quote:

ORIGINAL: SylvereApLeanan

It depends on one's goal.  As mzbehavin pointed out, it forces the sub to stay focused in the now.  I don't necessarily want her flying off into subspace during the mental bondage.  It depends on what I have planned for later.  However, it's a mistake to think she isn't giving up control.  She is.  She could move if she wanted to move.  There are no restraints to stop her.
 
There is nothing but my Will and her desire to please me, as you noted.  In some ways, she's giving up more control than if I tied her down.  Simple bondage is easier since she can rationally say, "I have no choice because I'm restrainted."  With mental bondage, she has to consciously give up power for every minute we're in scene.  But it's a mental control rather than a physical one.

quote:

ORIGINAL: sheep

I agree with BoiJen. It's control. It's not bondage. I hate the term mental bondage and it's actually one of my limits. Staying completely still is another story. Bending over the table with palms flat on the top and taking a caning is also another story. But those things, to me, are not  mental bondage. I wonder, is there an equivalent "mental" aspect to other bdsm play? Mental CBT?

If a mistress leaves her slave alone in the house in mental bondage and a fire breaks out, her will is not enough to keep him helpless in the flames, whereas if he was bound, he'd be in serious trouble.

quote:

ORIGINAL: steffie

I met a Domme here through CM that has become a good friend.  We did not end up in a relationship, but initially we were considering one. 

Prior to our first meeting, via email, she told me that when we met for the first time, as a sign of my respect for her, I was not allowed to speak the word, "Okay."

I thought this rather odd, but thought... well... okay.

Try going through an entire evening - in this case, a dinner date - without once ever using the word "okay."  It just kept slipping out.  And each time i did, she glared at me like i'd just farted or something.

Even when i realized what i'd done, and bumbled to apologize, I found myself saying utterly stupid things like, "I promise never to say it again.  Okay?"  Ack!

By the end of the night, when we got back to her house, she used my poor performance to give me my first taste of discipline.  Through it all, she emphasized the fact that i was obviously not in tune with her.  That i was not paying attention.  That i was not thinking before i spoke. 

As i got to know her, every time i slipped up, and an "okay" popped out during the day - she took mental note of it.  And she had a memory like a computer.  All of which helped place me under a debt to her, that she could collect whenever she cared to.

Restricting my vocabulary - was a form of mental bondage.  Can't say i've ever encountered anything like it before.  It made me feel like an absolute idiot every time i screwed up.  All of which firmly placed her in the driver's seat.

quote:

ORIGINAL: elegantdeviance

Mental bondage exists...
With mental bondage, the submissive is held in place by the will of the Dominant, using no fetters.  It is an intense form of bondage because the submissive must rely on his own will to perform the will of the Dominant.  Bondage is much easier on the submissive when actual fetters are used.  It removes all choice from the submissive, making them subject to the Dominant's desires without having to exert any self-control.  Most submissives who are into bondage prefer this.

quote:


I consider mental bondage a crueler form of restraint, which lacks the relaxing, soothing, "safe" feel that can come from real physical bondage.  It keeps the victim from enjoying the stress relief of having no control over what is done to the body and forces a position of ultimate responsibility.

Both types of control have their appeal.  I consider real rope or chain or tape to be much kinder, at the end of the day, and a very different sensual experience.