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An Open Mind Will Open Doors

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An Open Mind Will Open Doors
Thinking Outside of the Box May Help You Out of Your Relationship Rut

Are you having trouble maintaining your relationships? Are you forever seeking something that seems to be more like a fairy tale but never seems to happen for you in real life? Do you find yourself in the same situation over and over again, in your relationships and wonder why the love, life and relationship you are seeking keeps eluding you?

Sometimes we get stuck on a concept. Sometimes we get so focused on an ideal we forget to be flexible to our own needs, our partner's needs, our relationship and intimacy needs. 

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I'd like to impart to you the importance of seeking relationships that work for you and for working in your relationships towards the ideals which suit you, and which are not prescribed by the world around you. Sure, we all want to fit in and be revered by others. Sure we all want what we percieve to be the "perfect" relationship. We all want to be in love and connected and intimate. (ok, maybe not all of you, but let's just say many, especially if you are reading this post as you are on a website which attempts to teach you about relationships.)

So, what gives? How do we get that perfect relationship?  Well, the first thing to recognize is there is no perfect relationship. Obvious, right? Every relationship comes with it's plusses and negatives. Given. The part I want to encourage you to do is to think outside of the box. Is your relationship making you unhappy? Do you keep finding yourself in the same relationship rut? Then thinking outside of the box may be just the ticket for you.

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It’s a pretty well known fact that ‘happily ever after’ is a concept that is often easier said than done. People still cling to and admire the ideals of a long-term commitment and marriage and with a little effort and cooperation many find that it is actually doable when they have both feet in the relationship, whilst others are finding that finding a new partner is sometimes just easier, and divorcing themselves from their partner and situation makes more sense. But with so much exposure to new and alternative ways of embracing marriage, more and more couples are ‘coming out’ so to speak, to embrace their sexuality by exploring alternative lifestyles within the marriage. Alternative lifestyles, also known as open relationships, are giving couples a third option, so to speak, when relationships need a little extra push to get up that hill.


So, what exactly are these alternative lifestyles and how do you know they are for you?
When I speak about alternative lifestyles I am talking about anything that deviates from the expected and usual monogamous, heterosexual marriage. Some lifestyles include the swinger lifestyle which is when a couple may choose to swap partners with another couple, threesomes/foursomes which may be in the form of polygamy or polyandry (marriage with more than one wife or husband, respectively) or just introducing a new member/s occasionally or on short term basis. LGBTQ lifestyles are another style where although married, one partner, or perhaps both parties have another partner of the same sex, or may be involved in a lifestyle as another gender, with another gender, etc..outside the marriage. The variations, labels and titles are endless.

Article contributed by
Advanced Member

Moushumi Ghose

Marriage and Family Therapist

Moushumi Ghose, MFT specializes in sex and relationships and is based in Los Angeles.

She is the host of The Sex Talk, a web-series dedicated to raising awarenes about sex, and sexuality.

Visit her website at www.LASexTherapist.com

Subscribe to The Sex Talk Series at www.TheSexTalkSeries.com

Listen to podcasts at Sex, Love and Rock 'N' Roll Radio.

Get Mou's eBook at Marriage, Money and Porn: A Quick and Easy Guide to Navigating Your 21st Century Relationship

Follow Moushumi on Twitter @MoushumiAmour and Facebook

Location: Los Angeles, CA
Credentials: LMFT, MA, MFT
Other Articles/News by Moushumi Ghose:

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