Camp Chemistry
concocts a petri dish of open, positive, progressive
lifestyles; a pleasureable potion of lectures, workshops,
and events that encourages a paradigm shift in modern
relationships and human sexuality serving our
mission of Illuminated Eroticism.
Our experiments will take place in two
uniquely different locations:
The Chemistry Lab, located poolside on the second
floor, is a sensual playground and party space.
Chemistry Lab-yrinth – a lush secluded event space
located at Camp Chemistry, near the Ramblewood
Labyrinth south of cabins M-R.
Chemistry Schedule
IN THE CHEMISTRY LAB-YRINTH:
Friday
10-11pm | BDSM on a Budget
with Benjamin Jones
Whips, chains, leather, steel, vinyl, rubber.
BDSM is often focused on stuff. Stuff
costs money and a lot of these things are
expensive. Join us to learn a few tips and
tricks to make your own toys to play with and
discover BDSM that doesn’t break the bank.
11pm-12am | Tips For Tops 102
with Johnny Holes
Building on last year’s popular PEX
workshop, TFT102 will review the basics – a
discussion about the relationship of top
and bottom, including the responsibility
of the top to please the bottom and him/
herself, including safety words, reading the
bottom, role playing, how to use toys and
implements, sensation play and technique.
We will then speak about bondage and its
manners and guidelines including: how to
lead into bondage, how to use restraints
and skills of floggers, crops and other items,
how to set up your home for bondage in a
discrete, yet functional manner. We’ll also
cover some basic rope work.
Saturday
11am-12pm | Ananda Nidra
(“Blissful Sleep”) with Mark A. Michaels
and Patricia Johnson
Ananda Nidra (“Blissful Sleep”) is an
adaptation of a traditional Tantric practice
developed by Mark A. Michaels (Swami
Umeshanand Saraswati) and Patricia
Johnson (Devi Veenanand). It is an
effortless guided meditation that relies
on pleasurable images and sensations
to induce feelings of relaxation and
refreshment coupled with a profound sense
of satisfaction. Ananda Nidra is derived
from Yoga Nidra (yogic sleep) which was
first brought to the west in the 1960’s by
Paramahansa Satyananda Saraswati. The
practices are very similar, but Ananda Nidra
focuses specifically on pleasure. Lie back
and enjoy!
12-2pm – Avoiding “Poly-Agony” |
General Polyamory & Open Relationship
Discussion with Rosie & Alan
This facilitated open discussion will be
valuable to anyone currently practicing, or
considering any form of open relationship,
including Polyamorists, Swingers & BDSM
Practitioners. All dating configurations,
orientations, gender identifications,
stripes & colors are welcome to share their
questions, experiences & perspectives
with each other. Possible subjects include:
communication & boundaries, different
styles of open relationships, choosing
to date with your partner or separately,
sexual orientation & polyamory, resolving
conflict, poly etiquette, helping partners
feel “safe”, how much to disclose to your
partner(s), managing jealousy, STIs &
“safer” sex, integration (family or tribal
style of polyamory) versus non-integration,
disclosure, “coming out” of the poly closet,
poly-saturation, and avoiding “poly-agony.”
2-4pm | Tantric Erogenous Zones with
Mark A. Michaels and Patricia Johnson
In Tantric sexual practice, it is important
to prolong the excitement phase. The
Tantric and Ayurvedic traditions have long
recognized specific zones of the body that
are particularly responsive to stimulation,
and some schools of Tantra (particularly in
South India) have developed a systematic
approach to the stimulation of these zones
in order to produce high states of arousal.
This system was introduced to the West
by Dr. John Mumford in 1976 and is still
little known. In this workshop, we will
introduce you to to these zones and the
basic principles for working with them
systematically.
4-5pm | Smooching 101 with CJ,
Sly & the Smoochdome Crew
For pairs who want some fresh practice, or
those looking for more kissy techniques,
this vintage Smoochdome experience is for
you! Please come with a partner. This is a
lips-on experience – gawkers will be asked
to leave.
