Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Revisiting Growth in Service exercise from years ago...

So, as you may or may not have heard, Blogger has updated their content policy to disallow any "adult" images.  In order to play it safe, I decided to go through this blog and make sure I removed any risque images. I'm mostly about the actual writing here, so that wasn't that big of a deal.

In the process, I stumbled on an old post - an exercise with a list of writing topics designed to grow in  service. I didn't re-read the entire post but if I remember correctly, initially this idea came about through some online acquaintances - another D/s lifestyle couple. And then I tweaked the list of topics to be more relevant to me and Syr. I don't think it really went anywhere. I suspect I wrote on a few topics and then dropped the ball (oh, how very typical human of me.)

I've had some trouble being consistent with writing, lately, so I thought this might be an exercise that would help keep me on track = or give me more topics to write about on days my writing feels "stuck".  I think I did write on some of these topics already - but it would have been years ago. And it  might also be interested to note which of the conflict things I've made progress on and which still need to be front of mind, and the like. Some of these topics may turn out to be irrelevant now, but I won't pre-decide until I get to that topic. So here, again, is the original list. I think what I'll do is post the list at the bottom of each post where I address these topics but cross out ones I've written about and add a link to that entry. Maybe. ;) We'll see.

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

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