A line from the recent Rumi retreat has stayed with me: “By God, that is not you.” Recording and Listening has provided me with the opportunity to really know this. To really know that hateful voice I hear is not me.

I recently took on the challenge of listening nonstop to the recorder. I mean, nonstop. I listened every waking hour and even every non-waking hour for more than a month. Here is what I discovered:

• There is something indefinable that happens when listening to one’s own voice.  It is such a wonderful relief to hear something other than a disembodied hateful voice.  I felt softened by the process. Love moved into the neighborhood.
• Even if my attention wandered, the effects of hearing the loving quality of my voice were not eroded.
• Listening throughout the night is non-negotiable now. I tuck the recorder under my pillow and listen to something kind all night.
• I became much more aware of what I wanted to have on my recorder. It became obvious that I only wanted to listen to that which lifted my heart. My recordings all became that.

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