The Magical Horse (Long Meditative Bedtime Story)

So just take a moment to allow your eyes to close and with your eyes closed,

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 fall asleep,

I'm just going to tell this sleep story in the background.

And in this sleep story,

You're wandering through the New Forest on the south of England.

The ancient woodland wrapped around you like the most comfortable blanket of peace and harmony.

And as you walk through the New Forest,

Listening to the sounds of birds in the trees,

The scurrying of squirrels,

Seeing the deer roaming through the forest,

Stopping,

Grazing a while,

Before continuing on to a new location to graze some more.

You head deeper and deeper into the forest,

Until eventually,

You begin to notice a clearing and in that clearing,

You can see the rugged grasses stretched out before you and wild horses grazing in this open meadow.

You walk into the open meadow and as you walk into the open meadow,

Feeling the warmth of the sun caressing your face,

One of the horses notices you and so you stop and rest,

And you allow that horse to come over to you,

Rather than you approaching the horse.

And every now and then,

There's a very slight breeze that tickles the side of your face,

The occasional cloud passing across the sun and the horse comes over to you and it makes a friendly noise as it approaches and bobs its head ever so slightly and it comes right up to you and you can feel the warmth emanating from this horse and you gently reach out,

Pat the side of its neck,

And the horse pushes gently into you,

Helping to form that connection.

And after a few moments,

The horse moves forward slightly more and bows its head and seems to be gesturing for you to climb on its back,

And so with a leap,

You leap up,

Resting on its back,

Lunge your leg over the horse,

Landing softly in the arch of its back,

And then the horse gently begins to trot back towards those other wild horses,

And as it approaches those other wild horses,

So they all,

Almost in unison,

Seem to look up,

Stop grazing,

And together all of the horses begin to head from this meadow,

Following the horse that you're on,

And heading towards some of the forest.

And while trotting towards the forest,

You can feel that horse beneath you,

The movement of the horse,

The sound of its breathing,

You gently pat the side of its neck,

You can feel the coarseness of its mane,

And the smoothness of its hair,

And the horses seem to be taking you somewhere,

And you head through the forest,

The sounds rustling around you,

The sounds of the horses trotting on the undergrowth,

The way light dances through the canopy,

The shards just shining,

And shimmering and crossing each other as the wind blows a breeze,

Across the tops of the trees,

And after some time of these horses guiding you somewhere,

They reach a small clearing in the middle of this area of forest,

And as they come out into this clearing,

So you see something unusual,

You notice what looks like a blue horse,

And the horse that you're riding trots over to that blue horse while all the others wait in a neat line at the edge of this area of meadow,

And the horses seem to tap their noses together,

Touch the side of their heads together,

Bow their heads a few times,

And then the horse takes a step back,

Blows its neck as if to gesture to you to get off,

And so you dismount,

And with a little nudge the horse nudges you towards that blue horse,

And the blue horse lowers its head as if to gesture for you to mount it,

And so you mount this blue horse,

And then the other horse backs up to be in line with the horses at the edge of the meadow,

And the blue horse begins to trot away,

And its trot becomes a canter,

And then you start to hear a twinkling sparkling sound,

And it's as if the horse is being surrounded by millions of tiny sparkling diamonds,

And then out from just behind you,

Just behind your legs,

The two of most elegant white wings,

That seem to appear as if by magic,

With a powerful flap as the horse continues to canter,

So it begins to ride on the sparkling diamonds up into the sky,

And you hold on a little bit as the horse rises into the sky,

And begins to fly so smoothly galloping on the air,

And you're curious where this horse is taking you,

And the horse gallops high above the new forest,

As you see the trees below,

The patchwork of meadows dotted through the forest,

And the horse continues galloping faster and faster,

And yet the ride is incredibly smooth,

And you can feel the increasing breeze on your face,

And the galloping horse through the air,

Sounds almost like playing on drums,

The rhythm beating out with each step,

And the horse continues getting faster and faster,

And then light begins to form in front of the horse,

Around the sides and above and below the horse,

Like the bow wave as a boat increases in speed through water,

And that light in front begins to get closer and closer to the front of the horse,

