WE THE PEOPLE
by astrid brook
“We are not merely passive pawns of historical forces, nor are we victims of the past.
We can shape and direct history.”
(Daisaku Ikeda)
Come wander with me down Freedom Lane
The signs have been leading us to this place
You know this road goes one way
To a world that is ours to create
Come journey with me into the unknown
Nothing in life is ever set in stone
It is up to us how we evolve
And we don’t need to travel alone
We the people were born to thrive
We are worth more than the bottom line
We can shape the future by design
Lift our voice, use our heart and mind
Make the dream come alive
Come tell me do you see the vision we behold
Where money is only used for common goals
Where we’re no longer just an afterthought
Where there’s value and good for us all
We the people were born to thrive
We are worth more than the bottom line
We can shape the future by design
Lift our voice, use our heart and mind
Make the dream come alive
We the people were born to thrive
We are worth more than the bottom line
We can shape the future by design
Lift our voice, use our heart and mind
Make the dream come alive
Lift our voice, use our heart and mind
Make the dream come alive
LIBERATION
by astrid brook
“Buddhism is a teaching of liberation,
aimed at freeing people from the inevitable sufferings of life.”
(Daisaku Ikeda)
I've been dreaming of freedom
Like a bird in a cage
Fear has been my master
And I have been it's slave
My release is a long time coming
There's a glimmer of light
Showing how I’m living in
The prison of my mind oh, so
I breathe in love and liberation
There's only love and liberation
I breathe in love and liberation
There's so much love and liberation
Calling back all the pieces
Wounded parts of my soul
They were lost along the way
Now they are returning home, so
I breathe in love and liberation
There's only love and liberation
I breathe in love and liberation
There's so much love and liberation
Ooo liberation, ooo liberation
Ooo liberation, ooo liberation
Ooo liberation, ooo
A LIVING FLAME
by astrid brook
"If you light a lantern for another, it will also brighten your own way."
(Nichiren Daishonin)
I want to thank you for stories you have told
You share your heart so I can grow
And I thank you for being in my life
I look to you my guiding light
You’re a living flame, living flame
You are a living flame
I am so inspired
With every word you say
You are a living flame
I am catching fire
Together we will brighten the way
You have shown me I have work to do
To find my voice, to speak my truth
And believe I can always be myself
To have no fear, all is well
You’re a living flame, living flame
You are a living flame
I am so inspired
With every word you say
You are a living flame
I am catching fire
Together we will brighten the way
We brighten the way
We burn like a living flame, living flame
A living flame, a living flame
A living flame
MORNING MEADOW
by astrid brook
"No matter how long the cold, bleak days of winter may continue, Winter always turns to Spring.
This is the law of the universe and the law of life.
As long as we hold on to hope, Spring is sure to come."
(Daisaku Ikeda)
I am the first one to arrive
Here in the open countryside
I have the luxury of time
So I take a walk
I hear a whisper on the wind
There is a gift in everything
After Winter comes the Spring
I have to go back to nature, who I truly am
I'm as free as a wildflower
Noble as a cedar tree
Gentle as the grasses that grow
In the morning meadow
Goodbye was hard to say
My heart was broken on that day
Life gives and then it takes away
And deep down I remember who I truly am
I'm as free as a wildflower
Noble as a cedar tree
Gentle as the grasses that grow
In the morning meadow
Can you hear me now, are you looking down
Watching over me, giving me new eyes to see
You are free as a wildflower
Noble as a cedar tree
Gentle as the grasses that grow
In the morning meadow
In the morning meadow
MY GOLDEN SOUL
by astrid brook
“All it takes is one person in the family
shining with the sun-like brilliance of the Mystic Law
to illuminate the entire family."
(Daisaku Ikeda)
I want to radiate like the sun
Become the person I want to become
Not stop until my campaign is won
I know I have a part to play
I alone must make the change
Time that I begin today
Light up my golden soul
Let the love surround me
Fill my world with hope
Light my golden soul, oooh
Under the sun we are one family
But we're divided by our beliefs
Some use violence, I choose peace
I make a vow every day
To try and live my life with grace
So I stay humble and wide awake
Light up my golden soul
Let the love surround me
Fill my world with hope
Light my golden soul
My golden soul
I am awake, I am awake
I am awake, oooh
I am awake, I am awake
I am awake, oooh
My golden soul, oooh
INTO THE DEEP
by astrid brook
“The shallow is easy to embrace but the profound is difficult.
To discard the shallow and seek the profound is the way of a person of courage.”
(Nichiren Daishonin)
Into the deep
Beneath the restless sea
Further I go
Into the underworld
Those who are meant to they fall away
This journey is only for the brave
Demons arise to be fought
Once and for all, once and for all
I face the fears
I've carried inside for years
Growing through pain
Wisdom is my medicine
Dreams always come with a hidden cost
My soul is laid bare across the rocks
But I'll make it to calmer shores
Once and for all, once and for all
Once and for all, once and for all
I'll make it to calmer shores
Once and for all, once and for all
Into the deep
Beneath the restless sea
Beneath the restless sea
I go into the deep
I go into the deep
TRY
by astrid brook
“Either we advance or we retreat; there is no middle ground.
Either we cringe in fear and surrender to the devilish functions
- the negativity in our own lives or in the lives of others -
or we challenge this negativity and deepen our conviction in faith.
