Settle yourself with a deep stretch,
Comforting breath,
Maybe a yawn.
Just come into this experience of getting ready for rest,
Surrendering yourself to the night,
Letting go of what you're holding on to that might prevent you from sleeping,
Accepting who you are and what you've done and what you haven't ticked off your to-do list yet.
This is a separate time.
You may notice the creatures of the night,
Bats and crickets,
A few more birds perhaps,
The sounds of your joints and muscles as you shift.
Find just the right cozy spot for bed.
Take stock.
How is your body?
What does it need?
Where is it sated?
Where is it stiff?
Take it all in and also let it all go.
Submit to rest and weariness.
We all get tired.
Our bodies have a built-in mechanism for that kind of healing.
Surrender to gravity.
Let it pull you to your bed,
To the earth,
Down and out,
Spongy and soft,
To the ground,
Feeling the embrace of the earth and its gravity.
Letting your breath start to soften,
Become unregulated,
Loosely structured.
At any point in this meditation it might be helpful to yawn or simply take a deep breath in and then exhale with the ancient word selah.
Maybe you can say some kind words of praise or pride to yourself.
Find at least one beautiful thing you did today you can be grateful for.
You could yawn again or breathe in deeply and exhale and then forgive.
And every day people do lousy things.
People annoy you,
Hurt your feelings,
Ignore you,
Stress you out.
You could hold on to that all night.
You probably wouldn't sleep very well if you do.
So try letting it go just for the next eight to ten hours and forgive,
Even provisionally forgive.
See if that's in you tonight.
Don't punish,
Not even yourself.
You probably did things that hurt someone's feelings too today,
Recently.
It's pretty hard to ask forgiveness,
To say you're sorry,
But you could do a test run tonight.
Ask to be forgiven and not punished and you may feel sleep starting to drift in from the edges.
That's cool.
Let your eyes droop and your pupils dilate.
Your thoughts wander to pretty and comfortable places.
Invite in sweet dreams.
You might want to yawn or breathe out with Sela again.
Stretch and pop,
Squirm and get cozy.
Whatever you need.
Take stock that we are all together,
United in a web of creation and destiny,
Sharing a common origin.
Isn't that amazing and awesome?
The world is part of you even as you sleep and at all moments you could feel a sense of love and responsibility for the great vastness that is the created world in which you are an essential,
Irreplaceable part.
And we dwell sheltered and loved by this universe in all of its mysteries,
Protected as though by eagle's wings,
Protected as though by a great shield,
Most of us safe from war and famine and disease and all of us with our own blessings lifted up,
Carried and supported by loving presences in the dream world and in the waking world.
We lie down peacefully and get up untroubled.
We are protected as we go out from conscious experience just as we will return to it when we wake,
Committing ourselves into the hand of a deeply loving universe.
Great and good forces preceded us and look over us manifesting in our lives in surprising ways and great and good forces will support those who come after us.
The universe is blessing you and safeguarding you.
The universe is shining its grace upon you.
Take it in and when the universe looks toward you,
You are complete,
Whole and at peace.
Take it all in and great and good forces will rock you to sleep.
Questions and doubts may plague you in the day and at night you can rest those doubts with the great and good angelic force responsible for all questions so that they don't perturb your sleep.
In the day we struggle,
We grapple,
We force things into place.
Sometimes we need to,
Many times we don't.
You can let go of all of that effort placing it at your left side.
The great and good support of the universe responsible for might and vigor.
We look for the path throughout the day seeking the light,
Finding our way amid confusions.
We can let that go.
Ahead of us is the great and good force to illumine our path even as we sleep and behind us great and good healing to nurture our body,
Give it affection and attention it needs and above us an almighty love.
Allow yourself to stretch and fidget,
Get on any last wiggles or itches,
Shake it out,
Come to an even more comfortable spot.
Let the quiet descend breathing it in and exhaling and the world is complete,
The universe is eternal.
There is nothing like it and nothing like you.
Go off into rest and sleep and dream in the loving hand of this beautiful universe.
Nothing to fear.
