Brad Sagarin, lead researcher of The Science of BDSM & professor of social psychology at Northern Illinois University, studies the altered states of consciousness that may be achieved by tops & bottoms through BDSM activities.
In a recent article, Sagarin stated “BDSM can give Bottoms a temporary relief from the stresses of selfhood. Descriptions of it sound like just a wonderful escape from, you know, the kind of higher-level processing that we do all the time as people…The fact that somebody is a top executive or a mother, all the different roles that weigh a person with a lot of responsibilities…These temporary reliefs can actually potentially lead to better functioning at other times.” Regarding tops, Sagarin stated “Tops really need to keep their wits and abilities about them, so that they can make sure what they’re doing is being done with appropriate care and safety.”
Cara Dunkley, a clinical psychologist at the Sexual Health Laboratory at University of British Columbia, recently published a study examining mindfulness among BDSM (bondage, discipline, sadism, masochism) practitioners. While the sample size was limited, the preliminary research supported a link between BDSM & dispositional mindfulness in that the pleasant states of mind achieved through BDSM may foster a state of mindfulness.
In that same article, Dunkley stated “The many factors around BDSM that come together — a positive emotional and interpersonal context, a possible change in neuro-chemistry from sexual arousal that releases dopamine and oxytocin, positive anticipation of pain rather than negative anticipation — it may all be what leads to these altered states of consciousness or mindfulness, which then impacts the extent to which pain is perceived as pleasurable.
Dunkley stated “The mindfulness method of observing refers to the ability to attend to internal & external experiences, like sensations, emotions, thoughts. Bottoms must be very aware of their own internal experiences & emotional states in their moment-to-moment response during a BDSM activity, & to physical sensations, because they need to differentiate between safe pain & pain that could be indicative of real harm…Similarly, Tops must be externally attentive to the emotional & physical responses of the Bottom through very controlled focus, & consciously adjusting their actions accordingly to keep it pleasurable.”
Mindfulness & meditation are concepts traditionally thought of as someone sitting cross-legged in deep transcendental mediation. We discuss breathing through “right pain” within the context of the earth element. Transforming “right pain” into pleasure can be brought through mindful awareness & acceptance of pain as part of the experience. Pain, for good & for bad, has the ability to thrust us into the present moment. To deal with what is in front of us, here & now. By cultivating acceptance of “right pain”, we are sometimes gifted, biologically & meditatively, with the beautiful experience of pleasure. In the rope scene, many refer to this experience as rope space.