2021 Classes

Presented by: Raven Kaldera and Joshua Tenpenny

There’s using D/s and M/s to add a spiritual dimension to a relationship … and then there’s dedicating yourself to this work as a spiritual path in and of itself. This class will explore the latter condition. We’ll compare spiritual power exchange to monasticism, noblesse oblige, asceticism, liege-fealty, and other similar roads. We’ll also dive into difficult questions: Should the master be the slave’s spiritual superior? What if they’re on different paths? What happens when the slave’s spiritual path interferes with the master’s desires? How does one keep a balance between humility and hubris? This is a difficult road, and we need to talk about the thorns.

Brené Brown said, “Being vulnerable is a risk we must take to experience connection.” It seems easier said than done. In order to experience connection and ultimately intimacy, vulnerability is essential. In M/s and D/s relationships, it is common to expect the slave or submissive to be transparent, AKA vulnerable with the Master or Dominant. To achieve the connection we seek, Ms. Kelly Chance and slave boiDi have found that they both must be vulnerable. Join us to discuss how shame, judgement and the fear of rejection get in the way of true intimacy. What can be done to create an environment where vulnerability is not only possible, but a core part of the relationship dynamic.

Presented by: Angela Car

I have found two communities where I feel free to be my authentic self and where I find my spirituality. I have been loved and accepted for who I am. I have been supported, guided, and protected. I have been able to find my calling and use my voice to educate others. These two worlds are not familiar with one another. One is my 12- step spiritual programs where I am recovering from addiction and codependency one day at a time. The other is my kinky, leather community where I have grown as a slave in a 24/7 power exchange dynamic. Join me in this workshop to explore the many parallels between these two seemingly very different worlds. Both worlds have taught me the value of humility, service, obedience and gratitude. Both worlds have brought me closer to a loving, nurturing Higher Power, whom I choose to call God.

Presented by: Mike

M/s seems to be among the bravest and most honest approaches to sexuality. To be inspired to walk this path, without having the resources to make it truly feed the depths of your True Nature, is to invite disaster. A core usefulness of spirituality, in general, is that it provides something even better than armor. Over time, as understanding grows, it makes the target we present to the world smaller and smaller — the slings and arrows of life don’t so much bounce off, as pass through, leaving no mark. This talk will provide a broad overview of the basic stages of how spirituality provides these results. We will start with the foundational world view of non-duality, what it means, in a basic nuts and bolts sense. We will then move on to some implications of this world view in practical real world situations. In particular we will look at issues like love, personal attacks, and inter-personal dynamics. In this sense, it can be thought of as an invitation to intermediate level spirituality. For Masters it will provide some big picture views on foundational elements of rulership: what you need in order to handle your end of the bargain, understandings that help you achieve your goals for your charges, and what is necessarily beyond your sphere. For slaves it will provide big picture views on what it is that your path is really for, where its meaning truly lies, and point toward the tools you will need to become skilled with to succeed. While non-dogmatic, the ideas presented are rooted in Buddhist fundamentals, with a healthy admixture from the Diamond Heart teachings, combined with hints of the Shamanism of Carlos Castaneda, and the Course in Miracles.

Presented by: Master Skip and slave rick

For many years there has been an ongoing debate in our community as to whether or not it’s necessary—or even appropriate—for love to be a part of a Master/slave relationship. This debate continues because, even though our lives are spent continually searching for love, our understanding of what love is has been so culturally diminished that today mere romance and sentimentalism pass for love and that type of “love” undermines a D/s dynamic. Paradoxically, when the Master’s and slave’s inner journey results in the transmutation of the D/s dynamic, their search for love at long last ends and their relationship is strengthened. In this exceptionally personal presentation Master Skip and slave Rick will open an intimate window into the dynamics of their own relationship and reveal how, when a Master and slave are willing to venture beyond the illusory boundaries of identity and ego, love is discovered to be not a feeling but the very essence of one’s true nature.

Presented by: M. Kate

Temenos serves as a temple, a sacred space cut off from all else and a place to explore our inner self and our M/s dynamic. We all strive in our busy schedules for the time and space to connect with our M/s dynamic, We will explore how to build that space when literal space isn’t available and how to use the temenos to explore the co-existence of the mundane world and our dynamic relationships. 

