17 - In the energy of a Party

It's in the energy of a Party when out with friends on a city night

Transcript

Current Episode Introduction

This episode is informed by the verse of the poem representing the letter:

• P

• It’s in the energy of a party when out with friends on a city night

It includes a brief description of the verse, a personal reflection demonstrating how the verse has facilitated my own resonance with Doses of God in my life, a statement of gratitude, and a few guiding questions that may be considered for your own reflection.

Description

Here is description of the verse:

• It’s in the energy of a party when out with friends on a city night

• When at a party with your friends on a busy city night, you have the opportunity to see God in all people and things that you encounter. Just as God is there on the open road in complete stillness, He is also there in the thrilling energy of a party. In busy environments like a party, so much exists to see, hear, and feel. God’s presence is there in all of it. See His actions in the behaviors of others. Hear His voice in the people who speak. Feel His hand in the touch of a friend. Taste His flavor in the sip a beverage. Smell His scent in the aroma of the air. Pay attention to all that is happening, but limit the time of your focus on any one thing. Accept the busy-ness as it arrives and accept it as it passes. Clear your mind of incessant thoughts and allow your time to flow smoothly with the exciting sequence of events. As you align your pace with the speed of the party, your awareness of God’s presence is enhanced.

Reflection

Here is my personal reflection on the verse:

• To me, this verse is about having fun with friends at events where good vibes freely flow. For the purpose of this reflection, I consider a party-like event to be broadly defined as a high-energy or low-key event with friends that is tightly or loosely structured and may be intended for celebrating a distinct cause or for simply allowing enjoyable moments to be shared in the absence of a particular purpose. A more tightly structured event might be something like live, scripted entertainment, such as a Las Vegas show or, where I live, an event like the late night show, Good Night Live. A concert, wedding reception, themed party, surprise party, or birthday party might also have some structure but, perhaps, not quite as much as live, scripted entertainment. An event that is a bit more loosely structured might be something like a casual get together with friends at a restaurant, bar, house, or park. In any of these types of events, whether they are for a specific or general purpose or are tightly or loosely structured, there is an encouraging energetic aura permeating the area that is made possible by people engaging in positively genuine interactions. I see God in these spaces through the synergy of enthusiastic souls. If I allow myself to resonate with the collective energy and position myself with an authentic presence, I have an opportunity to contribute to the divinely synergistic essence of the environment.

• At times I have struggled with busy, party-like environments as my senses seem to become overloaded and, consequently, my awareness almost entirely shuts down. In these types of cases, I think I would be simultaneously intrigued by many things and try to allocate my attention to several different elements of the environment all at once. I would attempt to logically interpret individual attributes of the collective energy and try to intellectually rationalize what was happening and where the best fit would be for me in the setting rather than allowing myself to objectively observe, feel, and gravitate toward ways of naturally fitting into the synergistic flow of energy. If I allocated too much effort toward rationalizing the best way for me to fit into the flow of the setting, I would become anxious and actually have a negative effect on the synergy. If, instead, I allowed myself to merely be aware of the many happenings within the environment and let myself act on opportunities to engage in ways that intuitively felt right, I would be more likely to be comfortable in, as well as contribute to, the natural collective energy of the experience.

• The roles that are appropriate for me to naturally assume in party-like environments may differ depending on the people around as well as other assorted attributes of the context. It might be fitting for me to be an attentive observer of others, an engaged conversationalist or a simple listener in one-on-one or small group discussions, or an involved participant in various other types of activities. For example, it has seemed appropriate to mainly be an observer at some venues with live entertainment. I might have engaged slightly by cheering, laughing, smiling, or simply allowing the positive energy of the performance to imbue my awareness, but I primarily positioned myself as a watcher of the event.

• In some settings, it is natural for me to actively visit with people. However, in other settings, it seems more appropriate for me to mainly listen. I tend to be a slow, analytical thinker and a gradual processor of information. While these characteristics may promote cultivation of my knowledge and understanding at deeper levels in a few narrow areas, they also seem to inhibit my ability to acquire even trivial details within wider arrays of topics. Furthermore, I see myself as a slow and often ambiguous articulator of my thoughts. Taken together, my slow-wittedness and inability to speak on a surface level about a broad range of subjects can make it difficult for me to engage in small-talk discussions that seem to be common in party-like settings. In these types of situations, I simply can’t keep up with the conversation, and additional complications which stand in the way of being an effective communicator may ensue if I am distracted by the multitude of surrounding sights and sounds. Fortunately, I have found that I can still see value in situations where I am ill-equipped to discuss a particular topic if I position myself as a listener and learner. I may be able to positively contribute to the collective energy of the environment simply by being an attentive ear for someone who is enthusiastically speaking about things that matter to them.

• In some party-like settings, it has been appropriate for me to participate in ways beyond observation and conversation. Such activities have included playing intellectual games, such as cards or board games; playing physical indoor games, such as pool, darts, shuffleboard, foosball, or pingpong; playing yard games, such as cornhole, bocce ball, spike ball, or horse shoes; dressing up in costumes for Halloween or themed parties; singing karaoke; or dancing. Here’s an example of a time when I actively participated in a party-like setting by honoring an intuition to dance:

  • I was at a work conference out of state and went to a blues bar with colleagues one evening. The room was relatively full and a band was playing, but the large dance floor in front of the stage was virtually empty. Although nobody was dancing, I began feeling an urge to dance. Something about music often makes my body want to move. Initially, I intellectually attempted to rationalize a decision to dance or not and started feeling a sense of anxiety because nobody else was dancing. Eventually, I allowed the urge of my intuition to outweigh the manipulative logic in my mind, and I started to dance. I almost instantly felt better as my anxieties swiftly faded. I have had several similar experiences when being out with friends at indoor or outdoor venues where music is playing and, more often than not, I tend to feel better and perceive enhancements to the environmental synergy if I honor rather than suppress my intuitions.

• Generally speaking, in any given party-like setting, I seem more likely to connect with the deeper divine essence of the experience if I allow my participation to be guided by intuitively-driven feelings instead of intellectually-anxious rationalizations.

Gratitude Statement

I am immeasurably grateful for:

• having been able to feel and contribute to the synergy of party-like environments and, regardless of my role, will attempt to remain aware of opportunities to be a receiver of, and giver to, positive collective energies in environments where good vibes freely flow.

Guiding Questions

Here are a few guiding questions to consider that might facilitate your own personal reflection upon the verse:

• It’s in the energy of a party when out with friends on a city night

Take a moment to reflect on:

• times when you have had fun with friends at party-like events.

For example:

• What are examples of structured or unstructured events you have experienced with friends where good vibes freely flow?

• What were attributes of the setting and characteristics of the people who contributed to the positive synergy of the environment?

• In what ways did you contribute to the encouraging collective energy of the experience?

• How do you feel when you receive or contribute to the collective energy?

• In what ways do you express gratitude for opportunities to share experiences with friends at events where positive energy flourishes?

• What strategies could you implement to maintain awareness of opportunities to be with friends at events where good vibes freely flow?

Closing Statement

In closing:

• when you realize God’s grace in the energy of a party or other busy environment, you receive a Dose of God.

Next Episode

The next episode in this series will focus on the verse representing the letter:

• Q

• A Dose of God is in the Quiz on which you earned a perfect score

Positive Vibes

Thank you so much for listening. May you consistently position yourself to accept and resonate with the Doses of God that are ever-presently here for you.