Welcome to A Dose of God,
A short-form,
Self-reflective podcast series based on the book,
A Good Dose of God,
Everybody's Best Friend.
The purpose of this series is twofold.
First,
To enhance and sustain my own resonance with the eternal divine presence in my life.
And second,
To demonstrate how the book's poem,
The ABCs of A Dose of God,
May serve as a framework for others to regularly identify,
Connect with,
And express gratitude for what's good among common occurrences in their lives.
This episode is an introduction to the short-form,
Self-reflective podcast series based on the book,
A Good Dose of God,
Everybody's Best Friend.
Since the initial release of the small gift book,
More than a decade before the development of this reflection series,
I engaged in several internal contemplations on the book's content,
Which I wholeheartedly believe equipped me to be more present,
Or prayerful,
Conscious,
Attentive,
Aware,
Mindful,
Contemplative,
And ultimately more peaceful in my daily life.
Eventually,
I felt a strong draw to write reflections based on verses of a poem in the book,
Which led to the evolution and implementation of this series.
This introduction begins to describe the meaning of A Dose of God through a short story illuminating its source of inspiration and initial interpretation,
As well as a poem that reveals a few examples of where A Dose of God may be realized.
Here is a brief story of the initial inspiration for the phrase,
Dose of God,
And the initial interpretation of its meaning.
A man sits in his office,
Slouched in his chair and plagued with discontent.
He pauses for a moment of presence and the clouds of incessant thought disappear.
Just then,
The following words enter his mind,
What I need right now is a good dose of God.
I need some medicine for my soul.
He ponders this statement for a few minutes and then begins to write what a good dose of God means to him.
As he states,
Thankfully,
One mustn't travel far for a good dose of God.
In fact,
One mustn't travel at all.
There is no need to drive to the pharmacy or walk to the medicine cabinet.
A good dose of God may be had anytime,
Anywhere.
You are constantly in the presence of this medicine.
Not a moment passes that it's not at your disposal.
God's medicine is in your body,
In your thoughts,
In your voice,
In the voice of another,
In the food you eat,
In the books you read,
In the songs you hear,
In the animals you see,
In the trees you pass,
In the games you play,
In every experience in which you engage.
It is everywhere,
All the time.
When you are fully present,
Free of all distractions,
In everything you see,
You will see it.
In everything you hear,
You will hear it.
In everything you feel,
You will feel it.
To administer it,
You simply must open your soul and let it in.
Upon entrance to your soul,
The medicine takes immediate action.
Your perceptions change.
You witness the grace,
Purpose,
And will of God in everything.
You see beauty in that which was before seen as ugly.
You hear the voices of angels in that which was previously heard as a disruptive noise.
You feel the comfort of the Lord in that which was formerly felt as pain.
You perceive everything for what it truly is and see the world without judgment.
You allow yourself to realize the divine connections and all that exists and open yourself to acquire spiritual insights from each of your experiences.
You begin to realize that the lessons you learn in one experience are transferable to many if not all other experiences in life.
Peace,
Comfort,
And healing are delivered directly to your soul.
Suddenly it occurs to him.
Dose of God can be simplified to the acronym D.
O.
G.
DOG.
He then recalls the adage stating,
A good dog is a man's best friend,
And soon realizes an entirely new meaning to the truth of this statement.
A good dog is a best friend to more than just the pet lover.
When used in the context of a dose of God,
A good dog is a best friend to everyone.
The following poem,
The ABCs of a Dose of God,
Illustrates a sample of the infinite venues through which a good dose of God can be found.
When you need a dose of God,
Simply pause,
Look around,
Allow your eyes to see all things,
Allow your ears to hear each sound.
A dose of God can be had anywhere without a doubt.
Such a dose is always near.
You never have to go without.
A dose of God is in the angels sent to you from up above.
A dose is there while on the beach,
Relaxing with the one you love.
It's on the radio in the car when you hear your favorite song.
It's in the sound of your delightful voice when you decide to sing along.
A dose of God is everywhere,
Even in your darkest day.
A dose is there in your best friend,
Helping you to find your way.
It's in the presence of the grief as you lose someone close.
It's in the middle of happiness as you obtain what you want most.
A dose of God is on your ice cream when you receive an extra scoop.
A dose is there when you find joy as you twirl a hula hoop.
It's in the pleasant sounds of kids as they play freely through your house.
It's on the lips of a gentle kiss as you say goodnight to your loving spouse.
A dose of God is in the mirror when you look at yourself and smile.
A dose is there when the weather is nice and you can run that extra mile.
It's there when you're on the open road without another soul in sight.
It's in the energy of a party when out with friends on a city night.
A dose of God is in the quiz on which you earned a perfect score.
A dose is there when you do what's right and give to someone who needs more.
It's at the lake on a sunny day when you jump into the water.
It's the refreshing taste of lemonade to cool you off when you get hotter.
A dose of God is under the blankets as you snuggle by the flame.
A dose is in the value of moments you spend throughout this lifelong game.
It's in your heart with your free will to choose how you will walk your trail.
It's in the extra effort you offer that allows you to direct your sail.
A dose of God is here for you,
Right now and will forever be.
The available dose cannot be zero.
Just look around and you will see.
This concludes the poem.
Subsequent episodes in this series focus on the verses of the ABCs of a Dose of God poem.
Each episode addresses a single verse that represents a specific letter in the alphabet and 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.
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.
The reflections in this series represent my interpretations of the time they were transcribed and may have been different if they were written at other points in the past or future.
Each episode is intended to be unique,
However multiple iterations of common themes and examples are likely to surface throughout the series.
