Relationships and Power Exchange

There are diverse styles of relationships, and Lee’s educational work has come to focus on relationships that tend to be what the world at large deems “other.” This includes consensual non-monogamy, kink-based connections, and relationships constructed off of conscious inequality though embed with equity that help all partners soar. A number of these topics can be modified to other communities, but these distinct lenses allow for attendees to feel seen in their journeys, and for people new to these topics to get a refreshing look at how relationships of all sorts have these concepts within them.

 

Classes, Workshops, and Presentations

  • We’re often told that we must love ourselves before anyone else can truly love us - but what if the journey begins somewhere gentler, somewhere more human? What if we approached ourselves the way we would a roommate sharing our home, a co-worker working beside us through daily tasks, or a friend we’re still learning how to appreciate? Instead of demanding “self-love” as the starting line, we can invite compassion, curiosity, connection, and small acts of everyday care. In this class, we’ll explore the many shapes a relationship with oneself can take and discover practical tools to nurture each possibility. Together, we’ll choose one tangible step toward crafting a self-relationship that feels honest, spacious, and truly our own.

  • When we talk about power exchange in BDSM, the actual exchange of power is often assumed rather than examined, yet it’s a profound force worth exploring. Whether you identify as kinky or not, consciously shaping the dynamics between people can open doors to life force, intimacy, and the energetic dance that lives between individuals or groups. In this class, we’ll look at both intentional and unconscious power exchange patterns, why someone might step into them for a night or for a lifetime, and how these tools can support your magical work, energetic feeding, or broader life path. We’ll also bring awareness to astral connections, accidental bonds, and the ways these dynamics can veer into harm if left unchecked. Power is power, and inequality is not inequity - so let’s walk into this conversation with curiosity, courage, and our eyes wide open.

  • Rituals show up in every D/s relationship - whether we name them or simply live them - shaping everything from a hello kiss at the door to a formal pose, a worn collar, or a carefully crafted contract. But what is a ritual, and how do different layers of ritualistic interaction influence the way we meet, play, and relate with one another? In this class, we’ll explore the rituals woven into daily life, erotic connection, shifts within a dynamic, and even the tender, often-taboo terrain of endings and loss. Along the way, we’ll look at terminology, ethics, and practical frameworks that help us understand what we’re already practicing. Together we’ll identify what rituals truly serve us - and imagine the ones we might want to build with intention.

  • Power threads through every interaction we have - whether we’re chatting with a cashier or diving into erotic play - and it shows up both consciously and unconsciously. In many kink and alternative sexuality spaces, these dynamics get eroticized, sometimes without acknowledging the cultural and personal roots they spring from. In this class, we’ll explore where unconscious power arises in our lives, the many forms conscious power exchange can take, and why someone might choose to engage these dynamics for a night, a relationship, or a lifetime. We’ll also look at the roles we slip into, the influence of personal and cultural trauma, the bonds we build, and the destructive patterns that can emerge when power goes unexamined. Power is power - but inequality is not inequity - so let’s step into this conversation with honesty, curiosity, and our eyes wide open.

  • Have you ever spoken about craving a power exchange relationship, or named an interest in dominance and submission scene, only to find that the other person’s understanding is completely different than your own? That disconnect is more common than we tend to admit, because those familiar terms actually hold at least ten distinct, nuanced dimensions, each carrying its own language of power, desire, and authority. In this class, we’ll gently unravel those layers, exploring how they can show up in our fantasies, negotiations, and lived relationships. Together, we’ll look at the ways these dynamics intertwine, diverge, and sometimes quietly contradict one another. By the end, you’ll have clearer tools for naming your needs, hearing the needs of others, and aligning your connections with greater intention, consent, and care.

