Sexual desire can be stimulated by any number of things. We are all aware of the sights and sounds that turn us on. Some we would expect, while others may come as a surprise. Our mind is our most powerful sexual organ, and a fertile imagination can encourage us to see sexual possibilities in the most ordinary activities.

SIGHT
Some attributes are commonly considered appealing by many people. We all find well-defined features attractive. In men, a tightly muscled body and a strong jaw seem to have universal sex appeal.

Women tend to be divisible into three body styles depending on the relative widths of hips and chest—the hourglass, the pear and the fuller figure—and all have their fans, together with the clothing styles that set them off best. Be confident and don’t let the fashionistas tell you what to wear.

Whatever your perceived physical faults, think of your appearance in a positive light and aim to accentuate what is already appealing and individual about yourself. To be at your best, be more of what you already are.

Poets and perverts throughout history have observed that a partially clothed body can be sexier than a naked one. Leaving something to the imagination will inspire your lover to want to touch you more than anything else.

TOUCH
Touch is the most empathetic form of human communication. In the right hands, touch makes words seem unnecessary.

When we are working hard or feeling stressed, it is easy to forget about our bodies altogether. Just as we get used to wearing a set of old clothes, we cease to feel the familiar, hard world around us. In contrast, we tend to remain aware of—and turned on by—the feel of well-fitting or sexy clothes against our bodies. In the same way, a simple touch can wake up our sensual selves.

With this in mind, also consider the fabrics and textures you would like to fill your sexual space—cozy and comforting, or sleek, cool and sexy? It is easy to furnish a home in a way that facilitates seduction.

SMELL
Smell is the most deeply affecting of all our senses. We underestimate the importance of our sense of smell perhaps because to lose it would not alter the way we live our lives as radically as the loss of sight or hearing. Yet our sense of smell intertwines uniquely with our memories to affect mood and happiness. Years after an event, the odor of its time and place can make us wistful or inexplicably happy. This may be particularly true when it comes to
aphrodisiac smells.

The existence and purpose of human pheromones—chemicals that relay a fact about an animal, such as its level of fertility to other members of the same species—have become subjects of hot debate. Scientists have found evidence that hormonal changes can occur in a human being in response to another person’s body odor alone and that we respond to others’ scents, even in isolation, according to our sexual orientation.

SOUND
It is easy to overlook the influence of sounds on sexual arousal. When we are absent from our partner, we are inclined to recall love and lovemaking in terms of images. But when the time is right, all kinds of sounds contribute to our arousal, whether or not we are aware of them having this effect.

The sound that turns you on most powerfully could be the quality of your partner’s voice—its confidence or vulnerability, its depth or lightness of tone. Your stimulus could be as simple as the sense of well-being created by the popping of a cork and the clink of glasses.

Whatever sounds boost your state of arousal, make your partner aware of them. Become aware of yourself and of your lover and tune into your own personal soundtrack at any stage of sex or seduction.

TASTE
Sharing food with another person signals that you are willing to have something in common with each other, and makes it likely that the two of you will be in a similar physical and psychological state. Moreover, taste (like sex) is a world of sensation, so sharing food can be suggestive in and of itself.

What we eat and drink has the greatest influence on our levels of arousal. A healthy diet that includes plenty of fresh vegetables and fish will benefit your overall well-being, which is the biggest factor influencing desire and staying power.

Eating together can leave us feeling cherished enough to be generous with our affections. It reminds us that sensations can make us happy and a memory of happiness can be a
powerful aphrodisiac.

From this awareness, it takes only a small leap of the imagination to make food part of foreplay. A delicious meal shared together leaves lovers in the mood to go on spoiling
each other.

Appealing to your partner’s fantasies, spicing up your love life with sexy clothes, toys, food and, most of all, a playful attitude, will have a powerful aphrodisiac effect. Your ability to listen to and empathize with others, together with a sense of humor, is the greatest aphrodisiac
of all.

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