Hi there and welcome to this sleep meditation.
Tonight I want to describe to you a wonderful journey that I took a number of years ago
Back when I was living in Washington State.
I took this trip with a friend of mine because we wanted to go to a training together.
We needed to learn new things and we wanted to hear great stories because we understood
That this teacher taught in storytelling form and I found that very interesting and so did
My friend.
So we decided that we would save our money and make the journey to the other side of
The state to attend this training on Orcas Island.
Now I don't know how many of you may be familiar with Orcas Island off the coast of Washington
State and I don't know how many of you may even know where Washington State is if you
Don't live in the United States and in the event that you don't live in the United States,
Washington State is the uppermost,
Farthest west state of the contiguous 48.
Of course the state that is farther west and farther north would be Alaska and this is
Washington State and it's an interesting state to live in and be in and work in.
Part of the state has lush evergreens and they're located on the western side of the
Cascade Mountains and even in the mountains and once you go to the eastern side of the
State you're in what's considered the rain shadow and in being in the rain shadow it's
A desert,
High desert for the most part of it and there's the other part of eastern Washington
That is known as the fruit bowl because a lot of stone fruits are grown there
As well as apples and a lot of other fruit and vegetables as well
And it's an interesting place to be in the wintertime in the desert
Especially when we're in an inversion where the sky stays gray and it's cold yet not bitterly cold
Around freezing and then the high may get a few degrees above freezing,
Not many
And there was a time that I was there that had gone 16 days
And I had not seen the sun and for me that was a particularly difficult time and I didn't know then
That
That
The sun would make such a wonderful difference in my life
As far as mood and just general overall well-being
Anyway,
Back to the story about my friend of mine and I,
Our trip that we took
To an island off the west coast
Of Washington state
And this island is called Orcas Island
After the whales,
The orcas,
And you can actually see orcas and other whales from this island
And Orcas Island is a part of the San Juan Islands
And I had never been there
And my friend had and she was excited to show it to me
And so we drove across the state
Through the desert
Into the mountains and through the mountain pass
And it was summer time
So it was safe to go there
And it was summer time
So it was safe to drive through the pass as there was no snow or ice there was rain
Some not much
And when we got over to the coast we had to get on a ferry
And as I describe this trip to you I invite you to get really cozy and comfortable into your bed
And you can allow yourself to drift off to sleep
And I'm going to take you
On this trip
And I'm going to take you
On this trip to Orcas Island
And you can imagine
That you're riding the ferry from the mainland
And it's about a half an hour 45 minute ride
And you can imagine that you've decided to take a seat on the bow of the boat
So you can watch the island Orcas Island
To become larger in your view
As the ferry grows closer
As the ferry grows closer
And even though it is summertime
The weather is cool
Particularly in comparison to the desert on the other side of the mountain range
There's a steady headwind
Off the bow of the boat
As it skims across the sea
And there are some metal benches for people to sit on
And there's an area inside where if you want you can sit in there and look through the windows
At the scenic view
And as you stand at the edge of the boat rather than sitting either inside or on a bench
You can see the water rushing below
And you can look down at the water
And hear the sounds
Of the water from the bay
Lapping at the side of the ferry boat
And the wind is slightly salty and refreshing
Catching your clothes and making them dance on your body
And the hum of the engines is loud yet calming
And there are some people sitting on the side of the boat
And there are people sitting on the benches
As they watch the very same scene as you
And there are a few children who are enjoying the ride
Likely more than anyone else
Pointing and smiling at the bald eagles in the trees
And the seals that looks like
And the seals looks like
Possibly sea lions swimming in and around
And the ferry engines slow because it's coming into port
At the island
And the captain maneuvers the boat just perfectly
Docking with precision
Like a thread going through the eye of a needle
And several workers get off the boat before it comes to a stop
Grabbing all sorts of ropes to tie it securely and buoys to
Act as a buffer between the dock and the ferry
And a small bridge extends off the side of the boat
To allow for us passengers to exit and a large ramp on the end of the boat
Slowly lowers to allow for the cars that it carried across the bay to drive off
That it carried across the bay to drive off
And we went into
That area
Where they had stored the vehicles so that we could have our turn to drive onto the island
And it's amazing how the whole process of unloading everything and everyone
Just goes so smoothly and there's no rushing and no waiting in line
And you can hear some seabirds flying overhead as you enter
One of the many beautiful villages that they have
And there are buildings that line the seaside
Very short because they have regulations that they're not to be very tall
A couple stories in different colors
And whites and creams and some are interesting colors and blues and yellows and
I even saw a pink one
And the rooftops are matching gray and you can see
Each building has a few chimneys for when the weather does turn cold
And some buildings have small balconies or porches only big enough for
Just some potted plants and maybe a chair or two
The shutters on the windows vary from mint green to leaf green and
On the pink house they decided that they would do a darker shade of pink which I found interesting
And this is such a beautiful little island and it's just
Bustling with the energy of its people and there's a great library and bookstore