  • When we talk about love languages, most of the popular conversation comes from a monogamous, mainstream lens - but our lives, desires, and relationships are far more varied and beautifully complex. Through examining a wide array of systems used to discuss care, affection, connection, appreciation, and devotion, individuals will see how these shift and expand within friendships, play partnerships, long-term relationships, and D/s dynamics. Attendees will be invited to look at how a warm embrace can be as meaningful as a well-placed spanking and flowers can touch the heart differently than the gift of a collar. Let’s open our hearts, compare notes, and celebrate the languages that make our bonds feel real and alive beyond assumed systems.

  • Metamour relationships can be beautiful and connective, but they can also hold complicated shadows that are easy to miss or hard to name - especially within the unique ecosystems of consensual non-monogamy. In this discussion, we’ll explore how coercion, harm, and emotional pressure can manifest differently in polyamorous dynamics, even when everyone involved is trying their best. Together, we’ll look at relationship maps, lived experiences, and the cultural stories we’ve inherited that can obscure our own needs or unintentionally cause harm. After identifying these patterns, we’ll share tools for awareness, restoration, and healing, centering the voices of those who have witnessed or experienced harm in their metamour connections. Because these topics can be tender, you’re encouraged to tend to your own grounding and self-care throughout our time together.

  • Step into the art of weaving power and intention, where rope becomes a conduit for desire, presence, and authority. Whether you’re brand new to D/s, new to rope, or curious how these two arts can connect with one another, we’ll explore how simple ties and presence can create profound tension and connection. Together we’ll discuss, witness, and try out ways that authority, surrender, presence, and touch can weave through even the most basic rope. You don’t need expertise - just curiosity, consent, and an interest to explore. Please bring a 25-30 foot piece of rope if you have one; a limited number will be available to borrow.

  • For some, power exchange and authority transfer spark an erotic rush, while for others, these dynamics are part of something far more profound. They can offer a pathway into the quiet satisfaction of purpose, the heartbeat of spiritual calling, and the deep soul-level connection we build with those we choose to journey beside. In this class, we will explore how devotion, surrender, guidance, and authority can move beyond play into meaning, magic, and personal truth, while also looking at how energy flows within a dynamic to support all parties involved. Together, we’ll look at how these practices may serve as spiritual expression, sacred alignment, intimate passion, or even a channel to the divine. Come discover what inspires you, sustains you, and calls you forward on your own power exchange path.

  • Whether you’re navigating grief, wrestling with loneliness, or longing to understand the layers that make you uniquely you, many people say the key is to develop self-love. This is so important… but you need to build a relationship with the person in the mirror first. Self-love matters, but it grows from learning to be your own friend, partner, co-worker, caretaker, and witness. In this class, we explore how to show up for yourself with honesty, compassion, and curiosity, the way you would for someone you care about or value. As you cultivate that inner connection, you open the door to richer relationships with others and a more grounded sense of belonging.

  • Are you tired of being handed chores as though they should automatically feel erotic, or of offering acts of service that don’t actually nourish your life or your dynamic? And on the flip side, does asking a submissive to shave their balls three times a day genuinely support the depth, joy, or meaning you’re seeking? In this class, we’ll dig into what service truly is using exercises that help us identify what we want, what we can offer, and what motivates us from every position in a power exchange. We’ll consider whether fulfillment comes from effort, quality, precision, outcome, personal resources, or genuine erotic charge. And remember, service is not the domain of submissives alone; Masters, Mistresses, D-types, s-types, partners, and friends alike are invited to examine what forms of service actually move them and how to create dynamics that reflect those real desires.

  • In the D/s and M/s worlds, everyone talks about protocol - but what does that actually mean? Where does everyday courtesy end and intentional, negotiated structure begin? In this class, we’ll explore protocol within power exchange: the language around it, the systems people use, and how these practices take shape in both private 24/7 dynamics and public interactions. We’ll also look at how to develop and maintain protocols that fit your relationships, using active listening and learning systems, and how to distinguish between enforcing agreements and using punishment. These ideas reach far beyond M/s and D/s, touching on communication skills, presence, and the patterns that shape all kinds of relationships.

