Open Relating 25

Schedule

Thursday

  • 7:00 PM: Dinner (gather at 6:50 for dinner circle)

  • 8:15 PM: Opening Circle and Roundtable - Great Room
    We will gather to get to know each other, go over some basic agreements for the retreat and have an open discussion about our relationships.

  • After Opening Circle - Puppy Pile with Jay Freeman - Great Room
    Join a guided welcoming clothing-on, non-erotic group cuddle!

    • Or Late Night Activities - Games, Sauna

Friday

  • 7:30 AM - Two Choices:

    • Morning Mindfulness with Gentle Pup and Zach Rothman Hicks - Great Room
      This session is a wonderful way to start the day! Join us for a gentle yoga flow including basic asanas, sun salutation, breathwork, chakra balancing, and guided meditation designed to nourish body, mind, and spirit. Mats and cushions provided. No experience required. Open to practitioners of any faith tradition or none. Clothing optional

    • 12 Step Meeting - Temple - Hunter Reynolds Room

  • 8:30 AM: Breakfast.   

  • 9:30 AM - 1 PM: Community Circle - with your host team - Great Room
    This will be our time to set the foundations for the entire retreat. It will consist of two 90-minute sessions with a 15 minute break in between. It would be great if everyone could attend these sessions!

    • Part 1: Yes, No, Maybe and More: 
      Working relationships are about agreements and boundaries. How do you ask for what you want? How do you say YES to what works for you and say NO with kindness and clarity? How do you deal with rejection? We will try to answer some of these questions together through sharing, non erotic touch, and role play exercises! Come open the toolbox!

    • Part 2: Poly What?
      Compersion, Metamour, Polycule? What are they talking about? What do poly people do? Who are we? What are some misconceptions and challenges? We will discuss some basics as a large group then go deeper in smaller groups, so we can share our knowledge and experience with each other! 

  • 1:00 PM: Lunch

  • 2:30 - 4 PM - Two Choices:

    • Polycule Picnic with Zach Rothman Hicks, Andre Knights & Donald Shorter - Great Room
      Participants will define and present their polycule of joy by going on an imaginary polycule picnic. 

    • Conversation in Polyamory with Oleg Kudamov and Chris Yow - Temple
      How do you navigate a conversation in a polyamorous lifestyle. How do you ask sensitive questions to your partner/s. How can you get more comfortable talking about intimate time with others and describe your feelings with confidence. How can you be more honest and transparent with your partner/s.We will explore these questions using conversational roleplay in a small groups.

  • 4:30 - 6:30 PM - Two Choices:

    • Polysecure with Goldenheart - Great Room
      This workshop introduces concepts discussed in the book Polysecure by Jessica Fern, in which she applies Attachment Theory to Polyamorous relationships. We will give an overview of the book, focusing on the 4 different attachment styles, and the H.E.A.R.T.S  method of building polysecure relationships. There will also be time for discussion on the topics.

    • BDSM Power Play in Poly Relationships with Sir Bob  - Temple
      Master/slave, Dom/sub,Top/bottom, Sir/boy, Handler/pup,might seem a normal dynamic, where does poly group sessions happen? What are the consented ground rules and are they different? Sample and explore BDSM kinks and fetishes.

  • 7:00 PM: Dinner (gather at 6:50 for dinner circle)

  • 8:15  - 10:00 PM: Loving Our Bare Bodies with Goldenheart and Jay Freeman - Temple
    Together, we will shed our “armor”, let go of shame and be vulnerable. We will share affirmative touch, honor each other’s bodies, and give & receive energy. You must be willing to be undressed and to exchange affirmative touch. This experience will create a safe environment for men to let their guard down and connect more deeply, but it is not a sex party. You can set your own boundaries in an atmosphere of mutual respect! If you don't want to go to this, its a perfect time to play a game, or socialize!

  • 10:00 PM: Late Night Activities - Games, Sauna and Play Spaces

Saturday

  • 7:30 AM - Two Choices:

    • Morning Mindfulness with Gentle Pup and Zach Rothman Hicks - Great Room
      See Friday Description

    • 12 Step Meeting - Temple - Hunter Reynolds Room

  • 8:30 AM: Breakfast.

  • 9:30 AM - 11 AM - Two Choices:

    • Relational Honesty - with JoJo Bear - Great Room

      Do you tend to "imagine" what you know what your partner is thinking or doing? Do you perhaps hold back to the point that you may start to endure situations? Are there situations in your relationships where you want to "keep the peace" or "not rock the boat" that you just feel lost? In this interactive offering, we will practice actions to benefit ourselves through touch and requests based on authentic embodied honesty. This is about noticing when we go into the shadow areas in our multiple relationships (single folks can join as well) This workshop is not necessarily about giving and receiving it's about the moments when we are not truthful to our wants and needs. We will also practice some honesty-building with useful techniques that put a light on what we are "imagining" to what is the truth. Bring something to write on and wear something comfortable to this offering.

    • Polyamory and the Law - with Learned Hand - Temple

      This workshop will provide a brief historical overview of how the law has ‘traditionally’ viewed polyamory and polygamy and a synopsis of how the law currently treats modern poly relationships, along with general trends of poly rights in various jurisdictions around the country. It will also delve into some practical insights and tips on legal techniques currently available to help you protect important rights for yourself, your poly family, and other loved ones.

