Did you ever have a fabulous experience with someone and wondered if something that special will ever happen again?

In Greek mythology, Aphrodite is the goddess of love, beauty and sexual rapture.

In everyone’s lives there are certain moments or people that you can remember fondly years later. These memories remain crisp in you mind no matter how much time has passed, whether because of a good connection or sex or usually both. While these memorable times are often few and far between they are always clearly distinguishable from any other experience you had.

In these memories both people involved were amazing. The sex was fabulous yet maybe you had sex with the same person other times and it wasn’t that special at all. Perhaps it wasn’t that special with anyone else? So what is it that determines the outcome?

Sometimes when you are going through a dry spell in your relationships don’t you feel afraid that such amazing, magical, incredible spark may not happen again? Ever?

I found an interesting parallel between the concept of genius in ancient societies and our own experiences. It was considered at that time that a “genius” was a separate entity from the the artist, the person who actually produces the work. The artist gets inspiration for his work, the insight to create a masterpiece. These ancient artists were aware of the fact that this divine inspiration would not always be there, and that not every work would be a masterpiece. When one considers the genius to be an outside force, there are less psychological pressures and they wouldn’t feel that bad if the next work wasn’t as just as the previous.

In modern times we have come to think of a person himself being a genius. If one is a genius they should be able to consistently produce tremendous works. The problem with this logic is that it turns one’s craft into a burden. Suddenly, a painter isn’t simply painting, but there are expectations and demands on his work.

The same concept can be applied to relationships. The outcome of any event (date, lovemaking, courtship) depends on multiple factors, including the environment, the other person, and yourself. If any one person takes all the responsibility for the results, it will be very difficult to meet that goal.

This is especially true for a man in his late thirties or early forties. At this point in his life, his physical performance may be waning, and moments of physical brilliance may be fewer and farther between. It’s a common occurrence that the relationship with the same person over the years is not causing the same sparks anymore, or the body is not cooperating (hence Viagra, Cialis, etc), or the stress and signs of age are taking their toll.

Aphrodite protects us from narcissism. If you were fantastic lovers… you can’t take all the credit for it. But when things don’t work it is not entirely your fault either. Believing that you are the vessel, the source of all the brilliance, all sensuality, connection, and consequent success in the relationship is a bit too much responsibility for one (or even two) mere human beings.

Here is where Aphrodite comes to our rescue in a way similar to the genius in the previous example. She is like an invisible force that puts all the pieces together. She helps you both figure out, unconsciously, what it is that you like about the other person and how to make it work. When Aphrodite is on your side the experience becomes fabulous. It helps psychologically if we can accept that Aphrodite is not always there. Maybe she (Aphrodite) was there before and the experience was amazing, but she is somewhere else today and… well… it will just not be as good today.

While understanding the other person and understanding yourself does help to round out the relationship, it doesn’t necessarily produce those memorable moments. Though some may argue this point, recruiting the help of Aphrodite is not something learnable. Many claim that you can learn all the steps and factors and components that produce a fabulous relationship. Some claim that even having a great sexual experience can also be learned. That nonsense distort egos, creates anxiety and unreasonable expectations about looks and performance.

Love is capricious and there is always some uncertainty to every moment of it. But if you meet that lover again and this time it wasn’t that great, don’t beat yourself up too much. Perhaps Aphrodite wasn’t having a great day herself either. It’s her fault, not yours, and definitely not your lover’s fault.

Sometimes, we expect or even fall in love with the characters that people play and forget that they’re also real people. Popular culture makes us view people by such high standards, always free of trouble and cool all the time. Invariably, we become attracted to that image even though no one is really like that.

For the same reasons, clients often fall in love with escorts. Fans fall in love with their famous idols. They see them when they’re perfect, well dressed, and focused on doing whatever is it they do very well. They dosn’t meet those same idols when they are in the supermarket, having a bad day, or with a bad case of PMS.

It’s much like falling in love with Batman, there is no link to reality. Especially because at the end of the day, Batman is just Bruce Wayne. No one ever sees Batman washing the Batmobile or going to Jiffy Lube for an oil change. In movies, they’re never doing maintenance, they’re only ever enjoying.

Similarly, people who study sexual behavior in the last three or four decades have noticed how porn has been changing the expectations people have about sex. In the past, we expected a more romantic sexual experience.  Now, because of the availability of porn, most of the population expects the other person to perform like a porn star. Because very few people can do it, expectations often come crashing down.

Relationships: easy to get into, hard to maintain. Why are they so hard to maintain? Because it’s hard to keep up the lie. ’Cause you can’t get nobody being you. You got to lie to get somebody. You can’t get nobody looking like you look, acting like you act… sounding like you sound. When you meet somebody for the first time, you’re not meeting them. You’re meeting their representative. – Chris Rock

We should recognize whether we’re meeting with the person or their representative. If you’re going to put forth any kind of image, you should keep in mind that the image is tarnishable. At some point the person will get to know you for who you really are. If you create a character it tends to lead to disappointment.

