Saturday, February 4, 2012

RU12? Community Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender ...

VaseOn Saturday, February 4, 2012, VASE presents a Polyamory conference featuring Anita Wagner, poly skills educator, Bjarne Holmes, social psychologist, and Pam Steeg, relationship therapist, to present about the multi-faceted world of polyamorous relationships.

Valentine?s Day is coming ? make the most of it at VASE?s RAPshop (Risk-Aware Polyamory)!
It?s only $25 ($20 if you?re a NELA associate) for a full day of classes, starting off with a safer sex class, 2 topic centered classes, learning about a Poly Grid, and a Q&A panel! ?


Thanks to the support of RU12?, Vermont's queer community center, there will be free, anonymous, oral HIV testing available throughout the event!


This is going to be fantastic, so circle February 4th in your calendar with a big red heart!
Pre-registration is required by purchasing your ticket online. ?You can also email vtkink@gmail.com to pre-register and pay via mailed check. ?The conference will occur in South Burlington, VT and the address will be provided to registered attendees.

For more info: http://bit.ly/AmjXpA


Schedule: may be subject to change10am: Event Opens - Registration Check-in, HIV testing, meet & greet for attendees over coffee & pastries.11am - noon: Safer Sex class taught by Jean-Denis & Switchme12-1

2:15p: Break12:15-1:45p: ?Safe Enough and Free Enough: Communication and Boundaries in Alternative Relationshipland? with Anita Wagner.1:45p-3p: Lunch Break - up to individuals: off-site, not catered.3-4:30p: ?Making Peace with Jealousy in Polyamorous Relationships? with Anita Wagner.4:30-4:45p: Break4:45-5:15p: Poly Grid presented by Switchme5:15-5:30p: Break5:30p-6:30p: Poly Q&A panel with Anita, Bjarne, & Pam!7p: Event & HIV testing closes.


Class Descriptions:Safe Enough and Free Enough: Communication and Boundaries in Alternative Relationshipland (from www.practicalpolyamory.com)The polyamory mantra is "Communicate, communicate, communicate!" But in reality, this is an important concept for all kinds of loving, sexy relationships. Effectively communicating with others in a variety of loving situations can make a huge difference in outcome.


Sometimes it is necessary to communicate with others about our boundaries and negotiate them so that all concerned feel both safe enough and free enough to be happy in their chosen form of alternative relationship. Yet it isn't always clear what we should say and do so that everyone feels good about it, ourselves included.


This workshop will help you navigate the sometimes murky waters of communication and boundary setting and will shine a positive light on key communications skills necessary to resolve conflict and establish effective boundaries.


Making Peace with Jealousy in Polyamorous Relationships??(from www.practicalpolyamory.com)Sound familiar? Just when we think we've got our act together, our relationships are going well and we're maybe even feeling confident, someone we love is attracted to someone new, and all of a sudden the bottom falls out. Or we meet someone new and want to explore our attraction to them, and contrary to what we anticipate, a poly partner starts freaking out. Why is this happening? Why do our emotions sometimes run so contrary to our will? What's a fair and reasonable poly person to do??We need not be jealousy's victims! Come learn to accurately analyze and identify jealousy's complex underlying emotions. Devise an effective plan that works for you that will take away their seemingly overwhelming emotional power. With a bit of patience, some love and support, and the right poly relationship skills, we all have the power to make peace with jealousy.


Poly Grid (from Getting on the Grid: A Multi-dimensional approach to Polyamory)In the 1970s, Dr. Fritz Klein developed the Klein Grid as a means of measuring and understanding sexual orientation. ?As a self-evaluation tool, the Klein Grid has enjoyed a measure of celebrity, and helped countless people better understand themselves and their sexuality. ?Klein's work emerged in part from the earlier attempt by Alfred Kinsey to accomplish something similar: the Kinsey Scale.


While self-evaluations to sexual orientation are indeed useful and powerful tools, all concentrate on sex and sexuality. ?The increasing interest in and practice of polyamory has led to a commensurate, and not too surprising, rise in confusion! ?What the heck *is* polyamory? ?How might a person know if they *are* polyamorous? ?How might they know if can cope with it? ?The expanding number of resources in the form of books, online articles, conferences and support groups is a wonderful development. ?It still presents the newcomer with a baffling problem: how to understand one's own proclivity.


In this shared workshop, I want to build on the thread of an idea that came from the UK in which the analog of a Kinsey Scale for Polyamory was suggested. ?As a relative newcomer to polyamory myself, I've often been stymied and baffled by my own internal reactions to the experience of being polyamorous, and I have self-doubt around it all. ?Having led others through the Klein Grid in workshops, I want to develop an equivalent model for polyamory. ?What vectors would be useful self-evaluations of our own tendencies? ?Is it possible to provide a means that helps a poly-leaning person better understand their own interests, their own limits? ?Can a Polyamory Grid act to stave off problems, or perhaps alleviate some of the difficulties and anxieties we feel around some of the complex emotions of polyamory?


Please come with ideas, reflections, critiques and anything else you might find helpful to share in the construction of a new tool: the Polyamory Grid!

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Source: http://www.ru12.org/2012/02/vase-risk-aware-polyamory-workshop-rapshop-sat-24.html

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