Thank you Icey - I think you hit on the very things that I have fretted over in deciding to venture into a submissive role. I liked the earlier post that stated (and I paraphrase, I'm sure) ...that I release control to Him rather than Him actually controlling me. It was the expectations, my fear of how to react properly that was freezing me up. Hearing you say (and others, too) that the relationship will grow slowly and we will respond naturally takes off the pressure of a "proper performance." Oh - and I've got to say, the experienced Dom sounds waaay better to me!