This difference in resolve determines everything”
(Daisaku Ikeda)
I often feel the world is crazy to the core
All I see is war
That’s when I hear a quiet voice inside
I close the curtains and I hide behind the door
I can’t take no more
That’s when I hear a quiet voice inside
Telling me to hold on, stay strong
Keep on fighting the good fight
I only have to try
Telling me to stand tall, don’t fall
Put all the fear I have aside
I only have to try
Another siren and one more burning car
Gangs in the dark
Still I can hear a quiet voice inside
Telling me to hold on, stay strong
Keep on fighting the good fight
I only have to try
Telling me to stand tall, don’t fall
Put all the fear I have aside
I only have to try
Let me break down the walls
I want to break down the walls
Maybe I could hold on, stay strong
Keep on fighting the good fight
I only have to try
Maybe I could stand tall, not fall
Put all the fear I have aside
I only have to try
I only have to try
I only have to try
THE MOON SONG
by astrid brook
“The journey from Kamakura to Kyoto takes twelve days.
If you travel for eleven but stop with only one day remaining,
how can you admire the moon over the capital?”
(Nichiren Daishonin)
I know friends have gone before me
And I follow their footprints on the ground
I’m close to finishing the journey
If my poor tired feet don’t fail me now
Don’t fail me now
I want to see the moon rise up
Over the city that I love
Her majesty will light up the dark
Holding a mirror to my heart
I want to see the moon rise up
Rise up
I’ve learned life can be uncertain
And it sure hurts when it won’t go my way
So I turn and face a new direction
With the courage of a lion every day
I walk in faith
I want to see the moon rise up
Over the city that I love
Her majesty will light up the dark
Holding a mirror to my heart
To my heart, oh
I need a change
Let it come
And I will not break
My spirit is strong
When night time falls all around me
Then I can see the moon rise up
Over the city that I love
Her majesty she lights up the dark
Holding a mirror to my heart
To my heart
Now I can see the moon rise up
Rise up, rise up
Rise up, rise up
Rise up
SOVEREIGN
by astrid brook
“The palace of oneself is the Buddha Nature that exists without question within each of us.
It is not an artificial palace adorned with the external trappings of wealth, fame or power.
It is, rather, an indestructible palace of happiness more precious than all the treasures of the universe.
It exists equally within the lives of all living beings, without discrimination or distinction of any kind.”
(Daisaku Ikeda)
May I live with ease
Aware of my boundaries
Knowing I’m enough
Trusting I am loved
Protecting my desire for peace
Sovereign I am sovereign
I’m not giving my power away
Sovereign I am sovereign
It’s a choice I am proud to have made
For my life is my own again
The treasure’s always been
Beneath my own skin
I’m standing on solid ground
Wearing my inner crown
From the palace within I will win
Sovereign I am sovereign
I’m not giving my power away
Sovereign I am sovereign
It’s a path I am proud to take
For my life is my own again
For my life is my own again
For my life is my own again
I CAN HEAL
by astrid brook
“From illness arises the mind that seeks the Way.”
(Nichiren Daishonin)
I close my eyes and I surrender now
I need to practice faith to keep the fear out
My body’s feeling weak and my skin burns
I know there is a lesson I’m called to learn
When I fall on hard times
I have to travel inside
And let go of my old life and all I feel
I need to embrace the dark
So I can make a new start
Knowing in my heart that I can heal
Oh I can heal
Today I cannot face the world outside
I need my family round for once in my life
Gone is the mask and all pretence that I am strong
I make a promise to be open from now on
When I fall on hard times
I have to travel inside
And let go of my old life and all I feel
I need to embrace the dark
So I can make a new start
Knowing in my heart that I can heal
Oh I can heal
I can heal, I can heal
When I fall on hard times
I have to travel inside
And let go of my old life and all I feel
I need to embrace the dark
So I can make a new start
Knowing in my heart that I can heal
Oh I can heal, I can heal
Oh I can heal
SING IT
by astrid brook
"Nam Myoho Renge Kyo (Buddhist chant) is the law of the universe, the rhythm of life,
and by saying these words over and over again we align ourselves with this rhythm.
Because it's a law, like gravity, chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo works whether you believe it or not."
(Herbie Hancock, Lecture on Buddhism & Creativity, Harvard)
Music please take me to that mystic place
Where I'm safe and I feel secure
I wish to live in this empowered state
Beyond calm, beyond beautiful
Music take me home
Sing it over ‘n over
Chant it over ‘n over again
Sing it over ‘n over
Till I am aligned
With the rhythm of life
I sing through suffering, I sing through joy
When wisdom comes I always listen
It brings me purpose through song and voice
I don’t know how but I know it’s working
It’s something to believe in
Sing it over ‘n over
Chant it over ‘n over again
Sing it over ‘n over
Till I am aligned
With the rhythm of life
Rhythm of life
Sing it over ‘n over
Chant it over ‘n over again
Sing it over ‘n over
Till I am aligned
With the rhythm of life
Rhythm of life
I want to sing it, sing it
Sing it, sing it
Sing it, sing it
Sing it over ‘n over
Let me sing it, sing it
Sing it, sing it
Sing it, sing it
Sing it over ‘n over
Over ‘n over
‘N over again