By Raver J – Originally published on DeviantArt
Twitter: @raverj – see also www.raverj.com
I think it’s important to state intentions -especially in these times. The world is in a critical state -it’s time to wake from complacency, apathy, and criticism. It’s time to show Love and do!
— Raver J
The Intention of Raver J
A Miracle
There is a quote from Marianne Williamson, it says “A miracle is a shift in perception from fear to love”. We often think of a miracle as a one-time-event but a shift in perception can sometimes take longer.
It can be that a one-time-event takes you to a place in your consciousness where you decide to search for information that sends you then on a path to further realization and thus elicit a “miracle”, by the definition of Ms. Williamson.
So a miracle, is not the finish point, but the beginning point. It can be the catalyst event that sends you on a journey of a new reality you experience because your perception has shifted.
I can attest to this fully.
The Rave
I had a spiritual experience at a rave. I would say that it was the first one that probably got me hooked- and so I kept going. I was introduced to this culture through a group of new friends who later became my core crew, if you will, however, hanging out with them was a treat as they were not everyday friends. Therefore, going to raves with them was a super treat. It only happened once, twice, or maybe three times a year.
When I got to be 21 I went to clubs, but the rave … that is what I craved. The experience was so much more intense for the obvious reasons. There were more people, and there was more production but there was also less inhibition. The rave was truly free for us for you to be who you wanted to be.
Free of judgement -free to be me -whether that came out in wear or dance -there was nothing, to me, better than the rave. I loved the music … that was a core element (duh) but really it was everything -that’s what made the rave special. Sure you could hang out with friends at a house party, dress up, play with lights, listen to your friend spin (even if they were good), relax or dance and feel at one … but it wasn’t quite that overwhelming feeling you had that life was more connected than you could possibly conceive on your own. Understanding transcended the mind at the rave. It was not logical -you did not decide we were all One -you knew it because you felt it in your being. You understood it from a perspective that is beyond the rational mind -because if you don’t feel it, you don’t actually know it. From an outside perspective it could just feel like a big concert, and, we all know it’s so much more than that. So yes, I knew this …I knew this … I knew this all from day one, rave one –but I didn’t do much about it until years later.
I was in Vegas at a Club Rubber party, the Summer of Love. I can’t remember which year. Say what you want about those parties but they were still raves -we were just a little more risque at the time (but look at the outfits now and I would say those parties are just normal now). I was about to leave, my friends at the time wanted to go. Maybe were were going to the hotel room? I wanted and needed to finish dancing to the song (it was only mid-way through). I don’t remember actually if I was peaking or if it was just starting to hit me right then, but what I do remember is that my body felt like it was …I literally had an orgasm (standing up) on the dance floor. That night served as flashers going off in front of my face.
“What was that exactly?” and “Why?” -“Why was that so intense for me?” “Why does this culture do this to me?” … I actually wanted to know more. It was nothing I had researched before. It was nothing that our friends sat around and talked about. All we knew is that we loved each other. We loved hanging out with each other and partying together for days straight. We were open with one another. Present for one another. However, we didn’t philosophize our experience as it seemed understood. Of course we all liked it for the same reasons. We could tell we all experienced it in the same way (or that’s what I thought), so why actually talk about it? However, this orgasm was the most intense experience I had ever had. I had felt like I wanted to orgasm before but never actually had so it was a much bigger deal to me.
I wanted to really know why … and yet still, (due to life obligations and lack of immediate technological access to information at the time) I did not start questing until months later.
I could go on about it took me months (okay more than a year) but that’s another story, although relevant. The point is that it takes time for us to evolve. Marianne’s definition of a miracle is really about evolution to me. We are almost trained to grow up with fear. Those that have the least fear seem to be the most successful (however they came across it). It’s not all about success (certainly not) but it is about happiness.
We are happier when we fear less.
As ravers, we know that well. I think for many of us, we were nice people to begin with, whether it was a our modi operandi or something that we just knew lived deep within our heart. Going to a rave then, either showed us that our level of niceness in the world was possible on a large scale, or it showed us that it was okay to allow the full expression and flowering of that niceness in our hearts into full freaky neon love hugs with glitter on top -or something like that. The opposite of fear is love and love is what we were and do experience at a rave. Love like we have never experienced it before. It’s love for ourselves, love for our friends, and love for all the individual strangers that seem to wink at you as you walk through a massive or the thousands that seem to dance with you as you pretend to be a orchestral maestro in the stands. Love as connection; kin without blood. We are a bunch of beautiful, magical, glowy, and seriously fun people; and we are all One. I am confident that everyone that has ever been to a rave knows that, at least on some level.
Love
I bring this all up because my intention is to help all of you that have been to a rave take the concept of love a little further. You see, love is not all happy happy joy joy. Love can be tough. As the Beatles said, “Living is easy with your eyes closed”.
There is a lot of suffering in this world, suffering which can be avoided through awareness.
I think the rave is a starting point but unfortunately for some it can be an ending point. You can feel you are all One and Love and do nothing more than continue to show up and perpetuate the rave in that sacred one night pop up space. I am all for love anytime anywhere. Some love is better than no love -but if we are going to sing praise to Love, let’s find out what it really is. You see love is not about figuring out that we are all One and doing nothing about it. It’s about realizing that and applying it to your everyday life. It can reach much farther than just being nice. In fact, sometimes it’s not “nice”. Love is always cordial, but Love … Love can throw a fit. Love sticks up and sometimes fights for the rights of others that are being ignored, neglected, and abused. Love is rights for all things all people all beings. Love knows that we are all connected and that means that you know how hearts work. If your heart can hurt, so can another’s. If you feel your heart would not like a situation, you now know it must also not be right for someone (or possibly something) else. You understand compassion. You transcend compassion -you feel -you understand on the level of empathy. Love makes your spirit strong and allows you to one day wake up to your own power -knowing you can make a difference in the world, and actually doing something about it. Love grows your heart capacity -you can give more …
The rave is the beginning point, not the end. From someone that has crossed over to the side of our world that allows me to go to parties all the time … I can tell you … we must do more. This is not the end. Do more. Show the world what P.L.U.R. really is. Make a wave of change -start with you, start with your friends. What we feel from the rave, and our culture should be our motivation. Let’s keep our culture from turning into another dogmatic religion paying tribute to ideals in stagnant fashion. Our culture should stay as fresh, evolving, and active as our music. We are the music after all. We are in critical times -let’s show the world what love really is. Let’s show the world Love.
My ultimate intention is to inspire our community into action. The intention with the story of Raver J, specifically, is to be a “miracle” by Marianne’s definition. It is to share my teaching by showcasing a fictional version of my spiritual journey (something hopefully people can relate to on some level and find inspiration in) and shift our fears into Love.
