The Boudoir Bible (27 page)

• View your implements of desire as sacred objects. They are only intended for use by adults, so keep them out of the sight and reach of children. If used by those who are unaware of their power, certain tools can inflict undesirable harm.

• If you are traveling by air and you don’t want to leave home without a few of your favorite instruments, pack them carefully inside your checked baggage, as long as they are not intrinsically valuable. This will avoid potential embarrassment from custom officials or at airport security sites.

Let us now prepare to transcend!

EROTIC TICKLING IS
one of the simplest yet most versatile techniques of full-body stimulation. At the beginning of the Sexual Ceremony, tickling opens the sensory channels; during a lengthy Sexual ceremony, erotic tickling can recharge the sexual energy of a seemingly satiated lover (who may have slipped into an ecstatic slumber) and jump-start another round of Paradise Found. It is also a very sweet way to bring an intense ritual to a lingering end. Erotic tickling can be performed during peaking to divert an over-aroused partner’s attention from the genitals, slowing the rhythm of the ceremony. But it can quicken its pace as well. Its capacity to guide a receptive partner from one psychophysiological dimension to another with ease is one of its greatest merits.

Some people have a real aversion to tickling and cannot help curling into a defensive fetal position at even the slightest feathery touch. Those who respond negatively to erotic tickling may be making
an unconscious association with a less-than-joyful childhood tickle session: being tickle-tortured by siblings or peers to the point of ultimate humiliation—wet underwear!

While it is true that some partners may like to push the fine line between pleasure and torture and laughter makes us feel good with its surge of antidepressant, muscle-relaxing endorphins, hysterical bouts of laughter are not the aim in the erotic context. When tickling is performed skillfully, satisfied partners may emit a pleasurable giggle from time to time or sigh contentedly, but if they happen to break out in nervous or hysterical laughter, this reaction probably indicates that the sensations are less than erotic.

The body is naturally equipped with some very efficient ticklers, from the slightest touch of the soft, padded tips of the fingers to the tongue’s rousing energy. In German, the clitoris is called the
kitzler
, which means a tickler—and the clitoris responds to a tickle like no other part of the body! Women may use their nipples to simultaneously tickle a lover and stimulate themselves. Long hair, as well, is an excellent tickling tool.

Lovers may choose from a variety of instruments for tickling. Feathers have an aesthetic appeal besides having the ability to elicit a thrilling variety of sensations. Using two (possibly different) feathers, one in each hand, will double the sensorial impact. The classic ostrich feather is soft, fluffy, and wide enough to caress large areas of the body. Imagine the delights of an ostrich feather fan!

Ostrich feathers are also long, so they allow the purveyor of pleasure, the top, to have a bit of distance from the bottom. Distance permits the top to better observe the bottom’s reactions as well as enhancing eye contact between partners, which reinforces the pleasure bond. Long pheasant feathers give a similar distance, but they tend
to be pricklier. Glossy black cock feathers have a similarly sensuous appeal, but they are medium in length. Marabou stork feathers, on the other hand, are short, extremely soft, and particularly suited for close-contact tickling. Feather dusters can make for fabulous tickling tools. (Make certain they are reserved for this purpose alone!). Classic “French maid” models with wooden handles can be found in the housewares section of many stores.

Silks, scarves, fur, and a lanky horsetail whip can also be used to transform the entire body into a sensual, sexually receptive organ. Soft paintbrushes from Asian-themed gift shops or art supply stores can be used to paint your lover wild with passion. Those made of soft white horsehair, mounted on beautiful bamboo or lacquered wooden handles, are more aesthetically appealing than paintbrushes from a hardware store, permitting them to be taken out of their home-improvement context and incorporated into the Sexual Ceremony with greater conviction. Use your imagination! Virtually anything of a subtle, feathery nature may be used to tickle.

In fact, even potentially more extreme tools such as leather whips, crops, and floggers (described in the chapter “
X Marks the Spot: Erotic Flagellation
”) can be used for ethereal, indirect caresses. Whenever one of these stricter tools is used for direct and intense impact, the receiver should also be given softer, sweeter sensations as well. This not only avoids predictability by fostering the thrill of anticipation but reminds the bottom that his or her top really does care.

The brain functions in such a way that it’s nearly impossible to tickle yourself. But during a solo masturbation ritual, try softly brushing yourself with feathers, fur, and the like; you may find that you can trick the brain. Those who feel an aversion to erotic tickling are encouraged to reevaluate its power through this method.

If your partner is not completely convinced but consents to your erotic tickling whims all the same, do not attempt to provide these subtle sensations until he or she is fully sexually aroused. If your partner
is tense, offer an erotic massage; engage in other forms of erotic play you know are enjoyed. When your lover is truly relaxed and receptive, erotic tickling can even take the place of a preparatory massage.

When it comes to tickling, there are no “no” zones, but in order to provide erotic pleasure and incite pure joy, tickle the areas of the body that are less sensitive before those that are more sensitive to touch. Generally, less sensitive zones of the body are those regularly exposed to the elements or that present more muscle mass or where hair grows more readily. The upper back, the base of the neck, and the areas under the upper and lower arms are a few good places to commence a tickle ritual.

Once those areas have been sensitized, the lower back, the crooks of the knees, the inner thighs, and the buttocks may be approached with the slight touch. The buttocks are more erotically charged than the back, especially on the sweet spot—the area where the buttocks connect with the legs (see
plate XIV
). Alternately tickling these areas and the less sensitive areas of the body will build tension gradually; it may also aid even the most adamant of anti-ticklers to ease into the pleasures of this delightfully subtle contact.

