I’m no stranger to listening to Practice recordings in the car as I drive, but when I go on longer trips I typically listen to an audio book. I recently had a three-and-a-half-hour drive in front of me, and even though I had a book all queued up, I decided to try an experiment. I opted to forgo the book and instead listen to Practice recordings for the entire drive.

At first conditioning came up with the usual excuses for why this wouldn’t be smart and why it wouldn’t work. It even suggested it might be dangerous, as I was tired and needed something to help me stay alert—like a gripping novel or loud music.

Conditioning was right about one thing. I was tired. In fact, I was so tired that really all I wanted was a hug. And what better way to give myself a hug than to listen to Practice recordings?

I decided to listen to recordings from a Visiting Monk stay at the Monastery last fall. I started with day one and listened consecutively, and it was like its own tale! There were ups and downs, interesting characters, memorable insights, a beautiful soundtrack of cicadas and birds, and plot twists galore.

For the first hour, conditioning did what it could to get me to switch to music or a podcast or an audio book. At the two-hour mark I stopped at a rest area to stretch my legs and found myself eager to get back in the car to see what came next! Conditioning was nowhere to be found.

I felt such care, compassion, and admiration for the person on those recordings that I was easily able to extend that same care, compassion, and admiration to the tired soul sitting in traffic on the Mass Pike, and even to the other drivers around me.

I arrived home feeling tired and supported, rather than tired and depleted. I’m looking forward to my next road trip with the Mentor, where I’ll listen to recordings from another retreat and leave conditioning by the side of the road.

Gassho

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