“Pleasure is Nature’s test, her sign of
approval. When someone is happy, she
is in harmony with her environment.”
--Oscar Wilde

CHAPTER ONE

The Conscious Pleasure Principle

When you open this book, you are putting yourself in a completely new environment. An environment filled with new potentials. If you were to take full advantage of every last drop of health consciousness that is available here, you could transform your life for the better in less than one day. If you fully tap into the knowledge and skills of the spa therapists, their expertise will bring you to levels of body-awareness you may not have experienced for a long time—if ever.

What does it take to tap in? It’s simple. In fact, it’s so simple it almost always escapes us. In order to receive the full benefit, all you must do is enjoy—fully consciously enjoy. Spa treatments present a way to indulge yourself that should ideally be guiltless. There are no laws against them, they harm no one, and they are one hundred percent good for you.

But there’s a catch. Almost always, when we attempt to be good to ourselves in such a healthy way, we’ll find a nagging little voice in the back of our heads, saying things like, “You don’t really deserve this right now. Shouldn’t you be putting in that last load of laundry? The kids need you to be spending quality time with them; what are you doing cocooned in herbalized cotton sheets when you could be carpooling to summer gymnastics?” And on and on.

The purpose of this book is to help you help yourself create a new level of nurturing in your life. The time has come to let go of our old beliefs that luxurious spa treatments are reserved for some privileged upper class, some more leisurely race of humans, always some OTHER people who have more time, more money, or more good taste than we do.

Spa treatments today are not just convenient ways to pamper yourself and forget your pains. They are tools to explore higher levels of health. I’m talking about health as a vibrant, dynamic energy in your everyday activities, not just a lack of disease.
The only way you are going to get this message through to your nervous system is to fully, deeply accept the level of luxurious health these spa treatments will give you WHILE YOU ARE EXPERIENCING THEM. That means learning how to filter out guilt, filter out self-criticism, and filter out distractions. This may seem like a tall order, but the rewards are tremendous. And the stakes involved are no less than your very Self. You ARE special, on the deepest level, and you’ve known it all along, ever since earliest childhood when your little world was the center of the universe and all other people existed simply to please you and to play with you.

You deserve the royal treatment. Give yourself this opportunity.

The word “spa” itself comes from the town of Spa in Belgium, famed for centuries for its naturally healing mineral waters. Today, the world is becoming ever more full of the beautiful, water-filled, life-giving sanctuaries known as spas. Soon you may find one in your own town, perhaps in your own neighborhood. Our new modern spas are the focal points we’ve created to balance out our rapid-paced lives with our need for peace, health, and spiritual fulfillment. As we move into the twenty-first century, spas will become our retreats, sources of wholeness and renewal, feeding our souls as well as our bodies.

As I’ve traveled the country giving lectures and workshops to people who are opening their own spas, I’ve been amazed to find interest in every corner of the map. From El Paso, Texas to Waldoboro, Maine, from Connecticut to Washington State, from Key West to New York City to Kalispell, Montana and the outer reaches of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, I’ve found a growing population of knowledgeable, excited, professional people dedicating their lives and their livelihoods to the goal of providing their neighbors with these modern-day fountains of youth. You no longer have to travel to the far flung locales of the famed and fabled spas featured in this book; you can check your local yellow pages instead. Or, if you’d like, stay in your very own home and create your own sanctuary.

None of these options excludes any of the others. The incredible (and admittedly pricey) destination spas featured in this book can be looked upon as a once-in-a-lifetime reward for hard work well done, or perhaps as a yearly retreat. Day Spas closer to home can be utilized on a monthly or weekly basis for that consistent recharging we all need. And your own home can become a spa that you use every day, even if it’s for something as simple as a soak in an aromatherapy bath after a hard day at work.

Products designed for use in spa treatments are evolving every year into increasingly powerful substances. In many of the world’s best spas, for example, you won’t just find plain old seaweed; you’ll find micro-burst, concentrated blends of several of the most powerful sea plants combined with sea water extracts, pure essential oils gathered from around the world, and absorbent clays from trenches in the ocean floor. Technology combines with nature to create healing. I’ve listed a variety of these products in Appendix A with an 800 number for simple ordering if you are interested.

