Professional Documents
Culture Documents
OPENING UP
2ND EDITION
BY Marcia Baczynski
This publication is protected under the US Copyright Act of 1976 and all other
applicable international, federal, state and local laws, and all rights are reserved.
Please do not distribute this eBook in any way. Please do not sell it, or reprint any
part of it without written consent from the author, except for the inclusion of
brief quotations in a review. Always include a link to
www.successfulnonmonogamy.com.
Please note that much of this publication is based on personal experience and
anecdotal evidence. Although the author has made every reasonable attempt to
achieve complete accuracy of the content in this Guide, she assumes no
responsibility for errors or omissions. Also, you should use this information as
you see fit, and at your own risk. Your particular situation may not be exactly
suited to the examples illustrated here; in fact, its likely that they wont be the
same, and you should adjust your use of the information and recommendations
accordingly. Finally, use your own wisdom as guidance. Nothing in this Guide is
intended to replace common sense, legal, medical or other professional advice,
and is meant to inform and entertain the reader.
Copyright 2013 Marcia Baczynski and Asking For What You Want, Inc. All
rights reserved worldwide.
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Table Of Contents
Introduction ....................................................4
About Marcia Baczynski ...................................8
Mistake #1: Not Knowing Where Youre Going ......11
Mistake #2: Moving Too Fast (Or Too Slow) ........18
Mistake #3: Trying to Avoid Jealousy ................26
Mistake #4: Trying To Be The Perfect Poly
Person.........................................................32
Where To Go From Here ................................37
Introduction
Ive lost count of how many times Ive seen this happen: A couple decides theyre
going to open up. One or both of them then goes and sleeps with someone else.
Hurt feelings ensue. The couple starts fighting. Trust is broken. One of them says,
I cant believe you did that! The other says But we said we were open! Anger,
heartbreak, and betrayal flood out.
And then everyone decides that open relationships never work.
The thing is, open relationships are relationships. And relating is something that
happens in real time. Its a process, a co-exploration, a way of being with each
other as stuff comes up. Making a decision like being open as though it were a
one-time switch to be flipped makes no sense.
What does that process look like? Conversations. Check-ins. Trying things and
seeing how it goes. Being willing to back-track. Reassurance. More conversations.
Sounds like a lot of work, right? It is. (Theres a reason some people call
polyamory the grad school of relationships.)
The good news? This process, done with patience, mutual support and love, often
leads to incredible intimacy, and ultimately, can lead to open relationships that
do work.
Everyones story is unique, and each couples definition of success is different.
One couple I worked with had been together since their late teens. They were
madly in love, had 2 kids, established careers and 17 years of marriage under
their belts. They had absolutely no intention of leaving one another, but both felt
there were sexual experiences they had missed out on in their 20s that their peers
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had had. They didnt want to create partnerships with anyone else, but they also
didnt want to just have anonymous sex with people off the internet. Through our
work together, we found places for each partner to explore their sexuality in ways
that felt safe emotionally and physically.
Another couple came to me because they had hit an unexpected snag. The female
partner had wanted to open up to explore her bisexuality and was interested in
forming a long-term relationship with a woman, without taking anything away
from her husband. He was supportive of this idea, and they decided they would
both try dating to see what it was like. Neither of them was prepared when she
was blindsided with mind-numbing jealousy when he was out with another
woman.
It turned out that they had different motivations for cultivating other
relationships. She wanted a partner who could be a potential addition to their
family, whereas he wanted a sexy friend who was outside of the family unit. In his
desire for autonomy and extra, she perceived her husband as wanting her out of
the way. But in his view, he wanted to keep what he had with his wife as central
and special. Once they both understood their different motivations, they were
able to make decisions about who and how to pursue other interests in a way that
had them both feel loved and cared for.
A third couple came to me when they had just moved to a new city. These two
women, one lesbian and one bisexual, had been together for three years. They
had dabbled in the play party scene in their previous town, but the scene there
was very small and they both felt vulnerable to judgment and drama there.
