Expand Your R/L Practice

Ideas for Inspirational Recordings: Practice Quotes, Poems, and Excerpts

Whatever inspires us, moves us, and lights us up can go on the recorder. We listen to these inspiring recordings as a way to practice turning the attention from the voices of egocentric karmic conditioning/self-hate.

If the voices are trying to get away with the old "there's nothing to record" or the "I don't feel inspired" nonsense, try some of these ideas to get the Recording and Listening juices flowing!
 

  Poems

Poems are the perfect inspiration.  Some of our favorite poets and links to their poems below.

Make it your practice to record a poem every day for a week and build up your recording playlist of poetry. Start with the ones below.

Poem of the One World: by Mary Oliver

This morning
the beautiful white heron
was floating along above the water

and then into the sky of this
the one world
we all belong to

where everything
sooner or later
is a part of everything else

which thought made me feel
for a little while
quite beautiful myself.

 

For Presence: by John O'Donohue

Awaken to the mystery of being here
and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.

Have joy and peace in the temple of your senses.

Receive encouragement when new frontiers beckon.

Respond to the call of your gift and the courage to follow its path.
Let the flame of anger free you of all falsity.

May warmth of heart keep your presence aflame.

May anxiety never linger about you.

May your outer dignity mirror an inner dignity of soul.

Take time to celebrate the quite miracles that seek no attention.

Be consoled in the secret symmetry of your soul.

May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder.

 



Quietness: by Rumi

Can you find another market like this?
Where,
with your one rose
you can buy hundreds of rose gardens?
Where,
for one seed
get a whole wilderness?
For one weak breath,
a divine wind?
You've been fearful
of being absorbed in the ground,
or drawn up by the air.
Now, your waterbead lets go
and drops into the ocean,
where it came from.
It no longer has the form it had,
but it's still water
The essence is the same.
This giving up is not a repenting.
It's a deep honoring of yourself.
When the ocean comes to you as a lover,
marry at once, quickly,
for God's sake!
Don't postpone it!
Existence has no better gift.
No amount of searching
will find this.
A perfect falcon, for no reason
has landed on your shoulder,
and become yours.

 

  Peace Quotes

Make it your practice to record the Daily Peace Quotes. Sign up today to receive them. Record the ones below to kick off your peace quote recordings!

Joy is what's there when you stop doing everything else.
-Cheri Huber

Learn to wish that everything should come to pass exactly as it does.
-Epictetus

Peace does not mean the absence of war. Peace means the presence of harmony, love, satisfaction and oneness.
-Sri Chinmoy

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.
-William Arthur Ward

  Inspirational Books

Recording an entire book, or your favorite excerpt from it, can be a great way to keep practice at the forefront of your awareness. Whether on a long walk in nature, a rainy afternoon at home, or even commuting to and from work, listening to these readings can remind us of what our hearts most deeply desire. A great place to start is with one of Cheri Huber's books.

Here is an excerpt from What you Practice is What you Have: A Guide to Having the Life you Want:

"I hope when people record their practice reminders that those reminders and reassurances come from center, not from ego. We want to go to conscious awareness in making choices about what to record because those practices remind us who we really are and what we want to focus on, what we want our life to stand for, what we want to give our energy to, and who we want to be in life. Then when we do those practices-when we listen to that recording-it takes us back to that place."

 

Here is an excerpt from Each Moment Is the Universe by Dainin Katagiri:

"Even though we don't have any proof, we can sense there is a beautiful world that can be seen with something more than our intellectual understanding. Seeing the vast expanse of human life is a target you can aim at-a destination. But you shouldn't be crazy about reaching it, because everyday life is already right now, right here. Right now, right here is the present moment-time."

  Attention Exercises

Transform Your Life by Cheri Huber deserves its own category.  Recording both the daily quote and assignment can be a great focus for your day.  Download the free iPhone app to have these quotes always at your fingertips!

Quote:
There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. -Anais Nin

Assignment:
Today, consider one place in your life where you remain tight but would like to blossom.

As you're going about your day, you can R/L about places in your life that you are blossoming - and would like to continue to blossom.

  Add Your Own

There are many other places to find inspiring recordings:

As you go about your day, pay attention to what inspiration lights you up. Then pull out your recorder, and capture that joy and energy.

We hope that with these suggestions, as well as your own additions, you will be able to laugh wholeheartedly the next time the voices say, "But there's nothing to record!"