Good evening.
And welcome.
I'm Mark Rowland.
Make yourself comfortable for sleep.
Allow your head to settle into the pillow,
Let your arms rest wherever they naturally want to fall.
And feel the weight of your body being held by the bed.
Beneath you.
There is nowhere you need to get to.
Nothing you need to solve tonight.
No need to start to prepare anything.
And importantly.
You don't need to make yourself.
Fall asleep.
Tonight.
Are going to use a simple practice known as cognitive shuffling.
But before we begin I want to explain exactly how we're going to do it because I think once you understand the idea The practice itself is very simple.
So.
.
.
I'm going to give you.
Simple word.
For example,
Something like rest.
Then we will take that word one letter at a time.
So,
Beginning with the first letter,
R.
Quietly in your own mind.
Begin thinking of different things that start with the letter R.
They should be separate,
Unrelated things.
For example.
.
.
Arose.
A river.
Or a rabbit.
You briefly picture each one as it comes to you.
You don't need to build a story or anything like that around it.
So you don't imagine the rabbit sitting beside the river holding a rose.
Image is a separate one.
A rose appears.
And then it vanishes.
A river appears.
And then it goes.
A rabbit appears.
And then it's gone again.
Once you've thought of a few things beginning with R.
You move on to the next letter in the word.
And you do exactly the same thing.
Perhaps.
An envelope comes to mind.
Then an elephant,
Then an egg.
Again,
We're not trying to connect them.
Then carry on through the word,
So you then move on to S and eventually T.
So you're slowly working your way through the word I have given you.
Just thinking of a few unrelated things for each letter.
Briefly picturing them.
Before moving on.
Of course,
You don't have to think of every possible word beginning with a letter.
There is no correct number.
Three or four may come easily,
Perhaps more.
Or perhaps only one or two will.
If at any point you get stuck.
Simply move to the next letter.
And if you find you forget where you are altogether,
Well,
That doesn't really matter.
The point isn't to concentrate perfectly.
Point is to give the thinking mind something simple and disconnected to do.
As we continue tonight.
I will give you another word every so often.
But I won't keep on giving you the objects.
Those need to come from you.
And then I'll leave you with several minutes of quiet so you can work your way through the letters in your own time.
If somewhere along the way the images become strange or you lose track of a word.
Or maybe you start slipping into your own dreamlike thoughts That's okay,
You don't need to come back,
Just allow yourself to drift.
So before we begin,
Take a moment to notice your body.
Feel the back of your head.
Resting against the pillow.
Notice the muscles around your eyes nothing to look at now.
There is nothing that is demanding your attention.
Noticing the jaw allowing it to rest unclenched comfortably.
Your shoulders,
Your arms.
And your hands.
Feeling the weight of your back against the mattress now,
You're hit.
Your leg.
Your feet.
Your whole body supported.
And notice your breathing without any need to change it.
Allowing the breath to come and go naturally.
Nothing special to do with it.
Breathing can take care of itself,
And now.
We will begin.
First shuffle.
The word is.
Wraith.
Awe.
E.
Peace.
Tea.
We've already practiced R and E together.
So this time begin again alone with ah.
Finding your own things.
Something beginning with R.
Picture it briefly.
Then another.
Than another.
And when you're ready.
Move to E.
The nest.
And tea.
Taking your time.
There is absolutely no rush to reach the end of the word.
I will leave you for a few minutes now.
To shuffle through,
Rest now.
If you are still awake and still listening.
Just notice where your mind has gone.
Perhaps.
You've worked your way through rest.
Or perhaps.
.
.
You're still only on the second or third letter.
Maybe you completely forgot you were even doing it.
All of those are completely fine.
If you became caught in a story or a myth.
Started thinking about something from your day.
Will simply begin.
Another shuffle.
This time.
The word is,
Dream.
Be.
Are.
Pay.
Begin with D.
Thinking of a few completely unrelated things,
Beginning with the letter D.
Picturing each one for a moment.
Then move onto R.
Pen e.
Than a.
Then M.
You don't need me to supply any examples now.
Let them come from your own mind.
And if you find yourself drifting somewhere before you reach the end of the word dream.
Stay there.
If my voice has brought you back.
Keep your body exactly as it is,
There is no need to become more awake to listen to me.
You may have noticed that the images are already beginning to feel familiar.
Less deliberate now.
Perhaps one appeared that didn't even begin with the right letter.
Maybe you forgot the words.
Or your mind started producing little fragments of scenes of its own.
All of this is absolutely fine.
You don't need to correct anything.
The word is just something to return to when ordinary thinking starts up again.
We'll use another one now.
The word is.
Ass.
E.
E.
He.
Start with this.
And allow a few things beginning with S to appear.
Then move on to L.
Then thirsty.
Then the other E.
And finally.
.
.
Pee.
If you find lots of things for one letter.
Stay there for a while.
If almost nothing comes for you.
Move on.
Remember,
We are not forcing anything.
If you are still with me.
Allow the practice to become.
Even easier now.
You don't have to hold the whole word firmly in your mind.
If you remember the next letter.
Use it.
If you've forgotten it.
I simply give you.
Another word.
And notice whether you're trying hard to find interesting images.
They don't need to be interesting.
Ordinary here is perfect.
A household object.
Something simple from nature.
A piece of clothing or an animal.
Something you might see walking down the street.
Whatever appears first for you.
Our next word now is.
.
.
N.
I.
Cheers age.
Tea.
Begin with end.
And work gently through the letters.
In your own time.
Onto I.
G,
H and t.
If you are still awake.
Perhaps by now,
There are moments when you lose the exercise completely.
These moments are welcome.
There is no need to keep pulling yourself back into the technique.
If you find your mind is wandering loosely.
Allow it to wander.
If images are appearing all by themselves.
Let them.
If you feel yourself moving in.
And out of awareness,
In and out of awareness of my voice,
Don't need to hold on.
Only if you find yourself caught in clear thinking again.
Planning tomorrow or replaying today.
We'll return now to another word.
This time,
The word is drift.
All.
I.
Amen.
Tea.
Begin with D.
At them whenever you're ready.
Move to R,
Then I,
F.
And tea.
Let the images be your own.
And if you're still listening now.
You may not need another complete word.
The mind.
May already know what to do.
If thinking becomes busy again.
Can choose any simple word yourself.
Perhaps a word that feels easy to remember.
And take the first letter.
And a few.
Unrelated things.
And move to the next letter.
No need to complete the word.
No need to reach the final letter.
No need to remember.
What you pictured.
Allow the images.
To become less organised,
Less busy.
Deliberate.
Perhaps one becomes another before you've even finished with it.
Maybe you forget what you were looking for.
Allow that to happen.
There is nothing left to achieve for tonight.
You don't need to check whether the practice is working.
You don't need to check whether you're nearly asleep simply rest.
And if another stream of thoughts begin.
You know where to return.
Simple words.
One letter at a time.
Your own unrelated images.
Then let them go.
And if you don't need the shuffle anymore,
Just leave it behind.
Allow the mind to wander.
Wherever it wants to wander now.
Let the pictures become less clear.
Sleep my boys.
Me.
Forever.
Into the background.
Nothing left to remember.
I am Windybell.
To take home.
