Hello and welcome,
However you've arrived here tonight,
Exhausted,
Restless,
Seeking.
You are exactly where you need to be.
This is a neurological nocturne,
A sleep story that speaks to your body's ancient wisdom beneath the noise of your thinking mind.
There's nothing to figure out,
Nothing to achieve.
Your body knows how to rest.
Tonight we're simply remembering together.
With the natural human instinct to block suffering,
We don't know what to do with our grief or how to move forward.
The great wisdom traditions have offered that rather than fixing it,
Controlling or denying it,
Allow yourself to be moved along the grief journey as it can be a time of transformation.
A journey that is not easy,
But offers insight and wisdom,
Moving you into a place of resolution and you get to decide what that looks like.
So the intention of this recording is to help your body as you go along the journey,
As it unfolds.
Grief has a way of disrupting eating and sleeping,
And that is hard on the body.
Respite can offer a much needed kindness,
So please get comfortable,
Ideally ready for bed or for a good nap.
Take a few moments to settle in.
Closing your eyes is a great way to start to relax all over.
So as you listen and rest,
You may find thoughts coming up and clouding the mind.
That's perfectly fine because your deep inner mind is listening clearly and that's all you need.
As you rest there,
Take a moment to notice the rhythm of your breath.
The rise and fall of the in and out.
Perhaps noticing the coolness of the inhale.
The warmth of the exhale.
And how if you take a deep inhale and a long slow exhale,
It brings its own kind of peace to the body.
Feel yourself begin to loosen,
To let go.
Noticing how the feet rest gently open when relaxed.
The legs,
The hips,
All relaxing gently.
Sensing your back giving over to the surface you're resting on.
Allowing the shoulders to give up their tension when allowed to rest easy.
And the jaw too.
Noticing in relaxation a smoothing out of the facial muscles.
Releasing,
Letting go.
Notice how when you bring your attention to your eyelids,
Sensing them comfortably closed.
Now imagine,
Just imagine,
There's a window in the middle of your forehead giving you a view of the night sky.
With your eyes gently rolling up and the eyelids closed,
Imagine looking up through that window to the night sky.
And high above is a bright full moon.
And as you gaze up at that moon,
Take in a deep breath.
And on the exhale,
Think to yourself,
Relax.
Once again,
Gazing up at the moon,
Take a big breath in.
And as you slowly exhale,
Think to yourself,
Relax,
Let go.
In a moment,
I'll count backwards from five down to one.
And when I get to one,
Just allow your inner gaze to relax.
For right now on five,
Keep staring at the moon.
Noticing all the different shades and textures on four.
The moon high in the night sky on three.
On two,
Take a deep breath in.
And as you exhale on one,
You can allow your inner gaze to relax.
And turn inward.
Now you may start to notice dreamlike images drifting up to your mind.
Thoughts can rush by like a school of fish,
Darting,
Flowing.
You may notice the deeper you relax,
The more calmly you watch them go by.
Going by and by.
The deeper you relax,
The slower the river.
The calmer the water.
The deeper you relax,
The more still and calm inside.
Becoming more still and calm.
Like a ripple of calm sweeping through the body.
A part of you can focus some attention on the sensations in your feet.
Enjoying the feeling of ease flowing along throughout the body.
Sweeping softly with ease and comfort.
Feeling the back releasing.
Feeling the bones and muscles letting go and relaxing.
Into the fingers.
Up the arms.
Into the shoulders.
Releasing and soothing.
Feeling rest sweeping over you now.
And when you allow it to,
Your body can decide just how much rest it needs.
Letting you know in future days the ways to relax and all the benefits that brings.
Refreshing water that flows like a spring.
Soothing and replenishing.
You can comfortably feel that happening.
There is a man gathering stones.
He bends down over the ground and he picks up stones.
One after another after another.
He does this without stopping.
As he gathers these stones,
He weeps.
As his tears fall to the ground,
The tears turn into stones.
There is a man who gathers stones.
He bends down over the ground and he picks up stones.
One after another after another.
He does this without stopping.
He gathers,
He weeps.
There is a man who gathers stones.
Seek,
Keep seeking.
Lose yourself in the quest,
In the journey.
You will begin to notice times when you feel comfortable with a journey.
Moving forward,
Looking back,
Moving forward.
Moving along the journey.
And it is safe for you to rest now.
Deeply through the entire night.
And you do deep,
Peaceful,
Restful sleep.
Deep,
Restful sleep.
Deep,
Peaceful,
Restful sleep.