Despite being supportive of each other, neither woman felt comfortable doing
much outside of their relationship. Now that they were in a bigger city, they
wanted help in finding a women-oriented scene where the bisexual partner
wouldnt be criticized if she also dated or hooked up with men. Through our work
together, we were able to work through their different fears of judgment and they
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They are doing this as a team. Even if one person is more into it
than the other, no one is pressuring the other to go along with it. Couples
who open up as a team are listening to one another and paying attention to
what works for both of them. They are looking for win/win solutions to
challenges. They listen to each others fears and concerns. They are
committed to finding ways to put both of their needs and desires on the
table, collaboratively. These couples are not just looking for consent. They
are looking for willingness to engage in what can be an edgy or frightening
thing together.
They treat one another with kindness and respect. This is perhaps
the most important requirement for success in any relationship, open or
not. Even when one partner says something that is difficult for the other
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partner to hear, they listen with compassion and are gentle with each
others vulnerabilities.
You might notice that these three things are helpful, and perhaps necessary, for
romantic relationships of any kind. And thats true. Successful open
relationships, in many ways, are no different than any other kind of happy and
successful relationship.
Even with all those wonderful things in place, however, the most loving, happy
couple might still fall to one of the four mistakes in this e-Book. Briefly, they are:
In this book, Ill explain more about each of these mistakes and how they show
up, plus give you some practical things you can do right now to avoid each of
them.
Its my hope that with these tools, you can avoid these common pitfalls and
instead find yourself falling more deeply in love with each other as you create the
kind of relationship most people only dream of.
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I can only speak for myself, but the rewards of being vulnerable to love are
tremendous. The awareness Ive cultivated in learning how to balance my needs
and desires with my partners has allowed me to grow in ways that I cant imagine
had my college boyfriend and I stayed monogamous. Some of this would have
certainly come from maturity in any case, but there are things Ive learned about
myself that could have only come from the juxtaposition of how I related to two
or more partners simultaneously.
I have learned how to stand up for my boundaries, and to respect others
boundaries, not just in my word, but with the deepest, most caring intention as I
can muster. I have learned how to be self-expressed sexually and to learn what
risks just look scary and what risks actually are dangerous. Often, that lesson has
surprised me. I have learned how to find enjoyment in awkward I really like you
conversations and to allow connections to be nurtured at the level that makes
sense for everyone involved, not just myself and my own desires. Ive gotten to
enjoy fun flirtations that never moved beyond that and passionate affairs that
have changed my entire perception of what I thought was possible in love and
sex. And Ive gotten to do all of this while nurturing years of long-term
relationships with partners I truly care about.
For me, its not about being polyamorous vs. being monogamous. At any given
time, the form of my own relationships may be more open or closed. Its more
about engaging in relationships in a way that allows for more authenticity and
vulnerability, and thus, intimacy. Its about allowing another person to really get
to know me, and getting to know another person in all the sweetness and
innocence that comes with being excited about them. Its about choosing
experiences that are healthy and nurturing for me and for the people I care about,
learning to play well with others, and confronting the cultural taboos that tell me
that this is all somehow wrong and bad.
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Along the way, Ive gained tremendous skill in balancing freedom and safety,
adventure with cocooning, newness with familiarity, self with others, shame with
vulnerability. And more than anything, its about remembering to be grateful for
the people who are in my life, regardless of how our relationship shows up or
changes form over the years.
While I (and a lot of other people) made a lot of mistakes along the way, that
doesnt mean you have to. In this guide, youll find out what the most common
mistakes are, and how to avoid them. So with no further ado
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that Jason wasnt really committed to her and was just using non-monogamy as a
way to avoid commitment. Before encouraging them to try dating anyone else, I
spent a few months with them helping them sort out how they felt about their
own relationship.
Here are three kinds of conversations to have to get clarity about where you are
and where youre going.
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What else is going on in your life? Do you have space and time to devote to
exploring other relationships or sex interests? How much time and energy are
you willing to put into this exploration? How will you handle it if your partner has
a different level of resources, energy, attention, etc than
you do?
Do you have the self-knowledge and
communication skills to keep your existing
relationships (romantic, friendship and
otherwise) healthy and thriving? Are your
friendships and family relationships more or less healthy?
Can you anticipate some of the challenges that might
emerge ahead of time? Where do you see room for yourself
to grow?
Do you know what makes your partner feel happy, secure and loved?
Are you willing to put extra attention on nurturing your existing relationship
even as you find other people to be excited about? Where do you want to be sure
to put that extra attention?
