by Mako Allen
Years ago, I had a profound spiritual experience at a pagan festival, which resulted in my casting aside my atheist and objectivist beliefs, and becoming more spiritual. Pagans find their own particular path. The one that called to me the loudest was Taoism.
Kinky folks, myself included, are often completely obsessed with genesis. I don’t mean the one in the Christian bible, but rather their own genesis, “how they came to be the kinky person they are”. A good friend of mine, the sex therapist Dr. Gloria Brame, says that it’s incredibly common for kinksters to carry around […]
Much like many kinky people, I’m often prone to over-analyze things. This has been a source of much suffering in my life. Back when I was a kid, and having my first shameful fantasies about getting spanked, I used to obsess about it. Was it bad that I wanted these things? I tortured myself for […]
A central concept in Taoism is that of p’u, the uncarved block. When a woodcarver looks at such a block, he can see within its simple material the potential to be many things. He can shape it into a knife, a spoon, a spear, a bowl, even a paddle. By his choice, action, and skill […]
Long before we grew up to become the wonderful kinky adults we are now, we had our first run-ins with Someone Telling Us What To Do. There were parents, grandparents, babysitters, and teachers. As we grew older we added coaches, politicians, and bosses. All these people have something in common – to some degree, they […]
There’s a common conceit in oriental literature called the tale cycle. In a tale cycle, the story ends at the same point, place, or event where it begins. We westerners though, tend to see our lives as a traditional “life story”, with a beginning, middle, and end. But Lao-tzu could tell you that seeing your […]
Being kinky can be frustrating, even maddening at times. I remember, as a kid stumbling into my first fantasies, and feeling isolated and freakish, when I realized that some of the things I wanted were pretty exotic compared to most people. I was in my early 20’s before I actively pursued kink with others openly. […]
Having Lao Standards I remember when I first got involved with kink, there was no shortage of people willing to “show me the ropes”, often quite literally. It wasn’t too long after I got started, that I started to hear about “true” dominants, and submissives. But how is one to know who’s got it right? […]
By Mako Allen Many years ago, I started going to The Phoenix Society, a scene club in Baltimore. I was brand-new, and while I was bold about seeking out my desires, I did hold back some. I had no problem telling people I wanted to get spanked, but I kept what I thought were my […]
By Mako Allen
There’s this problem with being kinky: it can slowly drive you insane. The kink itself, that’s not really the problem. It’s the chase for it. Lao-tzu knew all about it.