One Taste-an urban retreat center Mini “O.M.” Training

{ February 26, 2007 @ 2:58 pm } · { feminism, sexuality }
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Last night I attended a mini Orgasmic Meditation training taught by ten women from the San Francisco based community called “One Taste.” These women live in a communal environment of 27 women and 23 men who aspire to live as “turned on” and sensually mindful as possible. Mornings start with two O.M.’s (orgasmic meditations) and the rest of the day has more to follow, I am guessing.

An O.M. is an exercise or practice which includes laying prone on the floor with legs entangled, your partner is sitting up with her right thumb inserted into your vagina and four fingers “anchoring or grounding” your body to the floor. The left index finger is supposed to “stroke” softly, “as if touching an eyeball” the pearl of the clit. This “pearl” is located in the upper left quadrant of the clit and stroking techniques are varied but slow and mindful. The stroking is mandated for fifteen minutes, if technique is followed.

The group offers many different programs and is online at www.onetastesf.com. Some of the varied programs are yoga (naked and traditional), massage school, teleconferencing courses, O.M. sessions, bodywork, an open to the public cafe, and full on immersed communal living. Nicole Daedone, author of “The Ethical Slut,” is the founder and the visionary of One Taste. She also offers an instructional video on the O.M. practice for $195.00. There is a party called FUSE coming up, March 8, that offers to bring together women, leadership, and desire and welcomes participants to come express yourselves and take your sensuality to the next level.

In my mini course in Sacramento, which was $25.00 and located at Grind n Groove (a local sex positive and women owned business), we were given a crash course in the practice. Many of the games or lessons were interactive and required partnering up with another women in the workshop, either a participant or a teacher. In these little lessons we were mainly focused on bringing awareness to the body and senses as well as breaking down some walls of resistance and becoming more vulnerable or open to our own sensual needs.

As participants in this workshop their was no actual sex or genital contact, the activites were merely symbolic and sensually mindful. One activity was to hug a women for about four minutes, in the way that you would want to be hugged and then the hugged was asked to tell the hugger what she felt. Another activity was called, “Turn Ons,” and participants were asked to share things that excite or engage the senses with their partner. These activites were definitely difficult and a push for me to fully participate. I would vascillate between feeling oddly “turned on” to deeply embarassed and awkward.

The next day one of the trainers called to check in on me, push more workshops, and offer her desire to be there for me if I need anything or have any questions. I found this whole experience to be very exhilerating and truly bizaare, authentic, and a tad scary. It is obvious to me that along with the joy and love found within a community I am sure their are some interesting dynamics, politics, and perhaps cultish behaviors. Although that may be, I will soon be visiting “One Taste” in SF and possibly take more workshops!

I (heart) Taylor’s Market

{ February 21, 2007 @ 12:59 am } · { foodie, meat, sacramento }
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I love Taylor’s Market on Freeport so much! I just got the butchers’ special for $99.99 for thirty pounds of meat, wow. Thats like $2.99 a pound. It came with yummy steaks, had them last night, shrimp, chicken, bacon and pork steaks. Plus one of the butchers has a shaved head and a big handsome mustache, he reminds me of the Irish guys in “Gangs of New York.” The wine guy is fabulous and always there ready to help with either recommendations or food pairing. The house made fennel and orange olives are bombastic!

mean girls

{ February 21, 2007 @ 12:20 am } · { bois, feminism, lesbians, queer, sacramento night life }
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    I just moved to Sacramento this summer and was so happy to see such a thriving young lesbian scene. I went to the Rainbow Festival in midtown and even saw Debbie Gibson live! Rupaul was here too but I hadn’t bought a ticket and it sold out. Recently though I have been noticing a rough edge to the scene. It has appeared to me as anti-bisexual, pro-homogenous and downright dumb attitudes in some of the out and about scenesters. I grew up in the sex positive, all inclusive, queer friendly San Francisco 80’s. As a girl I visited the “West Coast Music Festival” yearly, “Take Back the Night Rally’s,” and witchy mountain women circles. I am shocked to learn of the lack of education and political awareness around really loving your own choices and accepting others, without blame or shame. It seems to me that people who really love themselves don’t attack others so viciously.
    So this brings me to the incident, which I found both embarrassing and quite frankly sad. The scene is set; a girlfriend, her husband and I are having a drink on the patio at the Monkey Bar. A raucous group of women in there mid twenties, a guess, were revelling in birthday gifts, kisses, and loud bantering. As time and the imbibing of alcohol moved along the women started to yell that they loved to be obnoxious, rude, and loud. This hollering continued, with no response from myself or company. Then a singing quote from Guns N’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle,” at which point I finished the line rather spontaneously, so moved was I by the energy and fervor of the scene.
At which point, much to my surprise and item was hurled at me and I was called a “stupid cunt.” Much profanity ensued, leaving me bewildered and a bit on edge. The young women, dressed like punky “bois,” as it is sometimes called, were definitely exuding a very powerful stench of adolescent aggression. My “so called” attackers, started saying to each other loudly, how they, “would love to punch that cunt in her face!” All the while never advancing or looking at my face. Segue, back to the item thrown, it was oddly enough a used vaginal wipe wrapper? What this means symbolically, I can only guess, they are angry at the smell of vagina’s in general or their own…It brings to mind an incident in my home town Ukiah where the hicks on the school bus called me dyke and threw ABC gum into my long red hair. Ironically enough now its the dykes (not all, I know) that are doing the mysogynistic abuse of women.
    This is quite a backlash behavior from what I have seen in my lifetime. I was very startled and hurt by this scene and put some energy into the possible meaning. I was saddened by their obvious safety and strength, in numbers and scenester status, that it is somehow okay or seen as “tough” and “reputable” to make others feel unsafe. I am intrigued by the dressing like boys, then the full and unironic acting out seventeen year old angry boy juvenile mob mentality mysogyny bullshit. I am scared that once given power or safety the once victim can turn and victimize in such an obvious attack on my sexuality and my femaleness. I have never been called cunt so many times or with such vehemence. I know in cases where children have been exposed to violence in the home, the child either identifies with the vicim or the perpetrator. Have some of our young lesbians chosen to identify with the abuser, dominator, and oppressor rather than find strength internally (vaginally, hee hee) and leave the cycle of violence altogether? Or are they spoiled rich girls that were never oppressed, cheerleaders in high school perhaps, or picture “mean girls” from the movie, which is why the lack of insight into their own wacky and not so wise behavior. Hopefully this is an isolated incident and not one to be repeated, I can only say I am deeply unamused.