Settled – Spiritual Song

Instrument: Eventide – Mahogany Concert Ukulele

1. Always lookin’ for some more
Or settling a score,
We dance around the issues of the past.
We don’t really let them go,
And for all we choose to know,
We cling to things that really couldn’t last.

2. All the people and the things
That bring us security
Only keep the peace of falsehood in our minds.
If we really had the best,
We would choose the Peace and Rest
When we seek in God, we never fail to find.

3. The foundation of a heart
Is the Spirit that is part
Of each thing we ever loved or thought we could.
And It never goes away,
Even when surroundings change.
So a life that’s settled here is truly good.

God never goes away,
Even when surroundings change.
So a life settled in Him is truly good.

Vain Repetitions

Wow! Isn’t it amazing that we get caught up in all this drama? The break-ups, the angry kids, the “and I want this, this, this and this,” the job, co-workers, spouse or significant other, the car, the house, the bills we think we need to pay by our own power, the helplessness, hopelessness, fear, depression?

All of it is drama! And none of it has to exist!

Think about that. Not with your head, for Heaven’s sake! With your heart, beyond intellectual, mental thought. Ponder it in your heart. And listen to what your heart says: Listen well!

Drama does not have to be our way of life.

Life can be moderate, which does not mean joyless, unexciting, boring! It means even-keeled, steady-paced, going with the natural ebb and flow of things. Not putting all our eggs in one basket, not putting all our hope in one relationship, one source of income, one picture of how life must appear on the outside.

And we can do this! We can do this, when we give more power to the inner picture, than to the outer. Yes, the outer picture is a reflection of what’s happening inside, within the heart, mind and soul. In spite of this, and because of it, we must change the inner landscape first, if we expect the outer one to really change.

Otherwise, when we remarry, get our next paycheck, start the new school year, open one more credit card account, take one more anxiety pill, read this book and attend that seminar, we’ll repeat the same old pattern! Over and over, again and again!

Why? Because the inside hasn’t changed! It hasn’t risen above the problem-creating consciousness, or state of mind.

Do the inner work, for Heaven’s sake! And I do mean for Heaven’s sake! If a good life–that is, truly good, in order, fulfilling, and abundant, prosperous and joyful–if that is what you want, do the work! Because that is the kingdom of Heaven, that is “Thy will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven!”

So, do the inner work! Allow it to be done by God working through you, so that it can be expressed, made visible, tangible, and manifest in your life.

Because drama is not the only way. And life is so much more than what we see on the outside!

We can be in this world, experiencing what it has to offer, including the drama. But we don’t have to identify with it. Jesus said, “They are not of the world even as I am not of the world.” (John 17:16 World English Bible) By experiencing this other-worldliness – i.e. oneness with God, in meditation, we discover this Truth for ourselves. Without this Truth, we’re practicing vain repetitions, until the soul and mind become aware of the God-Presence at their center, and improve outwardly from this inner oneness.

May it be so for you; for this realization we give thanks!
And so it is!

So It Goes

Today Christian traditions celebrate Palm Sunday. So you may wonder why this song is about time and based on Ecclesiastes 3. In short, it’s because Jesus experienced good times and bad times, just like the rest of us. What’s more, his personal ego didn’t like the bad ones – but he didn’t let that overpower him.

Matthew 26:39* reads: He went forward a little, fell on his face, and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me; nevertheless, not what I desire, but what you desire.”

Please enjoy the beauty and joy of Palm Sunday, when crowds welcomed Jesus. As Holy Week unfolds, may your contemplations center around the Presence and Will of God in all things. No matter what we’re experiencing, we are never separate from God. He knows the purpose for our lives and is there through and in everything.

*From World English Bible (WEB).

So It Goes – Lyrics

Instrument: Tempo – Seagull Excursion Folk Acoustic Guitar

Refrain 1:
For everything there is a season,
A time to tear, a time to sew.
We may not understand the reason.
Even so, the Father knows.
And so it goes.

1. There’s a time to birth and plant,
And a time to die and pluck.
There’s a season to break down,
And a time for building up.

Refrain 2:
For everything there is a season,
A time to tear, a time to sew.
We may not understand the reason.
Even so, the Father knows.
Things come and go, to and fro,
By ebb and flow, they change and grow,
So it goes.

