Marketing Blah Blah

For several months, I had been telling myself this story: I don't know anything about business, or marketing or sales, I must not know what I'm doing. For a while, I researched.  I love to learn about new things, so for a while I'm quite happy learning about marketing, open ended questions, magic words, rate structuring, et cetera, et cetera.

But now it just feel formulaic to me, and I've never been a fan of formulas.  I prefer to do my own thing, my own way. Why must I worry about the branding of "My Own Thing?"  Or worry about if the words I use are ones that my clients read? I'm not even that concerned about making money, just so long as it comes. I have no quota, or agenda. (No, I suppose that's not true. I want to stir up change and new ways of doing things. Revolution is my agenda.)

I would really just like to do the good work where it's needed, and be supported in abundance in return. I want to support the truth that there is a tradition of this work being healing and supportive of all people and relationships involved. When it's done with the wrong intentions, wrong motivations, wrong energy, of course you'll get bad results.  And for so long we have been told that there can be no right motivations when it comes to sex and especially whoring.

Well, I am here questioning these assumptions. I know I am rooting my motivations in the spiritual, and that is what allows me to be open. I don't need to lead you in a mantra or even sit yabyum to help you experience this. When we meet and we feel the instant connection, the eagerness to explore this new lover guides us on our journey towards what is possible. Just what heights and depths can be reached? That is the work. Each time, more is possible.

This past year, I have learned some of the things possible. I'm looking forward to going deeper with each dive, each year.

Loving the kitty this week!

This week is special: I am cat sitting for a friend, and able to use her wonderful temple space. It's downtown, close to everything, and the cat is just a sweetie.  So much harder to get up from bed with this warm, cuddly ball of fur purring on top of my chest.  (oh yes, did I mention I was a cat person?)

Mondays are quickly becoming my favorite day. The past two have been so excellent: a wonderful balance of work and personal time, with the whole week to look forward to.  The rest of the week is almost a reaction to how Monday went.  Today I felt very much "stuck in a factory" and was counting the hours down. I am looking forward to my next free day, Thursday.  What will I do on my day off? If the phones are quiet, I may spend it at the Banya....

Summers Ending Already?

The summer has gone by so quickly. May, June, July all seemed to pass by in a blink of an eye.  Now, August is nearing its end, with the annual Burner Exodus. I still seek a better balance between my day job and being a companion. The job is such that I can easily let my mind drift while I settle into a Zen bookbinding meditation.

Lately, it drifts off into various imagined encounters. I try to imagine what my temple would look like, the altar dedicated with curvaceous Goddess statues, candles, a luxurious bed with purple sheets. Make it feel royal, a place between worlds, where two divine beings can come together for a moment and mingle in pleasure.

It is close...dedicating my energy to this manifestation. The months come around, and a new year of Sacred Courtesan school is coming around. What new insights will I learn, new healings to share, what new depths will I discover within myself?

Visiting the Banya

After my two weeks of making hundreds of books and discovering just how little I want to be someone's boss, I took the day off to check out the relatively new Banya in SF. Oh my.

Not since NYC, years ago, have I been to a proper Russian sauna with a cold plunge. There are clothing optional sections, but lots of people wear swim trunks or bikinis.  I'm in love with it, just after one visit.  The steam sauna was also amazing.  After a few rounds of steaming, cold plunging, sweating and soaking, there is a lovely balcony to take in the sun and the fresh breeze. There, you can chat with new and old friends, share a bottle of wine, and have some light snacks before heading back down into the tubs for a second round.

It's during the second round that I laid out and had a birch leaf treatment.  They soak the dried leaves to release the tannins and slap them across the skin to open up the pores.  It's done in the Russian sauna, so you are already warm and sweating. Once done, it's another cold plunge. 

I spent a little over six hours. Well worth it.  This is something that needs to become regular. 

Missing You!

I volunteered to babysit while my supervisor went on a well deserved vacation. After taking much time off for my program, for more introspection and seeing a few clients when I could....I figured it was the least I could do for being so flexible for me.  I've learned a lot about myself in these couple of weeks. Things that eight months studying the chakras didn't teach me.

First...I have no interest being someone's boss. Especially people who have
spent their lives being micromanaged.

Second...I desire people to think for themselves, and I truly believe we all have that ability. I want a world where we honor ourselves and each other, and there's no sense of taking advantage for a better profit. Seeing otherwise day after day is soul-killing.

Third...I need more time to myself, more spaciousness and more working for myself.

I'm going to be so happy to take time off. Part of it will need to include time spent in a tree. A few nights set aside for clients. And lots of time in between to dance naked, and luxuriate in the solitude needed for more depthful writing.