As the sun sets,
I return to myself.
I return to silence.
I return to center.
I return to the wisdom that lives within and around me.
I lay this day down like an offering.
Every word spoken.
Every thought entertained.
Every step taken.
Every choice made.
I lay it all before the divine.
I give thanks for what was clear.
I give thanks for what was confusing.
I give thanks for what was easy.
I give thanks for what stretched me.
I call now on the source of all things,
Eternal creator,
Unseen but ever-present.
You who breathe through stars and soil,
Through oceans and ancestors,
Thank you for bringing me through this day.
Where I was aligned,
May it be sealed.
Where I was out of step,
May it be corrected.
Where I was impatient,
May I be softened.
Where I was generous,
May it multiply.
Divine force of nature,
You who shaped this world with breath and will,
Thank you for walking with me.
Thank you for revealing yourself in ways large and small.
To the spirit of the crossroads,
Thank you for every door open and every false path blocked.
To the spirit of iron and fire,
Thank you for strength and protection.
To the spirit of water and sweetness,
Thank you for beauty,
For love,
For healing.
To the winds that change and the storms that cleanse,
Thank you for your necessary disruptions.
To the earth that held me.
To the sky that watched me.
To the moon now rising,
Thank you.
I offer my praise to the sacred Orisha,
Each one an expression of divine intelligence.
Each one a force that teaches,
Stretches,
Uplifts and aligns.
Walk with me,
Even in dreams.
Speak to me in symbols and silence.
To the ancestors,
To those whose names are known,
Those whose names were erased,
And those whose names are not yet to be born,
Thank you for watching over me.
You who survived storm and sorrow,
You who held your dignity through fire,
You whose faith carried across oceans,
I honor you with my life.
Rest with me tonight.
Stand guard at the gates of my spirit.
Keep harm far and draw wisdom near.
To my Ori,
My divine self,
You who chose this path before I remembered,
You who sit at the seat of my destiny,
Thank you for guiding me.
Even when I did not listen,
Forgive me where I doubted you.
Reward me where I trusted you.
Teach me through tonight's rest.
Reveal more of who I truly am.
Let my sleep be deep.
Let my body restore.
Let my mind be emptied of fear and filled with knowing.
Tonight,
I release what is not mine.
I surrender what I cannot carry.
I lay down the armor and take up only peace.
I ask for protection,
Not only from the world,
But from myself.
From old thoughts that no longer serve me.
From judgments that no longer teach me.
From beliefs that no longer bless me.
Cover me.
Calm me.
Clear me.
Hold me in sacred silence.
If dreams come,
Let them come with messages.
If rest comes,
Let it come in waves.
If healing comes,
Let it come without resistance.
I do not know what tomorrow brings,
But I know who walks with me.
And so I sleep in peace.
I sleep in truth.
I sleep in power.
It is done.
It is well.
I am whole.
Ashe.
