What a power packed word it is. Strip conjures up all sorts of steamy images of clothes being ripped off and flung into oblivion as you and the new, or not so new but still hot, mate throw off the world to plop in bed and get the evening started. At least that’s one way to think about it, but not the only. Titillating as that image is, I have something else in mind, more like a slow and conscious act where stripping is the focal point rather than a bump in the road to bliss on the mattress.
Recently, I was reminded of how sublime being stripped slowly and deliberately can be. An added treat was being blindfolded, which I had not experienced in a while. With vision out of the picture, I could feel myself relaxing almost immediately and letting all tensions flow out of my body. I could feel myself surrendering and going into touch space more easily and quickly than normal.
Regardless of one’s age or body type, we all have varying degrees of negative images about our own bodies-a few extra pounds here, a wrinkle there, too hairy, too smooth, and endless other things. I find it interesting that most of these images are tied to vision. For this reason, something as simple as a blindfold can have a transformative effect on the person being stripped, as well as on the stripper.
A main theme in these posts on Sacred Intimacy has been about our having the freedom to touch and about freeing our body’s largest organ, the skin. An insight I had from this recent experience of being stripped was the importance of freeing touch from being subservient to vision. Inevitably, we can achieve this in the process of any body work because we instinctively close our eyes to travel inward as we go into a blissful state. Being stripped, however, intensifies this experience, especially when it is done in a supportive, loving, and conscious manner. Here, the focus is on waking the body up gradually as it adjusts to breathing through all its pores without the limitations of clothing. And, there is time to process out any negativity as well as to sync breathing with your partner.
There is nothing sweeter than feeling the movement of air or of another human being wafting over your naked body. As the stripping progresses, both bodies quite naturally come together-there hardly needs to be a manual or any instruction, we are programmed for physical closeness and love. As I have said in many posts, let touch be your guide. Too often, our all too human customs have gotten in the way by pulling us apart. Here’s where I weigh in with a tip of the hat to mother nature and stripping!