  • Some are drawn to power exchange, dominance, or submission, but not currently partnered. Perhaps you’re long-distance from someone you care for and want ways to stay connected to your D/s identity on your own. For others, mastery, dominance, submission, or surrender are also part of a spiritual path that exists whether or not another person is present. In this class, we’ll explore the foundations of Solo D/s and look at psychological, energetic, and physical practices that let you step into these dynamics independently. Whether you identify with one side of the slash, both, or are simply curious about adding solo or auto-erotic D/s to your repertoire, you’re welcome to join us in this shared exploration.

  • The word Switch carries a lot of weight in a BDSM world that often insists we choose a single side - Top or Bottom, Master or Slave - even though many of us feel called to move fluidly or inhabit multiple facets of ourselves. In this class, we’ll explore the many reasons people switch: Tops curious about surrender, Slaves serving masochistic Masters, versatile players who crave a full spectrum of experience, and everything in between. We’ll discuss strategies for finding compatible play partners and relationship structures, whether that’s one partner with many roles, partners switching inside monogamous relationships, plus polyamory, swinging, open relationships, or even self-play. Together, we’ll practice ways to check in with our own needs so we can honor them with clarity and integrity. Let’s examine what switching means, what we’re ready to embrace, and what old assumptions we might finally set down or transform.

  • In the world of BDSM, we often speak of Leather as identity, heritage, passion, or soul - but what happens when we turn our gaze to the leather itself? This material, once a living and breathing creature, has become a second skin for generations of erotic explorers, shaping scenes of power, pleasure, devotion, and transformation. From implements that sting or soothe to garments that mold themselves to our bodies over time, leather invites us to consider how a simple hide can evolve into fetish, sex, spirit, and the very idea of a Leather Community. In this class, we’ll journey through those layers - material, emotional, erotic, ancestral - to discover what leather awakens in each of us. Please bring a piece of leather that speaks to you: earned leathers, beloved belt, favorite flogger, utilitarian wallet, well-worn boots, or something else as part of this conversation towards understanding leather as more than a raw material.

 

Intensives

Some educational material needs to be explored more deeply to truly absorb, or appreciate, the material. Over the years, Lee Harrington has developed these intensives as an opportunity for a group of students to dive into a topic, as well as other intensive learning opportunities for individual students. The one listed below is a three-day long immersive experience that involves specific logistical needs, though Lee has also developed curriculum to cover more complex topics over a series of classes rather than single weekend intensives. To bring an intensive to your town, please contact Lee.

  • Power exchange can be a profound journey - one woven from desire, intention, spirit, and the stories we carry in our bodies. In this three-day immersive intensive, we will explore the landscapes of dominance and submission not just as play, but as pathways toward connection, clarity, and self-knowledge. Together we will look at the rituals that shape our dynamics, the longings that draw us forward, and the inner wisdom that whispers about who we might become when we step into authority, surrender, or the spaces between. With shared conversations, guided explorations, and personal reflection, we will map our individual starting points and begin crafting systems of communication and connection that honor who we are - and who we are becoming.

    In this intensive, participants will:

    • Explore the meanings, purposes, and possibilities of ritual and protocol within D/s dynamics.

    • Take personal inventory of desires, motivations, and internal wisdom to clarify their unique power exchange paths.

    • Deepen the relationship between body, spirit, and intention in service, surrender, and authority transfer.

    • Engage in peer-supported discussions to examine personal challenges, lived experiences, and authentic longings in D/s.

    • Develop personalized tools and communication structures to support sustainable, empowered, and meaningful power-exchange practices.

    This intensive is intentionally intimate, creating a protected and evolving space where every voice matters and every story helps shape the weekend. Whether you walk the world as dominant, submissive, switch, seeker, or something entirely your own, you are invited to arrive curious, hungry, and willing to share as much, or as gently, as feels right for you. Open to solo attendees, pairs, or groups of all experience levels, together we will dive deep, sift through the maze of desire and passion, and emerge with tools and insights tailored to your unique journey. If you feel the pull toward deeper connection, embodied wisdom, and intentional power exchange, this is your invitation to step in.