First time with a pro...

cuddle party facilitator. What were you thinking? ;)
Yesterday I attended a cuddle party thrown by someone else and it was a great experience. While we have a cuddle group of our own on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=13170529966) it was still interesting to attend a party thrown by a professional facilitator.
Got to meet some great new people, not sure if I would ever see them again or if they might join our group, but overall it was a very positive, rewarding experience. It give me a couple of possible ideas for our group's cuddle party, but to be honest, the members seem to be happy with the way things are being run currently, so I am rather undecided between maintaining the status quo and doing a little something to liven things up.
Nonetheless, there can't be enough cuddling as far as I am concerned, so hope the word about cuddle parties spreads and of course, the more the merrier.

Cuddle Party underway

(Not a picture of our cuddle party)


This past Wednesday my Cuddle group had our first cuddle party, and it might be my biased opinion, but I think it was a success, a definite good start. We were a small gathering, what I suspect might end up being the core of our group, but hopefully with time and proper promotion, the core group will grow and strengthen.

I must say, it was a rather unique experience, stepping that far out of my comfort zone, leading a cuddle party of all things. On a personal note, it was scary in its unfamiliarity, but exciting because of it. Good to have the old juices flowing again, and not in a sexual way, but really opening up one's mind to experiencing contact with another adult in a purely platonic affectionate manner.

This is not to say that there weren't biological reactions, all around, but being with this respectful group of men, it didn't turn into something uncomfortable.

Now all we have to do is convince more women that this cuddle group has what they have been searching for in a non-tactile world.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=13170529966

Careful what you wish for...

... because you might just get it. I wanted to take an active part in this "peaceful warrior" approach I mentioned before, and so Destiny thought, "put your money where your mouth is" and delivered me a defunct group of cuddlers from MeetUp.com.
Well, I am seldom one to back down from a challenge offered, and I pick up that pack of cuddlers and move them over to Facebook, where we don't have to pay a service fee and proceed to gather the flock - so to speak. But seriously - alright not so much - but really, even my horoscope calls me "a social mother hen", so what was I suppose to do with them? There we are in the Starbucks, trying to work out how we want to cuddle, they all looking at me with their big hopeful eyes and their arms twitching to hug someone; what was I to do? So I picked up the mantle and lead them on to the beginning of the making of the great Toronto cuddle. I have no idea what I am getting myself into to be blunt, but I can't just let them go astray again, they want to hug and cuddle so much.
So, here I am, chief mother hen of Toronto Cuddle Up. Now I have to figure out the what, where, when, how, who, and get that all worked and also manage to find another half dozen females so that it doesn't turn into some kind of "cuddle gangbang", and still keep out the "sharks" that are just looking to scope out a feel and a prospective booty call. Phew!! that should be a piece of cake. LOL
So, yeah, just have to figure all that out, and still keep my sanity all the while dealing with other issues in my life that need my attention and resources.
Well, here we come world, the quietest revolution in history; The Cuddle Revolution.

Hugs and cuddles

Alright, so I can't always be complaining about what's wrong with stuff, not unless I offer a possible alternative to the status quo. Well, here's another reason I love Google, you can find anything, and everything is out there. So is National Hugging Day. Yes, there is such a day and I think more of us should participate. Especially those among us that prescribe to the philosophy of "I wouldn't join any club that would have me as a member." That's all well and good, for the most part I agree with you, not much of a follower, or joiner. I simply think that somethings, and I don't believe I am wrong in this, are worth fighting for. So, I fight for our humanity, so the Matrix doesn't swallow us up whole.
The site for National Hugging Day says that it's January, but the date given is for 2008. I will keep you posted on the date for 2009. Won't you join in?
Click the title above for more info
or for articles on hugging - http://www.geocities.com/hugging_whining/Articles.html



On a related matter, check out this mattress, didn't even know such a thing existed. Wouldn't that be great to cuddle on? You wouldn't lose the circulation in your arm, because let's face it, there is always an extra arm and somehow nowhere to put it. But this looks ideal.


http://www.huggingmattress.com/

Socially disconnected

Well, sometimes you need a big money sponsored poll to prove your point, but if you wait long enough, it comes your way.
For sometime now I have been making it a policy to be more live and in-person with those I interact with online. I spent years in online only friendships, typed and read the most intimate of thoughts, concerns, personal matters, etc. Yes, I must admit it did serve to solidify a theory I had developed from years of travelling around North America and parts of Europe; people are people. So, with that confirmed, I decided that I had needs that were of a tactile nature, I can't just :) all the time, there is an actual smile attached. I have nothing against the machines, the technology is not to blame, it's the use of that instrument, and that is completely up to us.
We are hardwired in certain ways, and there is no getting around the needs that are created to meet that biological imperative. We need human contact. We have a large organ that we so often neglect in the most basic of ways. Yes, skin is an organ, and it needs stimulation, and no need to snicker like lil' girls here.
I can show you published study after study done on the benefits of cuddling permature newborn babies. How it helps them grow and in some cases perhaps even survive. Yes, the machines do their part, they feed, they provide medicines, etc, but human contact has its own medicinal value.
I am simply proposing we don't lose are humanity to the Matrix, we can unplug at will and I simply have chosen to be more selective about how I plug in.