Johnny Schaefer

Lyrics

Track 9: Closer than you Think
Track 9: Closer than You Think feat. Marianne Williamson

Closer Thank You THink

You've reached a time of questioning

What is the true meaning of this thing called love?

You think we've reached an obstacle

One that's so big and tall

We'll never rise above

Well you can get past all your fears

Soon it's all be clear

Listen inside and trust

Well, so we made a few mistakes

Runnin' the human race

There's nothin' wrong with us

No, i'm you

You're me

There's more to what we see

Can't break this link

We're closer than you think

(Closer) than you think

Marianne, say the prayer...

Marianne Williamson says a relationship prayer:

Dear God,

We call to mind people with whom we are in relationship.

We recognize now that any thoughts we have

About how they should be

About how we want them to be

and what we want them to do in order that we might be happy

and what we think they owe to us

whatever this kind of thinking is that we have

we recognize in this moment that these thoughts are thoughts of attack on our brother

and we recognize in this moment that those thoughts will not help this relationship

we recognize in this moment that these thoughts are an effort to bind our brother,

to control our brother,

to imprison him.

and we recognize in this moment that this is not love

and so as we call to mind this person or these people who now occur to us

We're closer than you think

(closer) than you think.

We now, at this moment in our mind, set them free

We accept them exactly as they are

Our only desire is that they be at peace

our only desire is that they be happy

and we completely relinquish any claim that we might have

to what that should look like

and we say, in this moment, "Dear God, hey, whatever form the relationship is supposed to take,

that's fine. If for them to be a certain way or to do a certain thing would mean they wouldn't be as

close to us that's OK

because our desire is not to, to imprison our brother

our desire is to accept his as he is

We love our brother so much that our only desire is that he be happy

"Go, be where you have to be,

do what you have to do,

be about what you need to be about

my desire in this moment is to see your beauty

to love your beauty

and to thus be a space in which you're closer to the realization yourself

of how beautiful you are

my desire is not to make you feel worse about yourself

my desire is to make you feel better about yourself

we allow our minds to be healed

as we now release our brother

and ask you dear God

to show us their innocence, their beauty,

that they might see it more clearly themselves.

Thank you very much.

Together, we all say "Amen"

(And so it is)

Johnny:

We're Closer than you Think

(Closer) than you think

Well, you can leave the atmosphere

Or you can stay right here

Love will go anywhere

Anywhere...

I'm you

You're me

There's more to what we see

Can't break this link

We're closer than you think

(Closer) than you think...

Marianne makes some closing comments



©2013 Johnny Schaefer, Auditory Verve Music, ASCAP

Marianne Williamson recordings and material used with gratitude by permission and are the sole property of Ms. Williamson

©1983, 2013 Marianne Williamson, all rights reserved worldwide


I attended a lecture by Marianne Wiliamson in the 1980s in which Marianne Williamson said this prayer. It became an invaluable resource for me over the years as I navigated life and relationships with others. I learned more from this prayer than any other thing in my life. This song came from that and I am forever grateful to Ms. Williamson for allowing me to use it in this recording of the song.