——03——

In the depths of war within my mind, I've found tranquility at last,

Yearning to surrender to guidance, my soul's desire holds fast.

From the depths of my being, I seek the one to lead my way,

Yet, I long to retain my pride, not to let arrogance sway.

The journey to discover my true self is arduous and steep,

Trusting random choices is as hard as others' promises to keep.

Before I delve into deeper strife, I seek to find my pride,

A beacon to illuminate the path as darkness may confide.

The battle rages on within, 'twixt Cowardice and Fortitude,

I scream and yearn, my struggles fierce, emotions unsubdued.

In the end, I crown myself, the victor of this fight,

Though not the battle I sought, I conquer with all my might.

This marks the starting point, a firm backbone to uphold,

Guiding me to find the real me, the story yet untold.

——The Power of Language——

A glimpse through the crevice:

????????"Bondage and Discipline (B/D), Dominance and submission (D/s), and Sadism and Masochism (S/M)...?describes forms of sexuality that incorporate restraint, pressure, sensaon, training, and elements of both eroc and noneroc power exchange between the pares engaged."

????????"Discipline is an acvity in which a Dominant partner trains a submissive partner in order to produce certain behavior. Discipline incorporates rigid guidelines for behavior and involves various forms of punishment when the prescribed standards of behavior are not met."

????????"Dominance is the state of assuming psychological or physical control over another in a power-exchange relaonship, a state in which orders may be executed or services performed."

????????"the state of submission... an individual willingly and consensually sublimates or bequeaths his or her power to a Dominant partner in a power-exchange relaonship. In doing so, the submissive allows the Dominant to take psychological or physical control over him or her."

? ? ? ? "It is important to make the disncon between what constutes an identy and what constutes a role. Idenes are generally more fixed, whereas a role is more mutable and dependent on the specific context or acvity."

——Ex. "the same Dominant may take on the role of father, coach, or prison warden, but that role tends to end when the scene ends, whereas the overarching identy of Dominant or Sir is more consistent with the individual’s personality construct and process of self-idenficaon and is, therefore, more fixed."

Esstential:

? ? ? ?"The myth that a submissive has no power is an erroneous, and dangerous, one. On the contrary, the state of submission may be one of the most powerful states of BDSM consciousness for the very fact that the act of giving over one’s power to a trusted Dominant partner is, in and of itself, an act of extreme power and one that should not be taken lightly. Submission should not be confused with passivity or helplessness, regardless of what it may look like."

????????"In naming ourselves we have the opportunity to both be a part of a culture and disnguish ourselves from it."

Thought:

In the relationship of this subculture, the receiver is the one who has the most power on hand.