Bedtime with Captain EJ.
Today we will be up on the Honey Bee Hilltop,
Where we can look out over all there is to see.
The twinkling stars come out one by one in the sky,
As if they want to show us something.
All you have to do is close your eyes,
Get cozy,
And listen to the sound of my voice.
Captain EJ will lead the way.
EJ,
Let's begin.
You are here,
At the top of a tall,
Quiet hill.
Look your head all the way to one side until you can feel a little stretch and see the last of the sun before it sets over the western horizon.
Look your head all the way to the other side,
To the deep purple night that backdrops billions of stars that shine through the dark night.
Bring your gaze back to a comfortable center,
And take a slow,
Deep breath in through your nose.
Feel your chest and your spirits lift as if filling with tiny bursts of stardust.
Then slowly breathe all the way out through your mouth,
And focus on each individual star as it comes into your view.
They seem closer than usual on this crisp,
Clear night.
Reach out as if you can dip your hand into the sky and pull a cluster of stars back down to the soft grass.
With your palm upturned toward the sky,
The stars line themselves up around the outline of your hand,
One by one.
Bring your awareness to each of your fingers as stars encircle them with a twinkling sparkle.
Close your hand around a bundle of stars and pull them down to Earth,
Where you sink further and heavier into the softness of this quiet hilltop.
The star bursts tickle your hand before you open it up to reveal dazzling droplets of shimmer that steadily blaze like teeny tiny suns.
Their warm light shines on your face as you lift your hand to get a closer look.
The miniature balls of white fire are so bright that you have to squint to look at them.
Take a slow,
Deep breath in through your nose.
Create as much space between your ribs as your chest rounds out,
Full of fresh air.
Then slowly breathe all the way out through your mouth and blow the stars in your hand back up to the sky.
The twinkling stars hang themselves back up in the sky,
Nestled back into their place in the vast darkness of outer space,
Suspended in midair.
Once they return to the sky,
You notice that their light doesn't seem as steady.
Each of the stars appears to blink on and off like something is flicking billions of light switches in the sky on and off randomly.
Pulling stars down from the heavens seems like a magical feat of imagination,
But you,
Yourself,
Are already made of stardust.
You know all about the stars,
Because you are one.
You contain within you that same steady sparkle and brilliance that you see in the sky.
Filled with stardust as we are,
Our minds are also a lot like the sky,
Vast and endless,
Populated by little electrical bursts of light that create the sensations of our thoughts.
Those,
Too,
Blink on and off as we remember things and forget other things.
Our mind is always doing something,
But it cannot possibly do all things at once.
In that way,
You get to choose what thoughts light up your mind.
Like the stars that appear to blink on and off,
So,
Too,
Your thoughts can brighten and dim,
But you are the one who is flicking the light switches on and off.
Take another slow,
Deep breath in through your nose.
Feel the coolness of the air coming in through your nose and filling up your lungs.
Then slowly breathe all the way out through your mouth.
And let yourself be heavy,
Sink into the soft grass of this hilltop.
You hear a quiet commotion beside you,
And there appears a light switch with the knob set perfectly in the middle,
Neither on nor off.
The knob is your favorite color,
And from now on,
It is always within your reach.
No matter where you go,
It can be flipped up to turn something on and flipped down to turn something off.
Reach over to push the knob down to turn something off.
Immediately you look up to the sky to see that many of them have blinked off,
Their light no longer visible to you down here on Earth.
What you have turned off are any thoughts that you would rather not think.
You look back to the switch and know that you can always,
At any time,
Simply flip the switch back up to once again see their light.
But for now,
You enjoy the peace you feel not thinking about that which worries or concerns you for the moment.
Bring your awareness back to your breath,
Which continues even when you don't notice it.
Look back to the always available light switch that's always in reach and flip the knob to center,
Then up.
Now in the dark space you've created in the sky and your mind,
A rainbow of starlight so bright twinkles.
These are all the thoughts that lift you up and out of the darkness,
That expand you and help you feel as if you can always reach out and touch the sky.
These thoughts remind you that you are the most perfect you today and every day,
And that you are on your way to being even perfecter.
These thoughts remind you that no mistake is more than your immense natural goodness.
Think about one of these thoughts in particular so it's as clear as the nighttime sky above you in your head.
In addition to that thought you're thinking,
Captain EJ wants you to know that the world is a better place with you in it,
And I am so honored to spend time with you.
Take your slowest,
Deepest breath in through your nose.
Feel the sensation of your heart beating once,
Twice,
Three times.
Then slowly breathe all the way out through your mouth and say that bright,
Twinkling thought of yours out loud quietly,
Just to yourself in your own voice.
The stars in the nighttime sky above reappear every night to check in with you,
Their fellow starling.
Just as you are made of stardust,
Packed tightly together and slowly revealing your inner shimmer,
You hold the power of a starry light switch that can twinkle certain thoughts on and off in the sky of your mind.
Let yourself shine like the bright star you are.
That concludes our story.
I can't wait to see you again.
Captain EJ,
Over and out.
