WHAT TURNS YOU ON?

I saw an amazing post recently from @estherperelofficial about incorporating eroticism into your self care plan.

It just made so much sense to me.

Esther defines eroticism as something that transcends its usual classification as only relating to sex and views it through a mystical lens- as something having a quality of aliveness, of radiance.

When we bring our attention to those practices and rituals in our life that enhance our vibrancy and vitality, our life automatically gets so much richer and more satisfying.

Drawing on the work of the late therapist Gina Ogden, Perel likes to ask her patients to complete two important sentences:

1) I turn myself off when…

2) I turn myself on when…

For me, I turn myself off when I spend too much time mindlessly on my phone; when I overeat; when I don’t prioritise time for myself and get caught up in all the “shoulds” and “to-dos”; when I don’t set clear, healthy boundaries in relationships and when I get into a comparison spiral.

I turn myself on when I take the time to do a full body scrub; dancing to something with heavy bass (well dancing to anything really haha); wearing lipstick; getting into the flow in the kitchen and creating something really special; sharing said special food with the people I love; receiving massage/loving touch and holding eye contact.

My invitation for you is to dedicate a little time to sitting with these powerful sentences. What comes up for you? Is it surprising/confronting/easy/difficult? Can you create more space in your life for the things that turn you on and bring more awareness and conscious choice to the things that deplete your energy?

I’d love to hear anything that came up for you! 🖤

(first published on instagram 09/02/2020

image first seen on @languageofbirth but not sure of original artist!)