Train Journey Through Time

Relax and get ready for a night of deep sleep with a story and meditation that will take you on a train journey through time.

You may find yourself in the future in a time and place conjured by the imagination and found only in dreams in a utopian landscape.

A mystical place where there is nothing but kindness and peace,

Beauty and positive feelings that will lift you high above your concerns of the day.

This story may be customized in any way to fit your desires and preferences because tonight is all about you and what feels right for you.

I would like to welcome you to Michelle's Sanctuary.

I am Michelle and you may think of my voice as that of a guide and dear friend who will help you remember the healing and creative powers of your mind.

As your advocate,

I encourage you to get as cozy as you can and know that you are not alone.

You are safe.

You are deserving of this mental escape and vacation.

You are free to let go of my voice at any point if you wish to surrender to the welcoming arms of sleep that wait to embrace you.

Right now,

Tune into the moment and just take the deepest breath you can and then sigh it out.

Make a sound.

Be silly and wiggle about.

Yawn if that feels enticing because there is no one here to judge you.

You are free to enjoy the sensations of pleasure that come when you conjure thoughts of being warm and snuggling in your bed like a baby bird in a nest.

And take in another deep breath,

Letting your entire belly rise up like a hot air balloon before you let it all out.

And as you exhale,

I want you to visualize your breath before you as it condenses on chilly mountain air at twilight.

You are standing upon a pristine white platform of a train station.

The snow-capped mountains cut against the horizon beyond the station and reflect back the silver glow of a brilliant full moon in a crystal clear sky.

Stars overhead are vibrant and appear alive as if twinkling and dancing around the evening sky like a disco ball.

There is something magical about this station which is hundreds of years ahead in time.

You are dressed in climate controlled attire that is fashionable and suits your preferences but offers a light feeling as if you are floating through space.

For some time you have anticipated the opportunity to take this journey through time and at long last you have a reservation.

Beneath the halo of lights that illuminate the station's platform,

You find other passengers who are just as eager to take this adventure through time and space.

As well,

You feel goosebumps form on the back of your neck from the winter's chill and from the excitement that tingles from your scalp all the way down your spine.

You take in a deep breath and smell the pine and balsam fur from the evergreen trees that surround the town and appear on the mountains in shadowy triangular silhouettes.

Before the train pulls in the station,

You feel the vibration of the tracks and a breeze that heightens your perception.

Aware of the train that is coming,

The bells of the train's crossing gates sound at the end of the platform where the main road of the town crosses the tracks.

But this is merely a symbol of tradition lending itself to the origins of train travel.

The road is but a relic as in this futuristic society,

Most people travel by air.

It is but for the sake of nostalgia that train travel exists at all.

And this warms your heart like nostalgic paintings of holiday gatherings and the words of Charles Dickens.

There is something touching about being connected to the past,

And even to simpler times that are like a distant dream you long to have again.

The train swooshes into the station and its exterior is opalescent in a shade of pearl white,

Looking slick and pure with a light dusting of snow that shimmers like flecks of mica.

It travels above the tracks,

Hovering and using them as a guide through tunnels and scenic sights,

Through mountain ranges that act as portals to the past.

The doors glide towards the roof as they open like modern hatches and you step in as you are greeted by a train employee who is dressed in a perfectly tailored powder blue dress suit cinched at her waist.

Her hair is in a perfect French twist as she welcomes passengers in a multitude of languages based on a system that instantly identifies each passenger as they board and conveys their information to her.

She greets you by name and with a warmth in her aquamarine eyes that feels timeless.

It feels as if you have met her before,

Many times before,

And there is a strong sense of trust and feeling of safety she inspires.

She invites you to step in and enjoy the bar car,

Where a clear glass bar stands before a mirrored wall.

The beverages offered are in brilliant shades of rainbow hues with colors assigned accordingly and how you would like to feel.

On the menu,

Beverages are named things like inner peace and bliss and euphoria and confidence and bravery and may be mixed in any way that you desire.

You choose the feeling you would most like to consume and a friendly barista prepares it for you.

Based on your decision,

It comes in a hue of the color spectrum that most suits your needs and mood in the moment.

You sit upon a white velvet upholstered deep armchair reminiscent of an opulent time in the 1960s,

Yet somehow it's still modern as it conforms to your body.

Fellow passengers arrive and you relish in the unique pattern of different languages and vocal tones.

Where words not need to be understood for the energy to be conveyed and felt.

Everyone is excited and kind and there is a generosity of spirit and shared spark of adventure that unifies you.

You sip your elixir,

Feeling the sensations that you most needed to feel in this moment,

Noting as the cool liquid cascades down your throat.

