I've been aware of Thay or Thich Nhat Hanh for years but I only got around to reading one of his books recently and it blew my mind away. It was The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation. I thought the keyword here was "heart." Mainly because I've been reading about Buddhism for years from different angles and I must say that the more I read about Buddhism, the more I got confused, which to me seemed to contradict the essence of Buddhism: to relieve suffering not to add more suffering through confusion. I've also experimented with several forms of meditation throughout the years, but some of Thay's meditative suggestions seem practical and simple so I've started adopting some of them, such as counting while breathing in and out or smiling at myself (in the best sense of the word).

Thay said something that sounds simple but that is so deep: "We are more than just an emotion." And that sounded so true to me. It's extremely important that we feel; otherwise, we will be robots or zombies, but if we get caught up in emotions to the extent that we become consumed by them that can be unhealthy. And we tend to do that when we dwell too much on the past or when we worry about the future.

That's when I decided to be in the present, in my body, in my mind, here and now. And that's when I was recording Anahata. It comes from the heart and it is for the heart. I hope anyone who listens to it finds it healing.

I guess I've been feeling stressed lately and that's when I decided to watch a video lecture of Thay on YouTube for inspiration. I was inspired to do yoga while listening then to meditate and all of a sudden it was clear to me that I should improvise on the piano in F major while listening to Thay.

Thay said something that sounds simple but that is so deep: "We are more than just an emotion." And that sounded so true to me. It's extremely important that we feel; otherwise, we will be robots or zombies, but if we get caught up in emotions to the extent that we become consumed by them that can be unhealthy. And we tend to do that when we dwell too much on the past or when we worry about the future.

That's when I decided to be in the present, in my body, in my mind, here and now. And that's when I was recording Anahata. It comes from the heart and it is for the heart. I hope anyone who listens to it finds it healing. (Robert Beshara)