Ep 263 - Elizabeth

Dedeker is back after more than four years and an entire pandemic! As always, there's so much to get out of this beautiful conversation without listening to round one first (Episode 104).  Dedeker digs into the transitions and shifts in her own relational journey, including a moment of monogamy and the journey she's been on rekindling a partnership from over a decade ago. One of the things we love about talking with Dedeker about is how seamlessly she weaves humor and wisdom together into powerful and relatable lessons for all of us. Don't skip this one or you'll miss out on all of that plus one of the greatest confessionals we've ever had on the show! Dedeker is one of the co-hosts of the Multiamory podcast, a relationship coach, writer, and advocate for polyamory and non-traditional relationships. She is the author of The Smart Girl's Guide to Polyamory: Everything You Need to Know about Open Relationships, Non-Monogamy, and Alternative Love and the co-author of Multiamory: Essential Tools for Modern Relationships. Learn more about all her work at www.dedekerwinston.com. Check out the full show notes here.   Submit a question for our Ask Us Anything Episodes! Click here to join our upcoming Virtual Meet and Greets! Join the most amazing community of open-minded humans on the planet!   Check out our weekly peer support groups!   Skip the ads and sign up for the Premium Feed!   Click here to order your very own NNM shirt! $10 Off - Online STI Testing

14 Feb 20241h 13min

Courtney is back after more than 150 episodes to give us an update on all the ways he's been finding himself and crushing life over the last three years! This is such an amazing conversation about how we are all constantly changing and evolving in how we relate to one another, and to ourselves. While we definitely recommend listening to Courtney's first interview on Episode 165, this conversation stands on its own and is so powerful. Enjoy! Also! Courtney is the founder and director of an incredible non-profit called Something Positive for Positive People. SPFPP is dedicated to supporting individuals living with herpes using holistic approaches. They focus on navigating the complexities of stigma and relationships associated with the virus. Their mission is to provide stigma-free communication skills and other resources to sexual health service providers, including therapists, nurses, sex educators, and public health professionals. And! Courtney is organizing a virtual Herpes Stigma Conference on May 23, 2024. Get your ticket here! Check out the full show notes here.   Submit a question for our Ask Us Anything Episodes! Click here to join our upcoming Virtual Meet and Greets! Join the most amazing community of open-minded humans on the planet!   Check out our weekly peer support groups!   Skip the ads and sign up for the Premium Feed!   Click here to order your very own NNM shirt! $10 Off - Online STI Testing

7 Feb 20241h 15min

Jess and Tyler have been together nearly a decade and have been married for about six years. A few years back, the idea of opening their relationship came up in quite an exciting fashion! Jess and Tyler take us through how they overcame their abrupt entry into the world of non-monogamy and how they used it as an opportunity to grow closer and to be more authentically themselves. What started out as a way for Jess to explore her sexuality grew into a whole new way of creating a partnership filled with love and expansiveness. Jess is also a licensed therapist and relationship coach who loves working with those who choose a less conventional path. You can learn more about her and her work on her website www.bothandcoaching.com. Check out the full show notes here.   Submit a question for our Ask Us Anything Episodes! Click here to join our upcoming Virtual Meet and Greets! Join the most amazing community of open-minded humans on the planet!   Check out our weekly peer support groups!   Skip the ads and sign up for the Premium Feed!   Click here to order your very own NNM shirt! $10 Off - Online STI Testing

31 Jan 20241h 29min

Meshai and Fin team up together to answer amazing listener questions every fourth Friday of each month! Today's questions are about navigating a polyamorous breakup while you're in a don't ask, don't tell (DADT) dynamic AND advice for a couple who have differing needs in terms of emotional connection with new partners before having sex. If YOU have a question, we'd love to hear it! Please, ask us anything by clicking here! We are super excited to be partnering with Meshai for the Ask Us Anything episodes! She first appeared on the podcast on Episode 233 and we're honored to have her back! Meshai is relationship coach with the team at Expansive Connection. She believes in the power of living as one’s authentic self, and the freedom that comes from changing perspectives. She loves putting the puzzle pieces of a couple's sexual energy together and aiding them in positive and explorative movement. Her coaching work implements creative synergy, openness, self-expression, and the confrontation of challenges through self-determination. She helps individuals from diverse populations move forward with their goals while being fully aware that trauma can play on the whole person. Meshai is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and is certified in both Trauma Therapy and Sex Therapy, and she is trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy. You likely know me (Fin) from over 300 episodes of Normalizing Non-Monogamy. Just in case you don't, I cohost the podcast with my partner Emma and we have been in an open relationship together for over 15 years. I am also working towards completing a sex and relationship coaching program through the Somatica Institute and will be finished in late spring 2024.   Check out the full show notes here.   Submit a question for our Ask Us Anything Episodes! Click here to join our upcoming Virtual Meet and Greets! Join the most amazing community of open-minded humans on the planet!   Check out our weekly peer support groups!   Skip the ads and sign up for the Premium Feed!   Click here to order your very own NNM shirt! $10 Off - Online STI Testing

