:: Edgeliving: Master Jim and slave marsha ::

:: Sunday, September 28, 2003 ::

Random thoughts...

From time to time, i read something that speaks to me about my life as a slave. (Sometimes i find these things in really odd places.) As i find them, i'll try to share them here...

Here's one:

The Deer Path
by Kate Cheney Chappell

The deer path is the path you see with your heart,
invisible to the eyes of others,
the way into your wild, unnamed parts,
a route disguised, uncharted.

The trail is hard and dark,
crowded by root-bound granite,
hemmed by spruce limbs curtaining light;
it dwindles to a trace---

Yet leads to a clearing
where others have rested before you.
See, their bodies bent the grass
their spirits, arrows of light;

Scent of water is in the air
as, from that rough corridor,
you enter the gentle opening of possibility,
a place that feels familiar
and new
at the same time.


Walking the deer path,
--slave marsha

:: 7:39 PM [+] ::
...

Uncharted Territory

Master Jim and i had the opportunity to see the Canadian Rockies this past weekend while we were in Calgary. For those of us from places in Texas where anything higher than a freeway overpass counts as a major landmark, the Rockies are nothing short of astounding.

As we drove toward the mountains, Master Jim and i began to speculate what it was like for those brave people who first came to and crossed those peaks. i wondered aloud how those early explorers decided where to try a crossing -- what did they look for? Master Jim responded: "You look for a place that doesn't look as high as all the rest. Look for a crack between the mountains"

Uhhh... okay. Makes sense, i guess, but i'm not sure i'd want to stake my life following a guide who was trudging along looking for a crack between the mountains.

And yet, now that i think about it, that's exactly what a Master/slave journey is like.

Those of us who are slaves are too often convinced that Masters are all knowing, all seeing creatures -- or at least they should be if they are "true" Masters. They will always know the right path -- or if the path seems difficult, it's because there's some grand "Master Plan" at work.

In reality, as Master Jim noted in His post, the journey of a Master and a slave is anything but clearly marked. There are no maps, few guides, and no signs pointing the way through the mountains. Sometimes, the best the Master can do is to look for a crack between the mountains. Truly, we journey through uncharted territory. On the journey, the Master and slave may lose the way and it may take days or weeks or years to retrace their steps. Or, the Master and slave may come upon a beautiful valley, and for a time, the path is clear and the way is easy.

As Master Jim and i stood in the midst of those glorious mountains, i pointed at one just as the setting sun touched the peak for a final time that day and said, "Sir, i want to be on the mountaintop, but as a slave, i think i'm terribly far down the mountain." He smiled and shook His head. "You're closer to the mountaintop than you think."

i'd like to be able to accept what He said without question -- i know i should -- but i can't, not yet, not fully, because i know my own failings too well. But what i do know to be my truth is this: i am on an incomperable journey through uncharted territory. Master Jim is my guide, and i trust Him. Not to always unerringly find the path... but to always, always keep trying.

To keep looking for the crack between the mountains.

--slave marsha

:: 8:39 AM [+] ::
...

Tell Me the Best Way to Get to Mastery and slavery

Isn’t the Internet a wonderful thing? With a few clicks of your mouse, you can go to a site such as MapQuest, enter your beginning location and your destination, and get, in excruciating detail, turn-by-turn, tenth-of-a-mile by tenth-of-a-mile directions in seconds. Your only task if driving alone is to avoid an accident while attempting to follow those detailed directions.

So, where is the leather MapQuest? The MapQuest that will allow me to enter “inexperienced dominant” as my beginning point and “all knowing Master” as my destination, and which, with a mouse click, will give me the step-by-step map for my Master/slave journey?

If you have been reading this webpage, you already know that I do not believe such a resource exists. There are no resources, either on the Internet or in a dust-covered box in the dark recesses of a leather store, that will give me or anyone else, a detailed map of the Master/slave journey.

The journey of a Master and slave is a very personal experience. While those sharing the experience can gain insights from written resources, attending leather events featuring M/s seminars, and developing a circle of acquaintances and friends who also practice M/s, the only way a Master and a slave can find their way is to chart their own course. As a Master with some experience, if asked, I can talk to you about developing a philosophy, the elements of a contract, how to begin to establish protocols, and the ethics of ownership -- but only you can translate this information and incorporate what is useful to you into the fabric of your own Master and slave relationship.

One way to describe Masters and slaves, then, is as artists. Give six pairs of Masters and slaves six palettes with the same colors and you will end up with six entirely different paintings in terms of color, form, and substance. Give the same six pairs some of the building blocks of an M/s relationship -- control, philosophy, direction, discipline, protocol, ethics and service -- and you will end up with six totally different Master/slave relationships.

The way we walk the path of Mastery and slavery, the way we travel on our M/s journey, will be unique to each pairing. There is no one way to walk this path successfully, and there is no one accepted road map for the M/s journey. Perhaps the only certainty is that if someone tells you his is hers is the only way, then that person can be rejected as a false prophet. As painful, time consuming and error-filled as it may be, each Master and slave pair must find their own way. Some will fail, some will succeed: all will struggle. For those who are able to stay the course and fight through the problems they will face, the end product will be a Master/slave relationship that has a better chance of surviving because it was built through the blood, sweat, and tears of a Master and a slave.

