The Eightfold Paths of BDSM and Beyond
Page 44
Black Rose [BR] (DC) — http://www.br.org
Dominance Dojo SF (CA) — https://fetlife.com/groups/107200
Kindlers of the Sacred Rhythm (DC) — http://www.sacredrhythms.org
Masters and slaves Together [MAST] (International) — http://www.mast.net
SMART Energy Special Interest Group (OH) — https://fetlife.com/groups/37598
Events and Places to Go
BDSM Events Page (International) — http://www.thebdsmeventspage.com
Find a Munch (International) — http://findamunch.com
COPE and Winter Wickedness — http://adventuresinsexuality.org
THE Crossroads(MD) — http://turtlehillevents.org/crossroads/index.html
Dark Moon Rising (MA) — http://www.paganbdsm.org/dmr.html
Dark Odyssey (MD/DC/CA) — http://www.darkodyssey.com
Edgewalkers (WA/AZ) — https://fetlife.com/groups/63695
La Garou CampOUT (WV) — http://lagarou.org
Leather Archives and Museum (IL) — http://www.leatherarchives.org
Master/slave conference (MD/DC) — http://www.masterslaveconference.org
Pantheacon (CA) — http://pantheacon.com
Paradise Unbound (WA) — http://www.paradiseunbound.com
Sacred Sexuality Beltane (MD) — http://www.turtlehillevents.org/beltane
South Plains Leather (TX) — http://www.southplainsleatherfest.com
SouthEast Leather Fest (GA) — http://www.seleatherfest.com
SouthWest Leather Conference (AZ) — http://www.southwestleather.org
SuspenDC (DC) — http://www.suspendc.com/
Tribal Fire (OK) — http://www.tribalfireokc.com
Twilight Covening (MA) — http://www.earthspirit.com/Twilight/twilight.html
Twisted Tryst (IN/WI) — http://www.twistedtryst.com
Intensives and Training Opportunities
The Body Electric: Power, Surrender and Intimacy Intensive — http://www.thebodyelectricschool.com
Butchmann’s Academy — http://www.arizonapowerexchange.org/butchmannsexperience.html
Catherine Gross Retreats — https://www.bdsmclasses.com
Cleo Dubois’ Academy of SM Arts — http://sm-arts.com
LeatherQuest (formerly Journeyman Academy) — http://www.leatherquest.org
Lee Harrington Intensives — http://passionandsoul.com
Passionate Bonds with Laura Antoniou and Midori — http://www.fhp-inc.com/classes
Path of the Qadishti Certification — http://www.bluecatservices.org
Ruby May Courses and Intensives — http://www.alchemy-eros.com
Sacred Pleasures UK — http://sacredpleasures.co.uk
Sacred Kink Academy Berlin — http://www.sacredkinkacademy.com
School of Erotic Mysteries — http://www.schooloferoticmysteries.com
Submissive Journey Weekend — http://www.submissivejourneyweekend.com
Temple of Shadows — http://templeofshadows.weebly.com
Tribal Production Retreats — http://www.tribalproductions.org
Vanguard Leather — http://www.vanguardleather.com
Online
The Internet is full of stuff. New ideas and sites pop up, literally, every day. Below are some of the groups, readings or websites that I have found interesting, useful, thought provoking, or worth taking a look at.
Online Networking and Discussions
Facebook Ordeal Pathworker’s Forum -
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=59009127702
FetLife.com - http://www.fetlife.com
Fetlife.com is an amazing tool for connecting with other individuals who identify in some way as being part of, or enjoying, Kink, BDSM, Fetishism and others. You will find event listings, profiles, discussion groups and more. Be aware that participation in any online environment is never 100% secure, and should be treated accordingly. Some of those discussion groups include:
African Traditional & Diasporic Religions & Pagans
fetlife.com/groups/14087
Altered States of Consciousness
fetlife.com/groups/16490
Ancient Sexual Rituals
fetlife.com/groups/59733
BD SM and Spirituality: The Spiritual Side of Leather
fetlife.com/groups/1029
Christians & BDSM
fetlife.com/groups/922
Energy Work & BDSM
fetlife.com/groups/1010
ESSENCE – Sacred BDSM – Sacred Sexuality
fetlife.com/groups/32907
The Etiquette Repository
fetlife.com/groups/133
The GUARD, Preserving Leather Identity
fetlife.com/groups/1332
Hard Polytheism
fetlife.com/groups/13864
Haven for Therians, Otherkin, Totems/etc.
