Night Rest: Live Sleep Meditations #1

'Mother Tree' is the first meditation in the new series - Night Rest. Night Rest is a series of evening sleep meditations recorded during our weekly 9 pm 'live' gatherings.
Each meditation opens and closes with the centering tones of 'tingshas'. Each meditation unfolds slowly and naturally, with long pauses, gentle guidance, and spacious silence — supporting the nervous system to settle and the mind to soften.
There is nothing to achieve and no need to stay awake. Simply listen, rest, and allow sleep to arrive in its own relaxed time.
You may fall asleep during the meditation, or rest quietly in awareness.
Both are perfectly welcome.

Transcript

Just take a nice long deep breath. And at the top of the breath, Just pause for a moment, And then exhale. And allow the breath to arrive wherever it will. We are deepening our conscious presence by quietening the chatter of the mind, And that's not an effort, That's not something to do. It's actually just letting whatever thoughts appear, Let them be there, There's no struggle. But as you quietly ignore them, Let them pass, Like clouds floating past in the sky, Or you could use the imagery of waves receding back into the body of a vast ocean. And as they pass, Back into the still calmness, And here we are just present. This is not our place to arrive in, It is the permanent unmoving background behind all perceiving, All experiences, All senses. This is our presence of pure awareness. And everything that we perceive is simply a temporary appearance within inseparable awareness. And this awareness has no qualities, It is simply, It is a presence, Spacious, Whole. You may hear, Joining us this morning, Is a koel, A migratory bird. This is part of the experience of this meditation. For we find ourselves now, Walking, Quietly, Along a beautiful mountain pathway, Covered in autumn leaves, And as we quietly walk, We can hear the sound of the leaves under our feet. The forest has very large trees that form a canopy, And we are walking on this trail, Under the branches that rise above us. And we can hear the sound of a stream, You can hear the gurgling of the water as it is flowing over boulders in the stream. And we continue to walk, And we begin to walk up a hill, The forest is quiet, Except for the sound of a koel calling, This call echoes, The air is still, And we breathe deeply as we walk. We feel nurtured and supported by the forest, The body is relaxed, And there is an energy from our walking that invigorates and brings the body into a sense of well-being and balance. We're grateful for this opportunity to spend this time away from all worldly activities, To be here, In the now, Surrounded by this beautiful forest, And as we continue to walk, We come up to the top of a hill, And into some open ground, And we notice off to one side there's a large, Large tree, With wide branches, And we are drawn to the beauty and energy of this tree, So we walk over to it. And as we approach, Under the cool canopy, And sit at the base of the tree, The wide trunk supporting our back, As we lean back. We take off our boots and socks, And place our bare feet on the grass, And immediately feel its softness, And the energy of the ground being received up into the body, And the energy of the tree being felt through our back, And here we sit in the combined energies of Mother Tree, And Sacred Ground, At one and at deep peace, And here we sit in silence, Our eyes are closed, There is a light breeze blowing, You can feel it touching the skin of our face, And we can hear it above, In the rustling of the leaves in the tree. The presence of the tree is so supportive, So welcoming, And here the mind is still open, And embracing this experience, Feeling at one, In oneness with all that lies in front of this tree, Below its great height, Is the forest below, There is not a sound apart from the rustle of the leaves, And the occasional bird call, And the body is fully relaxed. You place your hands down on the ground and feel the coolness of the grass moving up through your fingertips, Up into your arms, To your chest, It's a totally immersive experience, A deep connection, A balance and harmony with Mother Nature, For this tree is more than a big tree, She is the Mother Tree of the forest, She is the wise one, And she looks after the welfare and the nourishment for all those smaller trees growing below, And it's through her wisdom that they thrive, An entire ecosystem supported by one Mother Tree, And you are privileged to be here witnessing and being part of this, For you too are being nurtured and supported and healed and welcomed, For there is only one energy, One presence, Many appearances within that one presence, All united as one, One presence, And here we sit in silence, The energy is still, The energy is quiet, And the body is deeply relaxed and at peace, Every cell in your body is still and in harmony, And this stillness, This presence of being that we ourselves are an appearance in, Is our boundless essential nature, And wherever we go this is the background, Undisturbable, All embracing, There is no sense of control, We are simply present in the spaciousness of being, There is no sense of an identity, Individuality, All of that was left behind when we started this walk, We are open, Spacious, Effortless ease and flow, In our oneness, In our gratitude, And this presence is accessible anytime, In the hustle bustle of daily activities, All we need to do is pause for one second through our breath, Come back to stillness, Come back to our awareness of being, The unmoving background, Behind all perceiving, All points of view, And now to finish this exercise, Just take a nice long deep breath, And hold it for a moment, And then exhale, And as you do, Remain here, Present in the now, As the stillness presence of being.