Anxious Attachment: Deep Sleep Meditation

Welcome into this deep sleep meditation to help you to soothe the tender feelings of anxious attachment Those moments when you may feel uneasy if your loved one feels far away or when the urge to monitor or hold someone tightly begins to rise will take a journey into a beautiful meadow together where you'll learn to release the need to grip,

To discover the strength and safety within yourself This is a time to let go of fear,

To anchor into yourself and to drift into a peaceful calming sleep So when you feel ready laying down and allowing yourself to sink into the bed beneath you and as you breathe just allowing yourself to start to let go of the day You've done enough,

You've given enough and all that's left is to rest,

To switch off How wonderful it feels to have permission to begin to switch off Allow yourself to take a deep breath in and gently exhale Another slow deep breath in and in your own time releasing the breath,

Exhaling out With each breath you feel your body starts to soften With each breath your mind unwinds Feel your head sinking into the pillow Your forehead softening Your eyes softening Your jaw releasing You feel your shoulders melting into the bed Your arms,

Your hands,

Your fingers rest heavy and loose You feel your chest rising and falling with ease As you breathe your belly relaxes And your hips and legs sink deeper into the bed You feel your feet soften now and they feel warm and free And with every exhale you drift closer to peace,

Closer to relaxation You are safe and it is safe to let go And you start to imagine a beautiful golden mist all around you And as you lie here relaxing this golden mist is able to take you to anywhere you need to go To anywhere for your highest healing You invite this mist to swirl around you now And it carries you off to a beautiful vast meadow And the sky above you glows with soft golden light streaked with lavender and rose And as you take in your surroundings in this wonderful place a gentle breeze carries the fragrance of wildflowers,

Lavender,

Jasmine,

Clover In this meadow butterflies move lazily through the air Bees hum from bloom to bloom The grass beneath your feet is soft and springy,

Cool with evening dew You notice the rolling hills stretching out into the distance And the whole meadow feels like a sanctuary And this meadow feels expansive and yet contained enough to feel safe Like the world has wrapped itself gently around you And you feel that here nothing needs your attention There is nothing to monitor,

Only beauty waiting to soothe you And as you wander you notice a small pebble in your hand And this pebble feels familiar as though you've been carrying it for a really long time The pebble feels round and smooth in your hand And you squeeze this pebble tightly realizing that you believe this pebble gives you safety But as you grip it harder the edges dig into your skin And the tighter you hold the more you can feel it hurts,

It makes your hands sore And as you continue to walk squeezing this pebble so tightly Feeling this pebble digging into your hand the more you squeeze it You see clearly now You realize that it is not the pebble that hurts you,

It is the holding It is the clinging,

It is the monitoring And with a slow breath you feel the courage to open your hand The courage to let the pebble fall softly into the grass And you watch the earth accept it easily And with that release your hand relaxes Your heart lightens Your spirit sighs with relief And this wisdom that the more we grip the worse we feel That we cannot grip other people For it does not keep us safe nor does it change the pebble itself It simply causes us pain You feel the relief of letting it go,

Of letting the pebble be Taking a few breathes here to absorb this before we walk on to the next part of the meadow Continuing to walk now and ahead in the center of the meadow rises a magnificent tree Its trunk is wide,

Ancient and steady Roots anchor deep into the earth,

Unshakable Steady,

Rooted The branches of this tree stretch outward like open arms Heavy with blossoms in soft pinks and ivory whites As you look up at this tree,

Petals drift down like slow snowfall Covering the ground all around it with beauty You notice that each time this tree lets go and allows its petals to fall It allows beauty to surround it more and more And it allows more petals to grow The air around you smells sweet and fresh The very fragrance of life itself And you walk closer now and allow yourself to rest against the trunk You feel its strength pressing gently into your back And as you rest your back on the trunk of this ancient tree The steadiness of its roots flows into you You feel the beauty of it blossoming And it cradles you in its tenderness And as you absorb this tree's energy You begin to notice in a moment that this tree is you This is your anchor You are the anchor This is your home You are your home Here you are rooted,

Steady and whole And no matter what happens around you,

You remain unshaken Another wave of relief that flows through you remembering this wisdom Remembering what it feels like to be so anchored You are not small,

You are vast and you have so much that roots you So much that anchors you and so much beauty overflowing And now from the corner of your eye you notice the meadow's edge A small wooden gate that stands nearby And beyond it stretches a dark forest And you feel this old instinct stirring,

That pull to look,

To check,

To see what might be there in the dark And that familiar thought arises that if I don't watch something will go wrong And yet you stay connected with this tree's energy You remember you have dropped the pebble and that you have begun to shift Still you walk slowly towards the gate And you notice the wood is weathered,

The latch simple You push it open and look beyond into the dark forest The forest that left you wondering and maybe even stirred some fear And what you see is nothing much beyond Earth,

Still trees and open space You realize with a soft smile that you had imagined the darkness,

The storms The fear lurking beyond the gate Those fears represent your fears of abandonment,

Betrayal,

Loss and pain But you see now that there is nothing much beyond this gate,

Just harmless silence And it feels like peeking under the bed as a child only to discover there are no monsters The fear does not need to be real Again you smile gently to yourself feeling the relief That knowing that the person you worried over,

Are pondering over Or feel as though you must monitor is simply a human They are imperfect and living their own life And when you peek into their world there's nothing much happening There's nothing,

Just humanness That same feeling of peeking behind this gate just to see nothing much at all And you absorb what this feels and looks like to build so many stories in your mind Only to see not too much at all You remember that they do not need guarding You do not need to monitor And so you close the gate softly and return to your tree And this time as you lean back against this ancient truck with gratitude For perhaps for the first time you feel what it's like to remain with yourself Anchored,

Present and whole Like a lioness who never abandons her cub You no longer abandon yourself You realize that this is where the healing comes You stay here rooted in your own being And here you see clearly that space is not abandonment And the distance is not danger Just as flowers close and open with the sun Just as the tides retreat and return Love too has its natural rhythm And you are safe to rest in love's rhythm And now as you grow heavy and drowsy Let these words drift through you like falling petals Just soak them into your heart as you drift to sleep I am safe in myself I cannot be abandoned where I do not abandon myself My worth does not depend on another person's closeness I do not need to monitor to feel secure Love breathes deeper when there is freedom Trust strengthens connection I am steady,

Rooted and whole Pulling away and returning is part of love's natural rhythm I can rest in space without fear I am worthy of love that is loyal and calm My value comes from within me I let go of control and invite peace I am anchored in love I release the urge to chase and I rest in myself I am radiant,

Whole and free I trust that what is meant for me will stay I choose to live in peace and not fear I am safe in myself I cannot be abandoned where I do not abandon myself My worth does not depend on another person's closeness I do not need to monitor to feel secure Love breathes deeper when there is freedom Trust strengthens connection I am steady,

Rooted and whole Pulling away and returning is part of love's natural rhythm I can rest in space without fear I honour my needs and fill my own cup I am worthy of love that is loyal and calm My value comes from within me I let go of control and invite peace I am anchored in love I release the urge to chase and I rest in myself I am radiant,

Whole and free I trust that what is meant for me will stay I am radiant,

Whole and free I choose to live in peace and not fear Absorbing these messages as you fall to sleep Knowing that healing is happening And you are safe,

Returning to yourself