The Pleasure Prescription

Paul Pearsall

Description

Current wisdom dictates that anything that tastes, smells, or feels good can't be good for us. But pleasure is the way to health, not a temptation away from it. In The Pleasure Prescription, Pearsall gives the antidote for "delight dyslexia," his name for misreading of intensity for joy, accomplishment for worth, busyness for connection, and excitement for love.

Sujets

• Santé et bien-être
• Bien-être émotionnel
• Bien-être émotionnel
• Bien-être
• Bien-être
• Bien-être
• Bien-être
• Happiness
• Self-help
• Polynesia
• Polinesia
• Personal Growth

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 26 août 1996
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781630265496
• Langue: English

Extrait

THE PLEASURE PRESCRIPTION


Aloha versus Haole
Haole - The mental and physical exhaustion of the millions of over-stressed and overworked individuals in today s society leads to what Polynesians call a haole life ( ha = breath, ole = without). Haole living is an urgent, breathless existence in pursuit of an elusive better that leaves one disconnected and fatigued.
Aloha - The Oceanic people taught that a joyful and healthy life is based on following our seventh sense or aloha, the instinctive drive to do what is pleasurable and healthful. Alo means to share and ha means breath, so aloha literally means to give and share the breath of life.
The Pleasure Prescription is about rediscovering your sense of aloha-literally and metaphorically catching your breath. (To find out how much aloha is in your life right now, turn to page 40 and take The Aloha Test. ) Once you ve caught it yourself, you will learn that true relaxation, happiness, health, and longevity come from giving and sharing this breath of life.
To Love, to Work, to Play - Life in the Balance

Paul Pearsall, Ph. D
Copyright 1996 by Paul Pearsall, Ph. D.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, nor may it be introduced into any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the copyright owner and the publisher of this book. Brief quotations may be used in reviews prepared for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, or broadcast.
For further information contact:
Hunter House Inc., Publishers
P.O. Box 2914
Alameda, CA 94501-0914

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Pearsall, Paul.
The pleasure prescription: to love, to work, to play-life in the balance / Paul Kaikena Pearsall. - 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-89793-208-0 (cloth). - ISBN 0-89793-207-2 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-89793-207-3 (eBook)
1. Pleasure. 2. Stress management. 3. Conduct of life. 4. Polynesia-Social life and customs. I. Title.
BF515. P32 1996
158-dc20 96-28108
CIP

Cover Design: MIG/Design Works Book design: Qalagraphia
Project Editor: Lisa E. Lee Production: Paul J. Frindt
Editorial Assistants: Jenny Moore, Tami Wisniewski
Sales Marketing: Corrine M. Sahli Publicity Assistant: Kim A. Wallace
Customer Service: Joshua Tabisaura, Sharon R. A. Olson
Fulfillment: A A Quality Shipping
Publisher: Kiran S. Rana
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 First edition
Dedication
For my ku uipo wahine (loving wife), Celest Kalalani, who saved my life, fills it with pleasure, and teaches everyone who knows her the true meaning of aloha , and for my sons Roger and Scott, who are the source of our pride and joy.
Other Books and Audiotapes by Paul Pearsall, Ph. D.
Superimmunity: Master Your Emotions and Improve Your Health
Super Marital Sex: Loving for Life
Super Joy: Learning to Celebrate Everyday Life
The Power of the Family: Strength , Comfort , and Healing
Making Miracles
The Ten Laws of Lasting Love
The Pleasure Principle: Discovering a New Way to Health (Audiotape Series)
A Healing Intimacy: The Power of Loving Connections
Contents