      DISCLAIMER: THIS WORKSHOP IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY AND IS SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS LEGAL ADVICE. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS RELATED TO YOUR SPECIFIC SITUATION, PLEASE SEEK THE ADVICE OF AN ATTORNEY LICENSED IN YOUR JURISDICTION.

  • 11:30 AM - 1 PM - Two Choices:

    • The Magic of Desire - with Chris Yow - Great Room
      This workshop will be a participatory fire magic ritual that we will build together step by step while discussing desire as the cohesive force of creation that everything and everyone already participates in, how to get in touch with your natural desires, and how to challenge and release the social and self-limiting beliefs that get in the way of their fulfillment. Everyone will receive a special candle to take home to keep the fires of desire burning.

    • Men’s Sexual Health - with David Dunn Bauer - Temple
      As men engaged in poly relationships or ethical non-monogamy, we especially want to be up to date on all current means available of keeping ourselves sexually healthy. (PEP, PrEP, Doxy PEP, U=U, etc.) Protecting our partners and ourselves. This conversation is clothes on. Bring your journal and a pen, or something else you use to take notes. There will be informational handouts. If you want to test your knowledge, there will be a quiz at the end with a prize for the Best Learner.

  • 1:00 PM: Lunch

  • 2:30  - 4 PM - Two Choices:

    • Words Hurt: How Our Language Holds Us Back - with Byron Anthos - Great Room
      Do we mean what we say? Are we understood by all? The language that surrounds polyamory, particularly amongst men, can often be our downfall. We tend to rally against negative perceptions without really addressing them in a way to be understood. Sometimes we are our own worst enemy whether we are aware of it or not. Is the way I present myself not being received the way I want it to? Am I using "boundary" correctly? Am I seeking understanding or do I really want someone to tell me I'm right? Bring a journal. There will be a lot of takeaways from this one.

    • Creating a Covenant - with David Dunn Bauer - Temple
      Most of us are familiar with the word "Covenant" from Biblical text. A covenant is a contract imbued with overtones of sacredness and blessing. It's a deal we make with both mind and soul. Both those elements are relevant to the structural contracts we make with lovers and partners. We want to be truthful, we want to be aspirational, we need to be selfish, we need to be generous. Covenants are clear and flexible. Covenants are made to be supportive. They help guide us in our day to day choices. I want to introduce models of covenant that derive from ancient and contemporary Jewish civilizational and principles from Betty Martin's "Wheel of Consent." Let's see if from these we can shape models of covenant to  sustain our polyamorous lives. A formal covenant can help us identify what works and what doesn't in the relationships we form. Bring your journal, your pen, your partner(s), and your imagination.

  • 4:30 - 6:30 PM: Mapping & Flagging Our Identities with Zach, Andre & Donald - Great Room
    André, Zach, and Donald will lead participants through a workshop which seeks to strengthen community bonds as we use meditation, artmaking, and movement to explore our identities. Participants will use facilitated discussion prompts to get in touch with their identity as GBTQ+ person and then create a flag out of construction paper which represents that. After that, Donald will take participants through a movement exercise, which serves to help them embrace their authentic selves.

  • 7:00 PM: Dinner (gather at 6:50 for dinner circle)

  • 8:30 PM: Poly Cabaret - Great Room

    Share a song, a poem, a reading a dance or anything else with your community in our fabulous Poly Cabaret!

  • Followed by Poly-JAM-morous: The Dance Party with DJ Sean - Great Room

    DJ Sean McLaughlin, former 25+ year veteran of "HomoRadio," will get you movin' and groovin' with "polyJAMorous: the dance party!" Temps might be cool outside, but this dance is gonna be HOT!!! Feel free to dress up, raid the drag closet, come as you are, or strip down as bare as you dare, and enjoy a non-stop mix of fresh, fab, and funky flashbacks!

  • 10:00 PM: Late Night Activities - Games, Sauna and Play Spaces

Sunday

  • 7:30 AM - Two Choices:

    • Morning Mindfulness with Gentle Pup and Zach Rothman Hicks - Great Room
      See Friday Description

    • 12 Step Meeting - Temple - Hunter Reynolds Room

  • 8:30 AM: Light Continental Breakfast. 

  • 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM: Closing Circle and Roundtable Discussion - Great Room

    We will gather to share our thoughts about the weekend and discuss what learning we are taking away from the experience. What questions are still with us? How will we keep the connections going?  

  • 11:30 AM: Farewell Brunch

Late Night Activities 

  • There will be two late night open erotic spaces available Friday and Saturday night at 10 pm

    • Cuddle and Play Zone: In the Loft of the Temple - a laid back space for more vanilla erotic play and connection.

    • Kink Space: In the Main Room of the Temple - a place to explore power dynamics, impact play and other BDSM practices.  ** please note that this is an unfacilitated space. Sir Bob will be in attendance to guide folks but he will also be taking part in some scenes, so if you are unfamiliar with BDSM safety and consent practices, please take his class before using this space. 

      • In both spaces - practice mutual respect and kindness toward yourself and others. Set your boundaries and practice consent and negotiation with each other. Give a “No” with kindness and receive them with grace and respect. Please make sure you are invited before joining a scene in progress. You may encounter hosts, volunteers, presenters and facilitators in the space. Each person will be responsible for setting boundaries, negotiating and communicating with anyone they encounter in the space.

  • The sauna will be available Friday and Saturday nights at 10 pm.

  • There is a closet full of games in the Great Room that can be played together in the the Sun Room!