February Newsletter 2020 (Baltimore, Austin, Denver, and Beyond)

Greetings beautiful beings,

It has been a wonderful whirlwind of a year thus far, and we have only just begun. The last weekend of January felt like such an energizing gift in the form of a full weekend of classes with TMG, FAD, & The NC-Triangle Spanker's Clubin Raleigh, North Carolina. On Friday night people opened up their life experiences and shared about their sex lives, Saturday we dove into exploring kink, the kind community, and leather identity and culture, and Sunday I was so proud of the crew for absorbing vast amounts of information in the morning as we talked about sex, gender, and identity… all before we played and had a lot of fun with roleplaying skills. I will especially remember Sunday afternoon with the pure hilarity of everyone brainstorming pirate roles – because pirates. It was also so wonderful to see people who had been in the scene for 20+ years sharing knowledge and wisdom for people who had never been to an event before.

This weekend I am on my way for a short, intense, trip to Denver. I’ll be working each day I am there on the audio recording for Sacred Kink: The Eightfold Paths of BDSM and Beyond. As you may know, I am about halfway through recording, and I want to finish this project working with my audio tech magician Erik. Changing recording setups half-way through a project can really affect quality, so I’m hopeful we can bang out a whole bunch while we dive in for a weekend. This trip I will also be sitting down with the folks at the Sexual Health Alliance because at the end of April I will be debuting an intensive called "Our Intimate Selves: Exploring Sex, Gender, Orientation, and Transgender Awareness” with them. It is aimed for therapists, counselors, psychiatrists, and other such professionals, and will provide continuing education credits through AASECT. However, the entire intensive (whose website will be updated with more detailed information in the next week) will be open to other professions as well as interested individuals, and Saturday afternoon will feature a stand-alone panel and class on the topic. Stay tuned for further details!

The following weekend will have me back in Baltimore for a jam-packed weekend at Dark Odyssey: Winter Fire! I will be teaching a hands-on course called “Elemental Bondage: Rope Bondage for Connection, Intention, and Passion,” hosting my history/storytelling class “Sacred Rope: Rope Bondage for Energetic, Spiritual, and Magical Connection,” leading a discussion-based class called “The Queerness of Magic, the Magic of Queerness,” and leading people in the “Rope Connection, Bondage Magic” learning experience. In addition, I will be demo-bottoming  “Florentine Flogging” and “Dancing with Whips” for my Ma’am, Ms. Cenna, and hosting the Top/Bottom Play Auction on Friday night. Expect passion, glitter, and a lot of opportunities for folks to see a myriad of sides of me all in one weekend. I can’t believe that will all be in one weekend, wow! 

On the last weekend of the month Ms. Cenna and I will be hosting a local discussion/class on how our complex relationship dynamic formed and the tools we used to consciously create it for her home Leather group, ToL. It is open to ToL members and guests, and if interested and are based in the greater Austin area, feel free to contact Ms. Cennafor further information.

I feel such gratitude right now. Gratitude for the unfolding year. Gratitude for my fellow students and teacher in my online course. Gratitude for my leather and kink families who I have spent time with as of late. Gratitude for my Ma’am and poly tribe for their love and connection. Gratitude for my Patreon subscribers. Gratitude for my students and coaching clients/collaborators for being so inspiring. Gratitude for my family and FtM pen pals who are being so detrimentally affected by the incarceration system who are so deeply sharing their hearts with me. Gratitude for having access to a roof over my head, nutritious food, and health insurance in a country where so many do not have these basic human rights.

What do you have gratitude for right now?

Much love from Austin… yours in Passion and Soul,

Lee Harrington
http://www.PassionAndSoul.com

Upcoming Events:

• Dark Odyssey: Winter Fire – Baltimore, MD (February 14-16, 2020): Teaching “Sacred Rope: Rope Bondage for Energetic, Spiritual, and Magical Connection,” “The Queerness of Magic, the Magic of Queerness,” “Elemental Bondage: Rope Bondage for Connection, Intention, and Passion”, and “Rope Connection, Bondage Magic.” I will also be demo-bottoming  “Florentine Flogging” and “Dancing with Whips” for my Ma’am, Ms. Cenna, as well as hosting the Top/Bottom Play Auction on Friday night.
• Oklahoma LeatherFest – Oklahoma City, OK (April 3-5, 2020): Co-teaching “Finding a Third, Joining a Couple” and “Topping From the Bottom, Yes Please!” with Ms. Cenna.
• Sexual Health Alliance – Denver, CO (April 24-25, 2020): Teaching a 2-day intensive "Our Intimate Selves: Exploring Sex, Gender, Orientation, and Transgender Awareness," as well as leading a stand-alone Saturday afternoon panel and course related to the topic.
• The Crucible – Washington, DC (May 15-17, 2020): Teaching a weekend of rope bondage classes and intensives for club members and guests.
• Camp Crucible – N. Maryland (May 23-30, 2020): Teaching classes and leading rituals for this week+ long immersive sex and kink experience.
• GWNN Bash – Austin, TX (July 24-26, 2020): Teaching “Inner Monsters: Delving Into the Darkness of Our Desires (Tops),” “Inner Monsters: Delving Into the Darkness of Our Desires (Bottoms),” “Pain Is Inevitable, Suffering is Optional: Techniques for Pain Processing,” and “Punching, Hitting, and Deep Bruising” classes under the conference theme “Back to the Dungeon.” 
• …and more to be announced soon!