Acknowledgments
Important Note for the Reader
Introduction
Part One: The Pleasure Paradigm
Chapter 1: Catching Your Breath-and Saving Your Life
Chapter 2: Pleasure-The Seventh Sense
Chapter 3: The Aloha Test
Chapter 4: Your Invitation to Paradise
Chapter 5: The Re-enchantment of Everyday Life
Chapter 6: Cranial G-Spots : The Psychoneurology of Pleasure
Part Two: Learning Aloha
Chapter 7: The Pleasure of Patience-Success Aloha Style
Chapter 8: The Cycle of Connection-Overcoming the Illusion of Separateness
Chapter 9: The Power of Pleasantness-No Bliss, No Gain
Chapter 10: The Magic of Modesty-Silencing the Self, Saving the Soul
Chapter 11: The Gift from Giving-Try a Little Tenderness
Part Three: Living Aloha
Chapter 12: Making a Pleasurable Partnership
Chapter 13: Raising Blissful Families in Pressured Times
Chapter 14: Laboring with Love: Health and Balance in the Workplace
Chapter 15: Loving and Learning Through the Hard Times
Chapter 16: Joy to the World: Caring for Our Enchanted Planet
Notes
Polynesian Glossary
Bibliography
Index
The numbers in superscript in the text rifer to endnotes organized by chapter and starting on page 233
Acknowledgments
Any wisdom on these pages comes from the graceful genius and profound aloha of the kanaka maoli (full-blooded Hawaiian people). I give my fondest mahalo to all of my Hawaiian teachers, including kumu Frank Kawaikapuokalani Hewett, kupuna Aunty Betty Kawoniokalani Jenkins, her husband Jack, and her mother Elizabeth (Tutu Mamma) Nalani Ellis, Fred Cachola of Kamehameha Schools, and Clay Park, all of the Island of O ahu. Mahalo also to Charles and Nina Maxwell and Keali i Reichel of my home island of Maui, and to Hawaiian studies teacher Pua Case Lapulapu, Kia Frond (taro farmer of Waipio Valley), and the Pai ohana of Honokohauiki, all of the Big Island of Hawai i, and to Sabra Kauka and Kai opua Fyfe of the Island of Kaua i. Any mistakes, distortions, or misrepresentations I may have made in my attempt to make the very deep and sacred Oceanic lessons of Polynesia accessible to the modern continental mind are all mine. Mahalo also to my mother Carol, my brother Dennis, and the memory of my father Frank, all of whom taught me the loving power of ohana. All of these people have helped me to write my prescription for pleasure- finding enchantment in every moment of living.
My warmest aloha also to the entire ohana at Hunter House Publishers, including my most caring and careful editor, Lisa Lee, patient publisher, Kiran Rana, and my energetic publicist, Corrine Sahli. Mahalo nui loa to all of you for having faith in my work. I hope our efforts have resulted in a book that will help a lot of people find more healthy pleasure in their lives and that we can, as we say in Hawai i, hana hou! (do it again).
Important Note for the Reader
The material in this book is intended to provide an overview of the health and healing implications of the traditions and practices of Polynesian cultures, and related scientific and medical research, especially in the field of psychoneuroimmunology. The research is extensively referenced for readers wishing to pursue further inquiries. Every effort has been made to provide accurate and dependable information. However, the reader should be aware that professionals may have differing opinions about the implications of research and change is always taking place. Any suggestions for techniques, treatments, or lifestyle change described in the book should be used under the guidance of a licensed therapist or health-care practitioner. The author, editors, and publisher cannot be held responsible for any outcomes of trying the ideas and suggestions in this book in a program of self-care or under the care of a licensed professional. The ideas, suggestions, and techniques in this book should not be used in place of other medical therapies.
Introduction

Consider these glimpses of the lives of just a few of today s successful people:
The young coach of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas Runnin Rebels basketball team is rushed to the hospital. 1 Days later, he quits the job he had sought all of his young life, citing total fatigue and the stress of winning as his reasons. He says he can t take the pressure and is finding no joy in life anymore.
After working most of his life to assume the prestigious position of president of Harvard University, Neil Rudenstine begins to fall asleep during major meetings. At the peak of his career, he goes on sabbatical to find some pleasure in life by reading Lewis Thomas, listening to Ravel, and walking with my wife on a Caribbean beach.
Los Angeles District Attorney William Hodgman grabs at his chest as millions watch during his opening statement in the O. J. Simpson trial. He is later rushed to the hospital suffering from what his wife Janet calls meltdown from overwork with no time for himself.
Accountant Marge Smith quits her job just days after a promotion to full partner in her firm, a position she had sought since college. She says she is overwhelmed with trying to have it all and ending up feeling like all I have is trying. She sells the new Mercedes Benz purchased with the advance on her new salary, puts her home on the market, and gathers her children up to board a plane for the Caribbean. She says to the ticket clerk, We re out of here. I m maxed out and the kids are maxed out. We re never even together to complain about it. I m going to sell fishing tackle in Jamaica and play on the beach with my kids before it s too late.
These people are experiencing what increasing numbers of people throughout the world struggle with every day: toxic success, a lack of delight in daily living, and the illnesses that go hand-and-hand with too much work and too little play. And all of them are being unconsciously prodded by their seventh sense, an awareness that lies beyond the physical and psychic senses. This seventh sense attracts us to what is basic and necessary for a truly healthy, blissful life and leads us away from things that rob us of our natural ability for pleasure.
Throughout the world, there are different approaches to dealing with the problem of burn out, or exhaustion from stress. The Western world has devised several stress management techniques, but fails to confront the sources of stress. As a result, stress reduction becomes just another stressful life obligation. Eastern culture considers this condition a failure in self-enlightenment, and says introspection can alleviate it. As a result of more time spent turning inward, however, intimate personal relationships become neglected and loneliness results for the contemplator and his or her family. The Ja