As the horse speeds up faster and faster,

Until all of a sudden,

In a flash,

In an instant,

It's as if that light passes from the front to the back of the horse,

And there's suddenly calmness,

The sight below and around you is suddenly unfamiliar,

No longer flying above the new forest,

But flying above the most incredible looking landscape,

You can see tall mountains in the distance,

A vast valley below,

Trees rising up at the sides of the valley,

Some areas of trees densely populating the valley,

Other areas of open meadow,

And a winding river going right through the centre of that valley below,

You can tell that river is fast flowing,

By the white water you can see wrapped around stones and boulders,

And the horse gallops above this valley,

While its wings flap powerfully,

And then it begins to descend into one of the meadows,

And as it reaches the ground,

Its feet touch the ground,

So you can hear the sudden sound of hoof on solid ground,

On the grass and soil beneath,

The sparkling around the horse calms and fades,

And with the sparkling fading,

So the wings seem to magically begin to fade,

And the horse slows down to a trot,

And then walking through this valley,

And you can hear some sounds of wildlife,

It sounds so calming and peaceful,

And yet unfamiliar to you,

And the horse continues walking through this valley,

Near to the river,

The sound of that river bubbling alongside you,

And after some time walking along,

The horse turns towards the slopes of the valley,

Heads into the tree line,

Through those trees,

And then you spy through the trees what looks like a cave,

And the horse stops at the entrance to the cave,

You dismount,

The horse nudges you towards the cave,

And so you enter into that cave,

Unsure what you'll discover,

You see some flickering light coming from within the cave,

So you walk towards that flickering light,

Curious about the experience,

Intrigued why the horses would bring you here,

And you see a person dressed in purple,

Stirring a pot over a campfire here deep in the cave,

And with the most friendly eyes and smile,

They look up at you,

Gesture for you to come over,

And as you're heading over,

So they begin to speak to you,

And they tell you that Quela is a special kind of horse,

Kind of a magical being,

And they were sent to find someone with just the right qualities,

For being comfortable and communicating with nature,

And they communicated through the realms to others of their type of kind,

And you were identified,

And they tell you that your help is needed,

That there's a task someone needs to do,

Where magic isn't suitable,

Only compassion and the right mental attitude can help,

And they tell you that even deeper in this cave lives a dragon,

And they require you to go deeper into the cave,

And to bring peace and calm to the dragon's heart,

That the only way to break a spell that was cast on this dragon,

Is for genuine peace and calm to be brought to its heart,

The spell can't be broken by the use of more magic,

And that if this dragon can't be helped,

Then the hold the magic has on the dragon,

Will lead to the dragon terrorising more than just this realm,

And if the dragon encounters other dragons,

Then the magic that has been used on it,

Can transfer from it to those other dragons,

Spreading this problem even further,

And so you agree to help,

With a sense of curiosity and intrigue,

And yet not even at all surprised at the idea of dragons,

Having flown on a horse with wings,

And the wizard hands you a torch,

And sends you on your way,

And so you walk deeper,

And deeper into the cave listening to the occasional drip of water,

Echoing through this cave,

Walking so gracefully,

And so calmly,

And peacefully that each step would barely disturb rice paper,

And barely makes a sound,

And the light from your torch flickers and dances on the cave wall,

And despite the gentle dripping within this cave,

There's a deep sense of peace here,

And you walk deeper,

And deeper into the cave,

And way off in the distance,

You can hear the deep sound of the dragon breathing in,

And breathing out,

And you continue walking in the direction of that sound,

Until eventually you come out to a chamber,

And it's a vast chamber that could rival any cathedral,

The sound of the dragon's breath reverberating off the walls,

The occasional scraping sliding sound,

The dragon moving its tail,

And you walk slowly towards that dragon,

And as you approach the dragon,

It gazes up at you,

Glares at you,

And you feel calm,

And compassion,

And love,

You don't feel at all intimidated,

As if you know the dragon's soul,

And that this is just a surface level behaviour,

To try and scare,

And the dragon bares its teeth,

Breathes in,

And then bursts out fire,

And the fire is aimed in a slightly different direction to you,

And you can feel the warmth of that fire as it passes you,

And you feel this is a bit like a shot across the bow,

That used to be used to try to deter ships,

And you carry on approaching,

Feeling even deeper calm,

Peace,

Compassion,

And the dragon stands up at full height,

Breathes in to make itself large and scary,

And you continue walking towards it,

Only expressing peace and calm,

And once you get near,

The dragon lowers its head,

You rest your hand on the side of its warm neck,

Feeling the smoothness of the scales,

Feeling the way the dragon's breath,

Slows down gently,

Beginning to feel a deep connection with this dragon,

As you run your hand down its neck towards its body,

And the closer to its body your hand gets,

The more you can sense the heartbeat of this dragon,

The slow,

Powerful,

Thump-thump of the dragon's heart,

And as your hand moves down,

All the way to the body,

So it's as if you start to create,

A connection between yourself and your compassion and this dragon,

And you start to almost psychically,

Connect with the dragon,

As you fall into sync with the dragon,

And you start to see the dragon's life experiences,

The curse inflicted upon the dragon,

The wizard which had caused such a curse,

And the dragon begins to glow,

And that glowing begins to pass through your hand and into your body,

