332. The Kink Resources Department

I have resigned to the fact I have become an infrequent blogger.   I enjoy it, but am just not making it a priority.   So there you have it.

My prior post was about a kinky slippery slope that I referred to as Kinkthink!  While I use that term somewhat in jest, I do believe it is a real thing and couples exploring their sexual horizons should be mindful and avoid it creeping into their mindset.  

We certainly have explored greater and greater sexual adventures over the last few years and we remain open to exploring more charted and uncharted sexual territory.   I think we’ve avoided making unhealthy decisions via Kinkthink.  But to be honest, I think we did it more by chance than by clearly understanding and acknowledging the risks of Kinkthink.

One phrase that can help avoid Groupthink applies to Kinkthink as well,  That is –

“NONE OF US IS AS DUMB AS ALL OF US.” 

That really sums up the risks and the momentum a “crowd mentality” can unleash.  And the more singularly focused and homogeneous a group is, the easier it is to create that momentum.  Hum, kind of like the GOP!  I digress.

COOL YOUR JETS!
One thing that we do  is to have a “cooling” off both during and after Immersion.  This was Mike’s idea and started back at our first Immersion.   Mike would essentially call a random “time out” during our festivities where we would just relax.  A warm bath, quiet music, not much talking.  No, not because we couldn’t talk with our mouthful of whatever body part.  There is no sex during “cooling off.”   Oh, with one exception —  

This year he brought along all sorts of oils and he gave me and Kayla a massage.  Of course, that led to sex, but the slow, soft, tender, and sultry vacation-sex.   And it was definitely a “lay there, relax, it’s-all-about-you-sex.”  That’s different than immersion-sex.

These time outs were like extended aftercare sessions.   A physical and emotional re-set before resuming our exploration.

When we returned home Mike had us take an “indefinite” time off from ALL our duties and obligations.  A “submissive-free” time period that went on for four days.   Submission is a default for me.  It is not something I consciously do (with some exceptions).   It was actually more difficult to be sub-free than you would think.

Mike also stepped up and did more chores around the house.  He also treated me and Kayla to a spa day, complete with mani, pedi, facial (the cosmetic type, hee hee), and professional massage.   Not to denigrate Mike’s massage skills, but let’s face it, it’s hard for Mike to compete with a professional masseuse.  Well, sans the sex part, lol.

After three days Mike gave us the heads up that it would be one more day “D/s free” and then back to our normal routine (or abnormal routine if you insist, lol).   Both me and Kayla were ready.  We were re-energized, re-set, and re-focused on returning to what is our default mindset of serving Mike.

KINKTHINK AVOIDANCE TIPS

• Encourage and remain open and accepting of everyone’s feelings.
  If someone expresses hesitation don’t take that as a signal that they just need a nudge to convince them to do it.Don’t gloss over their feelings  – “Ah, come on, you can do it.”   

  Do validate their feelings – even if you don’t agree  – “Wow, I hadn’t thought of it that way, that’s really insightful.”

  After you validate what they are feeling you can still explain how it makes you feel and have an open and honest discussion about it.

  I think we were fortunate once again, thanks to Mike.  I believe it is part of his natural leadership skills and why he does well in business.  If we are discussing a scene or particular activity, he is good at getting “the quiet one” to express themselves.  “We haven’t heard from Jillian on this one,” or, “So Jaime, what are your concerns about that?”

  Of course, in business he isn’t soliciting feedback about whether you are okay with your breasts being flogged or prefer this butt plug over that one.   At least I don’t think he does that at work?   Hum… maybe I shouldn’t assume??

•  Diversity 
  It isn’t enough to accept everyone’s thoughts and feelings because there is a risk that the people you surround yourself with, our friends in this case, already share a lot of the same thoughts and feelings.For instance, I find that the three of us are far more daring and willing to explore with John and Donna, but were a bit more cautious with the other couples.   Part of it is that we feel John and Donna are pros at TTWD and have confidence in knowing and expressing their limits.  But part of it is that we share a lot in common with them.  This shared mindset often leads to a feeling of, “if they are willing to do it, so are we.”   That’s Kinkthink!

