The Magical Ancient Woodland: Meditation Sleep Story

So just take a moment to allow your eyes to close and allow yourself to begin to relax and as you begin to comfortably fall asleep I don't know whether you'll drift asleep faster to the sound of my voice or whether it'll be to the spaces between my words and as you comfortably drift to sleep I'm just gonna tell this bedtime story in the background and it's about an hour just before dawn where the world seems to be holding its breath waiting with anticipation for that light to return and you stand on the edge of a river gazing out at the mist gently rolling over the surface of that river barely being able to see it in the very dim light as the sky begins to softly change color as the Sun carefully starts to rise and you can feel the coolness of the air against your skin you can breathe in that refreshing morning air here by the water breathing in the freshness the scent of that water the water seeming almost unnaturally calm before the slightest tinge of the Sun tickles your cheeks and the warmth begins to evaporate that mist and you carefully place your kayak in the water and then climb into that kayak taking hold of the paddle feeling the kayak as the weight of you in it touching the bottom this close to the shore and pushing off the shore with the paddle while bouncing your body ever so slightly just to help the kayak move away from the shore to be floating comfortably on this river and then with this sound of each stroke with the paddle the feeling of the paddle as it moves through the water and the smoothness of the kayak almost cutting its way through this water you begin to travel along this river the world around you so still so calm the water only being disturbed by the paddle and the ripples spreading out as you continue to move through this water and those ripples spreading out making reeds by the shore wave gently as if there's a breeze falling into an almost hypnotic rhythm of paddling one side than the other one side than the other pushing the paddle through one side and pushing the paddle through the water on the other as that Sun continues softly rising into the sky you start to hear more sounds of the morning birds waking from their own slumber and singing to each other being able to continue breathing in that fresh clean air the coolness of each breath feeling a deep sense of peace and calm and serenity as you travel deeper and deeper into the woodland following this river with everything seeming so still around you almost as if time has slowed down as you're drifting into thoughts and feelings triggered by the environment around you just enjoying the morning light the way that light reflects on the surface of the water still almost taken aback by the profound stillness of the water before you a kind of feeling like you're drifting through a different realm a strange reality and you find that rowing down this river in this kayak is so easy and effortless you manage to continue on throughout the day and almost lose track of time only realising by about lunchtime that you should perhaps stop and take a break and so you head over to the shore you find the perfect place to pull in against the shore to disembark from your kayak pull the kayak up onto those stones and then up further onto the grass placing your oar down near the kayak and then you set up a camp and a small campfire and you make yourself some lunch and have your mind drifting so peacefully almost into a reverie as you just take in and enjoy this experience of being so relaxed no worries,

No cares,

The weather is perfect the kayaking is easy there is nothing to worry about just enjoying the experience enjoying the way the leaves rustle in the trees the way grass moves gently in the breeze the way sunlight dances around you feeling that there's no urgency it's just an experience to enjoy and to be a part of and after taking your break for a while you pack everything away,

You clear everything up you put out the campfire and bury that campfire dousing it with a little water before heading back to the river's edge moving the kayak into the water once more climbing into the kayak and once again pushing off from the shore to continue your journey down this river each stroke so slow and deliberate feeling the water through your hands the way the pressure pushes on the paddle the sensation of that against the hands holding the paddle the way the water falls off of the paddle as it exits as the other paddle then pushes into the water and you continue your journey along the river feeling like time is drifting along like the river you're on so relaxed,

So peaceful,

So calming and you can continue to hear the sound of the birds in the trees and begin to notice some clouds softly passing across the sky and from time to time you stop paddling in your kayak to rest back hold the paddle on top of the kayak and just drift along gazing up at that sky imagining the clouds as different objects,

Perhaps a bunny rabbit maybe the cloud begins to look like a castle maybe it looks like a running dog or an elephant standing on its back legs the water now lapping so gently on the underside of the kayak as you continue to just allow the kayak to drift with the gentle current feeling a deep sense of peace and harmony with this world with this woodland here before continuing on paddling a little bit more each push shunting your kayak further along the river so peacefully,

So calming,

So relaxed minutes drifting to hours and those hours drifting through the day but the time passing so effortlessly you barely notice how much time has passed until you notice the sky changing colour and realise the sun is beginning to set which almost brings you out of a reverie of being absorbed in the moment of the experience to be aware you need to pull yourself back over to the side of the river to set up a camp once more and so you pull over to the side exit the kayak,

Drag the kayak up onto the shore once more you secure that kayak to the base of a tree as you then set up a camp attaching a base between some trees and a tent above that base and a rope ladder up to your camp and you have this camp suspended between those trees a short distance from the river your kayak attached to the tree below you you can hear the gentle bubbling of that river passing by and the camp sways ever so slightly to the top of the trees swaying in the breeze and that motion,

Almost meditative passing down through the top of the trees down to the base of the trees moving that camp so gently,

So softly the gentle rustling of those leaves overhead the distant hoot of an owl as twilight sets in creatures finding their homes for the night and the moon beginning to glisten off the surface of the river and as the night sets in so you descend your camp you light a small campfire,

You enjoy some evening food to the sound of the river you rest back,

Letting that food go down letting the campfire burn down to embers and once it's burned down to embers so you douse the fire and cover it over ascend the rope ladder head back into your camp and to that gentle rocking you're lulled,