Sunday
11am-12pm | Ananda Nidra (“blissful
sleep”) w/ Mark A. Michaels and
Patricia Johnson
See Saturday’s description of Ananda Nidra
12-2pm | Jealousy in Open
(and Monogamous) Relationships
within the Poly & Swinger
Communities with Rosie and Alan
Jealousy, is often called “The Green Eyed
Monster”...but what causes jealousy and
how can we manage or master this negative
emotion? What lessons does our jealousy
have to teach us & how can we grow from
it? What are the common types of jealousy
in open relationships? What do they have
in common? What should we do when
feeling these emotions? How can we gain
power over them & learn from it? What
should you do if your partner is jealous?
How is envy different than jealousy in open
relationships & how can it be managed,
relatively easily? What is Compersion? How
can we cultivate it?
This lecture/discussion will be valuable to
anyone currently practicing, or considering
any form of open relationship, especially
Polyamorists & Swingers. It will be
relevant to monogamous folks too. All
dating configurations, orientations, gender
identifications, stripes & colors are welcome
to share their questions, experiences &
perspectives.
2-4pm | Pair-Bonded Alternatives to
Traditional Monogamy with Mark A.
Michaels (Swami Umeshanand Saraswati)
and Patricia Johnson (Devi Veenanand)
Conventional monogamy, as it exists
in twenty-first century America, is
incompatible with the Tantric approach to
sexuality, since it artificially limits desire
in a way that is ultimately stultifying for
most people. Sexless marriages, affairs,
and the high divorce rate all reflect the
unsustainability of monogamy as it is
commonly understood and practiced.
The Tantric model of relating offers an
alternative to the monogamous model,
although modern practitioners can
come closest to the spirit of authentic
Tantra in the context of a long-term
relationship. These perspectives may
seem paradoxical at first, but it is possible
to reject conventional monogamy while
deepening your connection to your partner.
This need not involve interacting sexually
with others, although it can. From the
Tantric perspective, relationships, and
especially sexual relationships, should be
collaborations, and sexual exploration,
of whatever kind, is a joint undertaking,
based on each partner’s desire to facilitate
the other’s growth. In this workshop,
we’ll examine these ideas in depth and
provide you with practical tools for staying
connected as you explore.
10-11pm | Manual Pleasure
with Om Rupani
Hand-to-genital stimulation much of
the time gets passed through quickly
by most of us on our way to supposedly
bigger and better things. In this class we
are going to slow down and mosey a bit at
this stage of erotic encounter and explore
the possibilities. Our hands are the most
dexterous organs we possess. The amount
of sensation and pleasure that we can learn
to create in our lover with our hands is
virtually limitless.
One crucial aspect required to go more
deeply into this format is to separate the
role of giver and receiver. In this particular
class, the receivers will be women. The
givers can be men or women. Come with a
partner.
Chemistry Schedule
IN THE CHEMISTRY LAB (upstairs poolside):
bios
Johnny Holes has worked in the sex retail world for over 15 years. He has apprenticed
as a bondage fabricator and ran his own gear business. He is seasoned in leading BDSM
workshops and is also a performs in acting, comedy, absurd clowning, and hosting variety
shows.
Friday
Saturday
2-3am | Bound States with Om Rupani
2-4am | The Porno Jim Show featuring
cabaret cuties Nicole Possin & Sweet
SugaBeet & her Dirty Jazz Band
Benjamin Jones is also known as DJ Been Jammin’ and has been with Chemistry since
the very start in 2006. This is the first time he’s breaking out of his DJ role, using his skills in
wood working and sculpture to teach how to create BDSM toys. Ben is a little nervous, but
hopes you come and enjoy his workshop. 4-10am | Sunrise Super Set with DJs
BenJammin, Friar Tuck & Orion.
