picture – playing songs with Phap Lai (Brother Ben)
Into January, bright mornings in the Village, this time of year between the New Year’s (western and eastern calanders) is a gentle time here, with farewells to the holiday visitors and hello to the returning normal village schedule.
Returning to the project office, the Plum Village School’s team have been celebrating reaching the close to final stages of editing with the book ‘Happy Teachers Change the World’ and it’s now available on preorder – see link below for Barnes and Nobel.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/happy-teachers-change-the-world-thich-nhat-hanh/1125356963
Some of the music from the last few months will make up part of it’s accompanying online resource… more in the next post which will be the last for this 6 month chapter, though we are looking at another one later in the year.
In the recording room the quiet 10 days or so have given the time for a few more recordings –
here’s sharing… nature, stars and bells…
First up a recording of the Joe Reilly song ‘I Love Nature’, one that anyone involved with the children’s programme over Summer will know well. For the original full version do go visit Joe’s site to hear it in all it’s beauty:) www.joereilly.org
Here’s my take for the children’s collection
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And stars…The Plum Tree Family are the latest group to go through the year training to live as monastics looking after the Village. A little before their ceremony a few weeks ago, Romke (Brother Cosmos) and Francois (Brother Kindness) came by to record – here’s their version of Counting Stars. Feeling the Village is in good hands 🙂
And the sound of bells…
On a trip to Germany earlier in the 6 months, I had a sharing with senior Plum Village teacher Phap Dung about song writing. After asking me about how I find writing, Phap Dung says (something like), so I have a song for you to write – well, here’s a seed, I’ve been planting it with a few songwriters…
The seed was about the journey to the village and making your way maybe for the first time, arriving at the local station ‘St Foy Le Grande’ – (and feeling blessed 🙂 and getting your ride on to the Village.
So I watered the seed and here’s what came – ‘Following the Sound’ – Phap Luu was also in on the conversation, (notebook, backpack and Bob Dylan inspiration) – ‘the answer blows in the wind I know’…
Walther and played it a few times over Winter and made it together into the recording room this week to run it through – love to Sergio for looking after the desk.
Love
Joe
6 months in Plum Village 