Do’s And Don'ts When Considering An Open Relationship - by Felix Schaefer

COURSE

Do’s And Don'ts When Considering An Open Relationship

With Felix Schaefer

This course is designed to not only open your mind to the potential of having an open relationship, but also to strengthen your partnership with your primary partner. The main goal is for you to create a framework in which your relationship not only survives, but also doesn't get confused by the endless choices of the modern world. So first and foremost we set out to discover, develop and strengthen the relationship with your primary partner, your life partner of choice. During this course you will learn to really appreciate your partner. You will also see all the reasons you are in your primary relationship, and you will discover the real reasons you might want to open your relationship or keep it exclusive after all. You will get tools to start the process of opening your relationship in a non-destructive, peaceful and healthy way. After this course you will find it easier to deal with the constant sexual and romantic triggers outside of your partnership. Sexual triggering is used in media, commercials, but also private individuals are sexualising themselves more than ever. These stimuli, plus a progressive society welcoming sexual freedom can be fun and exciting. But what do these opportunities and the abundance of choice mean for long term commitment? There is danger in joining the modern overconsumption of sexuality. This course will guide you to be able to open your relationship in a way where you don’t lose yourself and keep it healthy for you, your partner, and your relationship. The biggest question this course deals with is obvious; what type of relationship serves you? An open relationship or a completely closed one? Or something in between? Do you think of a relationship as being set in stone, or something that constantly needs readjustment? Let’s find out together what kind of relationship you want, why you want it that way, and then evaluate practical steps to create exactly that.


Meet your Teacher

Felix Schaefer and Dr. Geertrui Tavernier have been in an open relationship for 10 years. They host this course together. Geertrui: 11 years ago, Gertrud's life took an enormous turn. She had just successfully finished her PhD - which focused on mRNA transfection of stem cells - and Gertrud can call herself Doctor in Pharmaceutical Sciences ever since. Despite her deep love for science and research and the very lucrative offers, something didn’t feel quite right. So she decided to explore. Explore the outside and her inner world. She traveled far and often. She dove deep in alternative medicine, movement studies, and everything related to healthy living. She met incredible people, she trialed and errored over and over, and she learned. She learned a lot. Gertrud can now confidently say that she knows more than a thing or two when it comes to healthy living and honest relating. And she's been fortunate to share her knowledge & practices with several hundreds of people who are still benefiting from it today. But don’t just take her word for it. Felix: Felix Schaefer graduated from “Ludwig-Frank Gymnasium” in Mannheim, Germany in 2003. Shortly after, he moved to Auckland, New Zealand. There, he completed a “Diploma in Ayurvedic Lifestyle Management” and a “Bachelor in Performing Arts”. Ayurveda sparked his interest in health and the connection of the body and mind. He coaches individual clients, teaches health and communication and works in the film industry. In his time in New Zealand he also discovered a passion for dance, in particular contemporary style. He tries to constantly challenge himself to find new combinations for mind and movement patterns. Felix currently works as a freelancer in Berlin, Porto, Bali and Auckland.

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11 Days

23 students

No ratings

8 min / day

Connection

English


Lesson 1

Where Are We At? Primary Partner

Welcome to today's module, which is about bringing awareness to the difference between commitment and monogamy. Today’s topic also serves as a reminder to who your primary partner is and why you chose for him or her. The first thing we want to remind you of today, is that an open relationship, just like any other type of relationship, needs continuous work. We believe that no type of relationship is harder or easier to successfully achieve than any other. We also believe you need to be willing to work and develop in order to create a lifelong partnership with your primary partner, no matter what set of agreements you choose for.

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Lesson 2

Continuous Choice And Continuous Change

Welcome to today's module, which is a check-in, maybe even a reality check. This module helps you to become clear how you got where you are now, and what you might want out of the future when it comes to your relationship.

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Lesson 3

Trust, Honesty And Levels Of Transparency

Welcome to today’s module. Today's topic is probably the biggest topic when it comes to considering an open relationship. Today we talk about trust. Any kind of relationship needs trust in order to work. But when considering an open relationship, you get confronted when there is even a little bit of trust lacking. You need to fully trust each other, because almost all problems and negative emotions start in your imagination and the unknown, and both of these worlds are fueled by distrust and deflated by trust.

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Lesson 4

The Dance Between Commitment And Freedom

Welcome to today's module. The previous topic we explored was ‘trust, honesty and transparency’, and once you two achieve or create a certain level of trust, something special will happen. You will start getting a sense of commitment in your relationship. And commitment is today's topic, so let’s have a look now at what it is, why it is important, and how it is created.

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Lesson 5

Bring In The Power Of Gratitude

Welcome to today’s module. Today’s topics are gratitude, self worth and confidence. All of these are important for any relationship but even more so when considering an open relationship, so let’s look at each of these individually and also in connection with each other.

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Lesson 6

Not How Much But How You Talk / Quality Of Communication

Welcome to today’s module. Today’s topic is quality communication. It’s not possible to have an open relationship without high quality communication. It is as plain and simple as that. You need to be able to notice, listen and comprehend thoroughly, and you also need to be able to articulate and express yourself in a high quality.

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Lesson 7

How Boundaries Actually Expand Your Relationship

Welcome to today’s module. Today’s topic is boundaries. Boundaries are extremely important in an open relationship as they bring clarity of the playing field, and clarity around you and your partner's capacity to go beyond the traditionally accepted norms. Boundaries might seem “not fun” and limiting at first, but they are actually creating lightness and beauty when communicated correctly.

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Lesson 8

Play, Play, Play

Welcome to today’s module. Today’s topic is play. Now when you hear ‘play’ within an open relationship course, the first thought that probably comes to mind is you engaging with other people than your partner. But being playful with new people is not what we will talk about today, because being playful with new people comes easy. Today's topic is about why it is so important to keep being playful with your primary partner.

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Lesson 9

How To Use Intimacy As Juice & Jealousy As Fuel

Welcome to today’s module. Today’s topics are intimacy and jealousy, and we will look at different expressions of these two. When it comes to intimacy, we can differentiate. There is the intimacy between the two of you, the intimacy between one of you and an outside partner, and the intimacy of one of you and your partner's outside connection. The last type of intimacy brings us to the topic of jealousy which is of course a natural feeling which can be experienced in a healthy way. In an unhealthy way you could be jealous of your partner for their experiences, or jealous of your partner's flirt for being with your partner. There is a lot to unpack.

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Lesson 10

Start Slow And Stay Flexible

Welcome to today’s topic, which is ‘starting slow and staying flexible’. Both have already been mentioned in this course, but before you dive into an open relationship, we believe it’s important to talk a bit more about pacing yourself and staying flexible.

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Lesson 11

Detach And Reconnect

Welcome to the last module of this course. We want to wish you well, and we also want to talk about one more short topic, which is to not be afraid of the constant connecting, detaching and reconnecting. This is happening in any relationship but in an open relationship, the detaching & reconnecting is right in your beautiful faces.

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