Pleasure, Aliveness, and Purpose
The Masterclass
While my teachings are informed by many mentors and sources, I’d like to credit the following, whose work directly informs my content here: Tara Brach, Radical Acceptance; Kendra Cunov, Pleasure, Purpose, Power (online course) and The Art of Sacred Intimacy Training (in-person training co-taught with John Wineland); and Zoë Kors, Radical Intimacy. Deepest gratitude to these beloved teachers.
Journal Prompts to help you integrate these teachings:
I invite you to get cozy, make a cup of tea or coffee, and settle into your journal with the following prompts. These prompts are meant to be explored after watching the masterclass, and are designed to deepen your awareness and experience of pleasure and your current state of aliveness and purpose.
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1. Close your eyes and relax your breath. Center the word “pleasure” in your mind’s eye. What immediately comes to mind/body when you think of pleasure? What images do you see, and what sensations do you feel in your body?
2. When you think of prioritizing pleasure as your foundation rather than as a reward, do you feel any discomfort or skepticism? If so, what beliefs, stories, or bodily tensions emerge as forms of resistance? (simply notice, with friendly curiosity).
3. What are your current beliefs about your own pleasure? Do you trust your pleasure? Do you feel that your pleasure is wise? Dangerous? Safe or unsafe?
4. What are the primary ways you experience pleasure in your life right now? (make a list). Do these experiences connect you more deeply to your feeling and your body, or do they distract you from feeling and your body?
5. Is there a part of you that believes your pleasure is “too much”? That if you make pleasure a foundation and fully express and honor your pleasure, that you will seem needy, demanding, or over-the-top? If so, where do you think this belief comes from?
6. Take a moment to close your eyes, breathe deeply, and remember the last time you felt deeply alive. Where were you? What were you doing/not doing? What did this aliveness feel like in your body?
7. When you feel anxious, sad, or angry, how do you respond? This is not an invitation for self-shame or blame, but for friendly curiosity and expanded awareness. Ask yourself: “Am I responding in this way (with this action, distraction, effort, etc) to avoid feeling or to engage feeling?” (again, simply notice).
8. What feelings are you most comfortable feeling, and what feelings do you tend to resist or avoid? Do you feel comfortable feeling your own joy, delight, ecstasy and calm? Do you feel comfortable feeling your own grief, sadness, sorrow, and anger? (this is an invitation to notice, with friendly curiosity, and not an invitation to self-judgement or shame).
9. Do you feel connected to a sense of purpose?
10. What deeply nourishes your aliveness–your body, mind, heart, and spirit? Take your time with this list and be as specific and detailed as possible!
Bonus Question: What are at least three take-aways from this class that you want to integrate into your life right now? What are some concrete ways you can do so?
If you’d like to take this work deeper, I offer two upcoming signature retreats centered on these teachings.
One takes place in the Mayan jungle in Mexico over the Spring Equinox, and the other is in Greece over the Summer Solstice. Space for both is limited.
The Sex Retreat
March 17 -21, 2027
The Path of Eros & Ecstasy
June 2027
Additional FREE resources
to help you deepen your pleasure, awaken your aliveness, and clarify your sacred purpose:
Awakening the Womb: A Healing Meditation to Activate Eros, Intuition, & Pleasure
(20 min meditation + 8 pp Reflection Companion)
Explore My Writing on Modern Mystic
About Dr. Kirstin Hotelling Zona
Kirstin Hotelling Zona, PhD is a sought-after Certified Embodiment Coach, Spiritual Mentor, Transformational Facilitator, and the author of Modern Mystic (Substack). In all of her work, Kirstin blends spiritual wisdom and scholarly depth, drawing on her 25 years as a professor and poet, as well as her training in the ancient arts of the Sacred Feminine and the Isis-Magdelene-Rose Lineage.
Kirstin also teaches and speaks about women’s sexuality, desire, and pleasure, and is a “demo” model for OMGYes, the widely known online instructional platform co-hosted with the Kinsey Institute that explores and educates about female sexual pleasure. She mentors private clients, runs intimate group programs and trainings, and has hosted over 35 retreats and sacred pilgrimages in both the U.S. and abroad.
At once intuitive and intellectual, sensual and spiritual, she has helped thousands of students and clients embody their eros and realize their soul-aligned impact. Committed to evolving our collective consciousness through the reclamation of eros and the Divine Feminine, Kirstin loves dance, writing, the coast of Maine, her two grown kids, and connecting with other truth-seekers who yearn to feel fully alive.
