Know what kind of party you’ve been invited to.

In college, my dance history professor always used to say, “Know what kind of party you’ve been invited to.” 

In all of my somatic trainings and coaching trainings, one of the first things we do when we start a session is we talk about what’s in the “Level 3”. Level 3 is what’s outside the obvious or nestled into the background that is shaping our experience and providing information about the present. By naming our mood, current events, what people are NOT saying or speaking aloud or even a destabilizing interaction that happened before you walked in the door or logged in, we are essentially naming the context that we are operating under. The visible and invisible forces that shape our lives. 

It gives space to acknowledge how the external world is impacting our inner state of being and that THAT matters. Naming gives us an opportunity to acknowledge the conditions that play into the current mood or feelings present in the group. To acknowledge the individual experience that inevitably adds to the tapestry of the collective AND to call awareness to the larger container of the collective and how it impacts who we are in the moment. This doesn’t mean you need to change who you are to fit into your surroundings. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, being aware enough to be an active participant in the world. 

Sonya Renee Taylor said recently on and IG Live “there is no experience that you are having that doesn’t have context in the larger world.” So can we honestly can we ask ourselves, “What kind of party have I been invited to?” (I know, this doesn’t feel like a party to me either!) But if we don’t acknowledge the larger world we may be delegitimizing our own experience as well as others. 

How are we ignoring the contexts that shape our way of being in the world? Where do we resist the context to push our own agenda or strengthen our own biases? How can we acknowledge and name the many layers that shape us while staying authentic and true?