Your Personal Development as a Dom
Hi all
This is going to be My last blog before the holidays and I thought I would talk about what you need to be thinking about if you want to become a Dominant. For those of you who are already Doms, whatever your sexuality, you may find this blog post useful.
I am all for learning and right up to the day I leave this planet I will be learning. I would strongly encourage you to keep learning and developing your craft, as well as yourself as an individual. The areas of your life you are likely to be developing will include:
- spiritual – whatever this means to you; it does not matter whether you are an atheist, agnostic, humanist, pagan, believing in your own divinity/godhood, or religious, you need to find ways that are compatible with your belief systems to develop your spirituality. Perhaps, particularly if you’re an atheist or non-religious person, this may be called charisma or even morality, since one can be charismatic and/or moral without being religious. In any case it doesn’t hurt to work on ensuring that whatever you engage in is in line with your values and beliefs. Some call this your emotional guidance system, conscience, etc;
- intellectual – this may be through books, seminars, networking with other doms to discuss philosophies, and so on; again, I will say, all this learning is no substitute for experience. Don’t be afraid to try things out, for example, trying out new toys on yourself first before using them on others. If your sub is already highly experienced in a particular activity and they have no problems teaching that to you, open yourself up to the idea of learning from them. Don’t for get the legal aspects either;
- physical – goes without saying. Look after your health, engage in activities to get fit and stay fit; if this includes bodybuilding because this would add something to your persona as well as help you develop and maintain a health and fitness lifestyle, that’s cool too. Listen to your body and take time to rest where necessary;
- emotional – I think it is very important to say here that if you are going into BDSM and you are emotionally unstable or have unresolved psychological issues, you may find out that with all the best intentions in the world that you bring more harm than good not only to a sub, but also to yourself; seek help if and when you need it, including professional help preferably before you start BDSM;
- skills and abilities – linked with the intellectual area, think about what skills and abilities you wish to develop; what tools you would be comfortable using, and what activities you would be comfortable engaging in or learning;
- career – is BDSM something you wish to engage in full time or part time alongside your day job? I would also link this with the intellectual in the sense that whatever you are learning would inform your practice (and, perhaps, vice versa). For example, My own postgraduate studies inform My professional practice. Is there a plan in place for how you would make this area of your life a success?
- relationships – do you have a network of friends, associates, mentor(s) that you associate with on a regular basis. This can include social networks, both online and offline. I’ve listed a couple of organisations below for starters. You may have other networks that you tap into.
Peace and a propserous 2012 to you all…I am The Blackhulk
Sources you may wish to check out:
- The Spanner Trust
- SM Gays
- SM 101: A Realistic Introduction by Jay Wiseman. This book was the very first that I read on the subject of BDSM and it is still a part of My library.