Welcome to this guided meditation that will help you fall asleep and rest for about 8 hours of uninterrupted,
Calm music till the sound of the waking up bell.
Gently close your eyes and start simply feeling the body,
Maybe heaviness or lightness in the legs,
The arms,
And you might place your hands on the abdomen or the chest and feel the movement of the chest and abdomen with the breathing up and every time you breathe out you can relax a little more.
You can let go a little more.
Slowly sinking into your bed,
Letting the body relax,
The face is relaxed,
The forehead,
The space between the eyebrows,
The eyes,
All the little muscles around the eyes can relax and breathing out.
There's nothing to watch now,
Nothing to look at,
So we can let go.
The impulse that we usually have to grasp,
To understand,
To hold on to and simply be.
Half the in-breath,
Simply feeling the sensations in the body.
The movement of the chest or the belly with the breathing or the entire body from the top of the head till the tip of the toes.
You can feel those points that are in contact with the surface where you're lying down.
How is this sensation?
Is it moving,
Increasing or decreasing in intensity?
Is it changing,
Moving around in the body like I feel it here and then it's there?
And breathing out we're slowly relaxing the body,
Letting go of the thinking mind and shifting the attention on one single thing that we choose.
It can be the breathing,
The abdomen expanding or it can be any other sensation that catches my attention right now.
I simply feel vibration,
Tingling or even burning,
Itching.
Instead of trying maybe to push away these sensations,
We can explore them with curiosity and kindness.
There's nothing to grasp now and nothing to push away.
We're simply knowing.
Knowing what is here.
Letting surface what is here.
Maybe there are thoughts,
Emotions,
Sensations that arise.
We let them be and we let them go.
Nothing to push down or push away.
Nothing to hide and nothing to grasp.
We're slowly making space.
A huge wide space.
Anything can be just the way it is now.
Maybe an unpleasant experience surfaced into consciousness,
Some irritation or anxiety,
Regret.
Whatever is here,
I simply acknowledge it.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
We're simply knowing.
Knowing what is here.
If it helps,
We can label it unpleasant,
Unpleasant and let it go.
Nothing to grasp,
Nothing to push away.
And shift back your attention to the breathing,
To the abdomen rising and let your arms on the sides now if you're relaxed.
It can be like in the background.
They're like clouds passing by into the sky of awareness.
We see them but we're not carried away by them.
We see them coming,
Maybe staying for a while,
Changing,
Moving.
And then we see them dissolving if we don't grasp them,
If we don't get identified with these transitory states of the body and the mind.
Thoughts,
Emotions,
Sensations that arise.
Maybe they need to arise so we let them pass by.
But we try to keep our attention on the body sensations.
And our first choice is the breathing.
The abdomen rising,
Like a wave coming.
Maybe a pleasant experience arises,
Some softness,
Tranquility,
Joy.
Whatever surfaces,
Again,
We're simply acknowledging it.
Breathing in,
There's nothing to grasp,
Nothing to hold on to.
We're simply letting the space of awareness be as wide as it can be.
So that anything can be just the way it is now.
Thoughts,
Emotions,
Sensations.
They're like soap bubbles.
We see them,
Sometimes they're beautiful and shiny,
But then they disappear.
There's no point in running after them.
They're gone,
There are no more.
So we can get back here,
Simply feeling the body,
Breathing,
The belly expanding.
Nothing to grasp,
Nothing to achieve.
The being present.
Witnessing body sensations as they arise.
Then to rise and it's really strong and persistent.
We might use some loving-kindness meditation to help be with this unpleasant experience.
Being it a physical pain or some obsessive thoughts or aversion,
Aversive emotions like anger,
Anxiety,
Regret.
So breathing in,
We may repeat mentally,
May I be at peace.
May I be well.
And breathing out,
Let this warm intention spread through the body.
And breathing out,
Let this good intention spread through the body.
Down the arms,
Till the tip of the fingers and up till the top of the head.
Filling up the entire body with this good warm intention of the heart and the mind.
And breathing out,
Let this good intention spread through the body.
And even outside of the body in all directions.
In front,
At the back,
On the sides,
Left,
Right,
On top,
At the bottom.
Filling up the entire space around me with this good warm intention of the heart and the mind.
May I be safe.
Breathing in,
May I be at peace.
And breathing out,
May all beings be.
Let's get back here,
Simply feeling the body.
Feeling the breathing in the body or feeling any other sensation in the body.
Like the palm of the hand.
In the palm of the hands,
Maybe there are vibrations tingling.
And when we feel we are ready to fall asleep,
We might change the posture,
Deciding on purpose to move on the side or slowly moving,
Changing posture.
So that we give a precise sign to the mind that we are now really ready to let go.
Restoring sleep.
For the next 8 hours,
Feel the sound of the waking up bell.