Relieving the dragon of the curse,

And as that glowing calms down,

So you leave the chamber,

Leaving this dragon,

To rest,

Free in the knowledge it's no longer cursed,

You head back through the cave,

Back to that wizard,

Resting by the campfire,

They're already aware of the changes created because of your actions,

And you ask them,

If there's a way of stopping this wizard,

Making sure that they can't do the same again,

And the wizard explained that,

Magic can't be used to stop magic,

Because when two magic systems collide,

They just create stronger magic,

They don't take the magic away,

But you may be able to help,

Because you have no magical abilities,

But you do have a pure heart,

That deeply loves and respects nature,

And so magic struggles to influence those of pure heart,

It needs a kernel of something to latch onto and to grow from,

Like watering a seed within somebody,

But you're different,

And unique,

And the wizard tells you where to find this other wizard,

And says that you'll know what to do when you get there,

And you leave the cave,

You head back to that horse,

And the horse instinctively knows what you've been tasked with,

And it begins to take you through the valley in the direction of the other wizard,

And as it does,

So you just enjoy the journey,

And the sun on this land sets,

And the horse stops,

And you camp for a while,

And you find yourself talking to the horse even though the horse doesn't respond,

It just seems like it's listening intently,

And then at night,

You snuggle up next to the warmth of the horse,

As the campfire burns down to embers,

Falling asleep on the grass,

And the next morning continuing your journey,

Until eventually,

The horse reaches a point where it stops,

And it seems to be refusing to go any further,

And you nudge it in the sides,

And it just rears its head slightly,

As if to say,

I am not going beyond this point,

And so you dismount,

And the horse moves its head and nose,

As if to gesture in the direction you need to travel,

And so you continue on your journey on foot,

Heading through this unusual landscape,

Searching for that wizard,

And eventually after some time of walking,

You see a small building in the distance,

Some wisp of smoke rising from the chimney,

The glow of light in the windows,

And you walk up towards that house,

You knock the knocker on the door,

And someone answers the door,

And you realise straight away that this is that wizard,

And you just directly tell them you're here,

To stop them,

From terrorising the land,

And they laugh at you,

And they want to have power and control,

Not just of this land,

But by creating chaos through the realms,

And from sowing that chaos,

They can then appear,

And take control,

And be the saviour resolving the chaos,

And you firmly state that you're here to stop them,

And although now they give just a hint,

Of concern,

Just a flicker of an eye,

They try to portray themselves as confident,

That you're just like any other person,

And they go over to a book,

They open that book,

And as they do they pick up a wand,

Resting beside the book,

And in an instant and a flick of the wrist,

They fire a spell at you,

With a gentle cantation,

And a light emanates in your direction,

And like absorbing the magic from the dragon,

That light seems to just be absorbed into you,

And at best all it causes,

Is a very slight gentle tingling through your body,

As if helping you relax deeper,

And deeper in this situation,

And you remember the words that you'll know what to do when you're there,

And you stand up,

And walk towards the wizard,

You reach out,

And gently touch them on the shoulder,

And as you do you feel a deep sense of calm compassion,

Of love for the humanity within them,

And almost like it's your magic,

Being cast through no magic,

You seem to be able to trigger,

That kernel of humanity,

Buried deep within the wizard,

Almost locked away,

Almost locked away,

From even the wizard's own reach,

And it's almost as if that kernel of humanity,

Is watered,

Nurtured,

Given the right environment to thrive,

As if it blossoms and blooms from within them,

Growing,

Spreading,

Filling them internally with humanity,

Compassion,

Care for others,

Until eventually their eyes weep,

As humanity takes over,

And you see that compassion in their eyes,

As they become a changed person,

As you then leave this wizard,

And begin your journey back,

Heading back towards where the horse left you,

And as you begin your journey back,

So you hear a noise,

And then see the horse arriving,

Now comfortable to travel this close to this location,

No longer fearful of what lay ahead,

You climb on the back of the horse,

And together journey back to the other wizard,

And that other wizard also seems to just know,

That change has happened,

They know what you've achieved,

And then on that horse,

It canters along,

Bursting into a gallop,

The sparkling lights spring to life around the horse,

The wings erupt into view,

And the horse launches into the air,

Galloping on its sparkly road,

Galloping on the air,

The light spreading around the horse,

Until with a flash it finds itself back,

Galloping above the new forest,

It slows down to a canter,

Gets down into the new forest,

Lands in the new forest,

And then trots through to where the other horses are,

You dismount,

Say goodbye to the horse,

And you can sense it saying goodbye to you,

You head over to the other horses,

Climb onto the one you rode earlier,

And it takes you back to where you started,

You head back through the new forest,

Finding your way to somewhere to stay for the night,

You have something to eat,

You reminisce and think back on your day's adventure,

On everything that's happened,

How unreal some of it seemed,

And yet how you accepted it as being real,

And went with the flow,

Curious about the other land,

Where it is,

Whether you'll ever get an opportunity to revisit and perhaps explore more,

And then you head to bed,

And find yourself feeling so peaceful and calm,

That your mind just feels so still,

As you drift and float,

Relaxed asleep into slumberland.