Softly asleep and you can hear as you fall asleep the sound of crickets outside the occasional rustling of creatures jumping from branch to branch through the leaves of the trees you're breathing,

Deepening and relaxing as you fall asleep deeper and deeper into the experience and while you drift and float so peacefully,

So calmly asleep so you imagine what it'd be like to be travelling down a river in a very different type of location beginning to have a dream as if kayaking down a river on a different planet,

With a different sky perhaps a different natural hue to the sky maybe more red or purple through a very magical looking forest where the trees hum to the sound of the breeze where the leaves tinkle like tiny bells where light emanates from the movement of branches and glowing lights fill the environment with bioluminescent plants and fungi and insects and other animals and the water of this river on this magical alien world sounds different and feels thicker almost like kayaking through honey with the nature around giving such a sweet scent and the stars overhead being a different night time scene to what you're used to and the gravity on this alien world being lower so the plants and animals and the trees are taller and the paddling through the river is more effortless despite the river being thicker and you continue to be absorbed in this experience enjoying this fantasy magical forest on a strange alien world before drifting from dreaming sleep deeper and deeper progressing into deep recuperative sleep as your body recuperates and recovers from the exercise of the day,

From that kayaking rocked so gently asleep in that tree camp and then after a number of hours of sleep sleeping so soundly through the night you begin to awaken to the light illuminating the fabric of the sides of your camp and an awareness of that gentle rocking the cool scent of the morning air creeping its way into your camp and you exit the camp you have yourself some breakfast you walk over to the water's edge splash some of that cool water on your face you prepare yourself for another day of kayaking you pack up the camp and kayak deeper and deeper into this woodland following this river and by around the middle of the day you arrive at your destination a location to pull that kayak into the land you tie the kayak to the base of a tree and set off from this point on foot and you walk further into the woodland now getting out a map to follow this last part of your journey and you walk your way through ancient paths laid down by years of animals treading these roots you hear the crunching of the twigs and ground underfoot climbing over roots weaving around branches walking through the dappled light ahead and while you continue walking so the trees seem to be older than previous as if you're walking into a more ancient part of this woodland the trees seeming more craggly the moss seeming more bouncy you start to have this feeling like you can hear or deeply feel within you a soft deep and gentle humming like a musical note hitting the perfect frequency that brings deep comfort and calmness you start to notice that the moss underfoot glows with each footstep that the bark of the trees glows where your hand touches them and the handprint fades over a few seconds after you remove your hand and pushing through branches those branches chime like bells tinkling softly barely perceptibly with each movement you have this sense that this area of ancient woodland gives a dreamlike quality to the experience as if this area of woodland shimmers with magic and wonder as you continue walking deeper and deeper into the heart of this area and while walking deeper into this ancient woodland the trees seem to become denser and more magical and after walking for some time and the air becoming deeply still and seeming almost heavy and it feeling like dusk even though you're sure it's barely late afternoon you notice a small stone building covered in moss you head over to that small stone building where you can see the gentle glow of light in the windows and as you knock on the door so the door creaks open and a soft shimmering fairy opens that door flies out of the door and is hovering before you her wings are so delicate translucent seeming to sparkle with light as they flutter she ushers you into her home you walk into the home having to duck slightly to go through the door and she begins to make a drink for you mixing in some mushrooms mixing in some herbs and other bits and pieces from this woodland adding in the hot water stirring it all together she hands you this drink and tells you to drink that drink and you can feel the warmth of the mug in your hands and you drink the drink and taste that sweetness of the drink and feel deep relaxation spreading through you and feel a connection growing with the world around you and she tells you that there's magic that flows through this ancient woodland everything here is connected the trees,

The plants,

The animals it all works in harmony she tells you this drink you're drinking will help you to be able to have that connection with this world around you to be able to experience this deep connection and to feel that connection and if you're willing and able you can connect and internalize that connection so that long after you leave this forest you'll carry that connection to all things within you it'll continue to flow through you on some level deep within you you'll be in harmony with the world around you and she shares wisdom with you knowledge unknown to outsiders she shares some secret magic with you and allows you to spend the night and so you spend the night absorbing all your learning allowing the drink to flow through your body softening and relaxing from the head all the way down to your toes filling you with this connection to the world around you to the idea that you're not an island you're part of a whole and the next day you awaken feeling like you see the world in a new way the fairy bids you goodbye you head back off the way you came and it takes a while but you find your way all the way back to that river and as you travel back along that river so you now observe the world around you in a deeper more profound way than you had done before as if your senses to this world been heightened,

Your understanding of this world has been heightened having a greater connection to all things and you stop and camp for the night on your way back continuing your journey again the day after and halfway through the day stopping and camping again until eventually you finish your journey you make your way back you make your way home and all the way home you're aware that the world you see around you now seems brighter,

More vivid seems richer and more detailed you can see connections in the way everything operates from the birds and the bees to squirrels in the trees to the clouds passing overhead you see how it's all in harmony all connected and you head home and with this new and profound mind to see the world as if you've had some blinkers removed opening up more that's there that was always there,

You just didn't know it you ponder this as you drift and float so peacefully asleep into this restful night of relaxing in your bed for the first time in many days drifting,

Floating so peacefully so relaxed asleep into slumberland