  Having a diverse group of friends helps with this, and we certainly have that.  That’s why we didn’t have all six couples together at the same time – we knew some may feel pressured to try things they shouldn’t.   Also, hearing the concerns from each of the couples helped remind us of things we should stay aware of.   We would not have had those reminders if not for the diversity in our group.

• Healthy questioning – Dom or sub.  
  Again, I credit Mike for this one.  While we have a lot of insight into the unique dynamics of each couple, we don’t know everything about them.   A good example is Matt and Jillian.  Jillian is very quiet.  We believe it isn’t because Matt doesn’t want her speaking and it is just that she is a quiet person.  But regardless, it was important to check in with her and make sure she is on board.   I think Mike’s open-ended questions to everyone helped set an environment where everyone was comfortable expressing themselves.   And the quieter ones, like Jillian, soon learned that if she didn’t speak up, Mike would likely be calling on her anyway.
• Kinkthink awareness and avoidance is everyone’s job
  This is something we haven’t done.  I talked with Mike and he agreed we need to bring up Kinkthink with everyone so that we are all more sensitive to it.  It’s easy for one person to become a kink-bully without even knowing it.  They may use subtle statements that discourage dialogue and encourages conformity.   It’s easy to forget that anything you say that furthers the majority opinion can intimidate the minority view, even if that was not your intention.Having thought about it, in hindsight all three of us agreed that this sounded a bit like Matt.  Not that he was intentionally doing anything, but he would often be the one saying, “Ah, come on, you can do this.”

  It’s subtle.  You want to encourage people, which I believe is how he always intended it.   However, you can also unduly influence someone, which sometimes I think he did as well.   It’s not about intent, it’s about impact!  It’s a fine line and lot of it is tone and context.   Matt will have a talk with Immersion HR about some Kinkthink training.  hee-hee!

This all sounded a bit like a kinksters human resources guide.  I like that idea and frankly, it is an appropriate analogy.   Part of HR’s role is for employees to work better together, understand each other better, amicably resolve disputes, and training and development.   All with the goal of achieving mutual goals.  Ha, I didn’t realize it until now.  Immersion 2019 functioned like a Human Resources department. . .ahem, a Kink Resources Department!

The three of us agreed that while we did a good job, we need to improve our KR if we are going to do this again and want to ensure continued healthy outcomes.

Hey, I think I am overdue from sharing a spanking story.  After all, yes, my husband spanks me!  What’s DD without some discipline?  Next post perhaps!

NEXT: 333. Mike says tomato, I get in a pickle.

331. Kinkthink

“THAT’S DISGUSTING!!!              Unless you’re into it.”

That pretty much sums up everyone’s reaction to anything kinky.  As I have often written in my blog, EVERYONE’S KINK IS DISGUSTING EXCEPT YOUR OWN.

The reason this is top of mind is that Immersion this year included a lot of “guest appearances.”   In the past, it was just something we did as a couple (or with Kayla once she joined the relationship).  But this year included SIX other couples.

Before DD I barely had six close friends, let alone SIX couples ready and willing to explore sexual kinks with me.  How did this happen?

It reminded me of something I wrote about a long time ago.  Over three years ago – Post 16 to be exact.  Whereas part of our journey into DD I agreed to always share my sexual thoughts, dreams, desires, and fantasies.  As stated in that post, it was one of the MOST DIFFICULT parts of our adopting Domestic Discipline.

A MEGA-FORTRESS AROUND OUR PRURIENT INTERESTS
For many of us, even a spouse of 25 years isn’t allowed into our sexual thoughts, not even a peek!   We would rather take those desires to the grave than reveal what perverted, demented, awful, and gross people we are.  We erect a mega-fortress around our prurient interests.

