Welcome to Bedtime Alchemy,
Dreamlike meditations to empower your inner world.
My name is Ashley Bentley,
And this is your sacred space to rest,
Restore,
And reconnect.
As you listen,
Your mind will naturally begin to enter a theta brainwave state,
A state of deep receptivity,
Where your beautiful subconscious becomes the fertile ground for transformation.
This dreamlike story is designed to gently reshape the way you view yourself and your world.
It invites you to awaken an ancient inner wisdom that has always been there,
Flickering softly,
Just waiting to be noticed.
Tonight,
We journey into the forest of your inner world,
Where something luminous and deeply personal is waiting to be discovered.
Just imagine now,
You're standing at the edge of a twilight forest,
Where the last golden rays of sun are fading into deep velvet hues,
And the air is still,
Soft,
Filled with the scent of moss and wood smoke,
And the promise of something timeless,
Hidden beneath the hush.
And you take a step forward,
And the forest welcomes you.
The ground beneath your feet is gentle and yielding,
Like velvet earth,
And leaves whisper secrets overhead.
And somewhere in the distance,
The low call of an owl echoes through the tree,
And you follow the sound,
Drawn not by urgency,
But by a quiet invitation.
And with every step,
You notice your body beginning to unwind.
The tension you didn't even know you were carrying begins to melt from your shoulders,
And your breath deepens,
And your thoughts soften.
This forest feels ancient,
As though it remembers you,
As though it has been waiting for your return.
And tiny golden fireflies begin to dance around you.
They float alongside you like guardians,
Lighting the path ahead.
One flutters close,
And then another,
Until you are surrounded in a gentle shimmer.
It's as though the stars themselves have descended to walk with you.
And as you move deeper into the forest,
You begin to sense a glow in the distance.
Soft,
Golden,
And pulsing gently like a heartbeat.
And so you follow it.
Something in you knows exactly where to go.
And eventually,
You reach a great tree,
Ancient,
Towering,
Its bark covered in soft moths,
Its roots wrapping the earth like fingers cradling something sacred.
And at the base of the tree,
Nestled between two great roots,
Rests a lantern.
Its light is warm,
Steady,
Alive,
And you kneel down before it.
This is your lantern.
Its flame has always been lit,
Even when you couldn't see it.
It has waited patiently,
Glowing quietly through the storms of your life.
It is the light of your truth,
Your inner knowing,
Your intuitive self.
It's the part of you that sees clearly,
Even in darkness.
And as you reach out and lift the lantern,
It feels familiar,
Like holding a piece of your soul.
And the glow spills across your hands,
Your arms,
Your chest,
Until your whole body is bathed in it.
And as it glows,
Something begins to shift.
With the lantern in your hand,
You begin to notice the deep shadows all around you.
Not threatening,
But ancient and wise.
The darkness is no longer something to fear,
But rather a sacred space,
Where your lantern shines brightest,
And you feel safe here,
Held in the contrast between shadow and light.
The lantern doesn't banish the darkness.
It partners with it,
Illuminating what was hidden,
Not to judge,
But to understand.
The shadows that once seemed separate from you now begin to feel familiar.
They are old parts of yourself,
Memories,
Emotions,
Beliefs,
Long tucked away.
Waiting for your return.
And now,
As your lantern casts its glow over them,
They begin to shift and soften,
Transforming from fears into guides,
From resistance into insight.
And with each breath,
You begin to understand these dark corners of yourself were never meant to be rejected.
They are part of your wholeness.
And as your light meets them with wisdom,
Acceptance,
And compassionate understanding,
Something ancient stirs within you,
Connecting you to the deep,
Eternal wisdom of those who have walked before you.
You are not alone on this path.
You never were.
The forest around you fades,
Just slightly,
And a soft mist begins to rise,
Swirling with colors and shapes,
And in the mist,
You begin to see moments from your life,
Times when you doubted yourself,
When you hesitated,
When you dimmed your light,
But rather than feeling sadness or regret,
You simply witness them.
The lantern's glow does not judge.
It simply illuminates.
These moments are part of your journey.
They are chapters in your becoming.
And the mist shifts again,
And now you see moments when you listened to that quiet voice inside,
When you trusted your gut,
When you followed your heart,
Acted with courage,
Even when it was hard.
And these moments shine brighter in the lantern's light,
Reflecting back to you the wisdom you've carried all along,
And now you notice something extraordinary.
The lantern is not just casting light.
It's absorbing it,
Too.
It's collecting the lessons,
The truths,
The strength you've earned.
And with each breath,
The lantern becomes more radiant.
Not because it's burning brighter,
But because you are,
And a path reveals itself ahead,
Lit not by fireflies now,
But by your own lantern,
And with it in your hand,
You rise and begin to walk again.
And you notice how much clearer everything feels.
The forest hasn't changed,
But your way of moving through it has.
With each step,
You feel more connected to yourself,
More present,
More steady.
And eventually,
You come to a small clearing,
Where the moonlight pours down in silvery streams,
And you settle into the soft moss at the center of the clearing,
Lantern beside you,
And you sit in stillness,
Letting its light wash over your face.
And as you rest,
The fireflies return.
One by one,
They begin to form a spiral above you,
A constellation of glowing memory and possibility,
And they begin to dance in the sky,
Weaving shapes and symbols from your future.
And you see yourself there,
Walking into unknowns with grace,
Speaking your truth with clarity.
Making decisions from a place of calm confidence,
Trusting your inner compass.
This is your future self,
Formed from the quiet light you carry within.
And you breathe it in,
You trust it,
And the spiral of fireflies softens into stars and disappears into the night.
And you lie down on the mossy ground,
Lantern by your side,
Still glowing,
Its light pulses softly now,
Like the rhythm of your breath,
And you close your eyes.
And as you drift deeper into this dreamlike rest,
The forest cradles you.
You are held by the earth,
Wrapped in light,
Guided from within.
Your lantern will stay with you,
Through dreams,
Through waking,
Through all the winding paths still ahead.
It is your light.
It is your truth.
It is you.
Sleep well,
Dear one.
And may your dreams carry the glow of the inner lantern with you,
Always.
Sweet dream.
