Sleep With The Saints: St. Dymphna

St. Dymphna is the patron saint of mental illness, including anxiety and insomnia. She is often called upon to help with sleepless nights. This meditation includes deep breathing, a body scan, and a guided imagery with Dymphna to leave worries and anxieties behind. Fall asleep relaxed and comforted.

Sleep with the Saints is my series of saint meditations designed to help you sleep. Each saint is chosen for their associations with good sleep and dreams.

Image by MrBinZ from Pixabay

Transcript

Today,

We will fall asleep with the help of the intercession of Saint Dymphna.

She is the patroness of mental illness,

Anxiety,

And insomnia.

Once obscure,

She has been called upon more often as our awareness of mental illness has increased.

Now,

Lay down on your back in your bed.

Let your arms rest at your sides and your legs comfortably straight.

Make sure your head and neck are supported.

Gently close your eyes,

And we will take some deep breaths together,

In and out.

Let your exhale grow longer than your inhale.

This practice calms your nervous system,

And you will do it to a count.

In,

Two,

Three.

Hold,

Two,

Three.

Out,

Two,

Three,

Four.

In,

Two,

Three.

Hold,

Two,

Three.

Out,

Two,

Three,

Four.

In,

Two,

Three.

Hold,

Two,

Three.

Out,

Two,

Three,

Four.

And we will increase our count.

In,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Hold,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Out,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

In,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Hold,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Out,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

In,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Hold,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Out,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

In,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Hold,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Out,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Allow your breath to settle into a natural rhythm.

You have calmed the parts of your body that function unconsciously.

Now we will turn to the parts of your body that require thought.

Imagine a golden light hovering over your head.

It is similar to the gold halo surrounding the head of Saint Dymphna in paintings and icons.

It represents the light of heaven and the holiness she brought to the world around her.

This light brings peace and goodness to you.

You feel this warm golden light settle on the top of your head,

Relaxing your scalp.

It starts to soak down into your head,

Letting the muscles of your forehead relax,

Around your ears,

Where your skull meets your neck,

And finally your jaw.

Take a moment to loosen your jaw,

Move it if you need to,

And let that golden light fill the tense spots and release.

Take a breath and enjoy your relaxed face and head.

The golden light travels down to your neck and lingers,

Getting into each fiber and relaxing it.

This may take a moment.

Our necks work so hard every moment holding up our heads.

You find with each breath these muscles relax a little more,

Until finally the golden light moves on,

Satisfied its work is done.

Now the golden light hovers around your shoulders,

Letting the big muscles relax.

You let your shoulder blades drop and fall to the middle,

Expanding your chest and allowing the light to release the tension held between your shoulders.

A warm,

Relaxing feeling trickles down into your biceps,

Triceps,

Forearms,

Hands,

And fingers.

You make fists,

Letting your hands tense,

And then relax them,

Letting the light work out any tension they were holding.

Take a breath and enjoy your relaxed shoulders,

Arms,

And hands.

The golden light begins to descend to your chest,

Letting your lungs feel open and relaxing your back muscles.

You feel your stomach get warm and let go of any distress.

Your large back muscles revel in the permission to relax,

And you feel them melt into your bed beneath you.

Like your stomach,

You feel your lower organs function without tension.

Take a breath and enjoy feeling your torso relaxed.

Now the golden light settles into your pelvis.

It works here to knead away any tension in your glutes,

So used to supporting every move you make.

You let it take the time it needs so that every bit of your pelvis is relaxed.

With every breath,

You feel more and more tension releasing.

Take a deep breath.

Most of your body is now completely relaxed,

And you can enjoy this feeling.

The golden light moves on to your legs.

You can feel the light warming and releasing your thighs and hamstrings,

The strength there giving way to peace.

The light moves over your knees,

And they relax.

Now it warms your calves and shins,

Relaxing them.

Now the light hovers around your ankles,

Then feet,

Then toes.

You stretch your toes and then relax them.

Having moved throughout your whole body,

The light now enters and fills you,

Making the relaxation even more blissful.

Take a deep breath.

Enjoy the sensation of being completely relaxed.

Take another deep breath.

You deserve this,

Not because you have accomplished so much or so little today,

But because every body deserves rest.

As you breathe in,

Say to yourself,

I claim this.

And as you exhale,

Say,

This is mine.

In,

I claim this.

Out,

This is mine.

Now that you are in this relaxed state,

You may want to move into your favored sleeping position.

You can also stay on your back if you like.

Now we will take a small journey with Saint Dimphna,

Who will help you lay down your worries and anxieties,

So you can fall into a deep sleep.

You find yourself seated next to a road.

You are waiting for someone or something.

You notice the space around you is familiar enough to make you comfortable,

But unfamiliar enough to be interesting.

You take in the sun,

The sounds of being outside.

You are alone,

But not lonely.

This time of waiting is allowing you to order and name the things keeping you from sleep.