26 Jan 202430min

Carrie has been married for over 17 years, has kids, and is in a polyamorous relationship… Yet, this conversation is less about where she is today and more about the beautiful and intentional path that led her there. Carrie takes us deep into her incredibly powerful journey of healing and truly getting to know and accept herself. The divorce from her first husband led her on a spiritual journey of healing and ultimately inspired her first open relationship in 2004. Later, when she met her current husband they shared openly about their mutual desire for a non-monogamous partnership, even though they set off on an intentionally monogamous path for the next decade as they built a home and family together. Then, a few years ago she met someone… Carrie Jeroslow is an international best-selling author, relationship diversity advocate, speaker, intuitive, and podcaster. She loves helping people learn the tools to relate consciously to themselves and others. She believes that when we learn and accept who we truly are, we are able to be more authentic in our relationships with others, which in turn brings an unparalleled sense of fulfillment to our lives as a whole. We highly recommend checking out all of her powerful work on her website www.carriejeroslow.com where you can find her podcast, books, and all of the other ways Carrie is changing the world! Check out the full show notes here.   Submit a question for our Ask Us Anything Episodes! Click here to join our upcoming Virtual Meet and Greets! Join the most amazing community of open-minded humans on the planet!   Check out our weekly peer support groups!   Skip the ads and sign up for the Premium Feed!   Click here to order your very own NNM shirt! $10 Off - Online STI Testing

24 Jan 20241h 8min

Roy first came on the podcast with his partner Jessie back on episode 182 and now he's back to give us an update and to dig into his personal journey a bit deeper. This episode stands on its own and afterwards you can go back and listen to our first conversation. Today, Roy takes us through the changes the last few years have brought for him and we go deep in talking about solo polyamory and why it's the best fit for him right now. He speaks vulnerably about experiences from past relationships and the social conditioning that impacted his ability to speak up for his own wants and needs in relationships of all kinds. We also get to go behind the scenes to understand the work he has done to heal these parts of himself so he can show up better for himself and his partners. This is a beautiful conversation and we hope you enjoy it. Roy is a relationship coach and counselor who offers support and guidance to individuals and partnered people both online and in-person. He uses a variety of methodologies he was trained in, along with his extensive lived experience as a multilingual and multicultural global citizen. Please check out more about his work on his website openrelating.love. Check out the full show notes here.   Submit a question for our Ask Us Anything Episodes! Click here to join our upcoming Virtual Meet and Greets! Join the most amazing community of open-minded humans on the planet!   Check out our weekly peer support groups!   Skip the ads and sign up for the Premium Feed!   Click here to order your very own NNM shirt! $10 Off - Online STI Testing

17 Jan 20241h 14min

Princess and DD have been together for almost four years and have both been exploring non-monogamy for about a decade. They each began their non-monogamous adventures by exploring swinging with previous spouses and have since entered into the worlds of BDSM, Dom/Sub dynamics, and polyamory together. More specifically, Princess and DD are in a Daddy Dom Little Girl (DDLG) or Caregiver Little (CGL) dynamic. They share with us how this dynamic unexpectedly developed between them and we have a beautiful conversation about the importance of educating yourself and having honest conversations to negotiate whatever relational structure you want. Enjoy! Check out the full show notes here.   Submit a question for our Ask Us Anything Episodes! Click here to join our upcoming Virtual Meet and Greets! Join the most amazing community of open-minded humans on the planet!   Check out our weekly peer support groups!   Skip the ads and sign up for the Premium Feed!   Click here to order your very own NNM shirt! $10 Off - Online STI Testing

10 Jan 20241h 24min

Noa and her partner met in 2008 and were initially friends and roommates during college. Their romantic partnership grew out of their foundation of friendship and often included sharing stories of their sex-positive and flirty adventures. As their relationship deepened, they were mostly monogamous but also kept a bit of the flintiness and openness with others.  Noa shares with us the beautiful journey of self-discovery and growth that she has been on through the last 15 years, both with her partner and on her own. We have really incredible conversations about how she has had to rethink boundaries for herself, her relationship to change and the fear of change, and how she and her partner are currently in a place of redefining the container of their relationship to hopefully reduce hurt and disappointment. You will also hear throughout her story the huge impact that finding a community where she feels she belongs has had on her life. Speaking of community… Noa is the CEO of the Bloom Community App! Bloom Community is the social and community building app for sex-positive and edge-of-culture communities (non-monogamous, kinky, queer, etc) that helps you meet people organically through shared events. We have been using Bloom for a few years and absolutely love their mission. As you will hear, it’s not just a job… Noa is incredibly passionate about community. We hope you enjoy this conversation and that you will check out Bloom! We’ll see you over there! Check out the full show notes here.   Submit a question for our Ask Us Anything Episodes! Click here to join our upcoming Virtual Meet and Greets! Join the most amazing community of open-minded humans on the planet!   Check out our weekly peer support groups!   Skip the ads and sign up for the Premium Feed!   Click here to order your very own NNM shirt! $10 Off - Online STI Testing

3 Jan 20241h 13min