Spirituality and the slave

I've been thinking a lot lately about a connection between spirituality and slavery. Not the spirituality that can be found in slavery (whole other can o' worms), but more along the lines of noticing how many people I come across who are in a Master/slave relationship are also deeply spiritual people.

At first I thought maybe it was maybe a case of, being nonconformist in multiple areas is easy once you are nonconformist in one. I'll use me as an example. I was involved in research and intermittent participation in Gorean and D/s relationships long before I became a pagan. Did I become a pagan (a nonconformist religion insofar as it is not the "norm" in our society) because first becoming Gorean (nonconformist way of living, and nonconformist way to relate with others) was the first step down the path of nonconformity? No, I don't think so.

What I have come to believe is that it is a more a case of - once you begin to live your life more naturally in one area it becomes easier to live more naturally in another area. I see a big correlation within myself between being Pagan and being a slave. As a Pagan, my spiritual life focuses a great deal on the natural world - the Earth and what fills it - the changing of the seasons, the phases of the moon, the divine that is inherent in all things on this great blue marble we call home. I have noticed in the last couple years as I deepened my study into Paganism that I have grown more appreciative of the world around me, and have noticed especially this year, my body falling into more of a rhythm with the natural world.

When I first stumbled into a Gorean chat room back many years ago by pure mistake, it was truly an act of serendipity. Clicking into the "wrong" chat room that day changed my outlook on many things. First and foremost, it lead me to read and research - Gor, BDSM, etc - and realize that I was not alone, I was not a "freak" for my desires. In the last couple years as I have finally been able to put research more into practice it has been an interesting ride. As the slave of a Gorean, I am now living life more naturally - in a way more natural to me - than I was before.

One other correlation I noticed between my particular brand of spirituality and my relationship with my Master are that both celebrate the duality of nature. My religion worships God and Goddess. My slavery recognizes Master and slave. Goreans in general recognize and celebrate the differences between Male and Female. One thing that many seem to misunderstand about Goreans is that we don't think women are "lesser" or "inferior" to men in any way, shape or form. We just think that men and women are different. Neither is better than the other, its comparing apples to oranges. Men are dominant in the Gorean culture, yes - Dominant to the slaves definitely, also Dominant to the Free Women - but that does not mean the women aren't as human, or as smart, or as creative, etc.

OK, I'm going a bit far afield. But I am still wrapping my mind around this new train of thought I have had and I am loving the similarities I am seeing. I have to wrap this post up for now but I will revisit this topic at a later date if I have any new thoughts on the matter.