Dwelling In the Present Moment

01 Feb Dwelling In the Present Moment

Oh boy, what a joy… meet your next favorite infectious and inspiring singalong. Another, more complete and professional version of this song can be found on Lisa’s band Raganova’s album, Ascención, available here.

Composer & Copyright

Original song by Laurence Cole, with adaptations in the section section by Zan Moore & Glen Phillips. Lyrics by Thich Nhat Hahn. Brief mashup with Sly and the Family Stone’s “If You Want Me to Stay”.

Recording

Recorded by Glen Phillips & Lisa G. Littlebird.

Lyrics

Dwelling in the present moment, I know this is the only moment.

Breathing in I calm body and mind, breathing out I smile, I smile

Teaching Notes

This song is such a joy to teach. I love opening song circles with Laurence’s original version (the first section of this arrangement), without instrumentation. It is a wonderful and satisfying 2-minute teach. The second “enhanced” funkified version came through my friends Zan Moore and Glen Phillips… adding a celebratory and joyful twist to the original. The Sly and the Family Stone interlude is of course optional, but just works so well! (Note, it does not work well to keep the other parts going during that interlude, so if as a songleader you want to add that part yourself you might stop everyone singing and keep them clapping while you sing it.)

Key: Laurence’s original is in C. This recording is in D.