Let's get ready for sleep.
Switch off any bright lights.
You're in a quiet room,
Preferably where you can lie down to sleep undisturbed.
Ensure interruptions are kept to a minimum.
Better still that you will not be interrupted.
Lie down if you are not already so.
Are you comfortable?
You may need to move about a little to get into a position where you can completely relax.
Take a deep breath in and sigh it out.
Settle a little more.
Take a nice inhale through your nose and then gently breathe out any way you like.
And on your next inhale take a nice slow breath in through your nose and then slowly and gently breathe out through your mouth.
Next take a moment to pause between the in and the out breath.
Breathing in,
Pausing and gently breathing out.
Now continue to breathe in a way that you find comfortable as you listen to the sound of my voice guiding you through a process toward sleep.
Breathing in and out at your own pace and in your own time.
Noticing that with each breath you are becoming more and more relaxed.
Are there things on your mind that are keeping you from switching off?
Let's find a place to put them.
Let's build a box.
If you have your box from before you can use it again.
Or perhaps you'd like to build another one.
Choose the material you would like to use to build your box.
Remember it must be strong enough to keep all of these items and worries safe and secure.
You could use wood or steel or maybe some other material that takes your fancy or catches your eye.
This box it can be as big or as small as is required for you.
Sometimes there are only one or two things that need to be locked away.
At the times there could be many.
Your box may need compartments or shelves or little containers for these.
Build your box in a way that looks just right for you.
And make sure that your box has a lock and a lid and the lock has a key.
Take some time now to take each of these things that you want to tuck away for the night and put them in your box.
And when you are done close the lid and lock it securely.
Place the key in a safe place.
Remember that you can come back tomorrow when you're awake and reconnect with whatever things you need to attend to and carry on with it then.
Right now the step that's in front of you is to relax even more and allow yourself to continue to drift towards sleep.
Become aware of the air.
What do you notice about it?
Is it humid?
Dry?
Warm?
Or cool?
Can you feel the air move?
Imagine it moving like a soft wave in front of you,
Curling in and around itself.
Playful?
Moving freely,
Flowing and fluid.
It is gentle and safe.
See the air slip under whatever covers you may have on you,
Lifting them ever so slightly to be able to move around your body in a way that is soft and comforting for you.
It swirls around your feet.
Notice what that feels like.
Warm or cool,
Whatever you need now to feel more comfortable.
Imagine it wrapping around your legs,
Your hips,
Torso,
Shoulders.
The air gently forms a hammock under your head.
Your body feels lighter.
Notice that.
Notice how you feel like you are floating slightly above what you were lying on.
Breathing in and breathing out.
In and out.
Feel yourself gently swaying as you lie there,
Suspended and light.
Oh so light.
Now slowly and gently move your attention to your face.
To the place where your eyebrow meets your nose,
On the eye socket or orbital bone.
To get there,
Imagine you are tracing a finger from the tip of your nose to the bridge of your nose.
And as you get to the orbital bone or eye socket of one eye,
And any side will do,
Stop.
There where the eyebrow meets the nose,
Imagine a light coming on.
Slowly growing brighter and then fading and going off.
In your mind's eye,
Move to the outer edge of that eye.
See the light come on,
Slowly getting brighter and then fading to nothing.
Move your awareness to under your eye,
Still on the orbital bone.
See the light go on,
Brighter and then fading away,
Off.
Moving to the area under your nose,
Just above your top lip.
See that light,
Brightly on,
Bright as a diamond and then fading off.
Moving your awareness to under your bottom lip now,
Just above your chin,
In that little indentation.
The light there goes on.
Can you feel it?
Warm and bright.
Then fading away.
Let's take a deep breath in now,
Breathing in through your nose and when you're ready,
Gently out through your mouth.
Now let's do the other side.
Move up your nose and stop on the other side on the orbital bone,
The eye socket,
Where the eyebrow meets the nose.
Notice this light coming on slowly,
Brightening and then fading away.
Move slowly to the outside of that eye,
Light coming on,
Bright and now it fades away.
Moving your awareness to under that eye,
Feel the light there,
Warming up,
Sparkling on and fading away.
Back to under your nose,
Just above your top lip.
That's right,
There's the light coming on brighter and then dimming and fading away.
Under your bottom lip,
Feel the light come on,
Then dimming and fading away.
Now turn them on all at once,
Warm yellow-white dots of light forming a heart shape on your face.
In twos or pairs,
Let them fade and gently go out.
Feeling the inside of your eyebrows fading out.
Side of your eyes,
Notice them dimming and going out.
Under your eyes,
See the lights there,
Fading,
Fading away and out.
Under your nose,
Hear too the lights dims and fades out.
Under your lip,
Feel the lights diminish,
Fading to black.
As you float away into a deep,
Restful,
Calm state.
As you float away into a deep,
Restful,
Calm and rejuvenating sleep.