Do you know what makes you feel happy, secure and loved? Are you
willing to put extra effort into self-care and self-discovery? What opportunities do
you see for yourself here?
Even a little bit of time spent on self-examination here will help down the road
when challenges come up. By shoring up your foundation, and making sure
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youre on the same page about the two of you, youll have a smoother time as you
move forward. Plus, a solid relationship is its own reward!
Freedom to explore
Partner wants it
Fantasy fulfillment
Sexual variety
Emotional variety
Emotional fulfillment
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Curiosity
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date (well call him David), made an offhand comment about looking forward to
sleeping with me. Now, my partner and I had clearly made a no-sex agreement
for this particular date, which David was well aware of. I watched in horror and
confusion as my sweeties face crumpled with a sense of betrayal as he took in
Davids comment.
It was a tense and uncomfortable 10 minutes as we sorted out that David had
indeed only meant cuddling and literally falling asleep with me. He apologized
profusely for the sloppy usage of words, as my sweetie recovered from feeling like
his friend was ignoring his boundaries. For my part, I recognized that this muchanticipated date might have just been a wash and prepared myself for the
possibility of having to cancel it. Fortunately, the three of us were able to rally,
and the date went forward as planned. To this day, David feels bad about his
choice of words that night.
Dont let this happen to you! Here are some words that commonly mean different
things to different people. I recommend that you not assume you know what
another person means when they say these:
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This is, of course, only a partial list, but its a useful starting point. From here,
you can begin discussing what your non-monogamy might look like. There are all
sorts of ways relationships can go, including sexual play, flirting, cuddling,
dating, fuck buddies, intimate networks, triads, threesomes and much more, all
of which I talk about in my course Successful Non-Monogamy for Couples.
Actions
Make a series of dates to talk about some of these questions. Set it up to be
particularly pleasant After all, you want to create positive associations for these
conversations, not make them feel like work. Go for a drive to the beach or lake,
have a picnic, split a bottle of wine while cuddled up in front of the fire, anything
that makes it feel special. Set a timer for 30 to 60 minutes for the conversation,
DO treat it as a co-exploration. DONT try to get to the answer as quickly as
possible while trampling over each others feelings. DONT make every date be a
conversation about opening up, even if youre both enthusiastic. Its important to
remember to connect on the other things the two of you love about each other.
Enjoy the opportunity to get to know each other more deeply along the way.
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Contrary to popular belief, its not always the man who wants to open up. For
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Joyce, I explained, is in green territory. She already feels safe and so is ready to
go, wants to try stuff and see what happens. Olin on the other hand, is in the
yellow zone. Olin is curious about polyamory, but first he needs to feel safe,
connected and trusting that the existing relationship isnt going to get damaged
or ruined.
What Joyce didnt see is that as the initiator and enthusiast, she is resting on a
foundation of feeling safe in her relationship in her relationship with Olin.
Whereas the slower partner often can intuit that if they go down this road,
things will change (Blue Zone), and that might have them feel anxious or
worried.
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Sometimes there is past pain that needs to be worked through, either from the
current relationship or previous relationships. Sometimes, there is a present-time
consideration that needs to be worked through. For example, hooking up with
your partners best friend can make things awkward between them and create
distance. Sex with someone whos not on point with safer sex can risk physical
health. Both of these are distinct from the natural anxiety and vulnerability that
comes from stepping into new unknown territory.
In Olins case, he had been cheated on by a former longterm girlfriend. The massive betrayal of trust left him
feeling worried in his subsequent relationships. He had
worked through much of his fear with a therapist, and he
was definitely intrigued by what opening up would be like
for him and Joyce, but he still wanted to take it slow,
much like our cautious driver in the example above.
I told them that thinking of it in terms of fast and slow were not helpful. After all,
they were doing something that many people thought was crazy anyway.
Instead, I encouraged them to take a step back from all of it for a minute.
When youre falling into the too fast / too slow trap, the answer is NOT for
Partner A to tell B Oh, itll be fine. A doesnt know that. No one does. B is
correctly intuiting that exploring this relationship path includes experimentation,
risk and vulnerability. Risk means it might not work out okay. Belittling that
concern wont make it go away, and it often backfires, because B really needs
their concern to be heard by A.
