Like many of us, I have had my fair share of resistance to Recording and Listening.

For a long time it would only occur to me that I have this tool in the aftermath of an egocentric karmic conditioning/self-hate storm. I would use Recording and Listening to pick myself up after conditioning had knocked me flat — mostly with the intention of figuring things out and wanting to make sure that it never happened again.  

Then one day, as I was literally “storming” out the door to take my dog for a walk, I saw my recorder on a table near the door and I heard a voice say, “you could take the recorder with you.” So I did. And I took a long walk and R/L’d the whole time. There was some venting and some right-hand-left-hand, but mostly I just kept recording for a good while. 

By the time I had finished my walk I was calm and disidentified enough to see that I was in a familiar process of suffering and I had the compassionate wisdom of the Mentor right there with me. This was a turning point for me because it had never occurred to me to R/L while I was suffering, right in the midst of if.

Normally when I felt riled up about something, I would take my walk and call someone to rehash the incident, which seemed to just deepen the identification with ego and cause more suffering. This instance of choosing the freedom of walking with the Mentor over the torture of walking with egocentric karmic conditioning really helped me over a hurdle of resistance and gave me a real experience of the power of Recording and Listening. 

Now I pretty much just bring the recorder whenever I take my dog for a walk and it has become a practice of walking with the Mentor.

What was key was recognizing I was in the dark room and then recognizing I could use the recorder to get to the light. Now it usually occurs to me to R/L a lot sooner. Sometimes when it occurs to me, and even before I’ve reached for the recorder, a shift occurs. It’s like a space opens up for recognizing the identification process, and I’ve already found the switch and just need to turn on the light. 

Do you have a favorite R/L insight, idea, or practice tool? We’d love to hear it! Send us your favorite quick tip (75 words or less) or submit your idea for a blog post.