IF YOU COULD SEE ME NOW
Is it all right to celebrate when we've made a breakthrough? Every time someone, somewhere follows that light within there's truly cause to celebrate, and those who tried to help us through the darkness need to be thanked.
Lyrics:
IF YOU COULD SEE ME NOW
How could, you believe that I would
Ever really make it through the night
Darkness, followed every heartless
Disregard of what was wrong and what was right
And even though you're gone I finally rose above
The self destruction that I conquered with your love

If you could see me now, would it make you proud
Would you be amazed or would you still have doubt,
Or would you tell me that it comes as no surprise
That I made it through somehow...If you could see me now

Voices, telling me the choices
Didn't really matter I was lost
I see I was being crazy
Trying to pretend I could ignore the cost
And then I found a way to finally rise above
The self-destruction that I conquered with your love

If you could see me now, would it make you proud
Would you be amazed or would you still have doubt,
Or would you tell me that it comes as no surprise
That I made it through somehow...Oh if you could see me now

Oh how I've missed you, day after day
There were so many times I wanted you to know
That the memory of your love showed me the way

If you could see me now, would it make you proud
Would you be amazed or would you still have doubt,
Or would you tell me that it comes as no surprise
That I made it through somehow...

If you could see me now, would it make you proud
Would you be amazed or would you still have doubt,
I feel sure you'd say it came as no surprise
That I made it through somehow....Oh if you could see me now


14 If You Could See Me Now

In this talk, given at Beginner's Mind Temple, Kiku Christina Lehnherr discusses the dharma implications and importance of rest. By being with and clearly seeing the true nature of our bodies and experience, we can allow the fundamental calm of the world to show us what true rest is. Modern culture in the United States has no pause button, but true rest is necessary for healing and growth. As Christina says, “Rest is not a luxury. Rest is an absolute necessity if we want to stay and be and deepen our connection to our own being, to the intrinsic Buddha nature that lives in us - which is, by its nature, completely connected to everything in this universe - to the full humanness that we have been born into as a possibility.”

Resting: A Spiritual Practice

08/11/2024, Jiryu Rutschman-Byler, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm.
In this talk Jiryu discusses four fundamental, inter-related aspects of the Zen posture of body and mind which we can care for in sitting and in daily life: 1) grounded in the belly, 2) upright and strong in our spine, 3) clear and empty in our mind, and 4) warmly welcoming of the whole wide, bright, constantly changing, utterly unknowable field of experience.

Belly, Spine, Clear, Welcome

08/21/2024, Dan Gudgel, dharma talk at City Center.
In this dharma talk, given at Beginner’s Mind Temple, Dan uses the Soto Zen standard “Confession” verse to explore the connections between personal and collective karma. The verse is: “All my ancient twisted karma, from beginningless greed, hate and delusion, born through body speech and mind, I now fully avow.” Avowing karma — acknowledging and accepting the reality of the situation a person is in — is a crucial first step in stopping further harm and beginning to repair harms already done. In the talk, Dan looks at examples of his own karma, inherited in his youth and still reverberating today, even though it’s not beneficial.

Avowing Karma, Admitting My Faults

08/25/2024, Onryu Mary Stares, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm.
In this talk Onryu Mary Stares discusses reality: how our attachments and karma lead us to obscure reality; how practice guides us to seek what is real in each moment.

Thoughts Regarding Reality

08/28/2024, Shundo David Haye, dharma talk at City Center.
In this talk, given at Beginner's Mind Temple, Shundo reflects on a recent visit to Tassajara, which included the monthly Full Moon Ceremony and the Obon Ceremony. He encourages us to remember our place in the ongoing lineage of Buddhas and Ancestors.

It Is Always Our Own Effort, And We Are Always Supported By Others

07/03/2024, Gendo Lucy Xiao, dharma talk at Tassajara.

A Journey Along The Path

08/21/2024, Shundo David Haye, dharma talk at Tassajara. In this talk, Shundo explains the elements and significance of the Full Moon Ceremony to those who had participated in it on their arrival day at Tassajara, and encourages everyone to understand their role in creating and sustaining the monastery and the community.

Sustaining The Buddha Field That Is Tassajara

08/27/2024, Jan Willis, dharma talk at Tassajara. In this talk, Jan Willis discusses the conditions around the time of Buddha's lifetime, and how the Buddhist community was created.

Aryan Society and Culture in 6th century BCE India

08/28/2024, Pamela Weiss, dharma talk at Tassajara.

Mountains Are Mountains

08/30/2024, Chikudo Catherine Spaeth, dharma talk at Tassajara.

Prajna Paramita - A History Of The Feminine In Our Liturgy

EVERYBODY'S RECOVERING FROM SOMETHING

For many recovering addicts it’s in rehab they discover there are often musical triggers to their abuse, (the songs associated with using) and then they have to learn how to avoid those triggers that are essentially the soundtrack to their addiction.Last year, some addiction recovery sponsors found out that John Batdorf and I were working on a project with the working title of 12 songs for 12 steps and asked if we’d do a concert for several recovering addicts. Turns out it was about 700 addicts and their families who attended. The concert gave John and I a chance to see if our songs made a difference with the audience. We were overwhelmed with the feedback we got that evening. The show received a tremendous response, people waiting in line for nearly an hour to thank us, and after receiving several hand written notes from addicts at the show saying “please hurry and get these songs recorded” we realized that the need was great and the urgency even greater.

John and I are singer/songwriters with a passion to let the power of music help people trying to change. We’ve been wearing out our lives the last forty plus years as professional songwriters hoping to make a difference. Although we understand we’re not the only guys who have songs that could help, we want to get the ball rolling.

One of the reasons we are passionate about doing this project is because it’s hit very close to home. In each of our families we’ve seen the devastation that comes from addiction, in any of its forms. We’ve worked our entire professional careers in a business where all too often substance abuse, drugs and alcohol, and any other form of addiction has destroyed lives. We’re not trained therapists, we don’t have degrees in social work, but we know what we’ve seen and we want to do what we can. Writing songs aimed at penetrating hearts is something we can do. And getting these songs recorded and made available for those who need them most has been more important to us than simply searching for yet another way to climb up the music charts. Somewhere at this very moment there’s an addict trying to hold on a few more hours until his next AA meeting, or her next appointment with a sponsor, and it feels like an eternity. We might be able to offer a little help, even when we can’t physically be there for them. You might be thinking, “come on, it’s only a song”. But it’s more than that. If someone somewhere can hear a song tell them the truth the only way their heart will hear it, maybe then they’ll know, deep down, they’re not alone.

14 If You Could See Me Now

Soundtrax 2 Recovery

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