2. There’s a time to dance and laugh,
And a time to mourn and weep.
There’s a season to keep still,
And a perfect time to speak.
Refrain 2:

3. There’s a time to gather stones,
And a time to cast away.
There’s a season to let go,
And a time we may embrace.
Refrain 1:

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Related

See the following post for Ecclesiastes 3:
What Time Is It?

Also related:
Live Like a Leaf – Meditation, Lecture, and Song

Keeping the Silence

I’ve fallen into the trap of telling people. I tell them the truth. I tell them the principles of this or that. I tell them how to do something they want to learn.

There’s nothing wrong with telling. Some people communicate concepts well using words. And some people learn well by hearing them. But most of all, people learn in the silence. They learn from living examples. So many times we talk, talk, talk, talk. When what we should do is walk, walk, walk, walk.

The key is not to ask others to do something we haven’t done ourselves. But to live the truth of what we’ve been given. Talk when needed, but the rest of the time, keep silent. Not out of lack, piety, limitation, inadequacy, or fear of speaking. But out of knowing, intuition, faith that our example is the Light.

People learn subconsciously. The mind is a sponge, even for those sad people who think they can’t learn anymore. Still, they are taking in information all the time. Why else do you think advertising works? It gets into the subconscious mind, takes root, and expresses as learning, buying, doing, being.

So, get into people’s minds. We can do this with words. But more than that, we do this by our actions. How do we look at people, physically? What expression is on our faces? How do we act around them? Is our body saying, “I have to go, hurry it up!” Do we turn away when people smile at us? Are we the first to offer a smile to someone we haven’t yet met? It’s about kindness, empathy, living in harmony with our fellow spiritual beings having a human experience.

Verbal communication is a God-given ability! And so is silent encouragement. What is the attitude we hold in our own subconscious mind? How does that affect our everyday mind that carries out daily tasks? How does it express itself in our actions?

Are we pure in heart, in the deepest levels of our minds? Because if not, people will know this, on some level of their own being. We are only responsible for ourselves, our own minds, hearts, bodies, and souls. But in being so responsible, we radiate something. We don’t live in a bubble. Every thought we think, every belief we subconsciously hold, every memory we shrink from, expresses itself. It is a part of our overall vibration. And when we speak, all that takes form, as words. And when we do not speak, all of that is contained in our silence.

So we first keep our own peaceful, loving, enfolding silence, a companionable silence flowing between God-mind and what we see as our personal existence. As we hold this gentle silence, we communicate with, to, and on behalf of others. Because whether we like to admit it or not, we are all one, one Life, one Mind, one Love, that contemplates itself.

Is our contemplation pure, or tainted by suppression of beliefs, thoughts, words and actions? Is it fear-based, or loving? Only we can really know that for ourselves, and this knowing takes place within the depths of the mind. In reality the mind is our only organ of sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell, and the much more subtle senses of intuition, feeling, emotion and psychic vibration.

By keeping our own silence, we unconsciously give others permission to let go and find comfort in their silence. This is how the world changes, in the quiet, little by little, through a process that goes unnoticed much of the time. But it’s the most important process that was ever created, it is the creation process itself.

In the beginning there was silence. And out of the silence, God spoke. May we learn to speak from this universal silence of peace and oneness, and may our world gently shift as a result.

And so it is!

Related

Keeping Your Own Council

By His Light that Shines

Instrument: Tempo – Seagull Excursion Folk Acoustic Guitar
(Capo 2)

I built up peace with outside things,
Like blocks upon the floor.
The wondrous tower toppled down,
And there was peace no more,
It wasn’t really sure.

Now the depths of Peace I seek,
The company I keep,
And every positive fruit I reap
Is by His Light that shines.

I looked for other people
To act as caring friends.
But people moved away or changed,
And friendships had to end,
With time to go ahead.

Now the truest Love I crave,
The best friend I have made,
And any Good that I display
By God alone is mine.

The depths of Peace I seek,
The company I keep,
And every positive fruit I reap
Is by His Light that shines.

The depths of Peace I seek,
The company I keep,
And every positive fruit I reap
By God alone is mine.

The truest Love I crave,
The best friend I have made,
And any Good that I display
Is by His Light that shines.

Any Good that I display
Is by His Light that shines.

“Unloved”

From the time I was born,
I’ve experienced all the human feelings and emotions
Except one.

