Soulful Sadhak

Dit is mijn openingszin Het is hier dat ik begin Met lyrische zwier Je liederlijk te versieren Tot ik je voor me win  Met mijn gecharmeer Ga ik voor de hoogste eer, De poëtische prijs zo felbegeerd Ik zweer het op m'n erewoord Dit is waarvoor een dichter leeft  Ik ben een man van cultuur Het ligt in mijn natuur Ik beschrijf je stijlfiguur  Met versvormen zo puur, Maak je helemaal tureluurs Mijn zelfzekere zegswijzen Zijn zeemzoete wijsjes Die zingen als sijsjes Jij verdient de Nobelprijs Ik breng je van de wijs  Ik wil met m'n uitdrukkingen Indruk op je nalaten Je diepe taalgevoelens aanpraten Je met spreekwoorden bekoren Ik kom je rust verstoren Ik heb zin in je ronde volzinnen Ik heb op jouw mijn zinnen gezet Ik wil je verzinnen, je verzen minnen Je met uitroeptekens vastpinnen  Haal ik je met leestekens binnen? Ik wil met je tussen de lijnen Van mijn kwintijnen verdwijnen Tot je de tel kwijtraakt  Van de woordspelingen die ik maak Dan sla ik je aan de ha...

 This is a new song i wrote, inspired by Plum Village and the mystical poetry of old. In Plum Village, we have this saying: 'to be a drop in the Sangha (community) river' and to 'flow with the Sangha'. This led me to writing this song:       Lyrics   Into You i want to flow and of my self to let go To be one with the waves Any peril i can brave    I will stand through the storm Here i will die and be reborn Won’t you join hands with me as we dive into the sea        CHORUS Sea of love, take me Sea of love, wake me Sea of love   To be a drop in Your ocean Letting go of every notion Swaying only with Your motion Is the most profound emotion   To find the greatest love Far below is high above In these waters i will drown Deeper deeper i go down        CHORUS   To go beyond birth and death from my first to my last breath Sea you are my womb and sea you’ll be my tomb        CHORUS ...

Het idee voor dit liedje kwam tot mij toen ik in 2020 in België in lockdown zat, en een volgende lockdown werkte ik het verder uit. 'Knuffelcontact' was m.i. terecht het woord van het jaar in Vlaanderen. Het is zeer ontwapenend dat de minister van volksgezondheid zich van zulk taalgebruik bedient. Een goed leider kan in momenten van crisis de maskers laten vallen en recht tot ons hart spreken. Het lied staat stil bij de vraag welke 'ziektes' onze maatschappij en onze geest nu echt het meest plagen, en wat daarvoor dan wel de oplossing moet zijn. Het is een poging een liedje te schrijven dat ook wel door een van mijn grote voorbeelden - Bart Peeters - geschreven zou kunnen zijn. Tekst Het gaat de laatste tijd, niet vreselijk goed met mij, Ik voel me heel alleen Het is de eenzaamheid, die zich als een virus verspreidt Ik mis de mensen om me heen Ik krijg zo stilaan het gevoel Het leven heeft zo geen doel Ik weet met mezelf geen blijf Vandaar dat ik dit liedje schrijf REFR...

 A Lovesong with a Twist Sometimes - not often - inspiration comes to me in the form of a pop/folk song. It is not the form of expression I am most familiar with (I am not the greatest singer or musician to say the least), but I like this form of expression nonetheless. I can communicate serious ideas, but at the same time, pop songs have this kind of lightheartedness to them that encourages me not to take myself to seriously. So my songs always have different levels to them. On one level I am sharing deep truths, but on the other hand I am also questioning myself and trying to put things into perspective. In this way I also want to encourage people to look beyond outward appearances, and to move beyond black and white thinking. So this particular song is inspired by my own life, I do feel attracted to other spiritual practitioners, because, for me, that is something that I want to share, nourish and deepen in the context of a relationship. Yet, on the other hand, those practitione...

