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It is a scream to put an end to demonizing physical and emotional pleasure.

Synopsis

Hidden just below the surface of ordinary everyday reality lies an abundance of delight. By learning to look beyond your daily challenges, to ease your stressed mind and body, you can rediscover the magic, mystery, sensuality, and joy that is possible in everyday life.

Taking you through a step-by-step sensual journey of healing and transformation, Julia Hollenbery explains how pleasure is all around us and explores seven easily accessible spiritual “medicines” or pathways to discover more pleasure in your body, relationships, and way of being. She details each of the seven medicines: slowing, embodying, deepening, relating, pleasure, power, and potency. For each medicine, she presents reflections, practical somatic and breathing exercises, meditations, and energetic transmissions to help you reconnect body, mind, and soul and reclaim your innate source of pleasure.

The Healing Power of Pleasure combines modern science with ancient spirituality, insight, humor, and poetry. A visionary call to action to inhabit your universe of deliciousness, this book presents an invitation to reconnect with your body, realize the web of relationships within which we live, and embrace the pleasure, power, and potency that arise when we look inward as well as confidently relate outward with the world around us.

 The Healing Power of Pleasure by Julia Paulette Hollenbery is a text that aims to break deep cultural barriers that hinder authentic passionate and pleasurable living. It focuses on the God within that is interconnected with our human relationship and our relationship with animate and inanimate objects. It is a scream to put an end to demonizing physical and emotional pleasure. The text celebrates the masculine and feminine principles of life as well as the intersection of the sacred and the profane while tapping into some of life’s scientific and intuitive principles for good health.

 

Hollenbery’s book is a thought-provoking mouthful to be savored slowly to process and access the potency she hopes that it will unleash in the lives of readers. Her prosaic writing is interspersed with poetic utterances that vary from a line to sometimes three to five stanzas of poetic language that compactly convey her spirited observations and philosophies. 

 

A reader of this book will find many quotes he or she may wish to highlight and muse upon. One of my favorites is; “The magical is right here in the middle of our Monday mundane messiness” Another I highlighted, “Collectively we have yet to understand how the instinctual world is spiritual.” (p.94.)  

 

This book will be best enjoyed by readers open to embracing pleasure as a way of life and as a right of each person and gender. The book features adult content, thus it is not suitable for children. The book focuses on building self-confidence in individuals to live a deeper, happier, and more conscious life. 

 

Hollenbery’s promise to guide her reader to accomplish satisfying relationships, meaningful work, and passionate life is a task with which her text is firmly anchored. She scribes “When we bring our curiosity, authenticity, and embodiment, life becomes deeply enjoyable, pleasure becomes quietly, deeply, satisfyingly delicious, in our intimacy and ordinary daily life.” (p.138.) The Healing Power of Pleasure is a refreshing and vital tome arising from an increasingly bleak and desperate human landscape.

Reviewed by
P Reefer

I am a Global citizen residing in one of the Happiest Caribbean Countries: Trinidad and Tobago. I am a Teacher of English and Communication Studies. Reading and creating book reviews are my favourite pastimes. I wrote several reviews currently published on Amazon and Goodreads.

Synopsis

Hidden just below the surface of ordinary everyday reality lies an abundance of delight. By learning to look beyond your daily challenges, to ease your stressed mind and body, you can rediscover the magic, mystery, sensuality, and joy that is possible in everyday life.

Taking you through a step-by-step sensual journey of healing and transformation, Julia Hollenbery explains how pleasure is all around us and explores seven easily accessible spiritual “medicines” or pathways to discover more pleasure in your body, relationships, and way of being. She details each of the seven medicines: slowing, embodying, deepening, relating, pleasure, power, and potency. For each medicine, she presents reflections, practical somatic and breathing exercises, meditations, and energetic transmissions to help you reconnect body, mind, and soul and reclaim your innate source of pleasure.

The Healing Power of Pleasure combines modern science with ancient spirituality, insight, humor, and poetry. A visionary call to action to inhabit your universe of deliciousness, this book presents an invitation to reconnect with your body, realize the web of relationships within which we live, and embrace the pleasure, power, and potency that arise when we look inward as well as confidently relate outward with the world around us.

