Masochists Explained--Maybe!

I am attending the joint educational conference of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses and the International Nurses Society on Addictions.

I’ve known for a long time about the research on the pleasure side of the neurobiology of the brain, especially as it relates to addiction.  However, I did not know much about the neurobiology of pain in the brain.

Almost at the very beginning of the keynote address, a slide was shown that charted the areas of the brain that are involved in both the pain and pleasure circuits.  The areas of overlap were nothing short of amazing.  And the speaker stated, “Pain responses are paired with pleasure responses.”  (I am currently looking for a clear picture that I can post showing the overlap to illustrate what I’ve been saying here.)

For years I have wondered about how masochists manage to transmit pain into pleasure.   After seeing this overlap, I now wonder why there aren’t more of us!

For those interested in learning more about some of this area (and I’ll admit I haven’t quite finished it myself), I recommend The Compass of Pleasure, by David J. Linden.   It’s available on Kindle, but if you aren’t well acquainted with brain anatomy, you might find the hardback more helpful as the diagrams on the Kindle are difficult to see.

I’m not expecting any more Ahh! Haa! moments at the conference based on what else I’ve elected to attend; however, if there is anything else, you’ll be the first to know.

And stay tuned as I learn more about the neurology of pain from some educators I’ve met here who will be sending me more information. 

So now we have an explanation for masochism—but not about those sadists!  Anyone care to weigh in?

Please Check This Out

One of the delightful things that helped get me out of my rut is a friend who requested emails about what fantasies I've had in the past about spanking.  At the same time, I discovered The Kilahara Library of Spanking Fiction which is the biggest collection of stories in this genre I’ve ever seen.   And somehow, I got the idea that I could turn one of those fantasies into a story.  So I did.

It is now a part of The Library.  Yes, they did accept it. 

So a special thank you to my friend for encouraging me to express a part of myself that has long lain dormant. 

Missing in Action-Old Friends

One of the saddest things about returning has been the discovery of old friends gone missing.  Raven of Skin Prayers, Pain Healer and LibraryGirl, if you are still out there, would you please contact me.  Now that “I’m back” to myself, I’d really like to be in touch with you again.

For anyone wishing to email me directly, the address is LynLass@gmail.com.

Thank you for your attention to this non-paid commercial announcement.

Drought and Depression

For those of you who live in places other than Texas, for much of the last six months we have been under either exceptional or extreme drought.  Until yesterday, we’d had ½ inch rain in the yard for those six months.   I know because I have several rain gauges scattered around the property.  In the last 24 hours we’ve had three thunderstorms pass through giving us a whole inch of rain.  Now that doesn’t solve everything, the temperatures are already in the upper 90s today and next week promises triple digits with no more rain.

Drought is bad; it saps the life out of everything.  I suspect it makes the plants and animals depressed.  So I’ve been mixing some really cool stuff called Turface into my compost; it’s used on baseball fields to keep the soil from compacting and helps conserve the available moisture.  I’ve been using my magic mix around every important plant, building up the sides so there’s a well around each plant to catch and hold any water that comes it’s way.  I’d been working on it for a while and just when I finished the rain come!  Actually the first rain came as I was cleaning up and getting ready to come inside.

When I look back over the last three-and-a-half years, I think I, too, was in an extended drought.  Yes, I loved my work (except for my immediate supervisor) and I was very good at what I do.  At the same time, however, I struggled with a lot of depression.   Now that I’m no longer there, I realize that the soil of my life had become compacted, hard like dried out clay; there was no Turface in my life.

Part of that was because of the amount of time I gave to the job; I didn’t have time to play, not even on-line.  That was my fault; I didn’t draw the lines that let me make the time.  In fairness to myself, however, I did not see what was happening; it snuck up on me gradually.  Now, it is becoming increasingly clear that I am coming back to myself; finding ways to meet my own needs, not just what everyone else wants from me.

Working in my garden, even in the drought, I see the possibilities that are emerging for both the property and for me.   I cannot control the external drought; I have learned valuable lessons about preventing another internal one.  Once I am again involved in full time work, I will schedule “me time” as a non-negotiable; I need it too much not to protect it.