In leather,
Master Jim

:: 11:35 PM [+] ::
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Something new...

Master Jim and i have added something new to this page -- a discussion forum. Just click on the "Discuss Edgeliving" link to the left, under the "Recommended" heading. You'll be taken to the new Edgeliving discussion board. Leave your thoughts, your comments, your questions. Master Jim and i can also be reached directly by email at mstr_jm@hotmail.com and marshaslave@hotmail.com.

And thanks for joining us on our journey.


--slave marsha

:: 10:05 AM [+] ::
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Do You Believe in Magic?
Part 2 of Service: The Life Blood of a M/s Relationship


Do you believe in magic? i do… at least when I’m inside the “magic circle” of service.

In Part 1, Master Jim said i would explain what He and i mean by the “magic circle.” Defining the magic circle for me is a little like that great definition of obscenity given by Potter Stewart, one of our venerated Supreme Court justices, who said: “I know it when I see it.” Catchy, but perhaps not an altogether useful definition.

So what service do i see happening inside the magic circle? Service in the magic circle is being allowed to serve in the most intimate ways – things like bathing, dressing, sex, being a footstool, an ashtray. As a specific example, for me, it is standing behind Him when we are out in the leather community, in the military “at ease” position, making sure His needs are met, unobtrusively. It is providing service to Him so intimately and closely that we appear as one.

Okay, so maybe i'm not doing any better than Justice Stewart at coming up with a definition.

Let’s try this: Master Jim says “it’s all about the socks.” So i’ll define the magic circle in terms of socks. Indirect sock service is hunting down those damn socks at 5 rural Wal-Marts and making sure they’re in His drawer against the day when He needs them. Direct sock service in the magic circle is laying out a pair of those fresh, virginal socks for Him and then kneeling to actually slide them on His feet. (Note to anyone who actually gets to do this for Master Jim – He likes room between the end of His toe and the end of the sock.)

All clear now? Good.

Master Jim is right when He says the vast majority of my service to Him was indirect. In fact, it still is. Recently, i had the opportunity to try to explain to someone who was interested in entering into service with Master Jim what kind of service would be expected. It was a fascinating – and somewhat discouraging – experience. Try as i might, i could not get this person to understand that as a 24/7 slave to Master Jim, the vast majority of my time was NOT spent looking hot standing behind Him or sucking cock. Instead, my time is mostly spent in what Master Jim describes as “administrative tasks” – correspondence, managing the calendar, trip planning, and oh yeah – finding those damn socks.

Over the past few years, from time to time, i begged Master Jim for a chance to serve Him in more personal ways. i’ll admit it was hard for me to be told that kind of service wasn’t important to Him. While i can’t say that suddenly i am awash in personal service opportunities, i can say that Master Jim clearly has discovered that allowing service inside the magic circle can be meaningful, enjoyable and yes… even hot. That’s a good thing for me, and i’m grateful.

Because i believe in magic.

--slave marsha

:: 5:34 PM [+] ::
...

Service: The Life Blood of a M/s Relationship
Part 1

As I have said here before, I see control as the heart of a Master/slave relationship. In order for the heart to continue a strong and steady beat, it requires life-sustaining blood. That blood is service. Service in all its magnificent and mundane forms is the life blood of an M/s relationship. Individuals who are wired as slaves thrive on providing service. The reason for their very being is to offer to service, to be of service to their owner. That service may be offered by a tuxedoed, white-gloved slave who brings her owner coffee and cigars on a gleaming silver platter; or by a slave in a grimy, sweat-stained tee-shirt holding a toothbrush he has used to clean the toilet; or by plainly dressed slave who has just finished his Master’s daily email correspondence; or by a naked slave who has just provided her Mistress with a bath and massage.

You get the idea: service comes in an infinite variety of forms and the only definition of service that applies to your M/s relationship is the one you give it. In other words, the service a slave provides to an owner is the service an owner wants that slave to provide.

Having made that generalization, I now want to divide service into two broad categories: direct and indirect. I define direct service as those things that are provided to an owner that meet his or her personal needs. Service that falls into this category include valet tasks and personal attendant services (cleaning, grooming, massage, sex). Indirect service is those tasks that contribute to the coordination of the owner’s life and work. Service that falls into this category include secretarial duties and administrative tasks.

It is true that an owner can and must be the one to determine which tasks and services are to be performed by the slave. It is also true that an owner can require that 100 percent of the slaves time be devoted to either direct or indirect service since the services that are provided should be designed to improve the owner’s quality of life and to meet the task-needs of the owner. As my own Master/slave relationship developed, however, I found I was requiring that slave marsha provide me with more and more indirect service. Almost all of her time was taken up by administrative tasks that included managing my correspondence, managing my calendar, planning my trips, developing my speaking outlines, and coordinating the events that I produce. She was providing me very little in the way of direct service, and, in fact, I often told her that direct service was not very important to me, and that I had her doing what most needed to be done.

There is no question that the services I had slave marsha providing me were and are important.; however, I had an opportunity to be reintroduced to personal, direct service and found out how much I missed that kind of service. I also discovered how much slave marsha longed for the opportunity to provide direct service to me. As a result, I have realigned what I require of my slave so that she can, on a regular basis, provide service to me inside of the magic circle… the circle she will now describe in Part 2.

In leather,
Master Jim

:: 6:16 AM [+] ::
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