Presented by: Master IceDog and slave ravyn

Religion is one of those topics that can be a risky, challenging one to discuss. One person’s spirituality is another’s religion, and it is often said that what we do in our kinky lives can be spiritual moments. Coming from different childhood backgrounds, Master IceDog and slave ravyn have different perspectives on religion, yet are able to have a thriving M/s dynamic nonetheless. We will give insight into the religious portion of our lives and dynamic, along with a discussion on parallels between teachings of religions and how they relate or conflict with a Master/slave dynamic.

Presented by: Pretty kitty

We frequently see the use of protocols and rituals in hierarchical relationships and in many religious or spiritual practices. During this class, we will discuss the significance of protocols and rituals in both contexts and how they can be used to elevate the mundane. The presenter’s spirituality and her religion are big parts of who she is; they shape her beliefs, her practices, her relationships, and even her sexuality. During this class, we will examine some of the ways in which this is true and, in particular, some of the ways in which religious practices can inspire Lifestyle ones. pretty kitty will share some specific examples of things she has taken from her faith and incorporated into her M/s dynamics, and the audience will be encouraged to do the same.

Presented by: Mistress Sky

The pendulum, as they say, is swinging back, away from masculine extremes of war and aggression and greed and toward Feminine energy exemplified in cooperation, collaboration, unity, and understanding. The feminine version of leadership looks more like facilitation and coordination. The more familiar masculine leadership model is based on aggression rather than understanding. It rewards commitment to action rather than listening and showing patience, and often uses manipulation as a means of moving people toward action. In my presentation I’ll be leading us through a good and useful description of The Divine Feminine and then relating it to our practice of unequal partnerships (M/s or D/s). An unequal partnership’s strength and sustainability is based on a foundation of deep trust, loyalty, honesty, and collaboration between the partners. As such, the unequal partnership is very well suited to the feminine influences of Our Brave New World that is our present and our future.

You do not have to currently have an active spiritual life to enjoy my talk. I’ll be focusing on the aspects of unequal partnership that express the Divine Feminine for the benefit of a healthy long-term relationship. Even if you only think of the masculine and the feminine as human character traits and The Divine Masculine and The Divine Feminine as poetic metaphors that works well for me and I hope that you will join us.

Presented by: Sir Stephen

Forgiveness and How it Strengthens our M/s Relationships Forgiveness is a key component to emotional healing in any life and in any relationship. In our M/s relationships forgiveness is an assumed aspect of the process of training for bondservant typically incorporating discipline, correction, punishment, atonement and forgiveness. How well does this work for our bondservants, and what happens when it is the Master who needs forgiveness? This class is open to all and will examine these issues and questions.

Presented by: Dan & dawn

Join Dan & dawn, authors of the book Living M/s – A book for Masters, slaves, and Their Relationships, lay leaders of Buddhist Sangha, and a leading couple in the TPE landscape, as they discuss bringing Buddhist philosophy into your power exchange relationship. Learn how practicing Right Speech, Mindfulness, Compassion, and other staples of Buddhism can enhance and strengthen your power exchange relationship!

Presented by: Master Bert and slave nadine

Sangha: a community of likeminded individuals supporting each others’ spiritual work.
One of the opportunities that feeds me is being with peers – others who have developed their own style of living considered M/s lives and willing to share their Selves, and willing to witness others. I and several peers have experimented with such in-person occasions; and since COVID, we have been part of a M/s Sangha that meets on Zoom. The contents of these leaderless conversations are personal, intimate, and thought provoking. And to my delight, because the Zoom gatherings are regularly scheduled, the participant relationships develop new depth over time. The first part of our gathering is a presentation about what has worked for us, the social norms that developed, and the pitfalls we stumbled over in being part of an on-line community dedicated to spiritual M/s – our M/s Sangha. The second part of our class is an opportunity to experiment with such an intentional conversation. Attendees are requested to arrive with video-on and ready to investigate for themselves the safety needed for participating in peer conversations.

