sabrinamari | How do you get past stressful crap? Mindful play and KIVA happiness!

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Today was a rough day followed by a wonderful evening. The whole week has been hard for our family (work stress compounded by death, rough communication and other exciting events), but we've been reconnecting, laughing and working together in between rough spells.

Tonight has been especially good, probably because it's been so badly needed. Michael and I have been enjoying each other's company---consciously connecting, exploring each other through excerpts from our intimacy workshops and letting all the week's crap fall away. Best of all, we've been talking, listening and being playful with each other again.

We still have to finish packing for the Keeper's Retreat, but it's OK.

Finally, we spent the last twenty minutes on KIVA, looking at pictures of entrepreneurs, being silly and making loans to interesting people across the world.

I'm glad we chose to do this instead of wallowing in the week's crud.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

ingridsummers.livejournal.com

Is there any chance we can find 15 minutes to talk about mentors? I know who I need to ask (his name has come up from 3 different sources). I'm just unsure how to proceed.

Love you!

From:

sabrinamari.livejournal.com

yes. I'll call.

From:

lunarbitch.livejournal.com

Do you mind saying which intimacy workshop you're using? If so, is it available online? Ah, Spring! Love is in the air!

From:

sabrinamari.livejournal.com

We used excerpts from the Mindful Intimacy workshops, which Cat and I created last year.

We first presented them last year at the Beltane Free Spirit gathering, together with her partner Brett and my lovely Michael. This year we'll be teaching all three, together with an additional workshop, at a small partners/couples weekend in Lambertville, PA. Our tentative date for the weekend is September 10-12.

We love these workshops for a reason: they're excellent tools for getting out of crud. Sometimes Michael and I forget to draw on them, but I was very grateful that we remembered them tonight!

I. Creating Fulfilling Relationships (The Mindful Intimacy Series):

Mindful Kissing and Foreplay
Are you fully present when you kiss your partner? Or are you a thousand miles away, wondering what you'll have for dinner, whether the trash has been taken out, if the bills will get paid, and what about those things you said at the fight you had this morning? All of us experience stresses and distractions, but these mental tangents can damage the delightful intimacy of our relationships. They can also weaken the spiritual bonds we forge with our beloveds, but it doesn't have to be this way! Instead, we invite you to join us as we call upon the guidance of Aphrodite and her consorts in this magical exploration of connection, intimacy and play. Through guided visualizations and structured exercises, we will lead you through the experience of giving and receiving sensual pleasure together with your beloved(s). There will be no nudity or public sex. Instead, be prepared to enjoy an evening of sensual delights that are totally safe for public play. You must bring a partner or partners to participate in this class. [18+]

II. Mindful Love Making
Give yourself and your partner(s) the gift of loving, sensual attention that delights wholly in them. If you often find your mind drifting during sex, then this workshop is for you. Together, we'll discuss—and explore—a range of playful, erotic and mindful strategies for focusing on the present moment when intimate with our beloveds. We will call on Aphrodite and her consorts to guide us as we play in the intersection of Zen, Taoist, and Tantric meditation and thought, all with the potential to enrich our experience of sacred sex. Because our work will be both interactive and practical, we encourage you to bring a partner (or partners) to this workshop: touching and communication will be key. Come ready to feel, listen and learn from and with each other. No one under 18 will be admitted. Please note that this is a beginners' workshop focused on the goal of bringing our whole selves to lovemaking, not a class on the practice of Tantra. You must bring a partner or partners to participate in this class.

III. Mindful Sex Play: Adding Spice!
Inspired by Aphrodite's relationship with Hephaestus, this workshop addresses the needs of established, experienced couples. Just as eating the same meal every night can get boring, making love the same way can gradually close the heart. Yes, the familiar can sustain you, but can it make you grow? Can it keep you happy forever? Making love the same way every night, while often lovely and comforting, can simply get dull. This workshop is for those who want to add as yet unexplored delights to their love lives. Perhaps you've thought of roleplaying together, or writing each other sexy love letters. What would it be like to push the boundaries you've established: to have sex outside, or be spanked, or ask your lover what they've never dared to do—yet? We'll explore many of the spicy, juicy ways you can wake up your heart and keep lovemaking fresh. Our work will be both interactive and practical; touching and communication will be key. Come ready to feel, listen and learn from and with each other. No one under 18 will be admitted. You must bring a partner or partners to participate in this class.

We'll post the dates for this weekend later this month at www.godhooks.com, along with the dates for our our Element Money intensive (based on my Lessons from Element Earth podcasts at www.sabrinamari.net) and the Descent of Innana (for people in the midst of profound, painful transformations).

From:

sabrinamari.livejournal.com

I don't know if we'll do online versions of the Mindful Intimacy series---they are designed to be very experiential. Still, it's something to think about...