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This week, our card is Choice from Pleasure Alchemy. What decision might need to be made this week? Is it time to take a deep breath and remember that you have a strong mind and a wise body? You can say yes or say no. You can tell the difference between what is needed and what is unneeded. The Choice remedy comes to offer support and encouragement.
Be brave. No matter your past, you are always worthy of being given a choice.
When I was creating Pleasure Alchemy, it took a while to design the four suits of remedies in the deck. These four suits are my attempt to create a “toolbox” of ideas and allies to help us find and explore pleasure in our lives. Each suit addresses a different area of pleasurable experience. Body remedies focus on the physical aspects of pleasure. Soul remedies present transcendent experiences that I believe all humans can take pleasure in. Spark remedies offer “quick access” ideas for finding everyday pleasure without leaving our comfort zones. And Voice remedies are all about gently examining the inner and outer roadblocks that might be impeding our ability to take pleasure in life.
Choice is one of the Voice remedies in Pleasure Alchemy. So, already, we have a place to begin. We have an open doorway.
The Choice remedy says:
You are capable and you are deserving of having a choice.
Are you paying attention to all the opportunities for choice in your life this week? Are you making conscious choices that take care of you? You might find yourself going with the flow, not wanting to rock the boat, or being hesitant to speak up for yourself. You might not even recognize that a choice needs to be made at all. But there is always something to choose, even if the choice is simply choosing to trust yourself—your heart, your skillful brain, your intuition, your body.
If you can this week, I’d like you to gently sit down with yourself and think about Choice. Let yourself grieve for those times when you were not given a choice. Celebrate the times when you chose something you are now proud of. Look to the week ahead and consciously examine where choice might be needed. Even if things are difficult, choose to take time to find pleasure and ease in any small way you can. Know that choice is a story being written every moment. It is never too late to make a choice that makes you feel good.
From the Pleasure Alchemy guidebook:
There is much in your life, and in any life, that is beyond your control. Yet there is also much you can choose and can reach toward. Sometimes, pleasure is about mindset as much as it is about experience. But choosing to look for pleasure, might you find more pleasure? Remember that pleasure is not meant to take the place of hardship or difficulty. It cannot. But there is no reason why pleasure cannot exist alongside these other experiences. Alchemist, although feelings and thoughts cannot be chosen, actions and responses can. Choose to make actions that will nurture joy in your life going forward. Choose pleasure.
Questions for this week:
Am I choosing to spend time in the sunlight?
Am I choosing to nourish myself and listen to my body?
How do I celebrate myself when I am brave and make a difficult choice?
What choices make me feel safe and grounded?
What does it feel like in my body when I trust myself and my decisions?