However, if you want someone to have a cool image of you, don’t do any maintenance in front of them. Make this policy part of who you are, not just something you do. Reserve time for yourself, time alone, and do all the maintenance during that time.

Typically when a man is going to a bar or a club looking for a woman, his ultimate goal is sex. He’s looking for a one night stand, which also means he’s in a hurry. As with anything done in a hurry, this rarely works out well for him.

Consequently, much of the gaming technology is targeted at this man. While gaming schools of thought don’t always directly promote a one night stand, they are all about attracting women, creating trust and seducing. Many men take this information and apply it in the quest for a one night stand.

Even after applying this technology, the rate of success for this method is very low.  Making sex your main goal in relationships is similar to making money your main goal in business. You will almost never get it. The main goal in business should be excellence, and money comes as a consequence of that excellence. Similarly, if the main goal in relationships is excellence, sex will be one of the natural results.

I developed my online game much more, much earlier, than my social skills. I even became an expert in the techniques used to meet someone in person after you initially met online. This is considered a warm approach (As opposed to a cold approach in a club: talking to someone you have never met before, usually intoxicated and in a loud environment. Clearly a much more difficult method.) When meeting someone you’ve met online, you’ve spent some amount of time getting to know them, so you enter into the interaction with some level of trust and a more elaborate context.

Of all of my relationships online in the last few years, most developed over time. It never took more than six months, and was usually within the two weeks to two months range. I’ve observed that in some cases, when meeting someone you met online, you might have sex the same day, but it’s very rare. Sometimes it might be the second or third meeting, and other times it could be weeks or months later.

Another important factor about meeting people online is simply that you can have a lot of relationships online at the same time. There’s generally a minor time requirement when emailing back and forth occasionally. It’s similar to owning a farm and growing several different crops, you can harvest them at different times throughout the year, but there’s always something growing.

I propose that instead of seeking one night stands, it’s better to develop ideal timing. Instead of running an agenda based on your own interests, figure out how much time will she take to develop the proper amount of trust and comfort, learn to read her emotional states correctly and define the timing based on her, not on you. This method has a much greater rate of success  than setting your agenda on yourself and your need for instant gratification.

“Hi, my name is Cindy, and I’m 24 years old, and my favorite color is pink.”

Well, cindy4fun24… from your basic profile information, we’ve already been able to gather that information. Do you have anything useful to share?

Many people on social networking or dating websites fall into the habit of listing arbitrary information that is supposed to give an idea of who they are. Even if someone did falsely assume that they could get to know you by reading a few short paragraphs of supposed “autobiography,” what good will it do to repeat basic information that is already listed? What good does knowing your favorite color do for me?

Listing information like this is not only a waste of time for the author, but also for the person perusing the profile. Much of this information could be obtained simply by having a conversation with someone. Your favorite color or the TV shows you watch tell very little about who you are, anyway.

Instead of playing it safe by filling the space of an “About Me” section with useless information, people should learn to say things that actually will help them meet people they will be compatible with.

If you’re looking for someone who is a non-smoker… say so. If you need to find someone who is into kinky sex…put that in your profile.

Listing things like this that explain what you’re looking for, or why you’ve created the profile at all, will yield much better results. You will attract people who are truly potential matches, and avoid dealing with people who wouldn’t really interest you.

A question was asked in a BDSM forum that struck me as somewhat odd. A submissive woman asked if it was possible for a dominant to be both nurturing and sadistic…

Surprisingly, (to me, at least) the overwhelming response was that NO a dominant cannot be both nurturing and sadistic. I’d say about 85% of the responses were from submissive women, and they said it wasn’t possible to be in a love-based BDSM relationship of any sort with a sadistic dominant. The few dominant males who responded were the type that agree with the majority out of the belief it will get them more friends.

My response is actually the exact opposite. I believe it is absolutely possible for a dominant to be nurturing and caring as well as sadistic.

Why must these terms be mutually exclusive? Why can’t someone who identifies as “submissive” also be “masochistic”? If the submissive is masochistic, then even if her sadistic dominant loves her, pain, in some form, will be part of their relationship. If it pleases the dominant to inflict pain on his submissive, and the submissive also enjoys receiving that pain, everyone benefits. Even if she doesn’t enjoy the pain, she should, ideally, enjoy serving and pleasing her dominant, in which case, everyone still benefits. He can still be nurturing and caring, he can still love her, why not? Are sadists no longer humans?

After this response, many of the submissives backtracked and claimed that they loved receiving physical pain from their dominants, and the post was obviously talking about emotional sadism, which is totally different

Sadism is sadism. And for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Masochists enjoy the pain inflcted on them by sadists. One might venture to say the sadist is nurturing the masochist’s needs….

