spirituality

While BDSM is (in)famous for turning up the heat in sex, and grounding one in the body, it is often a surprise to new practitioners how often ‘scenes’ or other BDSM activities elicit a decidedly spiritual response. According to a survey of 1,100 Americans and Canadians kinksters who described themselves as “heavily involved” in BDSM, nearly half said “they sometimes engage in BDSM for spiritual fulfillment.” Click on some of these stories and links to learn why.

If you were to rely on television and film as a guide to how BDSM impacts one’s soul, it wouldn’t be a pretty picture. Kink is used as shorthand for moral downfall, and most every kinky character onscreen is either part of some Satanic cult, or is a sadistic serial killer, or a heartless politician, [...]

Soon after my husband and I discovered BDSM, I was struck by the numerous ways in which sexual submission is similar to actual spiritual practices. [...]

When my dominant Daddy and I first began a thrilling BDSM exploration, we ordered an entire stack of books to help educate ourselves. SM 101 by Jay Wiseman. The Ultimate Guide to Kink by Tristan Taormino. And my favorite: Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns: The Romance and Sexual Sorcery of Sadomasochism. It was helpful to know so many people have gone before us and made a map of the territory. [...]

I’ll just say it: The discovery of Dominance & Submission hit me with all the power of a religious conversion. I had that ‘born again’ feeling of being a new person in thrall to a new understanding of God. I’d lie over my dominant Daddy’s lap for a spanking and it very much felt like a spiritual exercise. [...]