Lyrics & Story Behind Song #8: “Welcome Back”

May 7

“Welcome back, Welcome back, precious one.”

In April of 2018, I attended a seven-day Faith in Wellness women’s retreat called EVEolution. During that first retreat, I experienced another tool for enhancing conscious awareness--hands-on energy sessions. These “B.E.” sessions were modeled after a combination of the body electronics work of John Whitman Ray and the myofascial release work of John Barnes. They involved participants taking turns lying on a massage table, while six or seven other women held endocrine points on their bodies. The person on the massage table was asked to relax and breathe deeply. Everyone holding points focused on being centered, staying present, and voting victory. Sessions could last anywhere from an hour and fifteen minutes to several hours. Coaches worked with whoever was on the table to facilitate them in moving through any memories, feelings or old patterns that came up for healing during the session.

Before doing this version of B.E., I had sampled other hands-on energy balancing work. I had trained in Reiki, experienced acupuncture, BodyTalk and Reflexology, and done some shamanic practices. I’d also played with integrated breath and Holotropic Breathwork®, as well as guided journeying and soul retrieval sessions. A lot of systems access subconscious body memory for re-balancing. The hands-on B.E. sessions at Faith in Wellness stood out for me. They were intimate, intense, and amazing. Trying to describe an experience like that in words is like trying to summarize what it’s like to attend a birth. Words fall short. You had to be there.

The song “Welcome Back” came out of this experience. Every time I hear it, it brings back the power and awe of the “conscious rebirths” I witnessed during those sessions. Before the sessions began, our retreat group spent days building trust, security and commitment with each other. There was extensive preparation. Participants prepared physically by taking extra trace mineral and enzyme supplements and drinking lots of water. We prepared psychologically and emotionally, owning our feelings and choices. We watched each other reach deep, share stories and “step through the veil” to confront old issues and find out what they turned into. I knew I was responsible for my own waking up. At the same time I was voting victory for every other person there, knowing each person’s victory was also mine.

By the time we did the first session we were bonded as a community. Our retreat space had become a safe, nurturing container. We saw ourselves and each other as connected, precious and sacred. Each of us trusted our sisters would hold our points as long as required, no matter what. In turn, each of us on the table was committed to doing whatever it took to restore ourselves. When we placed our hands on each other with compassion and respect, each body on the table became a temple on an altar. In those sessions we became “god touching god”.

Much like in a birth experience, we functioned as mid-wives to miracles. At times, breathing was the only sound in the stillness of the room. Coaches invited each of us to continue deep, connected breathing as we listened to our hearts. Each person’s insights sparked “ahas” for others. The power of the sessions built cumulatively, so that by the fourth or fifth session, the supportive energy in the room was palpable. We were witnessing group movements in consciousness that included all who participated.

The first verse of “Welcome Back” came to me after my first hands-on energy session. It described my individual experience of being nurtured and supported through a “dark night of the soul” journey and welcomed back home. I was so grateful. I got off the table at the end of my first session feeling as if I had been reborn. I felt freed. I had come home to myself.

Surprisingly, the second verse of the song didn’t come until several months later. I attended a second EVEolution retreat and experienced a second body electronics session. I realized after verse two was written that this verse wasn’t about me being on the table. This verse celebrated the communal aspect of each session. It spoke to the importance of the role of mid-wives and the value of doing healing work in community. It acknowledged the impact each session had on everyone who took part. While it was a beautiful privilege to be on the table receiving, I realized it was an equally beautiful privilege to be witnessing and serving around the table holding points. When it came time to record this song, I knew breath and flute would both be integral to conveying the spirit of the song. In his poem The Higher Pantheism, Alfred Lord Tennyson said of God: “Closer is He than breathing.” After body electronics, I understood those words in a new way.

LYRICS: Welcome Back

Verse 1: Pairs of loving hands holding points of light,

As I find my way through my soul’s dark night—

Breathing, like a gentle tide…lifting me—through the veil to the other side.

I see all I am. I come home to me.

I speak only truth, only sovereignty—

No hidden shame, for games played by agreement.

If you could only see who walks with you,

The guardians of your heart, standing by to help you through!

When you begin to feel the miracle you are,

The hosts of heaven dance among the stars.

La la la, La la la la la…mmmmhmm. La la la, La la la la la…mmmmhmmm.

Welcome back “already done”,

Fun and ease,

Victory won.

Welcome back, Welcome back, precious one.

Verse 2: Gathered ‘round this room, in this sacred space,

For a soul’s rebirth into love and grace—

Breathing, like a gentle tide,…We’re lifted up through the veil to the other side.

I see only love. I remember me,

As I walk with trust in divinity—

Sisters now, in the light of the sacred fire.

As we lay gentle hands…on these temples here--

Touching God with God, while miracles appear--

All heaven’s hosts rejoice, and spirit finds it’s voice.

Grateful hearts sense angels standing near.