(no subject)

[noahgibbs]

On Saturday, I went to Fakir Musafar's energy pull. The basic idea is that a bunch of other people and I went and got hooks put in our chest (think temporary piercing here), ropes attached to the hooks, and pulled on them steadily for a significant amount of time. It's less dangerous than it sounds, partially because the sanitation is very good and partially because the skin on your chest would actually tolerate your entire body weight dangling from it if necessary, so a good strong pull won't generally do it any significant harm. I came through just fine, for instance.

I was reminded again this weekend that I am not a masochist. I have a quite significant pain tolerance, but that's entirely different from me getting anything out of it. I really don't. I was hoping to get some shamanic benefit from it - that is, I was hoping it would significantly change my mental state. I got just a tiny bit of that - I found it distinctly annoying. And by pulling harder, I could put myself in enough pain to start getting nauseous. Neither of those were really the intention.

xeyda and boot_slut were there as guests and moral support (ravenslost was out of town this weekend). I had spent some time (probably not enough) pulling hard and for significant time on the hooks-with-ropes and was getting nowhere (a real try would probably mean doing it for hours and hours - I'm a wuss, especially when it comes to boredom and annoyance, and *especially* when I feel like I'm failing or something's not working).

boot_slut then volunteered to do her part to put me in more serious pain (I don't remember exactly how it was phrased), and for lack of better-looking options, I accepted. I had done this with the intention of getting out of my head, and it was just not doing any good. She did a significant amount of punching and slapping my chest area, on and around the hooks. xeyda tells me that she looked really uncomfortable through a lot of that, which is understandable. I am *not* a masochist, and I was just about coherent enough to keep nodding to boot_slut to keep going, but not a lot more. Well, except when she'd stop for a second, possibly to let me catch my breath. Anyway.

Unfortunately, that didn't feel so much out-of-body as just incoherent. boot_slut does that well, and it hurt. If I ever decide I need to teach myself to resist torture, I know who I'll ask for punching lessons ;-) Unfortunately, despite her best efforts, I was still basically all there. It would appear that I need seek enlightenment elsewhere. Or, as I said to her at the time, "right. Next time I want out of my head, drugs. Lots and lots of drugs."

However, I've now given it a try. I will not be tempted to do that again. And that's a minor victory in and of itself. I *do* aim to experience a broad cross-section of what life has to offer, and this was worth doing for that reason regardless.

So that was my weekend. Well, that, laundry and video games. Plus a Resistance Play workshop at Wicked City. Anyway.

Comments

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

*raises hand in back of room*

what's Resistance Play?

[angelbob.livejournal.com]

In general, it means BDSM play where the bottom is actively resisting the top. So a resistance play workshop is often one about things like kicks, punches and takedowns. That's *not* quite what Master Hines was presenting about at Wicked City, though.

His is more about allowing the bottom to express rage in-scene at the top. So (from the top's point of view) it's less about physical control and more about holding space and keeping the bottom physically protected while s/he lashes out.

Master Hines is married to a woman who he's been playing with for a long time, and they actually did a scene there as a demonstration. It was very informative, very sweet, and hot ;-)

[vito-excalibur.livejournal.com]

Can I just say that this is one of the things I love about BDSM people: they go to workshops. They go to seminars, they read books, they learn about the theory and practice of sex and related activities. That is taking sex seriously. While still, you know, playing with it.

P.S. Yay drugs. Yay lots and lots of drugs. :)

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

hm! Interesting.

I gotta read up on this stuff.

thanks -

[tsgeisel.livejournal.com]

It's always good to be able to say, definitively, "No, I've tried that, and it doesn't do much for me."

And then if they try and pull a "Well, maybe not the way I do it", you can ask how they differ from Fakir Musafar. As if you'd let anyone who'd try that line on you do that anyway...

[coyotegrrrl.livejournal.com]

::shudders violently:: Better you than me, brother. Try a sweat lodge maybe?

[angelbob.livejournal.com]

I was going back and reading this. Did I ever mention to you that I *did* go to a sweat lodge once? I hadn't when I wrote this, but I have since.

Talk to you tomorrow :-)

[coyotegrrrl.livejournal.com]

Hmm, nope. I'm probably going to go again at FSG this June.

I reread your entry from my post-piercing POV...still owowow. One of the things that made piercing bearable was that before the pain could fully register, it was over. I can't imagine keeping it there. Yes I got an endorphin rush and felt outside myself. Sometimes I'd ride the risidual pain, and yes I got spacey and nauseous too. But I'm not surprised you didn't get out of your head - you're VERY firmly planted in it.

[angelbob.livejournal.com]

Lamentably, yes, I'm *quite* firmly planted. Even nearly passing out from pain (which I didn't do from the piercing, but I *did* do with rightkindofme's assistance) just wasn't enough to do so.

[kamileon.livejournal.com]

It sounds like it was educational, if nothing else. Sorry to hear you didn't get as much out of it as you were hoping for.

[lady-phoenixice.livejournal.com]

I also suggest a sweat lodge. I go to a spiritual retreat once a year, and there's an indian sweat lodge there. Perhaps angelbob, you might be interested in coming along or even just visiting the campground (it's an AA spiritual retreat, so no drugs or alcohol, and it's in Mendocino county or something) and going into the sweatlodge. I fully suggest showing up for an evening one tho, there's something about coming out of a sweatlodge and walking into the sweat night air, and then going for a walk on the beach afterwards. It was one of the most mind altering or spiritual experiences I've ever had. (just got chills thinking about it)