word, sensuality. Just saying it makes me feel languorous. How does that word, sensuality, make you feel? What comes up for you? I feel and think of the wind tossing and combing through my hair, the feel of the sun on m y skin, floating on the waves in the ocean, being touched and touching my lover, feeling the strength and tone of my body after a workout, walking barefoot through autumn leaves. Just thinking about or suddenly hearing the word, sensuality, can take us on a journey.   It is interesting to see where it takes us because it is such a fundamental part of being human and of living a full and vital life. Sensuality (and fully experiencing our senses) is this month’s secret Key to Wholeness, Health and Vitality. I find it an amazing journey to

Force vs. Flow

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                “The inner fire is the most important thing mankind possesses.”                                                                                                 Edith Sodergran                                    There are many times where we think we are being strong and passionate, and yet, we are actually revealing a weakness which gets in the way of our true strength.  The willow tree moves so easily and beautifully with the wind and the natural forces that surround it.  It moves and bends with a great flexibility. Its supposed weakness is also a great strength. I was speaking with a fellow student at our Karate school the other day about the nature of karate. When he does his katas (pre-arranged forms designed as offensive and defensive movements against imaginary multiple opponents) he “muscles through” the movements instead of allowing his natural strength and instinctive movements to flow through him.  When he uses his strength or muscle t