In this presentation, I shall share my views, and only mine, of concept of Spirituality in this unique and fascinating dynamics of Master and slave. Spirituality, as we all know, is highly subjective. This remarkable concept has been with mankind, from the beginning of time. Not only that, I believe that in this time of turmoil and chaos and division, this thirst for spirituality has increased manyfold.

How I see my slaves and my boy thru this prism of Spirituality is unique and individual to me. How I interact with them is equally unique and individual. The idea of, the desire and yes, a hunger to see into, perhaps only a glimpse, from time to time, their spirit and soul is paramount, for this brings me close to what I am to my core. And this feeds my hunger of my spirit and soul.

These active relationships, based on power being imbalanced and still finding its equilibrium, are fascinating to say the least. And then when this beautiful dance is infused with these elements of Spirituality, it is heavenly … at least to this humble man of the desert who is graciously called “Master” by his charges.

Presented by: Master and slave Rook

Spirituality can be accessed through community, rituals, art, wilderness, and many other ways. Our favorite is through body-based exploration of sensation, BDSM, power, and erotic energy. Through sensuality and sex we can achieve altered states and practice being present. Through ordeal, predicament, and pain we can experience catharsis and lose our ego selves. Through discipline, pleasure, and denial we can grow as spiritual beings in relationship with each other. Mx. Rook will share seven major principles learned from eighteen years of study under a queer erotic embodiment lineage, which will serve as an outline for exploration. You’ll leave with lots of ideas for future experiments.

Presented by: slave caroline

Alchemy is an ancient process containing knowledge about spiritual transformation. It addresses how to embody mysticism within our body and lived experience. The practice of BDSM invites a portal into the transpersonal through the body. While alchemical knowledge was and is, marginalized, guarded, and coded in symbolism it has deep relevance to understanding the embodied mechanisms of spiritualization through BDSM.

slave Caroline will combine her knowledge and lived experiences to draw analogies between the embodied mysticism in the alchemical process of transformation to that experienced in the practice of BDSM. In particular, she will focus on the Nigredo phase of alchemical transformation; the start of the process involving the surrender of the ego, the emergence of our shadow, and metaphoric death.

Presented by: Raven Kaldera and Joshua Tenpenny

The practice of Gurubhakti, or devotion to one’s spiritual teacher, has a long history in India. It is a form of transpersonal love between the guru and their chela – a word which also means servant or slave. In the West, it’s distrusted for the same reasons M/s is distrusted – someone kneeling at someone else feet and worshiping them is wrong, right? We’ll talk about the similarities, and how we incorporated the beautiful practice of gurubhakti into our power dynamic.

This class is a presentation and discussion of positive expressions of male submission, and the challenges and pitfalls and approaches to creating rewarding relationships. This is aimed at both submissives and those who love them, and both sides of the equation will be addressed. We’ll discuss archetypes, structures, and language, with an initial focus on the concept of the gentleman. We’ll talk about pitfalls, self-image, strength and value, types of submission, and communication.

Panelists: prettykitty, Master IceDog, slave ravyn, MonsignorX, slave brynn, Raven Kaldera

We have many religious and spiritual leaders – of different faiths – who are a part of our community. This is a panel discussion on the interplay between M/s and religion or spirituality. How has your faith or your religious practice shaped your identity as a Master or a slave? How has it impacted your dynamic?

Moderator: Raven Kaldera 

Panelists: Master Skip, Mistress Sky, Master Dan, Master Bert, Raven Kalder

The road of Mastery has a lot of spiritual challenges that are not often discussed, and in fact it’s not popular to even admit that they exist, However, if we are to be not just honorable but evolving and growing in our mastery, we need to bring these dark points out into the open. This panel of Masters will talk about how to get through that hard parts, the pieces that stretch our souls.

Panelists: slave dawn, slave nadine, slave brynn,  Joshua Tenpenny 

The Path of Service/Submission has its own challenges and difficulties. This panel of experienced and spiritual slaves will discuss how they have handled those roadblocks, and how to get through those dark nights of the soul and evolve into a better slave, submissive, or just human being.