The even more sensitive areas of the body, where blood vessels and nerve endings lie closer to the surface of the skin, are next: the neck, the armpits, the inner arms, the sides of the breasts and the torso, the ribs, the palms of the hands, the inner thighs, the crooks of the elbows, the fine skin of the ankles and the wrists, and finally the inner soles of the feet and the areas between the toes. Here erotic tickling will make a vivid impact.

Most lovers must be highly sexually aroused in order to perceive the erogenous capacity of these fine-skinned areas, whose power to heighten one’s sense of sexual satisfaction often goes under-evaluated,
forgotten, or ignored during PGO sex. Within a Sexual Ceremony, however, lovers have the time to explore them. Stimulating these areas can gauge a lover’s readiness, push his or her limits, or serve as a key to opening the doors to Paradise over and over again.

If you have tested your partner’s receptivity to subtle degrees of contact, and you have managed to coax them into a receptive state, you might invite him or her to submit to a full-fledged tickle ritual. Ask your partner to roll over onto his or her back and spread his or her legs and arms ever so slightly. This position will provide easy access to all of the most sensitive erogenous zones of the body. Once your lover is comfortable, you might begin with a deep, long explorative kiss, then proceed to tantalize the ears, eyelids, and the neck, including the nape where the hairline begins, with the slightest of caresses from feathers, fur, or your lips and tongue. Then begin a gradual descent. (If you yearn to
be
tickled, take this as a guide to the possibilities of your pleasure!)

Erotic tickling has the advantage of being one of the most pleasurably effective means to map out the sensory landscape of your lover’s body, from head to toe. The intimate information can be used to a positive end in this and every other Sexual Ceremony with the same partner, no matter what tool or technique is being explored. For example, if your lover’s skin prickles with pleasure while you are caressing the sides of her breasts with a feathery touch; if he writhes or moans uncontrollably while you tantalize his ears or neck; if she loses all sense of control when you tickle her inner thighs or tug her hair, make a mental note of these responses. Tickling reveals the highly charged erogenous zones of a lover’s body, as well as those areas that provoke a less than positive response.

For example, take into consideration one highly sensitive area: the feet. Some love to have their feet tickled, kissed, and sucked, while others will cringe and recoil with nervous tension at the sight of a feather quivering over apprehensively curled toes! When you approach your lover’s feet, and his or her response to your attention is anything but positive, that limit should be respected. That said, it would be a mistake to completely eliminate the feet from your ceremonial explorations! Over time, with practice and experience, our needs and desires change and evolve, as does our relationship with our bodies. Over the course of elaborating the Sexual Ceremony, you may likely appreciate sensations that previously you had judged unpleasant or unacceptable. Parts of the body that had been off-limits may come to reveal themselves as golden keys to the transcendental realm of the ecstatic dimension.

During the tickle ritual, as with any other form of extra-genital stimulation during the Sexual Ceremony, the genitals will be a point of return. Not only are the genitals the primary source of the sexual vibration, but they are the most delightfully vulnerable and sensitive flesh of the entire body.

Try working from the center of the body outward. Stroke, suck, lick, and venerate your lover’s genitals, then move toward the less obvious erogenous zones. Gradually stimulate one area of his or her yearning body, then another, with the slightest of loving caresses. Watch your lover’s skin prickle with goose bumps, then move your intention back toward the center of the body. Tease by tickling the areas surrounding the genitals before rewarding them with more direct contact.

Establish a steady, intimate rhythm using your body’s tools (fingers, tongue, lips, nipples, hair, and more) in combination with feathers, fur, and any other tool of your choice to entice your lover into an electric pleasure dance. From time to time, draw back and make him or her anticipate your touch. This will build excitement and
send your lover into a sexy, libidinous spin. Alternate between genital and extra-genital contact as well as subtle and more intense degrees of sensation. This avoids predictability and reinforces the physical and the psychological impact of the ritual as well. Gradually pushing the bottom’s sensory limits prompts a surge in the production of endorphins.

Worship every inch of your lover’s body with the sole intent to please; bring sexual tension to the heights, and you’ll have him or her begging for more. Each time the tickle tool diverts your lover’s focus from his or her genitals toward other erogenous zones, visualize the sexual energy spreading throughout your partner’s body, and invite him or her to do the same. As the ceremony progresses, his or her perception of each subsequent caress becomes enhanced, and sexual tension escalates. And each time you, the purveyor of sensations, return to worship your lover’s genitals, they’ll be further charged with ecstatic energy. When performed skillfully, erotic tickling, like any other technique of full-body stimulation, will provide great pleasure as well as instill intense levels of concentration that can result in trancelike states in both partners. (But note that if your ceremonial partner is a man, the softest touch of your feather, in combination with direct genital contact, may catapult him straight into the wild haze of orgasm. Postpone this end of the ceremony by immediately diverting your—and his—attention from his genitals to other, less sensitive areas of the body until he regains control.)

As erotic tickling is a very subtle form of full-body stimulation, the provider of sensations must prevent the ritual from losing its edge. If you are on the receiving end, and your top doesn’t seem to notice you are no longer responding ecstatically, tell him or her what you need! Tops, if your bottom seems immune to the charms of tickling, focus on more sensitive areas of the body, or provide more direct sensations to ensure the ceremony’s transcendental progression.