Welcome

There is an abundance of pleasure possible for us all, a great deal more than we currently live. It is freely available to everyone without discrimination or expense. It is constantly accessible in each moment and with every interaction...

The Universe of Deliciousness is a reality hidden in plain sight. It is an essential state of pleasure, satisfaction and connection that has been experienced and described by many throughout history. Ancient Indian poet-saints referred to ‘this body of bliss’. Tukaram Maharaj, a sixteenth- century poet-saint from southern India, wrote in ‘Anandatse Dohe’: ‘in the great flood of bliss waves are surging and they too are nothing but bliss, for bliss is the nature of every particle of this body of bliss.’ Ancient Tibetans chanted the word ‘Mahāsukha’ to invoke the great bliss: 

Om Amrita Bindu, Java, Maha Sukha, Swaha, meaning, ‘the sacred sound of creation with the nectar sweetness of being, within the human container of nerves, creates the great bliss, so be it.’

I am inviting you to make a journey without moving, from the surface of life to the depths, where delicious, satisfying pleasure awaits. We will travel by way of paying attention to ourselves and to others, and by choosing awareness of our perception and experiences, exploring our physical body with all of its sensations, feelings, imaginations and knowings, and opening ourselves up to the multi-dimensional richness...

This is an adventure that may change your life, allowing you to enter into a dynamic stillness of full-bodied being. It is about sexuality and healing, sustainability and the Earth, love, creativity and mystery. It shows how pleasure is nourishment, transforming us from an existence as competing individuals to collaboration as a cooperative community.

Life itself wants to evolve through us. We, just like the rest of the natural world, yearn to be fully alive, full of passion and pleasure, humility and sensuality, purpose, dynamism and peace.

Life is uncertain. We need the nourishment of the Universe of Deliciousness – so we can feel our fears and pains, our despairs and failures – and can then create something new and beautiful. When our hearts break, instead of violence can we be curious? Despite disaster, can we also find delight? Can we co-create together with Life, each of us a sensual intelligence within the multi-dimensional sensual intelligence of Life?

The global requirement now is compassion, consideration and coop- eration. For this to easily happen, we each need to be sustained by a subtle experience of pleasurable abundance.


This book is a guide to a new way of being, rooted in body and relational heart, exploring how to follow the spontaneous insight of our instinctual intelligence. It begins with where we find ourselves, in a MESS, and goes on to explore the possibility of MAGIC, which we can rediscover through the MEDICINE: seven simple steps that will allow us to enter the Universe of Deliciousness.


From Me to You

The pages you are reading were born from my discovery of the pleasure of sharing my pleasure with others... I naturally perceive life through my bodily sensations and feelings rather than my head. I ‘translate upwards’, turning my direct felt experience into words, ideas and actions. Through my body, I perceive things about people and objects, a connection I call ‘knowing-without-knowing’.

As a child my real home was out in the garden. There I could be in

contact with it all. I loved the huge willow tree and the fragrant pine trees,

the golden wheat fields at the bottom of the garden stretching all the way

up to the horizon. I loved the dark earth and the big blue sky, the small

insects and colourful flowers, and my freedom to exist in the invisible and

imaginal spiritual world. I was living in the Mystery, the huge boundless whole.

One day, I danced and changed the weather. It was probably spring, and in England that means changeable rain and sunshine. But nonetheless, I danced and the sun came out. And I danced again and the rain fell. I did this several times, and nobody could tell me it wasn’t true. It was for me the most vibrant and satisfying experience.

My challenge was being in the ordinary material world. I felt alone with all my deeply felt connectivity. I didn’t see other people living or talk- ing about the things that I was experiencing, so I thought I was wrong and had to hide my truth... I was unable to communicate my experiences with those around me. As a result, my childhood was full of hyper-alertness and tension when I pretended to be something other than what I was, trying to fit in. But I didn’t lose touch with my essential innocence.

A teenage breakdown was followed by young adulthood breakdowns... and then several intense decades exploring a great variety of therapies, healing and spirituality. I was determined to realize the bigness that I felt inside.


Over many years I trained professionally as a bodyworker, therapist and facilitator. Over decades of working with hundreds of people, in individual sessions and group workshops, I have become a highly skilled and experienced practitioner. I bring people back to their essence.

