So for this sleep meditation we're going to put aside all thoughts and expectations about falling asleep.
You're not going to make any effort to fall asleep.
We're going to simply guide ourselves into being more present,
Listening to sounds,
Being aware of our thoughts,
Our body,
Our breath,
And getting a sense of everything just flowing freely through the space of our awareness.
And then without any effort we can just allow ourselves to relax into the present and then before we know it maybe we'll have drifted off into a deep sleep without having made any effort to do so.
Okay so let's begin.
I'm going to just describe how I'm going to begin to connect with the present moment.
There's no fixed way of doing this.
I like to just try and do this fairly spontaneously,
Just whatever comes to mind.
So my guidance is just an example,
They're not instructions.
So today I'm feeling like connecting firstly to the sounds I can hear,
Using that as the first way to really connect with what's happening,
To connect with my environment.
So other than my own voice when I'm speaking I can hear the heating in the background,
So a fairly quiet background sound.
Other than that it's really quite quiet.
So even though there's not a lot of sounds I can hear right now I'm still going to really actively listen and particularly to see if I can notice any occasional quiet or distant sounds.
That helps me allow my awareness to feel wide and broad and open.
So really just waiting to see what sounds appear within my awareness.
So let's spend a few moments wherever you are with whatever you can hear,
Just allowing the thoughts to be as they are,
But paying particular interest to any and all sounds that come and go within your awareness.
When a sound does come just also checking if there's any reaction to that sound in your mind or body,
Especially if it's an unexpected or louder sound,
Just noticing what response there is.
After a while of listening I often begin to get a sense of being able to hear quietness and silence even though other sounds still come and go,
Getting a sense of a silent space within which the sounds appear.
So between and behind every sound a space of silence,
Quietness.
So starting to get a sense of my awareness being this space within which everything is happening,
Not just sounds,
But all my experiences of this present moment happening within this quiet space of my awareness.
So let's explore what else is going on in this moment other than the sounds.
So my attention is now drawn to my body and there's lots of sensations to explore with the body.
There's sensations that feel like they're coming from inside the body.
You can feel some of my muscles,
You can feel the general energy of the body,
How the body's feeling and a sense of the presence and aliveness of the body.
I'm going to spend a few moments now really just exploring,
Absorbing and being open to any and all sensations and feelings coming from within the body.
And as before just allowing the thoughts to be as they are,
Just paying a bit more interest in the body.
I find it useful to pay particular attention to the head and any sensations coming within the head.
And for me this also has the benefit of feeling like there's more mental space for my thoughts as well,
Just by observing the head and feeling the energy within the body in this area.
Also gives me this feeling of just taking a step back from the mind and the thoughts as well.
Helps me allow the thoughts just to flow freely and to not be bothered by the thoughts whatever they are.
So that's my way to go,
This is a quick routine I recommend.
Now I notice my attention being drawn to my breath.
So just as my thoughts are experienced as an activity in the body around the head,
I'm also experiencing the breath to be an activity of the body around the chest and stomach area.
So I'm becoming more interested for a time in all the sensations I can feel in the body connected to the movement of the breath.
So feeling the body to be receiving the breath,
Not having to make any effort myself or the body.
We're experiencing the breath happening to the body.
The breath enters and when it's ready the breath leaves.
So that sense of allowing the process of breath to happen to the body within my open awareness.
I can feel my thoughts feeling a bit left out and they're no longer the center of my attention.
So I'm going to see if I can hold both the breath and the thoughts.
So the action of the thoughts through the head and the action of the breath through the torso of the body.
See if I can hold both those processes gently and lightly in the center of my open awareness.
So a sense of two parallel processes,
Both occurring right now in this moment,
The breath flowing through the body,
The thoughts flowing through the brain,
Through the head,
Through the mind.
So just taking a step back,
Opening up the awareness and allowing the thoughts and the breath to flow freely.
So.
.
.
So seeing if I can keep a nice gentle balance between awareness of the breath and the breath and the thoughts,
Or if the sensations in the torso of the body and any sensations and feeling coming from the head.
Bringing them together with this idea of a free flow,
Thoughts and breath both flowing freely through my awareness,
Keeping your awareness nice and light and open,
Accepting,
Welcoming.
And for the final part of the commentary,
I'm going to see if I can return to where we started by listening to sounds and bringing all three aspects together,
Sounds,
Thoughts and breath.
So allowing the thoughts and the breath to continue as they are in the body.
Just adding that open,
Wide and broad awareness that we started off with,
Where we're listening to any sounds that appear within our awareness from the environment,
From the space around us,
Particularly those quiet and distant sounds that occasionally come.
Having a sense of that open space around you,
Where those sounds come and go,
And whilst maintaining that open,
Receptive awareness,
Allowing the thoughts and breath to continue flowing freely.
Sound up.
Really give yourself permission to really relax into the present moment,
Really relax into the body.
Allow yourself to be fully present with the body,
With the breath,
With your thoughts,
And just allow the sounds to flow by within the open space of your awareness.
