Over the years, I have filled many recorders with recordings that I still listen to, especially during the night.  Sometimes I’ve come upon recordings about a struggle or karmic process that had caused a lot of suffering for me, and I notice some discomfort and resistance to listening to them.

It can be difficult to listen to the person who was expressing their pain, talking about their suffering as they were going through the struggle, or working to transcend a karmic process. So whenever I came upon those recordings, there was the urge to skip or delete them because there was a sense of “having moved on” or “having worked through the suffering.” It seemed better to not listen to recordings that brought discomfort and resistance.

Then, it was suggested to me that instead of skipping over or deleting these recordings, they could be used as an opportunity to practice bringing love and compassion to the person who had been suffering and who had made those recordings in the first place.  

Thus, a new practice was born of listening to these recordings with love and kindness for the person who made them! 

What I found is that there was still some healing that was possible for some of those folks! And that by simply listening with kindness, love, and compassion to the person who had made these recordings years ago, the hurt or injury could heal some more.

It was as if the person who made the recordings felt accepted and seen and nothing more was needed. Some of those recordings were made long before we had two-handed recording. And to simply listen with love and compassion was all that was needed!  

So, no more discomfort or resistance when listening to old recordings! Old recordings are now additional opportunities to practice offering kindness and compassion. When encountering resistance or discomfort when listening to these recordings, I know there is still some work to be done, some acceptance, kindness and compassion to be offered. In offering acceptance and compassion, the one who made those recordings in the first place can truly experience that there is nothing wrong. 

Disclaimer: It is completely fine to delete recordings if self-hate got the recorder or there is a true sense the recording is not helpful to the human.

Gassho

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