This meditation is of course for any time of day and is particularly suitable for the evening.
For your sleep.
I pondered.
I pondered on what to call this meditation.
Originally,
I wanted to call it Letting Go of Overthinking.
Such a topic relevant to all of us,
Don't you think?
I ended up choosing the title.
Your brain won't switch off.
This guided sleep meditation will finally help you let go.
I liked the words,
Your brain won't switch off,
Because that's what I feel at times.
Sometimes my brain seems like it's on automatic and I just can't switch it off.
Do you ever feel like that?
Well,
If you do,
Take a seat or.
.
.
Lie down and we'll get started.
This one is for you.
Sit down or lie down comfortably and relax.
Permission to rest.
Hello lovely,
This is Lauren and this is your time to rest,
Now.
Right now.
Exactly as you are.
Turn up as you are.
Yes,
That is a random cockatoo.
And you may hear them together with kookaburras in the background.
That is Australia.
Welcome to the sons of Australia.
Here,
In this meditation,
You don't have to fix anything.
You arrive as you are.
Humble,
Flawed,
Imperfect,
Possibly anxious,
Frustrated.
As you are,
That's how we start.
You don't have to earn this rest.
Just be here.
For the next little while,
There is nothing you need to do.
Nowhere you need to be,
And no one you need to perform for.
That's really important.
There is no one here to perform for.
You can simply be yourself and that is enough.
If it feels okay for you,
Allow your body to be supported.
Let the bed,
The couch or a chair hold you,
Support you.
It is enough.
You are enough.
When you are ready.
Soften your eyes.
When you are ready,
Gradually,
In your own time,
Relax your body.
Relaxation is a process.
It's different each time we relax and that's okay.
Allow yourself to relax.
In the way which suits you,
In this moment.
Nothing fancy,
Nothing perfect.
Just breathe.
Just bae.
Breathing,
Bang,
That's enough.
Settling the breath and allowing feelings.
Begin to notice your breath as it moves in and out of your body.
Perhaps you can feel your breath,
Perhaps in your nose,
Perhaps on your lips.
Notice the breath.
Allow the breath.
Today,
Right now,
You don't have to change the breath.
Just keep your breath company.
You are a companion to your breath.
Almost as if you're walking side by side.
You have the ability to observe your breath.
If it helps,
If it suits you,
Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Be mindful that this practice is for you.
So take what resonates with you and reject what does not resonate.
Breathe in and out.
Be the observer of the breath.
If you can,
If you choose to do so,
Lengthen the exhale.
Lengthen the exhale so it is a little longer.
Than the inhale.
Breathe in and out.
Allow your breath.
To say to your nervous system,
We are safe enough,
We can soften.
Contemplate those words.
Imagine your breath saying,
Possibly whispering to your nervous system.
We are safe enough.
We can soften.
Consider those words and breathe several breaths.
Let time pass.
Almost as if you do not need the words coming.
You are happy with the silence between the words.
As you breathe allow any feelings that are here to simply be here.
Perhaps tiredness,
Perhaps anxiety.
Frustration.
Confusion.
Numbness,
Anything,
Anything at all.
Allow these sentiments to be here.
Whatever you feel right now.
That is welcome.
Feelings are welcome.
You might quietly,
Silently say to yourself,
I am allowed to feel exactly how I feel right now.
Let these words move through you like a warm ocean wave.
You know those waves that are salty and warm?
Let those words be one of those waves.
I am allowed to feel exactly.
How I feel.
Taste those words,
Experience those words in silence.
Gentle body scan for deep relaxation.
Now we will move through a slow soothing body scan.
Inviting each part of you to soften.
To be held.
To rest.
Soften,
Feel held,
Rest.
We have a crow that has arrived outside the window here.
Let us welcome the crow.
He sounds quite happy,
Doesn't he?
Now relax the top of your head.
Imagine a soft,
Warm light resting there.
Melting away the tension of the day.
Let the top of your head relax.
Allow your forehead to smooth.
Release any lines or effort or worry.
Release it all.
Soften the muscles around your eyes.
Let your eyelids rest heavy and relaxed.
Allow your cheeks to loosen.
Your jaw to soften,
Unclench.
You might part your teeth just a little.
Slightly.
Let your tongue rest heavy,
Heavy in your mouth.
Let your face feel soft.
Soft.
Saw.
Soft.
Soft.
Now let this wave of relaxation drift down into your neck,
And shoulders.
Feel the weight of your head supported.
Held by the pillow or back of the chair,
Whatever is beneath you,
Feel that support.
If you notice any tightness.
You don't need to push it away,
It's okay.
Just notice.
Breathe kindly around it.
Breathe kindly around it.
Feel that kindness.
