What Is Enjoyment?

[Markus]

What is enjoyment? I don't know, but it's a question worth contemplating. I have a theory though, based on some conclusions drawn based on memories of my experience.

Enjoyment is not pleasure. It inherently has nothing to do with pleasure. I can enjoy pleasure, but also pain, discomfort, sorrow - it's happened a few times, with milder forms thereof. Enjoyment is the product of non-resistance to whatever experience is occurring. When you resist any experience, whether generally considered "positive" or "negative", you suffer. If you resist pleasure, or joy, you also suffer. If you don't resist fear or anger, you enjoy them.

People generally look for enjoyment in activities that produce pleasure: sex, food, drugs, music, etc. They do enjoy these activities, but they also suffer due to them - it's often a constant alternation between the two. Pleasure comes in waves - so people enjoy the oncoming of the wave, but suffer when they resist the passing of the wave, or in other words, grasp on to the memory of greater pleasure than is present at that very moment. When I jerk off, it's really an intertwined experience of enjoyment and torture.

I'd really like @Leo Gura to chime in on this.

[Kserkkj]

@Markus Contemplating is not done through thinking, don't look for an intellectual answer.

[Flicker_boy]

enjoyment is when you give yourself to ... enjoyment is when you are there

[ajasatya]

@Markus enjoyment is now.

[Gabriel Antonio]

Enjoyment is relaxation

[Pav]

Hard to really conceptualise exactly what it is, but I've found one theme that all my enjoyment experiences share is that they are entirely focused on the present moment, rather than using the present as a means to some future goal.

[Extreme Z7]

What isn't enjoyment? A person with a high level of awareness should be able to enjoy everything, even suffering.

Edited November 4, 2016 by Extreme Z7

[Markus]

3 hours ago, Extreme Z7 said:

What isn't enjoyment? A person with a high level of awareness should be able to enjoy everything, even suffering.

Indeed, but what does it mean to enjoy? And how is it different from being content? So many fascinating questions, but I'm still gonna work on this "What am I?" shit for a few thousand hours, lol  

[aurum]

Non-resistence and becoming present is definitely part of it. But I'm going to add one more thing: giving.

When you genuinely give, you experience that sense of unity with all things people are looking for.

I honestly feel like this is the key to life. Everything, whether you're trying to run a business or have good sex, comes from this place of giving.

And yeah, you'll receive something usually in return. But even if you don't, it doesn't matter because the act of giving ALREADY made you feel good. So why do you need to receive anything? What can it give you at that moment that you don't already have?

In that sense, you could argue even that giving is selfish. Giving is for you, because it puts you in this higher consciousness head space that automatically feels good. But we're arguing semantics at this point. Because if your motivations are impure, it won't do anything.

The point is that you've become like Leo talks about a "benevolent force for good". You just want good for everybody and everything.

[Zane]

I see enjoyment is letting go of mental filters and simply focus on enjoying the moment! It's living in a flow state and being deeply immersed in flow! It means to immerse yourself in authenticity and to give yourself to pleasure!