fetlife.com/groups/1019
In Union With The Unseen
fetlife.com/groups/9299
Interweaving
fetlife.com/groups/7413
Kinky Buddhists
fetlife.com/groups/861
Kinky Spirituality
fetlife.com/groups/1392
The Leather Spirit
fetlife.com/groups/4801
Left Hand Path
fetlife.com/groups/11068
Lucid Dreams Kink & Astral Projection D/s
fetlife.com/groups/5526
Masters and slaves
fetlife.com/groups/219
Occultist
fetlife.com/groups/1099
Operation Evolution
fetlife.com/groups/10298
Pagan, Occult, and Metaphysics
fetlife.com/groups/5680
Pagan Kinksters
fetlife.com/groups/109
Rituals, Rules & Contracts
fetlife.com/groups/211
Sacred Exchange
fetlife.com/groups/186
The Shamanic Path
fetlife.com/groups/4572
Sex Magic
fetlife.com/groups/2906
Spirituality & BDSM
fetlife.com/groups/388
The Advanced Bonewits’ Cult Danger Evaluation Frame —
http://www.neopagan.net/ABCDEF.html
This tool has been used in some form since 1979 (and is updated periodically by Isaac Bonewits) as a way to evaluate the harmfulness of cults.
Baphomet’s Temple / Pagan BDSM — http://www.paganbdsm.org
Raven Kaldera, Joshua Tenpenny and others have many insightful essays, rituals and resources up on their site.
Barbed Pentacle — http://barbedpentacle.com
This collection of essays and projects focusses on pagan and wiccan BDSM rituals
Blood for the Divine — http://bloodfordivine.blogspot.com
An Ordeal Path blog, with many voices on ordeal working. Includes this entry on Raven Kaldera’s Ordeal Master Binding Rite: http://bloodfordivine.blogspot.com/2009/06/binding.html
Born Slaves — http://bornslaves.com/literature.html
Great collection of readings on the idea of “true” or “born” Slaves. See also another individual’s voice on what it means to be a Slave in the FAQ section.
Dance Safe — https://dancesafe.org
Useful website for those choosing to create altered states using modern chemicals along the Path of Sacred Plants, to understand the products they are using and safety required for them.
The Earning of Leather — http://fetlife.com/groups/41/group_posts/6356
A discussion thread on FetLife.com all about the earning of leather — very long, has some great insights and essays buried within it.
Erowid — https://www.erowid.org
This online community and ever-growing resources explores the complex relationship between humans and psychoactives.
Essemian Manifesto — http://www.darkside-goddess.org/manifest.html
The Service of Mankind Church has some fascinating articles on Feminine Dominance as a form of Goddess Worship.
The Gods’ Mouths — h
ttp://godsmouths.blogspot.com
An online magazine for spirit-workers, God Slaves, and working with deity in a personal manner.
Internal Enslavement — http://www.enslavement.org.uk/essays
This collection of essays, along with the other work on this site, is an interesting read for those interested in Mastery, Slavery and Power Exchange.
J. Mikael Togneri — http://www.leathernroses.com/mikael/mikaelindex.htm
Togneri has interesting articles such as “Spirituality in Slavehood” and “Seven Pillars of Dominance” worth poring over.
Masochism as a Spiritual Path — http://www.gynarchy.org/texts/masochism.htm
Dororthy Hayden’s thoughts in this collection of Gynarchy (female supremacy) texts is an interesting perspective on Sacred Kink.
Pagan Theologies — Sexuality — http://pagantheologies.pbworks.com/Sexuality
The Pagan Theology Wiki has collected (and continues to collect) a great list of further reading and insightful articles.
Psychic Vampire Resource and Support Pages — http://psychicvampire.org
This website is a great start for those curious about Psychic Vampirism, with everything from the Black Veil to articles, community connections to ethical feeding practices.
Sacred Contracts — http://www.myss.com/contracts/
Caroline Myss’ site has many excellent articles in its libraries, but the ones on contracts and archetypes are especially relevant to Sacred Kink.
slave david stein — http://boybear.us
Co-author of Ask the Man Who Owns Him, slave david’s site has numerous essays worth digging through.
Storm Faerywolf — http://www.faerywolf.com
The labyrinthine site of Storm Faerywolf has a wide array of fascinating articles on witchcraft, queer spirit, spellcraft, sex magic beyond binary gender or polarity, and more.
T. Thorne Coyle — http://www.thorncoyle.com/musings.html
Author of Kissing the Limitless, Thorne has some amazingly profound journal entries and essays on her site, along with information about her work.
Additional Information
Sacred Kink Resources and Information — http://www.Sacred-Kink.com
This website is the home of the ever-growing Sacred Kink resource list, including individual practitioners from around the world. If you are a current practitioner or run a group doing this work, feel free to contact us to be added to the resource list. Individual essays by Lee Harrington and others also appear on this site for free.
Appendix 5:
Study Questions
The following questions and exercises provide an opportunity to follow along with the discussions in this book, dive deeper into your own thoughts on each topic, or to form a study group to discuss the ideas presented. If forming a study group, consider how many questions each person will need to present to the group from each chapter, or whether individuals will answer all questions and then discuss concepts that stood out for them. In online discussions, each individual is encouraged to answer at least two questions, and respond to the answers of at least three other students within the group to build wisdom through sharing perspectives.
Chapter 1: Exploring The Eightfold Paths
1) What draws you to the idea of actively altering your state of consciousness (or that of another)?
