Hi,
My name is Karen.
If you're listening to this meditation right now,
It's because you can't fall asleep or can't find your way back into a deep sleep.
It can be hard to sleep.
I think we've all had troubles at some point or another in our lives where perhaps sleep has been more elusive.
I don't remember struggling to fall asleep when I was a child.
I wonder if perhaps it was because life seemed simpler then.
And when I think of the change in complexity in my life,
Things seemed easier then.
It feels like an especially long time ago.
I'm not sure that things were easier.
Perhaps social media has caused this feeling,
This sense of being overwhelmed,
Overstimulated.
I don't really know.
I think that chaos has always existed.
I suspect the particulars have changed.
The players,
The games and the politics that swirl around us day to day.
Perhaps what I really crave isn't simplicity.
Since I understand that really never did exist.
But maybe what I miss is someone telling me that it's all going to be okay.
It's okay.
Maybe that's all that we want.
It's okay.
It's just a little reassurance.
We want somebody to sit quietly beside us,
Gently holding our hand or stroking our forehead.
The power of those few words.
It's okay.
And so if you'd like to join me,
Find a place in your bed and arrange yourself to be as comfortable as you possibly can be.
Setting around yourself any pillows,
Wrapping yourself warmly in the blankets.
Your eyes might begin by being open.
But if your eyes are open,
Let the focus of your gaze be softening so that in the darkness of your room you're not searching for details.
It's time to let the details of the day melt away,
To vanish.
Let's take a beautiful deep breath in.
Breathing in as deeply as you can through your nose.
And then exhale slowly out through your mouth.
Let it go.
And maybe let's do that one more time.
Deeply breathing in.
And then letting your body empty out completely.
Now let your breath find its own natural rhythm,
Its own cadence.
Allow a light resting awareness of your breath.
Not trying to change it or alter it.
Just let it come and go as it needs to.
Whatever happened today is done.
There's not a single thing you can do to change what's happened.
And so let it go.
Let it go.
Perhaps tomorrow,
When you're rested,
You'll wake up and the solution that you've been searching for,
It'll be right there at your fingertips.
But for now,
For tonight,
Let it go.
Let it go.
Let it go.
It's all going to be okay.
Any worries that you are having about tomorrow,
They're all imagined worries.
Let it go.
Let it go.
Let it go.
You have a tendency to overthink,
To think the worst will happen.
Maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised.
And so set aside those worries,
Whatever they are,
Set them aside.
Let go any regrets of today.
And perhaps acknowledge that your eyes are becoming tired and heavy.
And know that in your heart,
You did everything that you possibly could do.
And there was nothing else that you could have offered or done to change or alter anything.
Of the past.
And that's okay.
Perhaps there are others that will help you to find the solution or take that burden from your shoulders completely.
There are always so many things happening of which we are unaware.
The universe is funny that way.
We only know what we know.
But it's in the unknown that the miracles will happen.
And though it's uncomfortable at times to exist in a place of unknowing,
It never lasts.
Time to find a new perspective.
And in finding that new perspective,
What you think now is insurmountable will become manageable.
So give away this idea,
This notion,
That a solution must be found tonight.
Let it go.
Let it go.
It's okay.
Tomorrow will be a new day.
And with bright eyes,
You will meet that day.
And with a willing heart,
Again,
You will do your best.
So for now,
Let the bed hold you.
Let the covers wrap themselves around you,
Embracing you.
Let any thoughts that trouble you,
Let them melt away.
Let it go.
It's okay.
As the pillow supports your head,
Let it go.
Let pleasant dreams fill you with wonder and awe,
With beauty and joy.
It's okay.
It's okay.
Whatever has frightened you or caused you to be anxious,
It's okay.
It's okay.
Whatever made you sad or angry,
Let it go.
Let it go.
Let it go.
Let it go.
You deserve this rest.
Become aware of the heaviness in your arms and legs.
Notice the changes in your breathing.
It's okay.
It's okay.
It's good that you sleep now.
Let it go.
Let it go.
Let it go.
Let the day go.
Let it go.
Let it go.
Listen to the sounds of your breath drawing in and moving out.
It sounds like an ocean wave,
Doesn't it?
The ocean is so big,
So vast.
It seems infinite in its scope and scale.
Troubles you think that you hold,
That you bear,
That are your burden,
Are so tiny when compared with the ocean.
So vast.
In a week's time,
You won't recall them.
Imagine your body falling back into the beautiful ocean.
Fall back.
Let it go.
And as you float,
You become the ocean.
The ocean.
Your breath lifting your belly with each breath in and allowing your belly to fall with each breath out.
Breathing in,
Your belly rises.
Breathing out,
Your belly falls.
Breath out.
A slow rolling wave traveling across the ocean.
Beautiful moon hung high in the sky.
Mysterious and silvery.
Myriad stars shining bright.
Reflected on the ocean's surface.
Shining bright.
You're safe now.
It's okay.
You're safe now.
You're safe now.
You're safe.
It's okay.
It's okay.
Allow your eyes to become so heavy they must close.
So heavy.
And invite your breath to become the wind itself moving on the surface of the ocean.
You,
Your body,
The ocean.
You are the ocean.
And let your dreams paint on the backs of your eyelids the most beautiful colors.
And on your lips and in your mouth,
Your tongue,
Let the taste fill you with ecstasy.
Hear the sounds all around you and in you.
Let sleep take you.
Let it take you to a place where only you will know of such beauty and calm.
A place of ease and tranquility.
Ease and tranquility.
