Sunday, September 06, 2009

Outline for Growth in Service

Following my discovery of the outline I mentioned in my previous post, my Owner assigned me the task of using it as a jumping off point to create one more personalized to my challenges/goals and our dynamic.

When I sat down to work on it, I found the work easier than I thought it would be. The existing outline gave me lots of good ideas on how to apply it to me and my work - or my relationship and dynamic with my Owner.

I sent it to my Owner for review this afternoon. She'll be starting to work with me on it and will tweak it as necessary as She assigns each 'piece' rather than leaving me to work through it in order on my own. This makes sense to me as that way She can pull out writing topic points that are applicable in a given moment/situation or for reading when She wants to read about them - which I do think will maximize the benefit of the work.

I also think that it's good for me in the sense that I won't have the luxury of being able to 'plan ahead' to what comes next... a positive trust exercise.

So without further ado, here it is:

Conflict
Checklist
Identifying when an 'issue' must be addressed right then.
Allowing for normal human emotion
Grumpy vs. angry, indirect vs. passive aggressive
Aim for at least a 60/40 split with Listening vs. Talking
How “mentally preparing” for next point interferes with listening
Explaining reasoning does not negate/erase feelings
Ask, don’t tell Owner what Her feelings are
Waiting for the answer after asking a question
Not defending/countering
Accepting the answer given as the only sane choice
How not doing these things invalidates Owner’s feelings/emotions
The Reminder: “Who Owns Who?”
The purpose of the reminder, why was it necessary?
Understanding the risk Owner is taking in doing the reminding
Taking a moment to be grateful
Pause and reflect on behaviour – in line with protocol?
“Stop” – Respecting Owner’s boundaries/need for space
Hearing & respecting the first time (always an order)
Ego Removal
Thinking / Understanding
Trust
Seeking reassurance – appropriate time and place
Resolving conflict productively
Assigning blame - why?
“I’m sorry” versus processing / expressing remorse
Trusting Owner to apply correction when required
Post-conflict self-abuse (mental/verbal/physical) = lack of trust
Wallowing/Dwelling

Service and Mindfulness
Can one exist without the other?
Ways to cultivate mindfulness
Identify your intentions
Continual removal of conflicting thoughts
Service to Owner as service to self

Orders
What qualifies as an order
Who judges whether a request is important?
Bargaining
Recognition/Reward – want vs. need
The positive effects of obedience

Being aware of Owner’s needs & desires
Offering vs. Being asked
Identifying, Understanding, & Banishing fear with trust
Practice, Practice, Practice
Avoidance & Anxiety
Identify the block / inner objection
Processing anxiety
What’s driving it
Trusting
Working within self-expectations
Desired level of service vs Minimum level (keeping it realistic)
Trusting Owner to decide what is/is not an acceptable level of service
Identify the pleasure - Service to Owner as service to self

Eye contact
Keeping focus when receiving direction
Maintaining focus when responding
Looking at vs. looking through

Corrections
Hearing the correction
Understanding the correction
Ego removal
Responding and offering gratitude for the Correction

Expressing Gratitude
What the hell for?
Understanding the service your Top provides
You probably need it – even if you disagree.

Spiritual self-work
Neuro-Elasticity vs. Samskaras
The joy of sticking with it
Processing “negative” emotions
Identifying uncomfortable emotions
Examining the root – why is it so uncomfortable?
What is the fear - what’s the worst that could happen?
What to do with these emotions
Is it necessary to express verbally?
Productive ways to do so
Identifying coping mechanisms / Ways to process productively

The discipline of focus
Visualize goal
Removing distraction
Motivating self through reflecting on success

Learning to follow
Being patient
Micro-management
Identifying what the fear is
Remembering to trust
Being flexible and open minded as service
Being comfortable without a plan / Spontaneity
Creating false objections to stay in ‘safe zone’
Letting go and letting Owner be in charge
Indecision
Identifying when struggle for control is the root
Asking for help when needed
Respect

Identifying Milestones
Identifying smaller achievements
Remembering smaller achievements
Rewarding smaller achievements (bidirectionally)

Protocol
All Settings
Mindfulness of Tone / Voice
LISTENING: Learning to unfilter verbal information
Identifying the filter
Acknowledging the obstacle
Listening to precise language
SPEAKING: Learning to unfilter verbal information
Identifying the filter / desire to spin
Acknowledging the obstacle
Speaking precisely
Remaining open to response
Integrating mindfulness
Answering Questions
Giving a straightforward answer
Avoidance and defensiveness
Answering a question with a question
Interactions with others
Vanilla settings
Addressing Owner
Tone used with terms of endearment, use of first name
Walking / Travelling
Food & Beverage
Dining out
Family Leisure time
Public – kinky/private settings
Addressing Owner – Syr, Daddy, my Owner
Expectation removal
Verbalizing desires
Desire vs Need
Accepting answers/responses – with trust
Food & Beverage Service
Playtime
Providing sensual service
Verbalizing headspace/mood
Removal of intensity / impulse to drive a scenario
Providing feedback
How expectation removal allows for full immersion in scene
Aftercare

3 comments:

K & J said...

That's a great outline. You definitely put a lot of thought into it. Kara XO

alena said...

Thank you. I know it's going to be a bit intense to work through it all..

~a

shorn said...

shorn would agree with Kara and Jessica, a lot of thought went into that. shorn will be thinking on this and discussing with Mistress.

shorn sees such an outline in shorn's future.

shorn

satiasfactorily submissive servant

(shorn hopes)