Mark A. Michaels (Swami Umeshanand Saraswati) and Patricia Johnson (Devi
Veenanand) are a devoted married couple, teaching Tantra together since 1999.They are the
authors of The Essence of Tantric Sexuality (Llewellyn, 2006, winner of the USA Book News
National Best Books 2007 Award in Health: Sexuality) and Tantra for Erotic Empowerment:
The Key to Enriching Your Sexual Life (Llewellyn 2008, winner of the USA Book News Award
in Health: Sexuality, Indie Excellence Awards finalist in New Age Non-Fiction, and ForeWord
Magazine Books of the Year Award finalist in the Body, Mind and Spirit category). Michaels
and Johnson wrote and appeared in two instructional DVDs produced by the Alexander
Institute: Tantric Sexual Massage for Lovers and Advanced Tantric Sex Techniques. Michaels
and Johnson are senior students of Tantric pioneer Dr. Jonn Mumford (Swami Anandakapila
Saraswati) who has named them his lineage holders for the Americas and Europe. In addition,
they are co-founders of the Pleasure Salon, a monthly gathering in New York City that brings
together sex-positive people and pleasure activists from a variety of communities.
This is not a beginning rope class, but
rather the beginning of the discussion on
what to with a lover once you have them
all roped and bound. Why tie someone up?
What becomes available through bondage?
What mental states, physical states, sensual
possibilities open up once a person is
bound? What journeys open up that are
otherwise less accessible? What might
you discover about yourself on this ride,
whether you are the one wearing the rope
or the one weaving it? We will explore these
possibilities through discussion as well as
some playful rides and exercises.
3-10am | SpellBound
A lighthearted BDSM dance/play party with
spank happy DJ BenJammin’ & friends |
all masters, mistresses and their pampered
pets welcome, as well as strays and masters
& mistresses looking to adopt. Host British
Paul of FetFest (fetfest.com) reserves the
right to keep the party gender balanced.
The Porno Jim Show returns to PEX with
a hilarious revue of modern pornography!
Expect special guests and many mindblowing videos, plus Porno Jim’s witty
analysis of what all this porn is doing to us
here in the 21st century. Not to be missed!
Celebrate the rosy fingertips of dawn with
this dynamic trio of New York DJs.
Sunday
2-5am | Vitamin B Presents:
Matryoshka Meta Morning Show
Just like the popular Russian doll, Vitamin
B presents a party inside a party inside a
party. Vitamin B will be throwing down
inside of Chemistry LAB inside of PEX
Summer Fest. Tektite, Tim the Enchanter
and friends will be bringing beats from
Brooklyn to make you shake your groove
thang all night long.
Rosie and Alan are a happily married polyamorous couple. They have been together, in one
form or another, for over 17 years, cautiously dipping their toes into the pool of alternative
relationship models and sexuality from the beginning. Together they organize & host the
Phila. Polyamory and Open Relationship Discussion Group ( http://www.meetup.com/
Phila-Polyamory-and-Open-Relationship-Discussion-Group/). Throughout the last five
years, they have hosted many polyamory events and facilitated numerous workshops &
discussions within the Polyamory, Burning Man & other communities, as well as at Drexel
University. They currently live in “tribe” within a diverse, self created, economically
sustainable, emotionally supportive, relatively organic, intentional community setting which
they also own & manage.
Om Rupani is a professional photographer, sex educator and former director of the NY
branch of OneTaste Urban Retreat Center where he taught all their courses on sexuality,
communication, and Orgasmic Meditation. He was born and raised in the great city of
Bombay/Mumbai India. He has been with same fabulous woman for 21 years, and their
desire to expand their own sensual life led him to explore sexuality and relationships. He has
studied modern Tantra with various wonderful teachers, such as Laurie Handlers, Barbara
Carrellas, Sheri Winston, Charles Muir and others, and his two biggest philosophical/
spiritual influences are Osho and Eckhart Tolle. His teaching style combines psychological
insight with hands-on sensual practices. His goal for his students is to help them become
Masterful at the Art of Giving & Receiving—and face and play with all the monsters they
encounter along the way. For more on his teachings visit www.OmRupani.org.