Come to stillness.
Come to comfort.
Lying on your back if you can.
This is a settling for the whole nervous system.
Where the body grows still and quiet while a soft thread of attention stays with the sound of this voice.
Tonight,
In this practice,
We'll even let that thread dissolve,
So that you can drift into sleep whenever you're ready.
So let your legs settle a little apart,
Your arms resting away from your sides,
Palms turned up.
And allow your whole body to be received and supported by the surface beneath you.
Make any last adjustments.
Let your eyes close and let them stay closed now.
Welcome that quiet.
Take a slow breath in through the nose.
And sigh it out.
Let everything go.
And again breathe in and let it go all the way.
Feel a body grow heavier.
Settling down onto the surface beneath you.
One last breath in.
And then sigh it out.
And with it.
Or the weight of the day.
Let everything go.
From this moment,
Be still.
If the body does need to move at any time,
That's perfectly fine,
But do it mindfully and gently,
Then return to stillness.
Allow the breath to find its own quiet rhythm.
You are here now.
Be here now.
The practice begins.
Become aware just for a moment of the external world around you.
Notice the space of the room in your mind's eye.
The surface holding you.
The air resting on your skin.
Become aware of any sound near and far.
And don't hold on to any of this.
Let everything come and go.
No engagements.
No judgments.
Just allowing everything to be.
And now gently begin to draw your awareness inward.
Away from the room.
Away from the sounds.
Inward.
Toward the body lying here,
And the stillness within.
Imagine,
If you like,
That you are lying at the edge of a wide,
Still lake.
In the last light of evening.
Water is perfectly calm,
You are perfectly warm,
You are perfectly safe.
This is your place.
There is nowhere to go and nothing to do.
No one is asking anything of you.
This time is yours.
Here,
The day is ending,
And you can give over and surrender to the time of rest.
And watching your own self now as if you are watching another.
Become aware of your body lying here.
We will begin to move that awareness through your body,
Part by part.
And as I name each part.
Simply direct your attention there,
Lightly,
Without effort,
And then move on.
Nothing to do but follow the flow,
Like moonlight moving slowly across that quiet,
Still lake.
We begin on the right side of the body,
Right hand thumb.
First finger.
Second finger.
Third finger,
And little finger.
The palm of the right hand.
The back of the hand.
The rest.
The lower arm.
The elbow.
The upper arm.
The shoulder.
The armpit.
The right waist.
The right hip.
The thigh,
The knee.
A car.
The ankle.
The heel.
The sole of the foot.
The top of the foot.
The right big toe.
Second toe.
Virto.
Fourth Toe and Little Toe Now to the left side of the body.
The left hand thumb.
First finger.
Second finger.
Third finger and little finger.
The palm of the left hand.
The back of the ham.
The rest.
The lower arm.
The elbow.
The upper arm.
The shoulder.
The armpit.
The left side of waist.
The left hip.
The thigh.
The car.
The ankle.
The heel.
The sole of the foot.
The top of the foot.
Your left big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
And little toe.
Now move your attention to the back of your body.
The whole of your right leg.
The whole of your left leg.
Both your legs together.
Your right clue.
Your left glute.
The right shoulder blade.
The left shoulder blade.
The spine.
The whole spine.
From Barton.
To talk.
The NAD.
The back of the head.
The back of the head lying heavy.
And that.
Rest.
Now to the front of the body.
The top of the head.
The fire.
The right eyebrow.
The Left Eyebrow The space between the eyebrows.
The right eye.
The left eye.
The right ear.
The left ear.
The right cheek.
The Left Cheek.
The nose.
The tip of the nose.
The upper lip.
The love of it.
Your mouth.
Your whole mouth.
Your tongue lying in the base of your mouth.
Your teeth.
And your jaw.
Heavy and soft.
The gym.
The throat.
The right collarbone.
And the left collarbone.
The right side of Jess.
The left side of chest.
The whole chest.
The navel.
The abdomen.
The pelvis.
Your legs,
Your arms,
Your chest,
Your head,
And your back.
