Or at least Meryl Streep’s portrayal of her in the fabulous new movie, “Julie & Julia.”  Well, obviously how to cook, but more importantly how to let pleasure be the guide in our lives. 

You see, Julia illustrated 3 key principles of leading a life where pleasure is the guide:

1.   Identify and follow your desires – Julia arrives in Paris, following her husbands’ career and soon realizes that she has nothing to do.  So she sets off on a rather hilarious adventure to discover what it is she wants to do.  After trying hat making and bridge, she finally realizes that what she REALLY likes to do is eat.  So she decides to learn to cook, and soon discovers all kinds of barriers for her in doing so because she is a woman.  But she doesn’t let that stop her– she takes on the Cordon Bleu and all the male chauvinists within it, including the headmistress! Ultimately she follows her desire to share French cooking with “servantless” Americans despite many obstacles along the way.  Many women today do not even know what they really want, a result of placing everyone else’s needs before their own. Julia let her desires fulfill her and followed them for pleasure's sake, not for fame or fortune.

2.     Flirt with everyone and everything –This is a key skill to whetting your own appetite and awakening your desires, a key to pleasure.  Julia exemplified this, flirting with everyone at the farmer’s market, as well as with her hostile male counterparts at the Cordon Bleu. It made her irresistible, and allowed her to beguile the world with her enthusiasm. It was just so obvious that she was in love with life that others wanted to be around her.  Flirtation is an art that lightens the spirit, melts conflicts, and is the antithesis of self-doubt.  Unfortunately, many women, including myself at times,  live in a constant state of self-doubt. Learning to flirt is simply learning to use your energy in a radiant way that makes you and those around you have more fun.

3.   Own your beauty – Julia was a tall woman who did not shy away from her large presence.  Her stature was an obstacle for her in some ways, but she owned her beauty and others fell in love with her as a result.  She was NOT conventionally beautiful, but despite this I found myself completely enchanted by her in the movie.  She proves once again that you do NOT have to be skinny or pretty to be sensual or sexy. The first step to owning your beauty is to practice flirting (see #2 above), to find your own unique way to flirt.  It also means stopping focusing on that parts of yourself that you hate, want to change, etc. and instead focus on really enjoying yourself because people who are REALLY enjoying themselves ARE beautiful. 

These are a few of the keys to letting pleasure be your guide in life vs. fear, scarcity, pain, doubt, or obligation.  It takes courage to live in this way, to say no to others’ expectations.  Fortunately Julia had a wonderful supportive husband and sister, but she also had obstacles and a difficult father. She chose to focus on the former rather than the latter.

You can re-kindle the fire in your own life and practice these and other pleasure principles at my upcoming Pleasure Bootcamp Retreat September 26^th-27^th! Learn more here.