Breathe kindly around it as if you're sending a gentle warmth directly into that space.
That tight space.
Relax,
Release.
Let your shoulders drop away from your ears.
Separate,
Create space between ears and shoulders.
Lincoln.
Let your shoulders drop away from your ears as though someone a kind friend.
Has lifted a heavy backpack from your back,
From your body.
Relax,
Release.
Across your chest,
Notice the rhythm of your breathing.
Each inhale,
A small invitation to ease.
Each exhale,
A quiet release.
Inhale,
Exhale.
Allow this relaxation to move down your arms.
Down your elbows,
Lower arms,
Wrists,
Hands,
Fingers.
Fingertips.
Shoulders to fingers.
Notice any tingling,
Warmth or heaviness.
Your arms are allowed to feel pleasantly heavy.
And still.
Heavy and still.
Now bring your awareness to your ribs and belly.
Let your belly soften,
Let it rise gently with each breath in and fall.
Fall with each breath out.
Like soft waves on a calm shore.
Imagine your organs resting.
Your whole belly loosening.
Nothing to hold in,
Nothing to hold up.
Guide your attention into your hips and pelvis.
If your hips are carrying the weight of the day.
Imagine placing that weight down beside you.
Just for now.
Just for now.
Your hips,
Legs and pelvis are supported.
They don't have to hold anything up right now.
Relax your upper legs,
Knees,
Calves.
Ankles.
And all the way into your face.
Feel your heels,
Soles of each foot.
Your toes H.
Time.
On each foot.
Your whole body,
Complete body.
From the top of your head to the tips of your toes.
You are allowed to rest.
Overthinking anxiety and what you can't control.
As your body settles,
Your mind moves.
May still be busy,
That's okay.
You're human,
That's completely okay.
You think,
You feel,
You remember.
You imagine.
That's okay.
Right now,
Instead of fighting your thoughts,
We are going to gently change our relationship with our thoughts.
Begin by quietly naming one thing in your life.
That is outside your control right now.
One thing.
Name it silently.
In your mind.
One thing.
It might be another person's choices.
It might be a past event.
You cannot go back and change.
It might be a future outcome.
That feels uncertain.
Breathe around this thing and soften your grip around it.
Let go.
Detach.
Soften.
You might say softly inside yourself.
I accept that this is outside my control.
I accept that this is outside my control.
What does this thought taste like?
What does this thought feel like?
The notion.
That you can accept what is outside your control.
It's okay.
It just is.
Notice how it feels to release the struggle.
Even just a little tiny bit.
Now name one small thing that is within your control in this moment.
Maybe,
Maybe the way you speak to yourself,
Your inner voice.
May be the choice to rest instead of scroll.
May be the choice to take this one gentle step.
May be the choice to observe the breath.
It's now quite windy outside,
It is beautiful.
And the crow,
The lovely crow,
Remains.
Feel how your attention shifts from what you cannot change to what you can gently influence.
Cognitive diffusion thoughts as clouds.
I wonder what that crow is thinking.
I wonder if he is coring from joy?
Or perhaps it is a mother calling her children.
I wonder.
Thoughts may come,
Thoughts may go.
The mind,
Your mind,
May still tell stories.
Stories such as what if,
I should have.
I never.
I should not have.
I must.
These are all stories.
You don't have to argue with your thoughts right now.
You don't have to prove them wrong.
Just notice.
Instead imagine that your mind is the sky.
I can see a blue sky right now,
So imagine that your mind is a clear blue sky.
Spacious,
Wide,
Open blue.
Imagine the sky.
Our minds are incredibly powerful.
We can imagine clearly and see what we imagine.
See the sky.
Each thought is just a small cloud,
Floating,
Floating through the sky.
When a thought appears,
Simply notice it and gently name it.
Say to yourself.
Silently.
I am noticing a thought about work.
I'm noticing a thought about the past.
Or I'm noticing a thought about my body.
See this thought as a cloud passing by.
You don't have to chase it.
You don't have to push it.
You don't have to push it away.
You simply allow it to drift.
Let it drift.
Consider the concept of drifting and what it means.
When we drift,
It does not matter what occurs around us.
We continue to drift.
Our pace is the same,
The flow is the same.
We drift.
Allow yourself to drift,
Your thoughts drift.
Your thoughts drift.
If you like,
You can add the phrase silently,
I'm having the thought that.
And notice the thought separated from yourself.
Place it in the sky.
The sky is your mind,
The clouds are your thoughts.
You are You are separate.
Separate.
To your thoughts,
See the separation.
Recognize the separation.
And feel peace through the knowledge that there is separation.
That there is separation.
When we ruminate we tend to get stuck.
Our mind gets stuck.
