#46 How To Develop Presence And Access Sensual Pleasure — John Britton

How To Develop Presence And Access Sensual Pleasure

Ever found yourself distracted in bed thinking on the grocery list instead of delighting with your beloved in love making ?

Distraction is the consequence of letting your attention scatter in all directions on this era of fast communications. The problem comes when the distraction from trying to be everywhere doing everything becomes a habit of pretending instead of engaging in the act of performing.

Pretending to work instead of performing at work.

Pretending to be with your beloved instead of performing in love making.

Pretending to be instead of performing your true expression.

“We end up pretending because we withhold the permission of paying attention to ourselves. We devalue our experience because we don´t feel worthy of being payed attention to because we´ve been told we´re inadecuate and we´re not worthy enough.” - John Britton 

It´s not about wandering around trying to be the Buddha all the time, it´s about giving yourself permission to come back to the center of your life´s story in the present moment.

You know what makes the difference between a fake pretense and true performance?

Being sensually present!

You become sensually present by going from the WHAT IF to the WHAT IS.

The “what if” is when you´re worried on how you will be perceived or what will happen whereas focusing on “what is” means sensually engaging with the pleasure experienced in the reality that is running back and forth through the corridors of your 5 senses.

Presence is your natural state. You don´t need to do anything to get there. But you actually need to STOP doing something which is being distracted.

In a way presence is the discipline of sensuality.

If you´re ready to bring yourself back to the sensuality of the moment, here´s The Sensual Sessions podcast episode #47 on How To Develop Presence And Access Sensual Pleasure with, over 30 year teaching presence to high performance artists, teacher at Monash University (Melbourne) and Senior Lecturer in Performance at Huddersfield University, creator of the International Ensemble Performance Company DUENDE and The DUENDE School of Ensemble Physical Theatre, author of 5 books and current director of the Self-With-Others performance training programme: MA John Britton.

WATCH The Sensual Sessions podcast episode #47:

About John Britton

I was born in North Wales (UK) in 1964. I graduated from Hull University with a degree in English Literature. I followed that with a Masters Degree in Theatre at Leeds University.

I worked for three decades as a performer, story-teller, teacher, director, writer, researcher, academic and community artist living in the UK, Australia then back in the UK. I worked for a while at Monash University (Melbourne) and as Senior Lecturer in Performance at Huddersfield University. While there I set up and ran an innovative MA based on my way of training performers (Self-With-Others).

In 2010 I established DUENDE – an international ensemble performance company. In 2015 DUENDE’s work expanded to include The DUENDE School of Ensemble Physical Theatre – an initiative to train performers internationally.

Between 2010-20 I worked extensively round the world: teaching, directing, performing, lecturing – including engagements in Seattle, Bogota, Melbourne, Mexico City, Berlin, Hangzhou, Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, Delhi, Athens, Stockholm, Bangalore, Kolkata and elsewhere.

The training process I so widely shared was Self-With-Others – a way of understanding how to train performers to be excellent within ensemble.

I began to be increasingly interested in how Self-With-Others could empower people working in corporate, community and educational settings. I ran non-performance workshops in Malaysia and China, before Covid and personal ill-health temporarily brought the world to a halt.

I left DUENDE in 2020 and now focus on researching and sharing Self-With-Others as widely as I can, as well as offering individual training, coaching and mentorship.

In 2021 I moved to rural Ireland from where I now develop Self-With-Others, coach, mentor and train people and sometimes contribute to creative projects as writer, voice artist, consultant and collaborator.

I’ve published five books and regularly write thought-leadership pieces on a variety of topics connected with Self-With-Others. I do quite a lot of podcasts too.

Self-With-Others is based on the understanding that we’re all interconnected. Through exploring connection, we unblock and grow. Connections are internal (between mind, body, health, diet, stress-levels, emotions, personal history etc.) and external (with other people, with non-human life, with landscape, with literature and culture). We thrive when we nurture and respect Self, Others and the ways we all connect.

I share this work across business, community, health, personal development, performance and other contexts – through speaking, writing, coaching, consulting and teaching.

I’d love to share it with you.

I also paint, photograph write, compose music and do a lot of walking by the sea.

Learn more about John Britton at: https://johnbritton.co/home/

Discover the Self-With-Others programme at: https://teachperformance.systeme.io/pppweekend-85325ac9

What´s Next

Go to The Sensual Sessions Podcast Episode #48: How To Feel Deserving Of A Pleasurable Career

Learn more with resources on: Postural Presence

Discover: The Ecstatic Breathing Practice