Can a relationship between a non-masochistic submissive and a sadistic dominant work? Maybe not. But that doesn’t change the fact that a dominant CAN be nurturing and sadistic, whether the submissives in the forum wish to admit it or not.

I find it interesting that while many people agree that generally speaking, the man in a relationship should be “older” than the female, there is still such distaste for larger age disparities in relationships. Strangely enough, there are even rules about how to calculate the age that is “too old” or “too young” for you (the “half-your-age-plus-seven” rule).

Many younger women who seek relationships with older men are referred to as “gold-diggers,” by their critics. Clearly, the only thing attracting a younger woman to an older man is his money, right?

On the other hand, a young man lusting after an older woman is considered normal (the hot teacher fantasy). In fact, he would probably receive a pat on the back from his friends for accomplishing such a thing.

A large number of younger women will note that men their own age are often far less mature than they are. Women are also notably more attracted to powerful men, and younger men simply haven’t had the time to grow up and earn the same type of respect and power that an older man has. Combine that with the fact that older men are much more well-mannered, experienced and dependable, it’s easy to see why women are attracted to men ten or twenty years their senior.

This type of relationship holds the most appeal for both parties involved. The older men get the companionship of a younger woman who is all to ready to pamper him. Younger women get the attentions and affections of attractive, older and powerful men.

For many the word “daddy” conjures images of family, and, therefore, when used in romantic relationships, of incest. In fact, the phrase “sugar daddy” was coined specifically to inspire these kinds of thoughts. A younger woman simply should NOT desire the affections of a man old enough to be her father.

But the truth is, many women do look for the characteristics of a good father wheen seeking out a mate. They typically want someone who they see as a “father figure” (or at least who has the potential to be one to their future children). Generally speaking, the characteristics of a good father are also the characteristics of a good boyfriend or husband.

So why is it that seeking out someone who acts like a father is less taboo than seeking out someone who looks like a father? Why is it somehow more incestuous to call a man “daddy” than to have him act like a father to you? Don’t, in fact, most new mothers refer to their husbands as “daddy” once they’ve had children?

Interesting question posted on FetLife.com:

A lot of people talk about training a sub or a slave..

But can you train a Dom?

For instance.. Scenario One; A pretty little sub girl meets a vanilla whom she falls in love with, Describes her lifestyle to the vanilla who professes to find it connects with him and wants to dominate her, Therefore can she then proceed to “train her dom”

Scenario two; Sub meets a Dom, Finds he is not fulfilling her needs, Of course there is constant communication in a relationship ( I expect) Then Can the sub train her Dom to suit her needs, Like a Dom would train his Sub?

Some say this is a violation, and if A sub does this she is trying to “top from the bottom” Which I find ridiculous personally.

Why do I never see many attempting to train their Doms?, Somehow I doubt they perfectly meet every need from the bat.

My answer:

It is possible, but I will not say it is easy.

If he is already an ALHPA MALE and mature and emotionally balanced then the task will be quite easy because he will know how to project his strong personality and values while at the same time paying attention to what works for his sub and for him. A real alpha man that is mature well developed is open to learn and will find that it is easy to fit the role of Dom comfortably. It will be quite a pleasurable journey for both.

However, if he is not an alpha male already, or not mature and well developed, or not emotionally balanced, this can be as hard as trying to teach a horse to deal cards.

Developing a “regular pussyfied american male” and turning him into an alpha male is work for serious and dedicated training programs and schools, and it usually costs thousands of dollars. Just like rehab, analysis, or deep behavior modification, it can rarely be accomplished by amateurs.

Being a good sub doesn’t mean you can be a good teacher.

Insanity scares me.

I lost several friends to insanity this far.

It’s more friends than I have lost to car accidents. More than I lost to cancer.

I am at that time in life where I am not old enough to have lost many friends to aging, but old enough to have many friends already. However I have lost less friends to crime, murder, aging, accidents, addiction or war than I have lost to insanity.

The first one was a school friend that took his own life at 13 years old. Another killed his girlfriend in a rage of jealousy and killed himself, leaving a dramatic message on the walls, written with blood and lipstick. Her blood and her lipstick. Another friend I lost to religious fanaticism, then another became incoherent and violent and soon got committed to an institution.

I guess it scares me so much because there is nothing I can do or say to them that will bring them back to “being in contact with reality and normalcy”. I was so painful to see my childhood friend talking to himself on the streets, preaching to the traffic on the streets, distant, incomprehensible, just the body of my friend while his mind, and the personality, that I knew and missed so much wasn’t there anymore.

I sometimes think that it is some kind of Darwinian selection process that cuts off those that are not so well adapted to modern life out of it. But that idea is also disturbing. I don’t understand it well, I just suffer.

Tulio, Luis, Marcelo, Nani, Vic, Karen, Caio…

I think I just miss my friends.