"When our days become dreary with low hovering clouds of despair, and when our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that there is a creative force in this universe working to bring down evil, a power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows." ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

Together we are the creative force; that which we call God. ~ Dr. Ah-z

Forget Lent III: Softening and Unlearning

A few years ago I wrote Forget Lent: Practice Being Love and Forget Lent II: Practice Showing Love. Simple is enough. While pondering a simple tune for this year, Open My Heart dropped in for a visit. It may be a simple tune, but it's not the easiest practice. I've been working with it for almost a dozen years. It shows up on its own once you install it. You can use it both with and without people. It will set up shop in your heart, start spinning, and take you to places you didn't know you needed to go. At least that's how it's been working for me. We are a fragile species and have so much to unlearn before we can begin to open our hearts to one another. Over the years, singing Open my Heart has helped me to peel away layers of thoughts I told myself were protecting me. They weren't. Patterns that worked yesterday look like unpleasant defenses today. Practicing this mantra has taught me to not cling to the ground I think I know because there is no ground. It doesn't exist; and I will be okay. Practicing Open My Heart has helped me to maintain hope while feeling despair, and to keep on following the way of love. I think it's made me a happier and saner human; nicer to myself, to you, to crying babies and moms on airplanes, and also to those who grieve me. It was adapted from a mantra to the Buddhist goddess Kuan Shi Yin in a moment of need, and has deepened my capacity to both be and show love. Don't get me wrong; I have a long way to go. This year I'm heading obliquely toward Empathetic Badass.

Sing the top line and notice what happens after a few days, weeks, months.

Learning and leading it are a matter of lining out the parts and getting out of the way. Listen here for one way. There's a recording of it on HARC: Inside Chants, available here or on iTunes or wherever you like to purchase your music. If you'd like to license it for your people, there's a transcription of the recording available here

Lemme no how it's goin' in the comments below.

God Will Watch Over

May you find a reason to sing today.

I will give you rest

A tune to settle monkey mind. Even if it spins out of control with harmonies, they'll quiet soon enough and you'll find that calm, stable place deep within.

Another World

The text is adapted from a quote by Arundhati Roy, one of my heroines. It was printed on a postcard I was given at Mary Busby's lovely Sagrada Sacred Arts, an indie gift and bookstore in Berkeley, CA. Many times a tune will leap up at me while I'm praying on a person or situation, and this tune is one of those. Click on it to enlarge.

Here's the complete quote from Arundhati Roy's Wiki page, with the hint that it comes from a speech:

"Another world is not only possible, she's on the way and, on a quiet day, if you listen very carefully you can hear her breathe." - Arundhati Roy

If you like this melody, sing it when you can't afford to be in doubt. Might help. If you want to sing it with others, make stuff up, or, there will be some parts soon here: Square Market site, and look for Another World under Sheet Music. Enjoy.