I’ve been
Well and ill;
Happy and sad;
Joyous and depressed;
Safe and in danger;
Secure and shaken;
Anxious and relieved;

I’ve felt
Befriended and rejected;
Heard and ignored;
Understood and left out;
Accepted and misjudged;
Seen and overlooked;
Lonely and connected;

But through every bit
Of this human experience,
I have never truly felt

Unloved!

By God
I have always been,
I am in this moment,
And I will be forever

Loved!

The Shoes We Think God Wears

A modern-day parable in song – about shoes, or is it?

Instrument: Eventide – Mainland Mahogany Concert Ukulele

1. Shoes are made for business, dressing up and going places.
Some for playing sports, heavy work, and running races.
Problems seem to come when we fray and cut the laces
Of the shoes we think God wears.
Refrain:

2. Look at all the sizes, the styles and the shapes!
And There’s demand for every shoe they make.
Yet we judge the worth and the right to display
The different shoes we think God wears.
Refrain: (Twice)

That’s why there are many parts of the One.
Every soul is God’s, and He knows the path they’re on.

Refrain:
Remember, God has more shoes than [last time: just] yours.
You can’t fill them all, of course.
That’s why there are many parts of the One.
Every soul is God’s, and He knows the path they’re on.

Shifting Sands

The means change
As blowing wind

The path winds
Like a river

The “how” flows
As the moving tide

And all along the purpose is, through Love,
To see the good below, that is above!

The way turns
In the wheel of the year

Rhythms change
As Nature evolves

The journey deepens
A spiraling shape

And all along the purpose is, through Life,
To rediscover Oneness and to thrive!

Houses collapse
Destroyed in moments

People pass
Like ships in the night

Lives quake –
Identities ruined

And all along the purpose is, in Peace,
To learn that God is all there is to keep!

And all along the purpose is, through Life,
To rediscover Oneness and to thrive!

And all along the purpose is, through Love,
To see the good below, that is above!

Beyond the Time We Stay

Instrument: Tempo – Seagull Excursion Folk Acoustic Guitar
(Capo 3)

1. I don’t wanna be your trophy.
So help me baby.
I don’t wanna be your property,
And you’re not mine.

Refrain:
But I’m gonna be your partner,
Different yet the same;
Your equal in the game of life we play,
To love you by the Spirit that’s beyond the time we stay.

2. I don’t wanna be your keeper.
Don’t sweat it baby.
I don’t wanna be your follower,
And you’re not mine.
Refrain:

Let’s let it go, let it be,
‘Cause God is all the love we see.
Let it shine, let it glow,
And don’t make up the face it shows to people.
Let us love pure and free.

3. I don’t wanna try to change you.
I’ve been there baby.
And I don’t wanna be your conscience,
And you’re not mine.
Refrain:

I’m gonna be your partner,
Different yet the same;
Your equal in the game of life we play,
To love you by the Spirit that’s beyond,
Far beyond the time we stay,
Far beyond the time we stay.

Related

Click here for other love songs.

I Am Your Child

Holy Breath, Holy Spirit, cleanse and comfort my mind, so my awareness is drawn ever toward You. Loose these things from me, o God Almighty! Lift my mind from fears, regrets, and dwelling in negativity. Send Your Holy Spirit to cleanse, comfort, console and Christ my mind, body, life, and the minds, bodies and lives of all those I have affected or touched in any way. Sublimate all hurt so it is as if it never happened and no harshness remains!

Help me to know what to say and how to respond to others. And when a relationship needs to end on any level, o God I pray You end it through me, by Your Power! For I of myself do nothing! It is You,,,,,, o Father within me, who doeth these works!

I am Your Child, so may the Christ Mind be made flesh through me!

I am Your Child, and I am one with You!

I am Your Child, and by Your Power, I am about Your business! You are ever present within me, guiding and directing my words and actions!

I am Your Child, created in Your image of Love!

I am Your Child, born to manifest Your glory!

I am Your Word made flesh!

I am free, by the Christ Mind within me, that is one with You, o Father-Mother God!

By Your Power I have overcome much and will overcome more! In Spirit I am already perfect, even as You are perfect! And this my life manifests, by Your will and work!

Thank You God! I let it be so, to me and through me, and to and through all Your creations!

And so it is!

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