Common Protocols

This question came up on a Fetlife group about power exchange. It addresses one of my pet peeves within the community.

One nice thing the Goreans have going for them is the common slave positions. There is a single set of slave position protocols.

What are the common ties of power exchange in general?

I don't know that there are common protocols so much as there is a common etiquette in the public places where we gather. Protocol is intensely personal and individualized for each relationship. Even those with a written protocol for one relationship may find it necessary to change those protocols for other relationships.

Instead many M/s relationships operate with similar public models of behavior...executed in the individual modes of their protocol.

Being faced with a community overflowing with "50 Shaders" has reminded me of how annoying it is when new folks demand to know the universal leather or kink protocol. The truth is, there isn't one. There is an almost universal standard of etiquette, but even that varies based on geographical location and within age groups.

Untitled

Why do you stand at the edges
Watching as others kneel
Why do you hide in the shadows
Watching as others shine
Why do you cry in the darkness
Listening as others rejoice
Why do you hold your breath
Listening as others sing

Can the heart truly release a desire so deep
It holds your soul within its grasp
Can there ever be surcease from the pain
Of seeing others defile your desire

Can you not step forward
Kneel before them
Can you not cast off the shadows
Shine with your own light
Can you not scream
The joy within your heart
Can you not catch your breath
Between your songs

Be that which feeds your soul
Find the place where you may stand
Be the light and sing the song
And cry aloud what you demand

Dreams

I've often dreamed of being in service again. Last night I had one of those dreams. This dream differed from others in two small, but significant ways. The first is that my subconscious mind put a familiar face on the person to who, in was bound in service. It was a person I admire a great deal and who I would enjoy serving if I thought for half a moment they would be interested in such service. The second difference was the gender of the individual to whom I was tied. On the past my dreams have always been of being in service to men or organizations. Last night's dream showed merge joy of being in service to a woman. A GQ woman, but a woman nonetheless.

I miss the connection to an owner. I miss the joy of service. I miss the calm that comes from knowing my presence in an owner's life brings them peace and joy.

I know I'm not gay. But I also know I'm attracted to power more than anything else. I'm rambling now because I just don't know what my brain is trying to tell me about what I need in my life.

The past still haunts...

I'm in the process of transferring all the entries from my livejournal to this blog. That's 10 years of thoughts, ideas, pain, and pleasure. It's funny to watch myself mature as the writing progresses. It's heart-breaking to relive the painful times. This is why we keep journals, isn't it? So that we can see where we came from and get a better idea of where we are going.