Each person varies as to their individual dispositions and sensitivities, and we are unique in how we experience sensations within our body. An Epicurean relies upon the feedback of the feelings of pleasure and pain to decide what to move toward and what to avoid. When choosing between various options, we applying reasoning based on past experience to answer the question: "What will happen if I do this, and what will happen if I do not", and there is an anticipation as to how the future result may unfold.
1. Embracing sensation - As Epicureans we can stop feeling guilty about enjoying sensation, and live life like a "happy leaping pig". Take the time to really notice how good a warm shower feels. See what else you can enjoy through-out your day.
2. Balancing the feelings -- Sometimes painful feelings crowd out the pleasurable ones, and you need to see what you can do to get back into a balanced state of well-being. Here are some of things which may throw us off kilter:
-- Not taking care of our body properly - not enough sleep, eating a poor diet (or vitamin deficiency), or over-eating, not drinking enough water, or not getting enough exercise).
-- Exposure to too much noise or too much energy of people -- and this may take some effort to come up with creative solutions for getting needed space or quietude. (or maybe just add in some "recovery" time for yourself after you finish activities which require you to be in high energy spaces).
-- Physical illness -- put effort into your wellness by visiting a doctor and/or finding treatments to improve the health of your body.
-- Not taking care of your "heart", and by this I mean doing the necessary things for happiness and primarily focusing on developing or maintaining good connections with friends and loved ones.
-- Poor mental habits developed during past stress or trauma, or falling back into poor mental habits due feeling overwhelmed by current challenges -- this one will likely need the help of a therapist to work through (but you could try the library or bookstore to find books on "Positive Psychology".)
3. Creating a "joy basket" - instead of a "bucket list" which often has big vacations or other activities to do before you die, a "joy basket" is a collection of activities that you enjoy doing on a regular basis and which bring you a feeling of pleasure, or meaning. For myself, one activity that I enjoy is going to rose gardens to smell the roses. I have a very sensitive nose so I am able to experience sublte differences between various roses. I also enjoy taking pictures of the roses, as I walk through the garden and notice the variations of shape and color. Be sure to collect enough activities in your "joy basket" so that you have something to do every week or several times a week (or even every day!)
Stay tuned...I will be covering more soon (points 4 through 8).
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