My unique capacity is to really see people in a way they have probably never been seen before, profoundly with acceptance and love. I guide people to inner confidence so they can create satisfying relationships, meaningful work and a passionate life.

At last, I am truly able to embody my soul, in this body in this lifetime. This book is the articulation of my lifelong inner ‘knowing’. It is a kind-of reverse engineering of the way I live, in order to share with others the bounty of this unusual and hard-won way of life.

There is something my heart knows that it wants to share. This isn’t acquired knowledge. It is that we all have the potential for an infinitely pleasurable, wise and precious life. I am delighted to share with you this sacred entry into the Universe of Deliciousness, to restore your soul to the pleasure it is made for.

I hope you enjoy your experiences.


Julia xxx

I will be teaching the book on a Greek Island Retreat, June 11th -18th 2022. The book's received excellent reviews, "highly recommended" "lively and uplifting" "a real treasure trove" and I've been described as a "fun and engaging teacher." If you'd like to know more about the Universe of Deliciousness and the Seven Medicines for Rediscovering the Innate Joy of Being, join us - to discover your embodied confidence, empowered relationships, sensual pleasure and to access your inner wisdom. To find our more or book your place, click this link, bit.ly/SkyrosHPoPl Or phone the Skyros Wellbeing Center on 44(0)1983 865566

12 Comments

Ingrid VelleineJulia is telling us the obvious, which most of us have forgotten and unlearned long ago since being babies. Julia has this secret of ushering us back into a world of light, pleasure and lightness. If most people would be in that place, there would be peace and love all over the world.
over 3 years ago
Nick WilliamsHow did we ever get to believe that pleasure and delight were wrong, to be suspicious of, or were even sinful? Julia has done a great job of laying out a map to guide us back to our true, sensual selves. Thanks Julia
over 3 years ago
Dana WhitbyJulia is a wonderful light in this world, guiding us back home to ourselves. Her book, The Healing Power of Pleasure, points us toward slowing down, coming into alignment with our bodies, and consciously feeling more of our sensuality, power, and potentiality in the world. I love these ancient reminders in a modern society!
over 3 years ago
Julia DavisI love this book. Not only does it speak of the real experience of living in nature we have ways of navigating our way back to ourselves in the most beautiful way. A powerful book - love the medicine!
over 3 years ago
John FarrerGreat subject to focus on. We all need to rediscover the innate power of being!!
over 3 years ago
Sandi WrightJulia’s work is a beautiful gift to each one of us.
over 3 years ago
Ben HewittI was lucky enough to get an advance copy of this book and it shifted my relationship to pleasure and reminded me of the difference between the real world and the superficial world. My key insight is that the type of pleasure I pursue has serious impact on my wellbeing, one way or the other. Learning to give and receive things that are truly pleasurable in the right ways seems to be a key challenge for the world right now. Thanks Julia 🙏
over 3 years ago
Jo Baldwin TrottFantastic Julia, that you have encapsulated your expertise and experience in this book. Such an important topic, pleasure from the small things has been neglected for way too long. The 'big occasion' mindset is ready for a shake up 💯🤩
over 3 years ago
gabby morrisbeautiful book with lessons that are increasingly important in these times. the style is clear and readable, yet pertinent and deep. i recommend to anyone looking for a deeper kinship with their true self. well done to julia!
over 3 years ago
Emily Lovethis is a beautiful book written by a beautiful person
over 3 years ago
Julia Paulette HollenberyYou might also enjoy articles about pleasure I'm writing on Elephant Journal! Check out bit.ly/PlHealth
0 likes
over 3 years ago
Julia Paulette HollenberyPlease add it to your bookshelf on GoodReads, and follow me over there too. bit.ly/GRHpoPL bit.ly/JPHauthor Thank you!
0 likes
over 3 years ago
About the author

Julia Paulette Hollenbery is an author and therapist. For more than 25 years she's guided countless clients into deep confidence and self-authority. She is passionate about sharing her life-long love of the mystery, real sensual relationship, and the life of the body. Julia lives in London. view profile

Published on September 07, 2021

Published by Inner Traditions

70000 words

Contains mild explicit content ⚠️

Genre:Self-Help & Self-Improvement

Reviewed by