The Creative Pleasure Principle

by Scott Noelle

Imagine you’re in a choir, singing a difficult piece, and it’s not coming together. But you persist, and eventually the ensemble achieves perfect harmony, emanating a sound that gives you chills from head to toe!

That’s a dramatic example of creative pleasure: the feeling of coming into alignment with your heart’s desire.

You feel good when your thoughts and desires are aligned — when you believe you can have what you want. And being in alignment greatly enhances your creativity. Thus, the most natural way to create a wonderful life is simply to “follow your pleasure.”

Being pleasure-oriented empowers you and your child to co-create a mutually satisfying relationship. Children are innately pleasure-oriented, but they can become “dis-oriented” by the anti-pleasure aspects of our culture.

By the time children become parents, they may be completely disconnected from their authentic pleasure, having learned instead to seek pseudo-pleasure: the experience of being “right,” where rightness is determined by someone or something other than one’s inner truth.

Pseudo-pleasure perpetuates the right/wrong, win/lose, dominator culture. Only the authentic pleasure of aligning your thoughts and actions with your heart’s desires can create a win/win, partnership culture: “My child and I can BOTH find satisfaction... I don’t know how, but there must be a way.”

Improve Your Groove

Today, as you make parenting choices, wait for the feeling of authentic, creative pleasure before you take action.

Originally published on 2006-12-07
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