On the other hand, the answer is also NOT to just not do anything. Life is
inherently risky. Whether you open up or not, things will change and intimacy
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will be affected. The real solution is to take action but intentional action in a
totally different direction.
How do you do that? Here are three ideas:
Intentional Monogamy
Some couples Ive worked with have chosen to be 100% monogamous for a period
of time, varying from 3 months up to one year. The purpose of this intentional
monogamy was two-fold: 1) to shore up their personal and interpersonal
foundations and 2) to make tons of space to talk about what theyre into without
any concern about doing any of it right away. This tends to work best for
committed couples who know they want to be with each other, and are exploring
the best kind of non-monogamy for them.
Baby Steps
Far too often, people assume that opening up means
hopping into bed with the first hottie they (or their
partner) sees. And while this works fine for those who
are on the same page and both want mostly sex-only
experiences with other people, for those who are less
clear about what they want, baby steps can be a saving
grace.
Remember making out? Cuddling? Flirting with abandon? Have you ever passed
an afternoon with your sweetheart at the park pointing out people you find
attractive and sharing why (without, of course, comparing)?
Theres a lot to be said for 1950s-style dating, particularly when youre already
goin all the way with someone else. Taking it slow, courting, seeing how it
goes these are baby-steps worth trying.
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Take the scariest stuff off the table. Maybe, for you, thats sex with another
person, or going on late night dates, or talking about anything you havent yet
shared with your main squeeze.
Now add back in stuff that seems fine to you. It
might be totally innocuous. It might be stuff your
average mainstream folks would raise their
eyebrows at. What other people think isnt the
point here. Maybe thats going to the movies with
someone else and holding hands, or going to a
sex party together but not playing with anyone else. It doesnt matter what it is;
just find the things that youre a clear yes to.
Then find one only one thing that seems edgy to you only a little bit edgy
and include that. Then see what thats like to do.
Thats how you baby-step it.
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the parts that are fun and focus on how great it is, and let the rest sort itself out?
Yes, thats exactly what I meant. So thats what they did.
Two years later, they are still together, fully in love, and are hanging out fully in
the blue zone. Olin still occasionally gets anxious about things that Joyce wants to
do, but when they remember to take baby steps and focus on the fun, Olin says
those clouds of doubt tend to pass more quickly. Moreover, hes exactly where he
wants to be, and Joyce is thrilled that she has had a chance to have so many of the
experiences shes wanted to have.
Notes
It may be the case that as you go through this exploration, one of you decides that
its for you, and the other decides its not. (Thats an issue beyond the scope of
this report, but is something I talk about in-depth in
Successful Non-Monogamy for Couples.)
Keep in mind that you are engaged in this as a process
and the point is to enjoy each other as you explore
whats there for you. Trying to rush from point A to
point B will only hurt your partner, as will refusing to
engage. Remember that youre a team, and
intentionality, baby-steps and fun are there to serve you both.
Actions
Journal or talk about these questions:
Imagine taking sex or intercourse off the table. How would that
shape your pursuit of open relationships? For some, sexual exploration is
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the whole point of opening up. If thats you, can you imagine other forms
of sexual exploration you could engage in that would be enjoyable to you?
What are you an easy yes to? That is, what types of courtship, sex,
romance or relationship stuff do you find it easy to imagine your partner
doing? This could be as simple as going to the movies, holding hands,
exchanging text messages or having a conversation with other friends
present.
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Go for a walk
Play music
Go to www.calm.com
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time-outs because your brain will start taking care of things for you. (Mighty
thanks to Dossie Easton, co-author of The Ethical Slut, for this tip!)
Envy
Sadness
Anger
Grief
Rage
Self-loathing
Feeling inadequate
Fear of rejection
Fear of abandonment
Possessiveness
Competitiveness
Insecurity
Feeling excluded
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Resentment
Loneliness
Anxiety
Mistrust
Fear of loss
Hurt
Actions
Create your time-out plan:
Determine your respective corners (Does one of you get the bedroom and
the other the kitchen? Where do you agree to go if you live in a studio? If
you dont live together? If youre out and about?)
Choose one or two activities for your time outs. You can change them later
if you want, but having something concrete to go to will be helpful for
calming down your system.
This one is harder than it seems. You neither dig into it, nor distract yourself.