Everything we have and hold dear will one day go away and disappear Don’t ask me if I love you you know in this moment I’ll always be true To the sun, the stars and the skies above and shower all living beings with love And every time I see my Beloved’s face I feel blessed with heavenly grace And ease into the flow of life let go of all my struggle and strife Live life like we were meant to be and in my heart, we will always be free No, this love was not meant to be caged but to be played out on a cosmic stage To quench the soul’s deepest desire and let it burn us like a funeral pyre And when we are wholly consumed by the flame we will at last return whence we came 

I wish I could love you like the sun My light always shining bright To give freely and hold back none My soothing rays reach wide Promising to overcome The gloom, darkness and the fright That come when day is done And there is no light in sight I’d be there to help you grow And reach out for the sky When your head is hanging low I’ll make your tears go dry And when you don’t know where to go Come in the blink of an eye To lighten up your day and show You how to be free and fly For a billion years I will shine And longer if I must Until your heart is fully mine And the universe goes bust I’ll be clear as the sky, no lyin’ And will gather all your trust I’ll guide you and make sure you’re fine Till we return to stardust But I am not the sun my dear I do not dispel the night I cannot love without fear I have only the spark inside To overcome the final frontier And with lightning speed take flight Make all our shadows turn clear And a greater love ignite

When one gets involved in spiritual practice, one often comes across people who seem to be full of love. They seem to bask in some sort of divine light. They are full of smiles and hugs, continuously wish everyone the most beautiful things and never let a moment go by to express how wonderful everything and everyone they meet is. The longer I practice, the more – forgive me for being frank – these people start to bother me. Why all this talk about love? Why all these flowery words filled with rainbows, unicorns and sunshine? Are they trying to make up for something? Or maybe trying to hide something? If you are full of joy, just feel joy, why this urgent need to put it into words? Isn’t the feeling of joy in itself enough of a blessing? And if you really love someone, he or she can just tell by the look on your face, by a simple smile or the touch of a hand. When you really love other people, you feel it, and they will feel it too. If you are confident enough, they will be able to tell...

What makes up the essence of a true spiritual life? When is one truly religious? How often should one pray or meditate? Just how much good must one do unto others? You can do a lot of good deeds, but you may do it just for reputation. Some people seem to be very devout, but there prayer may be shallow. In fact, one can meditate the whole day and not do any real spiritual practice. And I have met taxi drivers and shopkeepers in my life that were much more religious than some of the monks I have met. I think the core of religious life is not in how much one prays or meditates, not even in how much time you devote to selfless service, rather it stems from the attitude in which these things are done. This is for instance why Jesus says (Mt 6:5) only hypocrites are praying on the street corner in order to be seen. He knows when one’s spiritual life is shallow. Then what makes up this religious attitude? What is the core of a religious life? To me, to be really spiritual means to no longer p...

Do not be scared If you're having a bad day and nothing feels okay Love will still be there Do not be scared If you feel empty inside and there's no place left to hide Love will still be there Do not be scared Mountains may crumble and fall and the sky come down on us all But love will still be there Do not be scared If you have to let go Of the things that you love so Your love will still be there For everything we know Will once have to go But for love that just ain't so

I don't want anything to do with you I just want you to do what you do And to me you don't mean a thing You already have your own meaning There's nothing I like in you But the fact that you are like you No, I do not want you I just want you to be you And I don't want you to like me I just want you to be free I truly do not want to love you There's just nothing left for me to do

If you love you don't have to worry Because if you worry it's just because you love. And if you love you don't have to hurry. 'cause even if your late love will always wait. If you love you don't have to feel sorry. 'cause whatever you do has got love in it too. So don't worry, don't hurry and do not feel sorry Everything be as it may if you love, it's okay.

There is a place inside my heart where I keep my love for you And sometimes I go to that place when I'm feeling blue The place is warm and feels so good like sitting at a hearth And when I'm sitting there my love it's the nicest place on earth Cause places come and places go and sights you have to see But there's one place I always return and that's inside of me And years may pass and you may go or we may be far apart But I am sure there 'll always be this place inside my heart