syreena
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Joined: 12/19/2005
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i want to apologize for my delay in my response to this board. However, there is good cause of it and that is that i needed the original authors permission to post His work. This is an article from Jack Rinella, which i thought was very good at explaining subspace. Mr. Jack Rinella gave me permission to repost this here on Aug. 6, 2006 - if needed i can forward the e-mail of permission. This article as it states is copyrighted and can not be copied and reproduced in any manner. Thank You Mr. Rinella for Your eloquent words and permission.
It’s (Almost) All in Your Head
Issue 35, 2005
I guess the biggest problem I have with presentations on BDSM techniques is that they often only focus on physical activity, such as swinging a flogger, inserting needles, or tying safe knots. I do not mean to mitigate the importance of the technical side of what we do but it seems to me that much too often we give only lip service to the actual physical and mental processes that happen when we do what we do.
We speak of subspace and wax poetically about the experience but seldom have I heard a competent lecture on what subspace is and the biological and intellectual processes that create it.
This, of course, leads me to my usual rant about the fact that we need a greater number of non-BDSM experts giving our seminars, though I would also be quick to point out that many players are expert in such fields and we would do quite well to invite them to teach us. Let's invite professionals in medicine, psychology, law, education, finance, event production, etc. to increase our knowledge and understanding. Until then, of course, I'll do my best to study and explain.
So I am researching the mind-body connection and this essay will reflect both that study and my experiences. Entering subspace is an important part of what we want to accomplish. Ought we not, then, to know what it is, how it works, and the ways that the process itself can be enhanced? As I begin I'd like to note that topspace, a subject much less mentioned, is probably the same phenomenon, though the physical aspects of its attainment are less known and even less understood.
In any case, I think that knowing what happens physically in the brain during a scene is an important part of one's understanding the complete process. Remember, please, that the value I place on understanding is not simply that we understand but rather that increased understanding will enhance the experience itself. My opinion is that if we know what's going on we can then encourage the process with appropriate responses.
Let me begin, then, with an elementary presentation on brain waves. Since I am no authority on such phenomena, let me quote at length from Intelegen Inc., a Michigan-based company whose website at http://brain.web-us.com/brainwavesfunction.htm contains the following information:
"There are four categories … of brainwaves, ranging from the most activity to the least activity. When the brain is aroused and actively engaged in mental activities, it generates beta waves. These beta waves are of relatively low amplitude, and are the fastest of the four different brainwaves… [ranging] from 15 to 40 cycles a second. Beta waves are characteristics of a strongly engaged mind. A person in active conversation would be in beta. A debater would be in high beta. A person making a speech, or a teacher, or a talk show host would all be in beta when they are engaged in their work.
"The next brainwave category in order of frequency is alpha. Where beta represented arousal, alpha represents non-arousal. Alpha brainwaves are slower, and higher in amplitude. Their frequency ranges from 9 to 14 cycles per second. A person who has completed a task and sits down to rest is often in an alpha state. A person who takes time out to reflect or meditate is usually in an alpha state. A person who takes a break from a conference and walks in the garden is often in an alpha state.
"The next state, theta brainwaves, are typically of even greater amplitude and slower frequency… normally between 5 and 8 cycles a second. A person who has taken time off from a task and begins to daydream is often in a theta brainwave state. A person who is driving on a freeway, and discovers that they can't recall the last five miles, is often in a theta state--induced by the process of freeway driving. The repetitious nature of that form of driving compared to a country road would differentiate a theta state and a beta state in order to perform the driving task safely.
"Individuals who do a lot of freeway driving often get good ideas during those periods when they are in theta. Individuals who run outdoors often are in the state of mental relaxation that is slower than alpha and when in theta, they are prone to a flow of ideas. This can also occur in the shower or tub or even while shaving or brushing your hair. It is a state where tasks become so automatic that you can mentally disengage from them. The ideation that can take place during the theta state is often free flow and occurs without censorship or guilt. It is typically a very positive mental state.
"The final brainwave state is delta. Here the brainwaves are of the greatest amplitude and slowest frequency. They typically center around a range of 1.5 to 4 cycles per second. They never go down to zero because that would mean that you were brain dead. But, deep dreamless sleep would take you down to the lowest frequency. Typically, 2 to 3 cycles a second."
Similarly we can describe a good scene in terms of brainwave activity. In fact I would love to have some neurologist record brainwave activity during a scene to confirm my suspicions. Alas, few scientists venture into our dungeons with their research equipment!
Obviously we are in beta when we negotiate and then begin a scene. The much ballyhooed warming up at the beginning of a scene is meant to move the participants from beta to alpha. Most players, then, spend their time in an alpha state, except when one or both of them is able to move into what is sometimes called "theta reverie." Happily for bottoms this is easier for them than for tops, since tops generally have to maintain a level of awareness in order to do what they are doing.
Expert tops, of course, can and do enter theta if their technique is such that it is as natural to them as driving a car five miles down a familiar freeway.
What is important here is to see the connections between what we do in the dungeon and what we do everywhere else, thus being able to use non-BDSM techniques to enhance our kinky experiences. It is my experience that bondage, flogging, whipping, fisting, fucking, needle play, and the like all have the potential of altering our brain wave patterns.
There are, too, other processes that do the same thing. Immersion in any activity, especially an artistic one will have a similar effect. Meditating, listening to music, and certain breathing exercises are other processes that do the same thing. Might we not, then, use both kinky and vanilla techniques to double our pleasure?
I think, for instance, of the lessons I learned at Lamaze classes as my wife and I prepared for the birth of our first child. It was there that I learned that certain breathing patterns would reduce the effect of pain. Later at the New Age Center where I learned to meditate I was taught that muscle relaxation and/or visualization would do similar things to my brain's activity.
In the dungeon, in my quiet times, when writing, similar processes are occurring. Lessons learned in one venue can and should be applied in others. A great scene is what we're seeking, isn't it? Let's find all the ways to get there.
Copyright 2005 by Jack Rinella. This material may not be copied in any manner. For permission to reproduce this essay in any form, contact [email protected]
For Mr. Rinella's site please go to www.leathermail.com - where you can see all His writings.
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