Imminent complication.
I'm currently at the early stage of a romantic relationship with one man and continue to look. There is one, possibly two more men, that could lead to dating. I need to have this conversation with the current man, very soon. I screwed up by not making my intentions known on first date. I wasn't trying to hide it. I didn't think about it that day. Due to social distancing, we have been talking on the phone multiple hours daily since then, but we will be meeting in person again soon. This is a face to face conversation.

I'm new to dating and appreciate input from those who are single for a longer time.
I'm widowed <1 year after 41+ yr marriage. I'm exploring who I am as a mature single woman. I need time and experiences to decide what I want from dating.

It is my hope to date more than one man at a time, if I should get lucky enough to have the opportunity. People have different interests, like to go to different kinds of places, have different kinds of conversations. There were experiences that I missed out on during my marriage because they didn't interest my husband. I'm single now. And I'm not looking for a permanent mate, so I don't want to make those compromises.

Am I being unrealistic to think that men will accept a non exclusive relationship?
Sex is possibly the biggest barrier. It would be unsafe and unfair to have more than one sexual relationship at a time. If I set that boundary on one person, that could be a deal breaker and make the whole question moot anyway.

Actually, there are dating & relationship coaches who advise a woman to circular date, which is dating more at the same time. This to prevent the woman prematurely gets emotionally attached too much to one guy before the man himself feels that way.
Women bond much easier and sooner and many get in chit as they fall for a man while he is just having found and playing the field.

Thing with this 'method' is that you only have sex with one, unless of course you want to have sex with them all or more than one. But in general you date more men, but you only sleep with one of them.
Normally speaking the argument is along the vein of "If you want it, put a ring on it" (or get committed). But you say you aren't looking for a permanent partner, which makes sense since you haven't been alone for long yet.
Then the argument is different: "I currently cannot give more than this."
If the guy isn't happy with that, then that's it and you stop dating him.
It's basically up to you.
Also think upfront what you do when the guys date other women, especially the one you're sleeping with (if at some point there is one).
It is really up to you how you fill all this in. It's your life, your choices to make and no one else's.
And don't make a thing out of it yourself. After all dating is dating, not a promise for marriage.

Is there no similar advise for men? To me, it should apply to both genders.

Don't mean this in any disrespective way, but I don't think, women bond much sooner and easier. I know a few guys, including myself, who have no problems bonding soon and easy...even if there is the danger of false hope.

Anyways, here I might be a bit old fashioned. Once I feel a spiritual connection, I focus on that one girl. Well, whenever I am successful, she will get a very loyal guy.

I expected men to have a knee-jerk reaction, lol. But it IS true, women do bond easier and faster. Matter of how our anatomy & physiology works and our brains are wired (hormones). And whether you like it or not, our make-up is differently from a man's.
You may be more a feminine energy man but then you shouldn't have a problem as you'll likely soon make known you are in for the real deal. There's no reason for a woman to circular date if a guy has committed so you have nothing to worry about.

The last paragraph gives me some positive vibes indeed. Dank U wel

My naive reply is to always be honest. If the other person is not willing then you have to move on. I agree that many men won't be up for this, even though they may lie and say it's OK. On the other hand as long as you are honest and say it is not an exclusive relationship, then it is up to the men to decide what they want.

When dating, honesty always leads to the least stress and heartache.

Now, in marriage....

Just kidding

Why oh why don't I live in Missouri?

Actually, there are dating & relationship coaches who advise a woman to circular date, which is dating more at the same time. This to prevent the woman prematurely gets emotionally attached too much to one guy before the man himself feels that way.
Women bond much easier and sooner and many get in chit as they fall for a man while he is just having found and playing the field.

Thing with this 'method' is that you only have sex with one, unless of course you want to have sex with them all or more than one. But in general you date more men, but you only sleep with one of them.
Normally speaking the argument is along the vein of "If you want it, put a ring on it" (or get committed). But you say you aren't looking for a permanent partner, which makes sense since you haven't been alone for long yet.
Then the argument is different: "I currently cannot give more than this."
If the guy isn't happy with that, then that's it and you stop dating him.
It's basically up to you.
Also think upfront what you do when the guys date other women, especially the one you're sleeping with (if at some point there is one).
It is really up to you how you fill all this in. It's your life, your choices to make and no one else's.
And don't make a thing out of it yourself. After all dating is dating, not a promise for marriage.