Lie down,
Get comfortable,
And close your eyes.
Take a deep breath in,
Hold it for a moment,
And as you breathe out,
Let all your muscles relax completely.
Take another deep breath in,
Hold it for a moment,
And as you breathe out,
Empty your mind of all thoughts.
Allow your mind to become like a blank screen,
Peaceful and calm.
Now take another deep breath in,
Hold it for a moment,
And as you breathe out,
Let your emotions quiet down.
Just allow them to relax.
Allow yourself to be quiet,
Calm,
And peaceful.
Now,
Concentrate on your breathing.
Allow it to become smooth and rhythmic.
Now picture yourself on a small island,
The top of a mountain,
Above a tropical rainforest.
The morning rain has ended,
And the wind is carrying the clouds away.
The sky is clear and blue.
The sun is shining warmly.
It's calming and peaceful.
Below you in the rainforest are bright green trees.
The raindrops on the leaves are reflecting the bright morning sun.
Within the dense greenery are bright,
Colorful flowers.
Reds,
Yellows,
And blues.
Very beautiful,
Colorful flowers scattered everywhere.
In the distance,
Along the sandy beach,
You can see a line of coconut palms.
Beyond that,
As far as you can see,
There is brilliantly blue,
Crystal clear water.
The sky is completely clear,
Except for one small,
Fluffy cloud.
It's drifting alone in the gentle breeze.
It drifts until it is directly over you.
Slowly it begins to sink down,
Down until it covers you with a pleasant,
Delightful feeling.
As it moves across your face,
You feel its cool,
Moist touch on your forehead and your cheeks.
As it moves down your body,
All tension slips away and you find yourself letting go completely.
This soft cloud moves across your shoulders,
Your chest,
Upper back,
And across your arms.
It gently brings with it a feeling of complete relaxation.
The cloud now sinks down around your waist,
Your lower back,
Your hips,
And your legs.
It brings a deep feeling of relaxation.
Now the little cloud sinks underneath you and you're floating on it.
You are very comfortable,
Perfectly safe.
It's such a pleasant feeling.
The soft cloud has now become a soft surface for you to lie down on.
You're lying back,
Totally relaxed.
The warm tropical sun is shining comfortably.
Your body is warm from the sun,
But there is still the soft,
Moist touch of coolness on your forehead and face.
You're feeling very pleasant.
You're comfortable and secure.
The cloud begins to drift downwards and you can see the world go by below you.
There's a gentle,
Pleasant rocking motion as you drift along.
All your cares and concerns are left behind you and the cloud silently floats along.
In the distance,
Far away,
You see a beautiful green valley.
It sits between two gently sloping mountains.
This is a place where you know you can be completely at peace,
Fully content.
Gradually,
The fluffy white cloud takes you drifting down,
Down to this beautiful place.
As you move into the valley,
The cloud gently comes to the ground and stops so that you can get off.
When you do,
You realize that you are completely alone,
Perfectly safe and very,
Very peaceful.
Take some time to look around.
See the fresh green valley.
Smell the clean,
Fresh air.
Listen to the sounds of birds chirping softly.
See the clear blue mountain lake right beside you.
The water is barely lapping along the shore.
You see a small boat tied there and you know that it's okay to use it.
You go over to it and climb in.
You find some blankets in the bottom neatly folded just waiting for you.
You untie the boat and lie down against the soft blankets and you float around quietly on the peaceful little lake.
The boat rocks gently from the motion of the water as it drifts on and on.
The movement rocks you and massages you.
The lake flows gently into a stream.
Feel the warm sun once again.
It's very pleasant and soothing against your skin.
It seems to feed your whole being.
There's a soft breeze as you continue to drift.
You feel relaxed,
Peaceful and calm.
The rocking motion massages you with feelings of peace.
All is well.
Your relaxing feelings will become deeper and deeper as the boat gently rocks to and fro.
You drift deeper and deeper.
As you continue to drift,
You become aware of the sounds of nature all around you.
The soft breeze blowing.
A lapping water.
The birds and animals on shore.
You become aware of the gentle breeze as it carries the scent of the grass and the flowers.
You are lazily drifting deeper and deeper into a feeling of peace and contentment.
The small boat gently washes you up against the shore.
You remain in a totally relaxed state.
Now,
Slowly,
You get up and climb out of the boat,
Taking a soft blanket with you.
You walk up the gently sloping bank to a huge willow tree that overlooks the water.
You feel drowsy.
The gentle rocking motion of the boat has made you very,
Very drowsy.
The big old willow tree has thick,
Soft grass around its base.
You make yourself comfortable on the blanket,
Snuggling right in.
The temperature is perfect,
Not too hot and not too cool.
Everything is just perfect,
Restful and so peaceful.
Imagine now that you fall asleep under the willow tree.
You begin to dream.
Practice going to pleasant places in your dream.
This will help you know that you can go any place you want by using the power of visualization.
Take a couple of minutes now to practice going to pleasant places.
Now,
See yourself waking up and gathering your blanket.
Go for a walk along the warm,
Sunny beach at the edge of the crystal clear blue water.
Hear the waves lapping against the shore.
Feel the clean,
White,
Sandy soil under your feet and between your toes.
Smell the fresh,
Salt air.
Now,
See yourself sitting in a field of wildflowers on a beautiful spring day.
Temperature is just right.
The air smells fresh with the aroma of the flowers.
The sounds of the birds and animals are very soothing.
Now,
See yourself walking through a lush forest.
You're in the cool shade of the tall trees.
The sunlight moves through the branches to the ground.
See the ferns and small plants.
Smell the clean freshness.
Feel the bark on a tree.
Is it bumpy or smooth?
Hear the squirrels jumping from branch to branch.
It is so pleasant in the forest.
Now,
See yourself standing beside a clear stream as it rushes across the rocks with a deep,
Full roar.
Feel the coolness and the moistness of the spray on your face as it splashes off the rocks.
You bend down to take a drink from the clear,
Clean water.
It tastes so good.
Now,
See yourself walking down a long,
Gently sloping hill in the country.
The wind blows gently on your face and blows your hair.
You feel very content.
You're smiling and you're very comfortable and deeply relaxed.
You can use the power of your imagination to create a feeling of relaxation whenever you desire.
When you find yourself becoming upset or frazzled,
Remember the feelings you've just enjoyed.
And before you allow yourself to get involved in those destructive feelings,
Take a deep breath in.
And as you breathe out,
See yourself in whatever place you find relaxing.
Let yourself enjoy all the calm feelings you have with your peaceful imagery.
This will allow you to control situations rather than being controlled by them.
We'll count forward now from one to five.
As you take a deep breath,
Silently say each number.
When you reach five,
You'll open your eyes feeling relaxed and alert.
You will find yourself back in the room you left and the environment will seem slower and calmer.
And you'll feel more relaxed and peaceful.
You will be relaxed,
Peaceful and calm.
1.
Still deeply relaxed.
2.
Feeling very relaxed.
3.
Feeling more alert and aware of the sounds around you.
4.
More and more alert but relaxed.
5.
Open your eyes,
You're alert and refreshed.