All the pieces of the puzzle have been put in place for you—the best products, excellent treatments from the best spas, and the most highly qualified therapists to teach them to you. Only one thing remains for you to do. It’s the simplest thing of all, but in a way it’s the hardest. To receive the full benefit from the spa treatments described in the following pages, you’ll need to develop and nurture THE CONSCIOUS PLEASURE PRINCIPLES. These principles have been tried by spa aficionados and health experts the world over. If you follow them step by step, I guarantee that you will enter a new phase in your life. They apply not only to spa treatments, but to all activities you do for yourself that are healthy, pleasurable, fun, and uplifting.

THE SEVEN STEPS TO CONSCIOUS PLEASURE

1. Preparation: BEFORE heading to a spa, or creating a spa experience in your own environment, consciously choose to set aside ten to twenty minutes to be with yourself in silence. It is a good idea to do this on a regular basis, but it is especially important when you are about to give yourself some healthy pleasure. You’ll be amazed at how many tricks your subconscious has to keep you from being completely present and aware when you are about to “indulge yourself.” During these minutes, scan your body and your mind in great detail. How do you feel? What would you like to change about the way you feel? What feels already strong and healthy? Calmly, and nonjudgmentally, tune in fully to where you are NOW.

2. Ambiance: Now that you are attuned to yourself, it is time to absorb your surroundings. When you first arrive at a spa, or first step into the spa sanctum you’ve created for yourself at home, stop for a minute and soak in the surroundings. In every case, you should find an environment that has been carefully constructed. Pay attention to the details. Spas have a natural aroma created by an abundance of essential oils, sea products, and herbs. Let these scents permeate your every cell. Notice the lighting: dapples of sun falling through trees, a well-placed candle. Take a moment to fully admire the flower arrangements, listen for the soothing music, both man-made and natural. Are birds speaking to you close by? Is a CD by Enya playing? Really listen this time. By concentrating on your environment, you can begin to quiet your thoughts.

3. Greetings: When you are met by your therapist, your partner, or yourself (in the mirror) before your spa treatment, honor them with a friendly handshake, a slight bow, or perhaps exchange the word namasté. Placing your palms together over your heart, utter this simple, sacred word that means, “I honor the light within you.” Look directly into the eyes before you, especially if they are your own in the mirror. Seek out the warmth and the caring that are surely there in this most nurturing of environments.

4. Letting Go: When the treatment begins, gradually and softly let the past go. Start with the past hour, then move to the day; erase the past week, the past month, letting the stress of your whole life slip quietly away. Look within and let the subtle stresses of guilt, regret, and remorse slip away too. Sages have said it for thousands of years, and they were right: There is only here, only now. Allow this awareness to begin its magical work of healing in your life.

5. Immersion: When you are right in the middle of your spa experience, use your breath to tune further and further into the Present by closely following each inhalation and each exhalation, progressively relaxing each part of your body. As you do so, keep bringing your wandering mind back from the grocery list of your life.

6. Surrendering to Pleasure: This is good for you. Honor yourself now for the pleasure you’re receiving. Know that it is completely healthy and nurturing, not only for yourself but also for everyone in your life and even strangers you come into contact with. Sometimes, because of the pressures of our modern lifestyles, we are forced into taking pleasures in ways that hurt other people or ourselves, by overindulging in alcohol, food, or sex, for example. Or by using control or power over others in unhealthy ways. The pleasure we derive from these activities is always the opposite of nurturing, and it can never by fully conscious. We hide part of ourselves away when we indulge in this manner. But with Conscious Pleasure, we can be fully present, and fully enjoying our lives at the same time.

7. Gratitude: After the treatment is over, take time to be with yourself again. The best option at this point is to sit outside, near water, under the sky. Of course, if you’re at home, in Chicago, and it’s February, perhaps a few minutes bundled up in front of a fireplace or in a cozy bedroom is a better option. Take time to absorb the sensations that your body is now certainly feeling. Let the echoes of pleasure continue to rebound through your inner Self. Notice increased blood flow, heightened skin sensitivity, a looseness of limb, a relaxed diaphragm, a rosy, smiling face. See if, just maybe, even though you didn’t dare to expect it, you’re experiencing something not unlike ECSTASY. You may surprise yourself.

Now, with these principles to guide you, you are ready to start assembling your very own spa environment. I think you are going to find this an incredibly pleasurable experience, one that will perhaps inspire you to seek out some of the fabulous places and wonderful people that I’ve had the joy of getting to know over the years. Good luck to you! We’re going to get straight away into the treatments themselves, but first a few brief words about practical matters . . .