That my friend and I went into
And we walked around and just wanted to see what the used bookstore had
And I went over to the fiction section and I found a bunch of books
By Richard Bach
He was the one who wrote Jonathan Livingston Segal and Illusions and Bridge Across Forever
And One among others and there were multiple copies of all of his books there was even a
Hardback copy of Illusions which is my favorite book of all and so I picked it up and I got it
And I was kind of surprised at how many were there and I mentioned that to the store clerk
And he said well you know he lives on the island and the other store clerk said you can't be
Telling people that celebrities live on this island that's not how it works and I never
Would have gone to have seen him because privacy is something that's very important to me
And I thanked them and I took the books and I went home
And the village is just situated in a cove so it's protected from the sea
And you can turn to look out into the turquoise water and across the marina
Full of small boats you see the sprawling nature of the island
Golden and green hues of tall grasses stretch across the rocky shore
You can make out some old wartime buildings that have turned to ruins and see small windows
That the soldiers could peek out to see enemy ships approaching
And the buildings protected the soldiers yet allowed enough access
To do what they needed to do during that time
And nature has since taken over these structures and grasses growing high around them and vines
Clinging to their walls strong cedar trees thrive on this island as well as a few of
Other varieties of shorter trees evergreens are everywhere
And you can begin to walk through the village and there are bicycles lining the streets along
With some scooters and some motorcycles
And there are places that you can rent bicycles to ride around the island and many do
And there are various places to dine that have large awnings to seat many people outside
And the tables and chairs at these places are placed as closely together as they can get
Allowing for a maximum number of customers
Other places aren't quite as packed
And some shops you pass by are filled to the brim with
One-of-a-kind paintings flashing their beauty through the windows enticing people to enter
The gallery and buy one to take home
And you're enjoying the simple geometric shapes of the architecture
And how so many windows are open letting the fresh air in on a daily basis
And some of the open windows have white curtains dancing in the wind
And as you pass by a busy crepe shop you can smell the aroma of chocolate and the batter
Of the crepes cooking on the skillet and as you walk through the shop you can smell the
A busy crepe shop you can smell the aroma of chocolate and the batter of the crepes
Cooking on the skillet and people are delightfully eating their crepes and
You can see them stuffed with various kinds of delicious ingredients
You might stop by later to have a crepe or two but for now you want to walk along the
Nature footpaths nearby to begin exploring beautiful Orcas Island
And as you walk away from the village there are several footpaths through the tall grasses
That lead to various nature areas and ruins and beautiful secluded coves with turquoise
Waters and sandy beaches and you decide to take the path that leaves to the cliffside
To see the beautiful sights of the windswept offshore jagged rock formations
And you may notice that on some of the beaches that instead of sand there are pebbles and rocks
Of different sizes and you can pick up one to take home with you
And you can walk along the beige colored footpath and so many footsteps before you have walked and
Notice the low growing plant life surrounding you
Surrounding you
And there are colors of sage green and deep green
Nature not seeming to mind that these greens don't match but they complement
And are beautiful because they're all living
And when you get to the coast on the other side
You see the waves crashing and carving
This landscape as it has for many many years and it is spectacular
And you can look out onto the ocean and you may see whales or seals
Dancing in the water
And from your vantage point you're so high above sea level that you are somewhat looking down
At these amazing animals
The only plant life that can grow on these rocks acts as a dark green
Plant life that can grow on these rocks acts as a dark green blanket covering the lower half
Because the sea below is frothing with energy and the winds are demanding this is not an ocean
You can swim in
The waves are viciously splashing against the cliffs and the rocks and
Turning the turquoise water white with bubbles
And the sun is sparkling on the surface
And you can find a soft place to sit
And soak up the sunset
It turns the ocean pink and the sky violet
And this memory can go in to your mind
Forever
The sky is turning a light orange where the sun is escaping and dark blue as night draws in
And at this point you take a footpath
And at this point you take a footpath
Away from there back to the place where we had slept for the night
We had set up camp at west beach
And as you go back to west beach there are not many of us there
At the campground and yet there are enough
And there are a number of people with fires beside their campsites
And somebody has a guitar off in the far distant one
Most of us are just sitting around smiling and
Sipping on various cups of whatever we have that night
And as we sit around the fire
Looking up through the smoke
Through the trillion stars that sparkle back to us from the sky and it's beautiful and it's stunning
And it makes everything make sense
And sometimes escaping
Can bring you back home again to what's right and true to your soul
And you take in the stillness
With the rest of us
And the guitar is not playing anymore
And we hear the pops and cracks and whistles of the fires around us as they slowly burn
Into embers for the night
And we crawl in
To our beds after we extinguish the fire
And zip up our tents and our sleeping bags
And listening to the sound of night sounds
Crickets and other things
Just feeling so connected to the earth upon which we're sleeping
And so connected to one another sharing this experience
Slowly
Or quickly
Into a deep rest
For the rest of the night
For the rest of the night
So
You
