Art as a Sensual Experience

When was the last time you allowed yourself to experience life in a fully sensual way? In our culture we often equate “sensual” with “sexual”, thus robbing ourselves of one of the best things about being human in a physical world.  Although good sex is certainly sensual, great sensual experiences don’t have to be sexual. They can be experienced everyday, in every venue, in every situation. 

Great sex is sensual because it activates all our physical senses as well as our emotions. It takes us outside ourselves and outside of time. While it is a physical experience, it also takes us outside the physical into another dimension where we can experience both the physical and the energetic at the same time..

When we have good sex, we step out of time.  The past and the future fall away. We experience our senses in the immediacy of the now. The present is everything. The past doesn’t matter and the future doesn’t exist (which is why sex can often lead to trouble down the road).  Fully awakening our physical senses in “no-time” activates our energetic senses as well.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could have similar sensual experiences all the time?

For me, art has become a delicious and immediate way to generate these feelings whenever I want and where ever I am. When I allow myself to become fully immersed in the beauty around me, time slips away.  Even just looking at beautiful pictures, photos or scenery, or listening to music stimulates all my senses. Music activates my imagination and I see colors, shapes and scenes in my head. My body wants to move and participate fully in the experience. Colors have sounds and sounds have color. Visual art has an energy of its own that simulates the harmony and syncopation of pleasurable sounds. When sight and hearing are activated, taste and smell become more sensitive and join in as well.

Even greater sensual experiences come when I am actually engaging in an creative pursuit. Taking my camera (iphone) with me as I walk the dog in the woods makes me extra attuned to all the beauty and potential artistic creation around me. I know that as a photographer, it is my responsibility to find the hidden loveliness in the apparently ugly, the remarkable in the apparently mundane, and the creative possibilities among the ordinary scenes of life. As I discover all these hidden gems and capture them on my camera, time evaporates, the dog is forgotten (he never goes far), and I travel in other dimensions, lost in the timeless ecstasy of allowing my soul to speak from the inside of my camera, and delight in its own creative expression.

When I handle fabric, I experience the same deep sensual connection with the texture of the cloth, the three dimensionality of the quilting and the visual dance of  light play on geometric shapes. The patterns I create have a musical component that has its own rhythm and melody. The quilt I am creating has an individual energy that generates subtle smells and tastes to accompany the other senses.

And then there’s cooking, (and eating what you create)!.

Again, time stands still. When I am called away, back to the physical realm, I am amazed by what has elapsed. Sometimes its hours which feel like minutes. Sometimes its minutes which feel like hours. The energy dimension is not governed by time, and when entered, does not conform to the expectations of physical life.

This can be one of the reasons we so seldom allow ourselves to have truly sensual experiences. Time governs our lives, gives us structure and meaning. It can be scary to step outside of time.

The fact that the sensual is linked to sex can also be intimidating. Maybe it will get us in trouble. Maybe we don’t deserve to be this ecstatic. Allowing ourselves to be sensual won’t get us into trouble, and we DO deserve to luxuriate in these incredible feelings whenever we want.

Ironically, the best way to truly experience the sensuality of the physical world is to step out of time into the energy dimension. In our everyday life we are usually focused on anything but the present moment.  Constantly dwelling on the past and future robs us of the ability to be present with all our senses.  Using our senses for only survival information (is the stove too hot,? is a storm cloud coming?) diminishes the gifts they have for us.

Try this magical experiment.

Stopping time

This is a fairly simple technique that you can use to experience for yourself what stopping time feels like.

 1. Sit in a comfortable position and allow your body to relax.

2. Begin to take deep, slow breaths.

 3. As you progressively slow your breathing, pay particular attention to the experience of  being in between the out-breath and the in-breath. Breathe in, pause, and then out. Breathe in, pause, and then out.

 4. Then hold your breath for as long as you can before breathing in again.

 You will feel alert but very relaxed while at the same time experiencing a profound stillness. The longer you can comfortably stay in the space between out-breath and in-breath, the greater the experience of sacred connectedness in no-time.

 5. Once you have experienced this state of Cosmic timelessness through breathing, begin to focus on your physical senses. Become aware of the depth and texture of your breath.

Notice the smell in the air and how your mouth tastes. If your eyes are closed you may see colors or shapes. You may hear sounds or music, but even if you don’t, pay attention to every one of your senses and how it feels to be acutely aware of what each is offering to you, no matter how subtle.

 6. Once you can stop time and engage all your senses at once, begin to add music or visual beauty to the equation, either as a spectator or participant.

Then feel your senses explode.

You can learn more about the energy realm in my book, “It’s All About Energy:  Adventures in Expanded Reality”, found on Amazon, in local bookstores, and on my website, www.transformationalexpansion.com.