Pleasuring the Senses
Creating an Inner + Outer Environment to Thrive In
I got a little stoned last night for the first time in a while. It had been a long week of Covid-19 quarantine with my family, adjusting to a new normal with bumps in the road. I welcomed a different state of mind as if I were leaving the “quarantine of being stuck inside myself” and remembering another facet of me that felt shiny, new and expansive.
I was enjoying what felt like a personal Unstuck Moment inside a collective Unstuck experience of Pandemic. It really felt great and I felt so good. I turned the lights down low and lit a candle to set the vibe. I put on my coziest socks and took a long, slow drink of cold water. I was hit with a spontaneous divine download that filled me with an urgency to write my thoughts about VIBE.
This moment had an undeniable sparkle of NOW. I knew I had to write about it, or it would disappear.
Here is what dawned on me like the brilliance of a new day: Vibe Matters. And in these days of social quarantine where our world becomes small and the walls can feel like they are caving in on us, Vibe is Everything.
I wondered, in that moment, if these are statements that only stoned people can appreciate. And I decided, no. These are universal truths that anyone can access in the deep recesses of their own minds.
So, in my stoned state, I sat down at my computer and wrote a killer outline about VIBE being EVERYTHING and woke up to what felt like a gift from myself to myself.
A super fun writing assignment to write and share RIGHT NOW about VIBE.
Vibe connects us to the pleasure in THIS moment. Right NOW. This moment is the only one we have. So let’s focus our attention on creating the Vibe and enjoying it right now.
But what is Vibe?
Vibe is the art of affecting Change by pleasuring the senses.
Vibe is a feeling we create that begins with our outer sensory experience and affects our inner emotional state, radiating outward from us, into the people around us and beyond. It is the small but mighty superpower, which creates momentum in the world through the act of making small shifts in our immediate environment. Vibe is the invisible emotional webbing that connects us all with the common language of the senses. Like catching a firefly in a jar except without any intention of keeping captive of the magic
Vibe matters because it gives us agency for taking action towards creating the conditions that will aid us in FEELING HOW WE WANT TO FEEL AND HOW WE WANT THE WORLD TO FEEL. We learn through the Art of Vibe that we can choose how we feel by creating an environment which invokes desired feelings through our senses. Through this understanding and the practice of VIBE, we can affect change on the world by simply changing ourselves.
Setting and Raising the Vibe
Can you think of any particular place where you have been that brought on a distinct feeling through your senses? For example, taking a bath. When I am in the bath, I feel warm and the tickle of water as it laps against my skin. I breathe in steam and smell soap. I hear the quiet echo of water in a small closed room, the sound of my own breath. I see steam rise. I taste it in the back of my throat. The bath is a full sensory experience. The Vibe is there.
If I light a candle and turn the lights off, I heighten the experience of sight by adding warm flicker to the mix. I can put flowers in my bath to bring more scent and touch as petals grace my body. I can put on a playlist and bring a cup of tea and honey to sip while I soak. The Vibe is Being Raised. I am intentionally bringing more pleasure through my senses to boost this experience from one practical bathing routine to one of Magical Bathing Ritual. I leave this bath feeling like a queen deserving all the riches because I have nourished my senses with pleasurable things.
Each moment beckons us to notice how we can intentionally and skillfully raise vibe around us for the purpose of shifting our own inner landscape to a heightened state of pleasure and awareness. This shifts the world outside of us. This is the real and practical magic of Changing Consciousness at Will, beginning with us. This is called Vibe Magic.
Here are some examples of small tools and actions that create Vibe Magic: I invite you to read through and consider these, and then to consider what other items, tools and skills you may have already easily available for raising Vibe.
Eye contact:
Making eye contact is one small choice to lean into personal connection that can have a lasting impact on your emotional state and the state of whoevers eyes you may have chosen to gaze into. When we make eye contact we give the gift of seeing people. Do you like to feel seen? Lean into this opportunity to be seen and raise the Vibe. Extra credit for offering a smile.
Candles/ Lighting:
Keep the lights low for an intimate and cave-like feeling; calm and peaceful. Raise or open the blinds to greet the day with high energy and ready for action. Light a candle to set the tone of an important moment or conversation. Use light to create a mood.
Rainbows:
Rainbow everything is my best life motto. Put more simply, rainbow light cast on any surface through a prism or crystal bead hanging in the window raises Vibe instantly. It is no accident that I have crystals hanging in my Westward facing window so that at 3 pm, the lowest Vibe time of day, my kitchen is awash in tiny dancing rainbows of light. I have one in my car and many in the windows of my salon so that those prismatic babies dance all day. This magic is instantaneous and universally Vibe-raising.
Fresh Air:
Fresh air breathes life back into any place where Vibe feels low and stagnant. Open doors and windows to let air flow over your skin and through your space. Breathe it in, and feel it move. This can feel very cleansing and is great for stagnancy. Raise the vibe and let the freshness in!
Voice:
How do you use your own voice? Play with the tone! Speak softly and with lilt and a little melody. Speak with authority and directness. Speak breathy. Speak easy. Experiment with different ways of using your voice. Try it in the mirror or on your kids or pets. How do you feel? How do others receive your voice? Change the vibe by changing your tone.