Try to slow down the spiral by taking a deep breath between each one as they swim in your mind.

Pay attention to where you are sitting.

Are you on a large rock?

On grass?

Feel the earth beneath you,

Holding you up.

You have the earth beneath you and the sun above you,

Cradling you safely.

Allow this to make your anxieties slower and quieter.

You notice someone walking towards you.

They take powerful steps,

The determination of experience radiating from them.

As they get closer,

You see it as a woman,

Dressed impeccably,

Coming toward you.

She approaches and introduces herself as Dimphna.

You can see in her eyes that she has seen terrible things.

Her shoulders have carried worries,

Anxieties,

Pain,

Darkness.

She may be whole now,

But the world has left its scars on her.

She knows.

She takes your hand and leads you to the road.

She looks in your eyes and gives your hand a squeeze.

With that squeeze,

She has transferred a little of her determination to you.

You feel ready for whatever is next.

You take a deep breath and meet her eyes.

She turns to the road and you begin to walk together.

The first in your list of worries pops into your head.

You slow down as your thoughts are now occupied.

Dimphna feels you slow and stops and turns to you.

Her eyes pull you in and she squeezes your hand.

You look into her eyes.

You feel the earth beneath your feet.

You feel the wind on your face and the sun on your arms.

The wind in the trees is a backing choir to Dimphna's words,

Follow me.

You take a deep breath and feel lighter.

You leave that worry on the road and begin to walk again.

You fall into a rhythm walking together.

You try to enjoy the walk,

But another worry jumps into your head.

You squeeze Dimphna's hand and she stops and turns to you again.

Her eye contact grounds you.

You take a deep breath and smell a light floral scent on the air.

You close your eyes a moment and hear the bird songs in the trees.

You feel the earth beneath your feet.

You open your eyes and Dimphna says,

Trust me.

You take another deep breath and feel lighter still.

You leave that worry on the road and begin to walk again.

The peace you feel from walking in rhythm lasts a little longer this time.

The air is fresh and the forward motion occupies you.

Before long,

Though,

Another worry enters your mind.

You try and push it away,

But it pops up again.

You stop walking and hang your head in shame.

Why can you not simply enjoy this?

Dimphna turns to you again and quietly lifts your head to look in her eyes.

You catch a glimpse of it,

The darkness that haunts her.

A deeper shame than you can imagine dares to reach out from her eyes.

Then she blinks and it is gone.

In its place is compassion.

She is a friend who knows you and loves you.

You feel lighter again as the shame is replaced with gratefulness.

She leans in and whispers,

There's more.

Her voice is fresh in your mind,

Her eyes still hold yours.

The pressure of her hand in yours reminds you where you are.

Your walk continues and you feel lighter still.

It is easier to push away intrusive thoughts as with each step you feel the earth supporting you and Dimphna's gentle hand leading you forward.

You enjoy a peaceful walk,

Taking in the nature around you.

The birds sing,

The trees sway,

The sun offers gentle warmth.

There is a fork in the road ahead.

Dimphna is confident though and turns to you and smiles.

She knows which way to go.

You head to the right and you notice there is a slight incline.

You are going uphill,

But it is not strenuous.

The extra challenge feels good to your leg muscles and you begin to enjoy even more the sensation of walking.

The sun is getting lower ahead of you,

But it is still gentle in its warmth and light.

You notice to the side there is a drop off.

You are a little curious,

But are mostly focused on this walk with your companion.

Soon,

Dimphna leads you off the path towards the cliff.

You are confused until there is a small break in the trees with two large rocks,

Perfect for seats,

Sitting in the middle.

Dimphna leads you to your seat and you look out over the cliff to see a beautiful valley below.

The sun is sinking lower and you begin to see the orange of sunset in the sky.

You can see below you a sparkling stream winding in and around luscious,

Low green hills.

You can make out the dots of yellow and white flowers and catch a hint of their fragrance on the wind.

The sun is lower now and you are getting lines of pink and even purple above the horizon.

You turn your attention again to the valley where you spy a few small houses.

In front of one is someone taking in their evening harvest from the garden.

You can nearly smell the wet earth as they pull tubers and the freshness of their cut herbs.

You watch until the sun catches your eye again,

Lower still,

And the indigo and navy of the night sky begins to push down the other colors.

Dimphna and you watch the sun go down completely until the stars come out.

She turns to you,

Smiles,

And squeezes your hand.

She then begins to leave and you know you are safe alone.

A patch of soft grass beckons to you and you leave your rock to lay down in it.

Its softness gives you just the right amount of cushion as you feel the earth below holding you and supporting your body.

The night air is cool but not cold and with a deep breath in and out,

You find yourself completely relaxed.

The stars are far away but their twinkling is a steady comfort.

You stare at them until you are fast asleep,

Loved by the sky and cradled by the earth.

Reviews

It was so nice to have a meditation with St. Dymphna. This was exactly what I was hoping for when I searched her name. Thank you for getting me through a difficult night.