This is a space for night rest.
You don't need to follow the words closely,
And you don't need to stay awake.
Allow the body to settle and fully relax.
Allow the day to fall away.
And let rest come quietly,
Peacefully,
And naturally.
So we can begin by taking a long,
Slow,
Deep breath,
And then as you exhale,
Allow your breath to land wherever it will.
Now I'd like you to imagine yourself lying on an air mattress on the surface of a beautiful,
Quiet,
Calm lake.
You're lying fully relaxed,
And you can feel through the mattress the subtle movement of the water beneath you.
There is a slight breeze blowing,
And that breeze creates small ripples on the surface.
And as each ripple passes beneath the mattress,
You feel its movement as it moves from your head down under your back,
Under your legs,
And then feet.
So it's this gentle,
Rocking movement that is very nurturing and supportive.
And here you lay.
It is just after sunset.
And above you,
In the clear sky,
You begin to sense the first stars being seen in the heavens above,
And your heart is fully open and embracing not only the gentle movement of the ripple as they pass under the mattress,
But also the vastness of the sky above,
And all the little stars that are appearing in the vastness of space.
And all is still.
Your breath is deep and slow.
The body is fully relaxed.
Your hands are laying beside you,
Turned upright,
Facing the heavens above.
And once again,
There is another ripple passing underneath the mattress,
And you have a sense that the lake is actually breathing you,
For each movement of each ripple,
Each movement under the mattress,
Matches your breath as you breathe in,
And then breathe out.
You are supported by the softness of the mattress.
And here you lay in absolute silence.
Whatever your day has been is now replaced by the presence of your stillness and silence in this beautiful,
Quiet,
And tranquil lake.
The energy of Mother Nature surrounds you,
And there is another wave passing beneath your mattress,
Another ripple.
This gentle rocking movement supports you.
And it can be that as each movement,
Any thoughts that you may have,
They leave your awareness as each wave passes beneath you,
Each wave carrying that thought,
Until you are empty,
And still,
And spacious.
There is no sense of a you here,
No personal I.
Instead,
There is the presence of the Universal Heart,
The stillness of Being.
And this conscious presence is not something that you arrive with,
And it does not leave,
For it is the unmoving background behind all perceiving,
All thoughts,
All actions.
There is this still,
Quiet presence.
And all that may appear within your day,
Whatever arises,
Is an appearance only,
A temporary appearance within one's infinite,
Imperturbable awareness.
And there is another wave quietly moving beneath you.
You are being breathed by the lake itself.
For this vast body of water is calm,
It is still,
And here you are,
Lying on this infinite stillness,
And recognizing at the same time your own infinite stillness.
And then there is no separation,
All is simply one presence,
The body of water,
The human form,
And the night sky above.
One presence,
One breath,
One stillness,
And here we are,
In the now.
In this space there is nothing happening,
For all is still,
All is still and silent.
Nothing coming,
Nothing going,
Nothing needs to be done.
All is perfect,
As is.
And above you,
The brightness of the stars,
Now,
Ever increasingly present.
And the body of water beneath you continues to nurture,
With each ripple passes underneath the mattress,
And the lake continues to breathe you.
There is no sense of a physical body.
There is no sense of a mind,
Of thinking.
Any thinking that does arise is simply a temporary appearance within one's infinite,
Silent vastness.
There is no place for mind to have any identification here,
For nothing is present.
Nothing is happening,
All is empty,
In this silent presence,
And here one can let go.
Because in this space there is a no-one,
No identity of any individual sense.
What you are witnessing is the essence of the true self,
Without any sense of personhood.
There is no sense of time.
You are simply here,
Embracing this whole experience,
Without having to know.
You are simply being present,
As the I,
All simply is.
And you notice,
You're beginning to have a sense of water touching your hands.
And then around your ankles,
You feel the cool water.
And around your back,
And you notice that slowly the air mattress is deflating.
And as it does so,
Ever so quietly,
The water is supporting you,
Is embracing you,
As you slowly move into its depths.
And here you are fully submerged,
Within the still vastness,
And the quiet.
And still above you,
Through the clarity of the water,
You see the stars.
You have merged with the vast lake itself.
There is no person.
There is nothing finite in this infinite space.
And all is still,
The body is fully relaxed.
