Pleasure: A Creative Approach to Life Book

Pleasure is within you. Pleasure can be had. Yes, it can be elusive like a brilliantly colored butterfly. Yet it can be had. Freedom. Freeing yourself of tension, negativity, and fear. This enables one to experience pleasure. This is what Alexander Lowen is aiming towards in this book. Freeing you of your internal strife and getting you to cease the civil war that rages within you. Yes, one does have to work at it. The word "work" I use hesitantly. One must find pleasure and joy in one's daily pursuits. But it does require "work" in order the break the cycle of pain and tension. Dr. Lowen gives us the tools to do it. We have the power inside to do it, we just have to change the way we view our bodies and our minds. The body, the body, the body, the body! This is where the secret rests according Lowen. Freeing the body of unnecessary tensions will assist the freeing of the mind. Both the body and mind must work as an integrated whole in order for one to lead a balanced life. Creativity is the key to a fulfilling existence. One may not agree with or be totally willing to give over to Lowen's concept of "bioenergetics" but there are many wonderful insights to therapy that Lowen offers. Freud made us believe that talking our "neuroses" out and naming our problem was all that was needed to overcome the problems that the center of truth. By tapping into and acknowledging our bodies and the truth that lies therein we can begin to change our lives and lead a more pleasurable life.