Our mind gets stuck to the thought.
Notice the thought.
Feel the space between you,
The one who is aware and the thought itself.
You can give the thought life.
And you can choose to distance yourself from the thought.
You are the sky,
You are the sky,
The thoughts are just clouds.
That's all.
They come,
They go,
You remain.
You remain still,
Soft and spacious.
What thoughts are you going to see?
What thoughts are you going to acknowledge?
What thoughts are you going to let go?
Separate.
Separate yourself from thought.
Remember the words,
I think a thought.
You are the I.
You choose to think about.
You choose to think,
You choose the thought.
You can learn to choose other thoughts.
Not easy.
A process,
A learning.
Comes with practice.
Self-compassion and the nervous system soothing.
Now gently bring your attention to any part of you,
Any part of you that feels vulnerable or tender.
Maybe your chest,
Neck,
Belly,
Or a place that feels heavy or tight.
Imagine wrapping that part of you in a warm soft blanket.
No demands,
No deadlines,
No expectations.
Nothing.
Just a quiet promise.
I see you,
I won't abandon you,
I am here.
I am listening,
I am resting with you.
A quiet promise to your nervous system.
To your vulnerable.
And tender self.
Allow yourself to be vulnerable,
It's okay.
I see you.
I will not abandon you.
I am here.
I am listening.
I'm resting now with you.
Feel how your body responds when you offer yourself kindness.
What would kindness look like if you could see it?
What texture would it have?
What color?
Imagine.
Feel kindness.
Allow kindness.
Remember,
You are not a problem to be fixed.
You are a human being.
You are a human being worthy of patience.
Worthy of care,
Worthy of deep healing rest.
Let your nervous system hear this.
I am safe enough to rest in this moment.
I am safe enough to rest in this moment.
You might repeat softly,
Softly inside.
I'm safe enough to rest.
I am safe enough to rest.
I am safe enough to rest.
Notice how you feel.
Notice how this sentiment feels in your body.
Choice and future self.
Choice and future self.
Did you know that even as you rest,
There is a quiet power in the choices you are making?
Right now you are choosing rest instead of rumination.
There is power in that choice.
You are choosing kindness instead of harshness,
Instead of judgment towards others or self.
You are choosing to be here as yourself,
Turning up.
With yourself as you are.
In this breath.
That is you.
Picture your future self now,
Maybe weeks or months from now.
Looking back at this moment,
Imagine.
Picture.
This future self sees you here,
Lying down,
Or seated,
Listening.
Choosing rest over thinking.
Choosing gentleness over self-attack.
Choosing gentleness over any harshness.
Notice how grateful your future self feels.
Ah,
Moment.
Notice how grateful your future self feels for the way you are caring for yourself right now.
You need this.
This is right.
It feels right.
There is nothing more you need to decide now.
No big plans,
No perfect solutions.
Just an evolving.
A transition,
A process.
Just this one gentle choice.
To rest.
Rest.
Rest.
Your body is heavy now,
Supported,
Held.
Your breath is slow.
Soft.
Steady.
Slower,
Softer,
Steady.
Your mind has more space around each thought.
The thoughts are no longer tangled up.
They are separate.
And the separation is growing.
Clouds drifting,
Sky resting.
You are wrapped in acceptance,
In kindness,
In a quiet permission to let go.
Let go.
If sleep comes right now,
Let it come.
You don't have to try,
Just allow.
Simply breathe and allow yourself to drift.
You might repeat inwardly,
Silently,
In a fading whisper of mind,
Of thought,
I am safe to rest,
I am safe to let go,
I am enough exactly as I am in this moment.
Sit in this sacred space as it is.
I am safe to rest.
I am safe to let go.
I am enough,
Exactly as I am in this moment.
Let your body soften from your head down through your shoulders.
Your arms.
Hands,
Chest,
Belly.
Hips.
Legs.
Legs,
Feet.
Souls of each foot.
Relax,
Release,
Let go.
If thoughts visit,
That's okay.
They are just clouds.
You remain the sky.
Again whole body soften,
Head,
Shoulders.
Arms,
Hands,
Chest,
Belly.
Hips.
Legs,
Feet,
Soles.
So,
It's a beautiful.
Finger styles.
Whole body.
Relax.
Release.
Let go.
Again whole body soften,
Head,
Shoulders.
Arms,
Hands,
Chest,
Belly.
Legs,
Feet,
Soles.
Souls of age food.
Finger stones.
Old buddy.
Relax.
Let go.
Again whole body soften,
Head,
Shoulders.
Arms,
Hands,
Chest,
Belly.
Hips.
Legs,
Feet,
Soles.
Sauce of each food.
Fingers toes.
Whole body.
Relax.
Let go.