Just let yourself be jealous. Feel it. Notice the texture and flavor of it. Dont try to
change it, figure it out or make it go away. You may notice the volume goes up or
down when you have certain thoughts. Just notice it.
Too often we try to fix jealousy, like its a problem. But what if you simply
stayed with the feeling? Notice what color it has. Is it far away or close by? Does it
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have a sound? If so, what does it sound like? Where do you feel it in your body? Is
it large or small?
What is the texture? Is it soft? Smooth? Rough? Jagged? Is there a smell? A
flavor? What else do you notice?
Look, I know there are some folks out there who think that jealousy is an
opportunity to Dig Deep and Be PresentTM and I wouldnt disagree with that. And
for those who really want to do the emotional work, the first two strategies can be
profoundly supportive.
But sometimes you just dont have it in you to get all wrapped up in processing all
the feelings. Heres where good old fashioned distraction comes in. Big
distractions, little ones... doesnt matter. Hes got a date this weekend? Shes
having her first sleepover out? Awesome, take the kid to Disneyland and have a
blast. Watch a ton of Breaking Bad episodes. Embroil yourself in the most
tedious, mind-numbing organizational or programming project you can come up
with. Have friends over and give yourself pedicures (Guys, black with sparkles
looks awesome.) Make art. Climb a tree. Read Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl
Strayed. Whatever floats your boat and gets your mind focused on something
else.
As one of my clients said to me, Distraction gets a bad rap. I prefer to think of it
as Reminders that reality is bigger than whatever Im obsessing over.
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your partner, who has been trusting that what youve been saying all along is the
truth, can be hurt, baffled or feel
manipulated.
The uncomfortable truth is that
trying to be the PPP actually is a
form of lying. When you dont
honestly own up to the things that
you worry will make you less
than, youre actually not telling the
truth.
This is hard because often this poly person feels that in order to be kept or to be
enough they have to be perfect, the definition of which somehow means no
jealous feelings, no saying no, no boundaries.
Now, if thats actually true, then youve got much bigger problems than open
relationships. It means your partner is, at best, cruel, and at worst, an abusive
bully. No one should ever have their boundaries violated in order to stay in a
relationship.
Fortunately, the reality for most couples who are in a mutual dialog about open
relationships is that this is more of a feeling than an actual truth. After all, your
partner chose you to go on this journey with. In a healthy relationship, perfection
isnt the goal. Enjoying yourselves, imperfections and all, is.
If feelings of not being enough are common for you in places other than in your
relationship, you may also want to consider talking with a therapist. Often this
kind of thinking about oneself starts from a young age, and isnt about whats
going on between you and your partner.
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If it only comes up around the open relationship conversations, then this is worth
talking to with your partner about. Get a reality check from them. Find out what
he or she is really expecting from you. You might be surprised to find out that
they are expecting you to have fears, doubts, concerns, boundaries, etc.
The truth is, those very things that have you feel vulnerable, scared, and nervous
are the places where you are protecting something precious to you. Trying to run
roughshod over it means youre losing touch with a part of yourself. Slow down.
Listen to it. It might have something important to tell you.
And in those tiny moments of listening, you might be able to ask the question
youre really scared of. And youll give your partner a chance to show you a kind
of love that they never will know you need if you dont tell them.
The big scary question for a lot of us is If I cant do this, will you leave me?
Depending on your
situation, this may be worth
having an honest
conversation about. But if
you do talk about it, get
really clear on what you each
mean by do this and
leave. For some people, its
less about actually doing anything in particular, and more about needing to have
a space in their relationship to talk about their desires. For others, there might be
a concrete need to experience something in order to know something about
themselves. Some people might not really know why they want to open up.
Even if this is a conversation you do decide to have, be wary of expectations to
put up or shut up or this is just how I am and you need to deal with it. That is
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Thats why its crucial that you have people you can talk to about this stuff. You
shouldnt have to face the world alone. Find a friend, an online discussion group,
or a local open relationship community, so you have someone to talk to.
Actions
Pay attention to when you need some space to be imperfect or vulnerable. These
are often the places where you can get some support, a reality check or
reassurance from your partner or from your support network.
Pay attention to the places where you feel trapped, contracted or stuck in a
double bind.
And, build your support networks. Find someone(s) you can talk to about
this stuff. Its vital.
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