2) What does “sacred” mean to you? What drew you to explorations of the sacred in general?
3) What does “kink” mean to you? What drew you to explorations of kink in general?
4) Name a time when you were in an altered state of consciousness. What was that experience like?
5) There are a variety of examples of why individuals are called to the quest for Sacred Kink. What about this topic intrigues you?
Chapter 2: Crafting Your Journey
1) What are examples of “faith,” “spirituality” and “religion?” Have these things always fallen into each of those categories? If not, why did they change?
2) How do you negotiate what you want in erotic or personal exploration? Why does that approach work for you?
3) Spend some time looking at the “Know Thyself” section. Have you asked yourself these questions? Which ones do you know the answer to by heart? Which are challenging for you to answer at this time? Why?
4) What sort of relationship(s) have you had with individuals you engage in Sacred Kink with? How has the relationship affected what you have done?
5) Aftercare applies to many areas of your life. Name one time when having (or lacking) aftercare after an experience changed how the experience affected your life in the long run.
Chapter 3: The Path of Rhythm
1) What appeals to you about the Path of Rhythm? What does not appeal to you about this path?
2) What tools have you worked with within the Path of Rhythm? Which were more successful for you? Less successful? Why do you think that was?
3) Have you ever experienced a moment of catharsis? What was it like? What lead to it?
4) If someone was having problems grounding and coming back from a scene, what sort of activities might you do to help them? If you are having problems grounding, what have you found helpful for coming back?
5) What have your experiences been involving Top Trance (or other forms of altered states), from either side of the experience? What challenges arose for you? What tools could you create to work around, or with, those challenges?
Chapter 4: The Ordeal Path
1) What sort of traditional Ordeal tools have you used in your Kink? Do they hold the charge of their original purpose?
2) When have you endured an ordeal? How did it change you?
3) What are your feelings on the nature of consent, in conjunction with ordeals?
4) Have you thought about or designed your code of ethics concerning kink? What is that code?
5) What are your feelings regarding the nature of your shadow self?
Chapter 5: The Path of the Flesh
1) When have you had a personal or profound experience involving the Path of Flesh?
2) Do you ever engage in solitary sensuality or masturbatory magic? What calls you to do it, and what do you enjoy or dislike about it?
3) What are your personal thoughts and feelings about doing divine consort work, having relationships with non-corporeal beings, or other related activities?
4) Have you ever experienced, or born witness to, Energetically Transmitted Diseases (ETDs)? What happened?
5) Does your FEE change depending on who you are playing or working with? What sorts of FEEs have you engaged in? Can you tell right away if the exchange is not fair?
Chapter 6: The Path of Ritual
1) What rituals have you engaged in during your day-to-day life that have had a deeply transformational effect on you?
2) How do you usually create or implement rituals in your life?
3) What place do you feel community rituals or celebrations have in your life, including but not limited to play parties, title contests, and pride parades?
4) How could you (or have you) used fetish objects as a tool for magical working, rituals, or altered states of consciousness?
5) During or after the end of a relationship (yours or those you have seen), what sort of rituals have you found useful or helpful to aid in healing the individual(s) involved?
Chapter 7: The Path of Breath
1) Looking through the list of chakras, which ones do you think you might have blockages in? Why do you think that might be the case? What could you do to address that?
2) Are you more drawn towards Left Hand Path or Right Hand Path workings? Why is that?
3) What pain processing techniques have you used in moments of extreme challenge? Extreme pleasure? Do different tools work in different ways for you?
4) What are your feelings on the concept or practice of prayer?
5) Take the time to create or engage in some form of sensory meditation, or consider what you might do if you were to create or engage in such work
ing. What might your form of sensory meditation look like? What was your experience like?
Chapter 8: The Path of the Horse
1) What do you think orfeel possession experiences are?
2) Choose an archetype, and list what universal, cultural and personal reflections of that archetype call to you. What are the differences between them? Do they call you in different ways?
3) What shapeshifting work have you done? What shapes did you pull from? What did you learn from them?
4) What are your personal feelings on the value of objects in this world? Compare this to your thoughts on objectification.
5) Have you had the opportunity to work with assistants, ground crews or spotters? What was the experience like? What are the positives and negatives for you about working with others?
Chapter 9: The Path of Asceticism
1) How do you feel about the terms Master and Slaver? Dominance and submission? Service and surrender? How do your feelings about these six terms affect your ability to engage with these concepts?
2) Do you feel worthy of receiving the gifts or relationships that have been, will be, or are being offered to you? How can you make yourself worthy? How does personal worth play a part in your dominant/submissive dynamics?
3) How do you or your partner(s) respond or react to positive reinforcement? Negative reinforcement?
4) Have you ever felt the need to atone for something? What steps did you take to make that atonement? How did it feel afterwards?
5) What are your experiences with voyeurism? How do they compare and contrast to the concepts of sacred voyeurism?