I have reconnected with an old friend in the life style and that was very liberating.  And I was amazed at how quickly some of you responded when I wrote that I was back.  Thank you for your warm welcome back; I really feel that this is where I belong.

It's Been a Long Time....

Nearly 4 years ago, I posted a bit about my new job...

It proved to be consuming.  I not only quit blogging; I stopped reading much on-line as well.  And I quit writing anything but work related items.  Now I no longer have that job and having gotten over the grieving for it, I have recently found myself writing some things at the request of a friend.  And I discovered again, that I enjoy playing with words.

So today I spent several hours cleaning this site of all of the spam.

I plan to continue Babbling once again.  I'm glad to be back.

I haven’t posted much recently. I’ve just started a new job; that can be distracting to say the least. One of the experiences of starting that position is lots of orientation. There was one session that was held in a Wellness Center that had a lot of very nice amenities; the one that surprised me most was a small labyrinth in the courtyard. For those unfamiliar, labyrinths are used for walking meditation. They go back to ancient times, think of the Minotaur, and are found in many different cultures. Since I was looking for something refreshing during my lunch hour, I decided to walk it. Several interesting observations occurred as I did.

Like life, this labyrinth curved through both light and dark areas. And while on your way to the center you never are on the same path twice, you do pass next to areas you’ve passed before. When you pass those areas however, the rocks and plantings are seen from a different angle, once again changing your experience of them. The trip out “back to the world” utilizes the same pathways as the way in, but once again, everything is changed by the difference in how you view the path and the divisions between sections as well as the passage of time. How does this relate to this thing that we do? I found some interesting ideas.

No spanking will ever be the same as any other. It doesn’t matter that you try to do the same thing as the last time, that you are playing the same role with the same partner. Even the last experience will influence how you perceive this one.

There are times when the spankings will be dark and edgier. There will be times when they can be light and frothy. There are times when the light shed by the spanking adds a sharpness and clarity to the passage on which we find ourselves. There will be times when the dark spanking we are experiencing will allow us to better see the area of our life where the light-giving spankings may have occurred and what it did for us. Sometimes we can see to a different section of the walkway that was dark when we were there but because the clouds have shifted, it has now become light.

On another level, each spanking can be likened to walking the labyrinth. There is a way in to the center, it may be a role play; it may be corner time. There is always something that leads up to the spanking. As we walk that path either as a top or a bottom, there are changes that occur in our thinking and our physical reactions. What bottom hasn’t at some time, felt that nervousness, the clenching in the gut of anticipation? The hyperawareness of one’s sit-spot? Sometimes even the slickness of desire that builds at the same time? (Tops, feel free to comment here, I don’t know what you feel in the way of anticipatory preparation.) At the center is the spanking itself, just as in the labyrinth there was an open space and a large rock where I would have been able to sit. (Or someone could have been seated and pulled me across his lap!) And following the spanking is the return to the “real world”, the aftercare.

Whatever the spanking experience, just like walking a labyrinth, one does not return to the world unchanged.

Welcome to New Lurkers

A special welcome and thank you to those of you who choose to De-Lurk on Love Our Lurkers Day! I am delighted to know you and encourage you to come back and comment any time you are able.

Erik: I look forward to hearing from you again.

Serpent's Embrace: Let me know if you catch me in any historical errors.

Purple Angel: Come often and stay as long as you want.

MaggieDear: I'm working on a new one now!

AngelBrat: Glad to have you around. I'm finding a bunch of new blogs through Bonnie, too.

Hermione: Obviously we share a love for Harry Potter and friends.

Theresa: I'm glad you like it here.

Naughtybuttcute: I think a lot of us owe Bonnie a big thank you for coming up with this idea.

For those of you who are new to me, I'm going to check out your blogs, too!

If you haven't posted yet, are still lurking around in the shadows, please come out to play with us. We don't bite. I am frequently late myself, so I have no problem with your responding late to the de-lurk love-in!