Ordeal Path Rant

On a list I am on, they are discussing ordeal path, and its ties to BDSM, and I went on a bit of a rant- I REALLY need to go through and design my 8 fold paths of Rope Bondage course- and it will likely also involve some of the non-major paths like path of the Theif, path of Madness, etc. For folks who are not familiar, the 8 fold paths: Path of Ritual, Path of the Flesh, Path of Sacred Plants, Ordeal Path, Ascetic Path, Path of Sound & Percussion, Path of Breath, and Path of the HorseFascinating interpretation that "Ordeal work "privileges" our body in that it reminds us that we HAVE a body."I personally have found that ordeal work involves anything that is an ORDEAL for the journeyer/seeker/et al. Being flogged, for someone in the kink community, is NOT likely an ordeal path working. It can be deeply cathartic, but in my opinion to have something be an ordeal, it challenges the recipient (and sometimes the priest/facilitator/shaman) to go beyond their comfort zones into the realm of ordeal.I have done ordeal work with people around challenging them to speak in public. I have been part of ordeal work that involves pushing people to open up and share tales of their traumatic past.I agree with Kenaz that "The BDSM connection/confusion doesn't help." It does not indeed. Just because many ordeal workers hone their skills for safer physical ordeal training in communities like BDSM, Body Modification, etc because *these are the people teaching the HOWs*, does not make folks doing BDSM/Body Mod etc Ordeal Workers. What makes folks Ordeal Workers is the WHY, not the HOW/WHAT."Ordeal work lends itself to exhibitionism." I disagree. Flashy Ordeal Workers who want to be main stage, or participants who perceive that the scary physical thing will look cool and be a good story lends itself towards exhibitionism. Ordeals that are actually ordeals can be the smallest of things, with no exhibitionism truly possible... I personally believe that many folks who do ordeal work, on both the shaman and the journeyer sides (and sometimes both at the same time) are having truly amazing experiences, but they are not ordeals. They are path of the flesh workers, who use their body (see quote 1) as a tool for accessing the varieties of universal power- in this case with hooks, piercings, walking on coals etc rather than sex magic, but it is still fully embracing flesh as a path towards magic and/or enlightenment. It is not an ordeal if you know 100% that you can do it.Personal opinion.