Hello my friend,
For this meditation find a small spot to gaze at somewhere comfortably in front of you.
Focus on this spot and do your very best to not let your eyes turn away.
As you look there,
I'm going to ask you to blink your eyes with every number I count,
Starting with the number 10.
Okay,
10.
Blink your eyes.
9.
Blink.
8.
Blink.
7.
6.
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.
And zero.
Your eyes are now ready to gently close,
So just allow them to,
And you will notice when you do,
A gentle wave of relaxation sweeps over you completely.
Is getting a well-rested night's sleep important for you?
Sleep is extremely important for your mind and your body in order to function in a healthy manner.
Sleep is our rest state,
And awake is the active state.
It is important to have a good flow going between resting and activating.
Rest and activate.
Rest and activate.
And we can achieve any goal we set forth when there is good balance.
Sleeping is natural for everyone.
The only thing keeping you from getting the instinctual sleep that you deserve is your thoughts.
Our minds want to race.
Our minds want to wander.
Our minds can be noisy and busy.
And it is important to train our minds to slow down,
To quiet down,
Especially when it's time to sleep.
So,
As we continue this meditation,
It is important to stay as present as possible with it.
We do this by being still,
By being present.
When you have a distracting thought,
It's okay.
Simply see it.
Let it go and return to the present.
Return to the meditation.
It's alright.
You can give constructive thoughts the time they want during active state time.
You can even say,
See you later to that thought,
Either out loud or in your mind.
Right now,
However,
It is time to rest.
Time to relax.
With time and repetition,
Your mind will start to have distracting thoughts much less often and return to the present with greater ease and efficiency.
So just repeat this exercise as many times and as often and whenever needed.
When you have a distracting thought,
Simply see it and let it go and smile.
Okay,
Now imagine a set of stairs going down in front of you.
These stairs lead you to the knowledge of restful and rejuvenating sleep.
When I begin to count down from 10,
You will start to walk down these stairs,
Feeling more and more relaxed with each step you take.
10.
Begin your journey of insight into sleep.
9.
Feeling so relaxed and safe with each step.
7.
6.
5.
More and more calm.
4.
More and more relaxed in the mind.
3.
2.
And as you step off that last step,
You step into white sand.
It's so soft and warm under your feet.
Feel the sensations of the sand on your feet.
Feel it between your toes.
Now look up and all you see is more sand in front of you.
And yet,
In the distance,
You can hear the ocean.
Walk towards the sound of the ocean.
As you're walking,
You can feel the sun on your skin.
Perhaps you can feel a light breeze as well.
You notice the smell of salty air.
And as you're looking around,
You can see the ocean peek over a sand dune.
You're walking towards the ocean now and you notice the sand under your feet gets a little firmer and a little cooler because it's saturated with water.
And you get to the shore where the ocean meets the sand and you see little waves coming up and down.
And as the waves come and go,
You see some things in the sand like shells,
Pieces of seaweed,
Your own footprints.
And you see a little piece of driftwood that's the perfect size for writing in the sand.
I invite you to pick up this driftwood.
Now draw your name into the wet sand.
Write out each letter,
Noticing the sound that it makes as you scratch it in the sand.
Now take a step back and look at your name.
As you see your beautiful name that's carried you through your whole life,
You notice a little wave coming closer.
This wave catches part of your name and washes it away as it goes back into the ocean.
And then another wave comes and washes away even more.
And then another comes and washes away.
And another.
Until all you see is ripples in the sand where your name used to be.
That's good.
Smile.
Now continue walking along your beach and notice the surroundings.
What kind of sounds do you hear?
Can you hear seagulls or other birds flying over?
Or the wind gently blowing?
Can you feel the warm sun on your skin?
How does the sand feel under your feet again?
It's nice,
Right?
Do you feel waves washing over your feet?
Maybe you can even smell the smells of the ocean.
You find a fresh date ready to eat.
You bite into it and notice how delicious it is.
Now,
Just be at your beach today eating your fruit.
Now as you've walked,
You've learned a lot about how beautiful this beach is.
And now you're ready for a little rest.
You look around and notice there's the perfect spot to lay down and take a gentle nap in the life-giving sun rays.
So go ahead and lie down.
And before you close your eyes to rest,
You look out into the ocean.
You watch the horizon and how the ocean meets the sky.
This is the most beautiful scene you've ever witnessed.
As you gaze along the big blue,
The ocean and the sky,
You allow yourself to fall asleep naturally.
Now float and drift into a restful and rejuvenating night's sleep.
And when you rise,
You feel anew.
Thank you for sharing this tender,
Sacred moment with me today,
My friends.
May grace and peace,
Light and love be with you.
