Slave Training the Maslow Way

This is a partial repost from an essay i wrote several months ago (in my previous journal, under a previous online name).

i think Maslow’s theory on the hierarchy of needs can be tweaked and used as an effective tool toward Internal Enslavement.

Slave training is not a purely linear process. Like mastering the need levels on Maslow’ pyramid, slave training occurs with much backtracking and overlapping. It’s a never ending process that requires ongoing evaluation and attention. Prolonged inattention will eventually regress the slave-mind back to un-slavelike thoughts and behaviors. At that point it is much more difficult to get back to the desired mindset. Having the slave-mind (internalized slavery) as the default setting for the slave makes a Master/slave relationship much, much easier for everyone involved.

Slave-training usually begins with a Master exercising his right to withhold, manipulate or severely limit a slave’s ability to meet her own needs. It’s a vital part of internalizing slavery to understand that you’re no longer in control of meeting your own needs. The Master’s manipulation of those most basic (level one) needs-fulfillment can be part of a more longterm goal (subduction of ego, building a healthier/more fit slave, training to specific likes and dislikes of the Master, etc) or used merely as a reminder and reinforcement of the Master’s control over his slave.

Starting at level one, it’s not uncommon for a Master to tell a slave what or when to eat. Most slaves i know have at least some type of food rule. Some of the rules i can think of include; don’t take a bite before Master does, ask permission for an alcoholic beverage, limit caloric intake, meal-skipping as punishment, drinking/eating body fluids, and eating from pet dishes (or from the floor, or in the kitchen, etc). Some Masters use food treats as rewards, and some Masters require fasts. Food is a very basic way to establish control over a person and provides an endless means of application.

Sleep is also a common way a Master controls a slave. Bedtimes and wake times, sleeping on the floor (or in a cage, or shackled, etc), sleep deprivation as a manipulation tool, and random wake-ups to provide sexual (or other) service are all fairly accepted methods of ‘training’ that limit the free ability to sleep.

Physical discomfort is often required of a slave (from kneeling to torture and everything in between), and breath play puts a slave’s very right to draw a simple breath of air in the hands of another. Fear can also be a useful tool in the enslavement process.

Sexual control is also a way of reinforcing ownership. Control of sexual partners (from limiting partners to forced sharing), orgasm control (how many, how often, when, where, on command, etc), and reproductive control are all ways of restricting this basic human urge.

Every single one of those needs is given over to the Master during the process of enslavement. The understanding that most submissives have when they enter into a M/s relationship is that she might be hurt (or inconvenienced, or uncomfortable, or scared, etc) but never permanently damaged. That is to say, she might skip a meal or two, but she won’t be allowed to starve (or become malnourished). She might miss a few nights of sleep, but she won’t be made ill from lack of sleep. She might receive a few bruises, but she won’t have to worry about broken bones.

These ongoing opportunities for meeting (or temporarily denying) needs are the basic ‘tools of the trade’ for Masters. Because these needs are reoccurring, there is always an chance to reinforce ownership and strengthen the slave mindset in the slave. Almost every mind control technique (utilized by religious cults to the CIA and everything in between) involves making use of one or more of these basic human needs. Answering those needs can usually be delayed (occasionally) without any lasting harm. Most scenes between tops and bottoms (and doms and subs) are simply an agreement to manipulate the fulfillment of these needs during a specified period of time. Slave-training for the purpose of internalizing slavery within the slave just takes that process a few steps further.

The second level of needs (safety and security needs) are more long-term concepts. The ’safety and security’ level of the pyramid addresses the needs we have to expect that we will have food and shelter, remain safe from harm, and be taken are of if we fall ill. The requirements needed to fulfill this need will vary widely depending on a person’s experiences (real or perceived) of being unsafe and or going without security in the past. A more fearful person will need more assurance of future security to have this need met.

In a Master/slave relationship the stewardship of the slave’s safety and security falls to the Master (regardless of where the means of security originates). A slave might be the major source of income for the household, but is rarely the one in charge of finances and never of major life decisions. Where to live, career choices, long-term and short-term financial management are all areas where the Master makes decisions that effect the safety and security of his slave.

There are a couple of schools of thought when it comes to M/s and the promise of security. There are ‘conditional security’ and ‘unconditional security’ camps. Some Masters feel that a slave needs to know that she will never be discarded. In fact, these Masters will often go beyond “I’ll never leave you” statements and tell a slave things like “I’ll never let you leave”. These Masters do not intentionally ‘play’ with the denial of these level-two needs. They go to lengths to make sure the slave knows she is owned forever and will always have a home and a place with her Master. Some will even make arrangements to ‘give’ the slave to another Master if they ever are in a position that they cannot care for the slave themselves. They feel this it’s important to the slave’s emotional health to have that need-fulfillment of ’safety and security’ be sacrosanct.

Some Masters feel that they need to keep the threat of “My way or the highway” alive and will use that as a tool for keeping their slave in line. It becomes the ultimate ‘trump’ in the relationship. These Masters feel that the only person who has any ‘real’ power in a relationship is the one who is most willing to end things. For these Masters a slave who crosses the line will be released, but until such a time – they are faithful stewards of the slave’s ’safety and security’ as well.

Level three of the pyramid involves the human need for social interaction. A slave’s interaction with other people is often conducted under supervision of the Master. While some slaves enjoy relative freedom within their social circles, it is also true that slaves are often isolated if it is determined that her auxiliary relationships are causing her undue stress or are threatening (or undermining) the Master/slave bond. Contact with family, friends (both vanilla and non-vanilla), and membership in various organizations and social groups is often restricted. In this way, the Master becomes the gatekeeper to the social interactions a slave has. While this restriction of need-fulfillment is often done by the Master on purpose, sometimes the isolation the the slave experiences is the natural result of having a very intense and extremely intimate relationship (not unlike some intense vanilla relationships).

In the fourth level of the pyramid, the ego (or esteem) level, the Master exerts his influence over how a slave’s self-worth needs are met. The slave may be trained to believe that her value and worth is dependent on her value to her owner. She may be taught to deny her ego, be more humble than she would normally or to find her worth solely in being a possession. She may be forced to endure situations that she finds humiliating, or circumstances where her “place” in the relationship is reinforced (chains, dog bowls, cages, pet bedding, no-furniture sitting, etc). Her accomplishments and her failures may no longer be her own and be seen only as a reflection of her Master. Her esteem-needs are met through service to her Master. The manner of her service can vary greatly, depending on her Master’s preferences (sex toy, pain slut, career, house slave, mother, etc).

The fifth level of the pyramid, the tip top of human needs, is self-actualization. This is when all your other needs are being met often enough, and well enough, that they no longer create an anxiety in your life. At that point you can focus on being the most creative, productive, happy, content, effective, mature person that you can be. This is not a final destination. Most people who reach self-actualization will backslide due to temporary glitches in circumstance and a deficiency in their current level of needs-fulfillment. Once those needs are being met again in a consistent basis they will achieve self-actualization all over again. i compare the slave version of self-actualization to internal enslavement.