The whole body lying still.
The whole body.
The whole body.
You Now let your attention rest on the weight of your body.
Feel where the body meets the surface,
The ground beneath you.
The back of the head.
The shoulders.
The whole length of the back.
The arms and the hands.
The Hibs.
The legs.
The heels.
Feel each of these places grow heavy.
And let the surface take that weight completely.
You do not need to hold yourself up.
You are hell.
Again,
Feel where the body meets the surface beneath.
The back of the head.
The shoulders.
The whole length of the back.
The arms.
And their hands.
The hips.
The land.
The heels.
You are helped.
Imagine now that the body is floating,
Resting on the surface of the still lake.
Like the reflection of the moon held perfectly by the water.
Carrying you without effort.
Every point where the body rests,
The water rises up to meet it.
You are floating.
Completely supported.
You are hell.
Now become aware of the breath.
Not changing it.
Simply noticing.
Feel the belly softly rising.
And falling.
And let the whole body rise and fall with the breath.
Rising and falling,
Rising and falling.
And if you wish.
You might like to begin to count each breath silently backwards.
Breathing in and out,
27.
In and out.
26.
In and out.
Twenty-five.
And if you lose count or drift.
Simply begin again.
Or let the counting fall away altogether.
Let each breath rock you softly.
Deeper.
And deeper down.
You you Now let go of any count.
And simply be with your breath.
Going back to that feeling of heaviness in your body again.
Let that feeling grow.
Let the whole body grow heavy.
Sinking gently.
Harvey.
And heavier still.
And now the opposite.
Return to that feeling of lightness in the body.
The body growing light.
Weightless,
Rising back up to rest on the surface,
Drifting like the settling mist.
Over the lake.
Light.
And lighter still.
And then hold these two states of mind together at the same time.
Heaviness.
And lightness together.
Lightness.
And heaviness.
Together.
Now notice a gentle warmth.
Moving through the body.
Spreading like the last of the day's sun,
Still held in the water.
Now coolness,
A cool,
Fresh air moving softly across the surface of the lake and across your skin.
Feel them both now at the same time.
Warmth and coolness.
Coolness and warmth.
And let them balance.
Until the body is simply at ease.
Me the warmth.
Or cool.
Perfectly still.
Perfectly settled.
Calm.
At ease.
Like the choirs.
Still late.
You.
Are holding it all.
Allow a single image to form in the quiet of your mind.
Don't strain to see it.
If nothing comes,
Just simply rest.
And let the words move over you.
But bring to mind now.
This still quiet lake.
The day is now gone.
Night.
Has arrived.
And you are resting at its edge.
The water stretches out before you.
Wide and dark and perfectly smooth.
This still,
Quiet lake.
High above.
The moon beams out from the night sky.
The whole surface of the lake holding its reflection.
One clear circle of golden light.
Resting on the water.
The longer you look.
The more still.
Everything becomes.
At the shore,
The water lies flat against the stone.
Breathe,
Stand motionless.
Far out across the lake.
You can just make out the darker line of the far shore.
And above it,
A sky scattered with quiet stars,
Each one mirrored in the waters below.
Two skies.
One above.
And one below.
And you.
Resting.
Between them.
Now let even that image soften.
Let the far shore dissolve.
The stars fade.
Moon's reflection melt back into the dark of night.
Until there is only.
The still water.
Amen.
Not even that.
Let your mind become that.
Still,
Smooth,
Silent.
And calm.
Rest here.
Be still.
May the day you have carried Lay itself down now.
Like water finding its stillness.
May the lake within you grow still.
And the moon come to rest on its surface.
Asking nothing.
Needing nothing.
May you be held the way dark water holds the sky.
Without effort.
Without end.
And when the last thought has crossed.
And settled like a ripple into calm.
May you be given gently to the deep.
And may sleep receive you.
As its owner.
Let the lake hold the moon.
Let the breath breathe itself.
And let yourself.
Sink gently all the way down.
Just sleep.
Sleep well.
Good night.
You you you you Thank you.
Thank you.