Sound:
Music, birds, rain…I love the sound of wind chimes and tiny brass bells, so I keep them near me when I need to raise my ear Vibes. Singing in the car or the shower or truly anywhere raises Vibes. Singing with other people especially! Harmonizing with songs you are listening to is extra Vibe-raising, because Vibe equals harmony! What sounds delight your sense of hearing? What music brings on certain moods for you? Set the vibe how you want it, tuning into sound and intentionally creating sound moods. Make a playlist!
Color:
We all associate certain colors with certain moods and feelings. Spend some time noticing color and what you feel when you see it. Take note of which colors bring you calmness, which ones activate you, inspire you, annoy you, or puzzle you. Rainbows are the ultimate! Use color in your home decor and personal adornment to create desired moods.
Plants and Flowers:
Plants and flowers, whether growing outside or inside, invoke feelings of growth, vitality, and groundedness. Each plant has a different personality, which you can enjoy by simply noticing. Some are bright and exuberant. Some are prickly and sharp. Some are soft and gentle. Surround yourself with plants that invoke in you feelings you want to feel.
Beautiful Items:
For me this means crystals and stones, minerals and shells, beautiful things that nature has created in her highest vibe form. Collect them! Keep them around where you will engage with them throughout your day, perhaps even in your pocket for frequent reminders of their sublime vibe-raising power.
Clothing and Adornment:
I firmly believe that you should dress for the life you want. How do you want to feel and what would you like to invoke in other people? Comb your closet, adornment collection and makeup stash. Choose wisely knowing that what you wear is the story you tell to yourself and the world about who you are. Also, wear comfy socks! This is an instant vibe raising action, especially on cold mornings.
Wigs:
Just wigs. Wear them, and name yourself.
What’s in the oven? Home Smells and Self-smells:
Use scent intentionally! Do you want to invoke in your family a sense of calmness, nourishment and safety? For fuck’s sake make chicken soup and bake bread and fill your home with the smells of comfort! Do you want to feel bright and alive? Wear a scent that invokes that feeling for you. Embark to find your own signature scent, an oil or perfume that uplifts and pleasures your nose. Wear it, especially at low vibe times. Smell flowers for an instant raising of the Vibe.
Something yummy to drink:
Tea is the go-to yummy and sensual mouth experience I enjoy throughout my day. It invokes all of the senses. The only Vibe-y element missing in tea is sound. Teas can be floral, earthy, citrus, smoky, minty, bitter, warm or cold with lemon. An ESSENTIAL tea detail is the mug you choose to enjoy it in. Have yourself a high-Vibe mug that feels good on your lips and your hand. Choose one that is beautiful and ideally made bysomeone you love. All the Vibes raised with a cup of tea.
Flavor in your mouth:
I am personally a fan of nibbling on high-flavored foods throughout the day like dark chocolate and dried cherries and berries. I like a potent flavor inside a small morsel to get my juices flowing and my mouth Vibes up. Keep tasty small snacks around that you can reach for when you need to raise mouth Vibes. Eat slowly and savor it. Feel the texture and taste the flavor, how it changes and moves around your mouth.
Art/ Beautiful Objects:
Surround yourself with items that bring you visual pleasure. Art, minerals, meaningful trinkets. Things that give you “the feels” and tell you stories you long to hear. Are you surrounded by things that don’t mean much to you and aren’t visually inspiring? Consider a Marie Kondo day. Raise your visual vibe.
Baths/ Water:
Water is the ultimate sensory element for impacting vibe. Watching serene sunsets on water, listening to it lap against the shore, drinking it slowly and enjoying the mouth feel, bathing in it, smelling the ocean as it is carried on the breeze…These are all ways that water can shift our vibe.
The way you move:
Our posture and how we take up physical space changes how we feel about ourselves and how we are perceived in the world. When we stand up tall with courage, others see us and do the same. Big motions attract attention, whereas small movements slip byunnoticed. Moving with fluidity and grace is a powerful way to change our own vibe.
How you touch your own body:
When you wash your hands, is it quick or do you take an extra moment of care to enjoy the feeling of warmth as water flows through your fingers? When you wash your face at night, maybe spend an extra few moments massaging your temples gently. Touch yourself with reverence and care. Give your hands some extra love by massaging them slowly with oil and thank them for all they do for you. Also, Orgasm! Like make it a priority. Use all the oils and toys you want. Make it your own. Reset your Vibe.
The speed at which you live:
Are you moving at a speed that feels native to your heartbeat? Or are you rushing through activities trying to get to the end of your to-do list? The speed at which you live changes your Vibe by affecting the level of presence available to you at any given moment. If you are living beyond your natural speed, people around you notice. If you are living at your own comfortable pace, you are more able to be present in each moment as it emerges, asking you for your attention.
Your Breath:
Your breath is directly related to your Vibe. If your breath is hurried and shallow, your Vibe will burn at that level. If you breathe slow and deep, sending your breathe to parts of your body that may need assistance or softening, keeping it gentle and without forcing, your vibe will most certainly be higher.
Did you love this wisdom on VIBE? Please share freely, use the hashtag #theartofvibe and tag me in your Vibe photos! Also, please consider donating a little $ my way via Venmo @roxie-jane it PayPal howtohairgirl@gmail to help my family stay afloat while our small family-run hair salon is closed for business during this pandemic.
Once we are in the clear, come see me in the salon and experience the ultimate high vibe transformational hair environment. Thank you for being here!