The flavor is not so simple as sweet or bitter or sour.

It tastes of the complexities of your sense memory,

Triggering happy visions of the past that have been stored deep within you and now float to the surface as if conjured to be the self that you need.

These impressions align with all that you hoped to experience and it's so nice to get things to go your way.

You look out the panoramic windows that give a view of the sky above and the pristine landscape of mountains as the train leaves the station.

Accelerating slowly at first,

Then coming to full speed.

The glittering stars are like silver streaks from a motion blur as you look through the skylight windows.

You relish the gentle motion of the train as it glides like a monorail with the smoothness of a great white egret taking flight.

The female attendant makes an announcement that soon you will be entering the first portal,

Going back to the earliest sleeper car experiences in the late 19th century,

Distilling the highlights of the time in a perfect experience.

The focus of this trip is to find pleasure and to connect with the timeless aspects of the human experience.

This is meant to be customized and will be seen through the lens of your own imagination.

The final portal will come at the end of the experience and you may retreat to the safety of your sleeping car to connect with a moment from your own personal history.

As this has all been explained in all necessary languages,

You share a smile and a cheers with the fellow travelers on this journey and feel a camaraderie and connectedness that makes you feel less alone on this trip.

It is as if you have formed an instant bond over your common quests and personal traits that allowed you to sign up for this adventure to begin with.

The train rounds the mountain with fluidity and from afar it is like a shimmering white ribbon floating on a winter's breeze as it weaves through the dark terrain.

And suddenly the train approaches a tunnel through the mountain and flashes of light appear.

The bright lights cause you to close your eyes and create a strobe pattern on your closed eyelids as the train makes a series of cracking and snapping sounds like the sounds of a campfire in summer.

And then there is a stillness and you are suddenly cast in the amber glow of a late-day sun as you open your eyes.

Dust has settled on the small windows atop the train,

Which now resembles a 19th century steam locomotive.

You find yourself adorned in period clothing of the time,

Noting the heaviness of the wool fabric upon your skin and the many layers of clothing that you wear.

It gives you a strong awareness of your body as it takes effort to move beneath the fashions of the time.

But you are warm and content,

Looking out the window to see open prairies with rolling tumbleweeds in the distance.

Your fellow passengers are adorned in fashionable trends as the ladies are wearing corsets that make their waistlines trim beneath bustles that keep their heavy dresses lifted.

Luxurious for the times,

You note the feathered hats and shades of emerald green and sapphire blue that match the embroidered patterns on their laced-up boots.

The men are in topcoats with velvet collars over their vests and tailored twill pants in shades of camel and black.

The glass bar of the future is now a hand-carved bar made of cherry wood and you go to it to order a sarsaparilla,

The drink of the time,

Made of birch oil and sassafras,

At a time when carbonation was thought to be medicinal.

As you take the glass mug with the beverage,

You catch yourself in the mirror.

But for your eyes and bone structure of your face,

For a moment you do not recognize yourself in this era.

There is an authenticity to your appearance that surprises even you.

You smile and take the beverage back to your seat,

Which is now a simple bench.

That is firm beneath you.

Looking out the window,

You feel the cool beverage hit your lips and it is a welcome reprieve from the hot,

Stilted,

Dusty air of the train car.

The rocking back and forth is soothing to you as you look out on the untouched landscape and seemingly endless cornflower blue sky.

The bucolic landscape is sparse,

Before an occasional basic cabin where children run around in their dusty overalls and earth-toned dresses.

A horse and carriage runs parallel to the train tracks heading into town,

But the train veers off in a different direction,

Heading towards open prairies now cast in a pink hue as the sun begins to set.

In a herd of bison stampede through the open land.

Their hooves pound the earth with such vigor that you may even feel the vibrations over the movement of the locomotive as it chugs along.

You look at these galloping beasts with woolly caramel fur that grows upon the incline of their backs while the rest of their bodies are a deep chocolate brown.

Like a compass,

Their ivory horns guide them westerly towards the setting sun and coal black eyes reveal sparks of light and sheer will.

The buffalos disappear southerly as the train comes upon the Dale Creek Bridge,

A majestic 650 foot bridge that was one of the greatest challenges in completing the railway.

And as the metal wheels of the locomotive meet the rails across the iron bridge,

Once again the train goes through another portal in time and space as a mist forms around the bridge rising up from the creek below.

From the inside of the train,

It appears as if the train is going through a cloud and then suddenly everything around you transforms and you are aboard the Orient Express.

Travelling within the sapphire blue train with an elegant gold insignia of two lions facing one another,

You relish in the luxury of train travel in the 1930s.

