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Enlightenment Journal | Summer 2017

Sam: 

One of the quirks of pleasure is that it has a diminishing return. I like to 

say the first scoop of ice cream is heaven and by the time you’ve eaten the whole 

carton, you’re in hell. Psychologists call this fading aspect of pleasure Hedonic 

adaptation. It’s a fancy way of saying the things that we love tend to wind down 

after a while. Part of what leads us toward addictive habits is that when some-

thing is really pleasurable we find ourselves chasing after it, trying to recapture 

that first thrill. 

Two of the most important things for maximizing pleasure are variety and 

time. If we can add variety and diversity into our pleasures, our sense of self gets 

a chance to recharge. And if we can put a little interlude between one pleasure 

and the repeat of that pleasure and let the senses rest, recover and recharge, this 

helps us maximize our pleasure. Going to the same restaurant day in and day out 

can really suck the magic out of the experience. Once a month, or once a year, 

gives us a little time to anticipate the experience and although this may feel like a 

delicious agony, anticipation is also one of the ways to maximize our pleasure. 

While variety and time are essential ways of recharging our pleasure, we don’t 

need both at the same time. If you go to your favorite restaurant once a month, 

you may find it’s fine to order the exact same thing you love every time because 

enough time has passed in between that you’re recharged. If you’re in a situation 

where time is not an option, then you can add in a little more variety to maxi-

mize your happiness. 
Laurel:

 How does yoga help us not to be quite so attached to the things that 

bring us pleasure? 
Sam: 

The deepest practices of yoga encourage us to acknowledge the nature of 

pleasure and learn how to manage handling the things that bring us pleasure 

through practices like meditation so that we approach our pleasures with a sober 

mind, so to speak, and witness the nature of pleasure coming and going without 

getting attached. That’s the heart of mindful meditation practice.        
Laurel:

 Yoga gives us the opportunity to observe and reflect on this process so 

that it isn’t an unconscious process.
Sam: 

Yes. The most significant and compelling promise of a yoga practice is not 

a promise that yoga will make you happy, but that yoga will allow you to see your 

own self and your own life as it really is and then to move skillfully through that 

life. Many of us want to get the highs of pleasure without accepting the other 

parts that come along with it, but when we bring a more reflective mind to our 

experience we can walk into the moment with a clear sense of what the experi-

ence really is, accepting the whole package with its highs and lows.