The latter is closer one! To unpack the way Richard put it…
- Sensousness is an awareness.
- What kind of awareness? A wondrous one.
- What is it an awareness of? An awareness of the marvel of being here now at this moment in time and this place in space.
That is to say – being here now at this moment in time and this place in space, is in and of itself intrinsically a marvel. An awareness of said marvel is a wondrous type of awareness.
It helped me to think of ‘sensuousness’ as more of a quality or type of ‘me’ being aware, as opposed to being a quality or type of sensing or way or manner in which the senses operate. It’s when ‘I’ am aware of what ‘I’ am seeing in a delighted/wondrous/thoroughly enjoying-of-the-senses manner. It doesn’t matter per se if what I am looking at is visually stunning… it’s about how ‘I’ am relating to what ‘I’ am seeing, not about what I am seeing per se.
Of course when I am wondrously aware in such a manner I am naturally drawn to visually appealing things (if what I am seeing is most appealing at the time), or gustatorily appealing things (if what I am tasting is most appealing at the time), etc…
I suggest to then find a way for yourself to wonder and marvel at that, as it will really ratchet up your enjoyment and appreciation! When being particularly sensuous at one point I was nearly overwhelmed at how delightful it was simply to exist, to the point where I even experienced the act of breathing as a ‘bonus’ of something to be doing to enjoy, on top of the fact that I was simply existing and being alive!
The key is that it is a way of experiencing where ‘I’ am wondering, marveling, at being here now, via delighting in the senses… the key is it’s about ‘me’ delighting and enjoying (as opposed to say ‘me’ trying to experience some heightened sensory awareness for the purpose of having a heightened sensory awareness in and of itself). The delight, wonder, marvel is the key…
… let me know if it helps!