The Simblin Orient Express was the first train to make its way from the exotic city of Istanbul to the romantic city of love,

Paris.

The restaurant car is in a variety of soothing blue tones and you feel the soft carpet beneath your leather-soled shoes.

The women are in fancy mid-length dresses made of silks in rich jewel tones,

While the men are in three-piece wool suits accessorized with wide silk ties and handkerchiefs folded neatly in their jacket pockets.

A piano player in the corner of the car plays happy and jazzy melodies that create a festive vibe as the evening hour for cocktails and dinner begins.

Riding through Austria,

The landscape is a blanket of fresh white snow upon evergreen trees and the Austrian Alps that appear a steely blue-gray against twilight sky.

A crescent of a moon hangs overhead as snow continues to heavily fall and the winter's wind whistles outside as the train car is warm and cozy inside.

You are set in the era that was the heyday of train travel.

The energy of the train car is celebratory and glorious as all earthly cares have been cast aside.

Sounds of clinking crystal glasses and silverware are the percussion that meets the harmony of voices in international dialects and languages.

As supper is served,

The smells of savory first-class meals fills the room,

Mingling with the fragrance of French perfume and men's cologne.

Creating a unique scent that may always take you back to this experience.

And you reflect on how certain smells can easily transport you back in time.

You look at the window,

Watching as large snowflakes like crystallized lace are falling against the panoramic glass and freezing upon it.

They leave a hypnotic pattern that becomes a filter through which you see the mountainous landscape that seems menacing outside.

But you feel safe.

It is as if you are watching,

But you feel safe because it is like watching a movie from the cozy confines of the dining car.

And you can feel the levity and lightness of the time period.

People connecting with one another when train travel was so alluring.

A young couple cloaked in opulent fabrics and jewels are carefree as they dance in the center of the train car.

You look around the space,

Feeling so fulfilled that the contentment is making you feel tired as you begin to yawn and your eyes begin to bleer.

The sapphire and marine blue tones of the dining car start to make you feel as if you are under the deep blue sea.

A heaviness takes over your body and you rise to make your way to the sleeping car.

As you walk between train cars,

The Orient Express goes across a bridge and through another time portal.

And when you come into the sleeper car,

The hallway resembles a hallway of your own personal past.

It is the hallway that leads you to a familiar dwelling,

Overlapping the passageway of the train like a hologram.

This hallway is perhaps from your childhood.

Or from adulthood.

But it is a pathway that has led you to your favorite room for sleeping in this life.

Contained within a moving train car that acts as a pod,

Encapsulating this memory.

You recognize you are gliding through two places at once,

The train and the hallway of your past.

You come upon the mahogany door that leads to your sleeper and grasp the engraved brass doorknob.

Feeling the cool impressions it leaves on your palm.

And as you open the door,

You are suddenly inside a room that has always made you feel safe.

Safe to fall asleep and dream.

A room where you had the kindest of dreams.

A room where you were cared for and tended to and loved.

And you take this time to take it all in.

The bedding and the bed.

The smells that conjure a sense memory that resides deep within you.

You notice the other furniture and walls,

Finding magic in the mundane things that once escaped your attention.

But being able to relive this,

You are overwhelmed with gratitude that this has all returned to you.

You take in a deep breath as you go to the end of the bed and find pajamas from another time.

Perhaps footed pajamas from your childhood,

Or a sleep shirt or nightgown.

Or perhaps something you wore comfortably later in life.

These sleep clothes remind you of all the times you found respite and comfort in a dream-filled sleep.

And whatever you find,

You feel peace as you shed your clothing and change into these bed clothes.

They smell familiar as well,

Comforting you deeply.

You pull back the covers and they are in a color-and-pattern scheme you thought you had forgotten.

But suddenly,

They are refreshed and brought back to life.

You lower yourself into the bed,

In this favorite room within a moving train car.

And allow your head to fall upon the pillows.

Perhaps there are stuffed animals or other comforting items of the past that are on the bed or in the room for you to feel at ease.

And you feel so heavy and you feel so tired.

You feel snug and grateful as the train car rocks you back and forth.

And you are in the remembered comforts of a bed that brought you peace.

Of a time and place in your life where sleep came easily and without thought or effort.

You are able to just cross the bridge into your dreaming life.

And as you feel so warm and cozy,

So comfortable,

You can feel the gratitude warming your heart center and bringing a spontaneous smile to your face.

For you have made it back to the place where you may always return.

Tucked safely in the locket of your memory.

And I am going to count you down to a night of sleep.

As you rock back and forth and to and fro.

Finding peace.

Finding enchantment.

10 9 7 6 4 3 2 Finding sleep.

It's time to dream away.

Good night.