Until. . .

We give an ever so small glimpse.   Maybe it’s the slip of the hand “accidentally” coming down hard on her breast.   Maybe it’s that millimeter by millimeter approach of your finger to his butthole, waiting for him to pull away and he doesn’t.

Or maybe you finally verbalize it.  If you do, more than likely it is a nebulous reference to just wanting to “spice things up.”  But it’s a start.  It’s a crack in the fortress!   Typically that response can lead to at least a small breach and then eventually a crumbling of the walls.

This is only possible if ONE thing happens.   Acceptance and reciprocation.  Oh, that’s two things.   This is only possible if TWO things happen.

ACCEPTANCE / RECIPROCATION
So you finally “go there.” Your biggest fears about your deep dark secrets are about to come to fruition.  And guess what?

Unlike what you thought would happen, the world didn’t end.  Your partner didn’t puke nor run out of the room like their hair is on fire.  They may not have agreed to indulge all your interests, nor you theirs, but you can bet that you found some commonalities and agreement to explore them.

Armed with someone else’s comfort and acceptance of your kinks allows you to be more comfortable and accepting of yourself.    In turn, they become armed with your comfort and acceptance of their kinks, allowing them to be more comfortable and accepting of themselves.  And thus the snowball begins to roll!

Sexual confidence soars once you both have the armor of love and understanding.  You’re both sexually empowered and connected like never before.  It leads you to share the next slightly more kinky desire, and the next, and the next.  With each “reveal” the other person sees it as permission to reciprocate and share their kinky desire (or their variation of your kinky desire).

Again, it doesn’t mean they are into everything you are into.  Only that your kinks are accepted and become relatable.  As an example, I am not turned on by feet, but Mike is.  I don’t share that “fetish” but I totally relate to the feeling it evokes because I have my own fetishes that evoke that feeling.

ADD IN SOME FRIENDS
Things can get very interesting when you add a group of friends who start to share their sexual thoughts, dreams, desires, and fantasies.  Such discussions normalize everyone’s wide and varied kinks.  Eventually, this experience causes you to be more accepting of even a wider range of kinks.   Yeah, I can now hang with the guy that likes to be pegged by his wife, and with the wife that likes to peg her husband.  Not my thing, but that’s cool.  We’re all equally “disgusting” in our own ways.

These six couples all felt our request to join us for some immersion into their sexual dreams and desires was as normal as asking them to join us on the ski slopes somewhere.   That’s pretty cool.

A DARK SIDE?  Illusion of Invulnerability
Being the self-reflective person that I am, I spent some time in thought about the Immersion this year.  While reveling in the fact that we have such diverse friends who share a common (but not identical) bond in TTWD, something dawned on me.

As friends, there is a natural desire for harmony or conformity in the group.  So you go along with the kinks of others, even if it is outside your comfort zone.  You might do so just as an observer, but you might also decide to join in.   After all, you don’t want to be rude and once you’ve seen them do it, you feel like perhaps it isn’t that big of a deal so you dive in yourself.

It can get to the point where people in the group may avoid raising controversial issues such as calling out a specific kink as “wrong,” or “crazy.”    This can lead to a loss of individual uniqueness and independent thinking.   This dysfunctional group dynamic can eventually produce an “illusion of invulnerability.”  This inflated certainty that the right decision has been made to pursue whatever prurient thought any one person verbalized.

There’s a psychological term for this.   It’s called Groupthink.  Of course, for my group of friends, I refer to it as Kinkthink!

Groupthink is not good.  And Kinkthink can be just as bad.  It can lead us to pursue increasingly dangerous activities, physically, emotionally, and psychologically.

We’ve actually done some things to minimize or even avoid Kinkthink without even knowing it.   I’ll share some of that on my next post.

Any interesting thoughts or comments bubbling around your head regarding Kinkthink?  Please share.

Next:  332.  The Kink Resources Department