Yo Quiero In!

He is one of three organizers of the nascent Thursday-night "conscious networking" party, designed for people to hang at the spa and then meet in their robes for the 9:00 circle "just to be real for one night." One of their goals is to find respite from the "fake" Miami nightlife scene.

When the events promoter came to Miami Beach, he asked a friend, Larry Shafer, where people who want to make the world a bit better meet. Shafer, a 35-year-old real estate investor and South Beach resident, didn't have a solid answer ("Miami is very boob- and beer-focused," says Shafer, also in a spa robe and slippers Thursday). So the duo and others organized the party, where they show free artsy movies and documentaries in a corner of the hotel's trendy bar. In its fifth or sixth week, the event drew about 60 people last Thursday; 30 joined the circle.

They want to bring Miami into the social awareness ranks of cities such as New York and San Francisco.

Juan del Hierro, a sacred ministry director at Unity on the Bay, offers to speak about the 2008 elections and eco-spirituality at a future meeting. "The last thing I wanted to do was join another thing I want to be passionate about," says the 28-year-old, wearing a maroon polo and shined tan shoes. "The other reason I'm here is to meet a crunchy gay man," he laughs, explaining: "I've had two martinis." Fittingly, martinis served that night were made with organic vodka. — Janine Zeitlin

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Verbatim

"The cells are coming together to make a giant butterfly in Miami. It really needs it."

— Kanela Barton, a water therapist, comparing the "conscious networking" party at The Standard on Thursday nights to a transforming caterpillar