Witness-postured meditative trip hop·75 BPM·Em·ACIM: vision·4:44
"These eyes were made to stop at skin. But my heart can learn to see within."
The song is about a kind of vision that does not depend on the eyes. The Course teaches that physical sight is trained to stop at the surface (faces, bodies, mistakes) while a different kind of looking is available the moment you ask for it. The verses are the surface vision honestly admitted to. The chorus is what happens when you ask to see differently.
ACIM connection. The Course calls this true vision. Sometimes it calls it Christ's vision. It is the practice of looking at another person and recognizing the light in them past every wound and disguise. Not because you are pretending the wound isn't there but because the light is older than the wound.
Witness-postured. Verses are spoken, half-whispered, ASMR-intimate close-mic over tape-worn Rhodes on suspended chords. No drums in the verses; breath and crackle carry the rhythm. Drums enter only on the sung chorus when the vision lifts. Spoken eyes versus sung heart is the friction.
There's a light behind my eyes More than everything I see ... I've been staring at the surface, at the shapes and shifting forms Judging faces, judging bodies, calling chaos "normal" storms Every fault I think I notice, every flaw I think is there Keeps me blind to something shining that we quietly all share But there's vision that is deeper than the way my eyes are trained It can look beyond the armor, past the stories and the names When I ask to see with love instead of with a frightened mind Every stranger turns to brother in a single beam of light These eyes were made to stop at skin But my heart can learn to see within (clear) There's a light behind my eyes Not of earth and not of time When I look with that soft fire I see innocence in every life There's a light behind my eyes Shining through the dark disguise When I let that vision lead All I meet is love in me I have trusted what is visible to tell me what is true Called the body my identity and fear my only proof But the more I chase appearances, the more I feel alone Till I pause and feel a radiance that feels like going home It's the same in every person, though we hide it well with pain Like a hum behind the static, always waiting to remain If I drop the past I'm holding, let the judgments melt away I can see that quiet thing in you that never goes away These eyes were made to stop at skin But my heart can learn to see within There's a light behind my eyes Not of earth and not of time When I look with that soft fire I see innocence in every life There's a light behind my eyes Shining through the dark disguise When I let that vision lead All I meet is love in me ... Teach me how to see with kindness Not with fear and not with blame Let me recognize the shining Under every mask and name When I see you without history When I drop the past from view I remember for a moment What is bright and pure in you There's a light behind my eyes Not of earth and not of time When I look with that soft fire I see innocence in every life There's a light behind my eyes Shining through the dark disguise When I let that vision lead All I meet is love in me There's a light behind my eyes More than everything I see
Before I Was Anyone by Brian 200. Frequency & Solidarity.