As I prepare the table for our scene, I ask her once more if she is sure about following through with the scene. She nods at me hesitantly, looking from me to the table. There is a butane torch on the table along with my other toys. I reach into my toybag and remove a branding iron with my initial on it. I place it next to the torch. I reach into the bag again and take out a blindfold. She is positioned on bench, restraints securely in place. I walk over and remove the blanket covering her bare ass, lightly swatting her while chuckling at her startled look. I light the torch and place the iron with the tip of it in the flame, watching as my monogram slowly begins to glow. I smile at her again as I brush the hair from her eyes, giving her one last opportunity to bow out of the events that are about to unfold. She nods that she is ready.

I place the blindfold on her. I arrange the table so that everything is within reach. She trembles as I touch her one last time. I tell her to take a deep breath and exhale. I tell her to take another deep breath. As she does so, I press metal to flesh. She screams in agony. I remove the metal from her ass. Her scream changes to a deep sobbing cry. I turn the torch off and lean close to her, speaking softly to her as I embrace her shoulders. As her sobbing begins to subside I take the blindfold and restraints off. I ask her how she feels. She says that it burns. I nod and ask if she wants to see the brand. She nods with a whimper. I take the mirror and hand it to her. She holds the mirror so that she can see the brand site. She looks with disbelief. She lightly touches the brand spot. There is nothing there, not a single mark.

She tells me that she felt the searing pain, heard the torch, saw the flame. I laugh as I hold up the metal pipe that I had removed from the freezer a short time ago. Ice and flame can have the same intensity with the right setup and notions planted.

The mindfuck is an awesome tool. As we know, the mind is the best BDSM tool we have. With the art of the mindfuck, it is easy to plant a notion in the submissive's mind. I can convince my play partner that the toothpick in my hand is a sharp needle that is about to pierce her nipple. I can convince her that the credit card that I am running down her back is the sharp knife I showed her minutes before. If I set the stage right I can convince her that the bottle of water I am pouring down her back is urine or any number of things.

The first time I played with my partner Anita with a knife, I held it to her throat, and also ran it up and down her body, reminding her that it is sharp and can do great damage. Afterwards we talked about the feelings produced by this. She has placed her trust in me and we have played on a number of occasions, but at the instant that the knife blade touched the skin on her neck, things changed briefly. There was the thought that occurred to her that with one slip, one wrong move, or too deep a misplaced trust, and things could become quite dangerous, if not fatal. This, my friends, is the art of the mindfuck.

A well thought out scene coupled with some ingenuity can make for an awesome scene for both the Top and bottom. All that you need to do is practice a bit of theatrics. If you set the stage right then you will be able to alter reality just enough to convince the bottom that an object is something other than what is truly is.

One of the great things about mindfucking is the fact that you don't need fancy crosses, expensive floggers, an awesome dungeon, or any other great tools to make a scene quite rewarding and memorable for both of you. Your only limitations are your imagination.

The mind is susceptible to notions, ideas, and illusion. If we learn to tap into this fun and exciting resource, there is no end to the vast amounts of fun, play, and adventure we can add to our list. One of the key ingredients to a successful D/s relationship of any kind is the ability to �capture the mind�. What a great way to start.

I hope that you can use this type of play to enrich and possibly even rekindle that spark that keeps us all coming back for more.