Good evening.
I'm Mark Rowland.
Thank you so much for choosing to join me.
Tonight's journey is a gentle one.
You will imagine yourself lifted into the night air,
Carried softly and gently across peaceful landscapes,
Floating above forests,
Rivers,
Mountains and oceans,
Until the rhythm of the earth carries you toward a deep,
Natural sleep.
There is nothing to achieve here.
Nothing you need to understand.
No lesson to learn.
Just drifting,
Just resting,
Just allowing.
So,
Let your body settle now.
Perhaps you are lying on your back or curled slightly on your side,
Feeling the safe support beneath you.
Let your hands rest wherever they feel natural,
And take one slow breath in,
And a long,
Unhurried,
Flowing breath out.
Allow your jaw to soften.
Let your tongue rest heavily inside your mouth.
Let your eyes sink right back into their sockets.
Your body already knows how to sleep.
All we are doing is giving it space.
Imagine now that you are lying in a wide open meadow,
At dusk.
The sky above you is painted in deep indigo,
And a soft silver colour.
The air is warm,
But cool enough to feel refreshing against your skin.
The grass beneath you feels soft and springy,
Holding you gently.
You feel completely safe here.
Completely at ease.
A faint breeze moves across the meadow.
You feel it brushing your arms,
Your cheeks,
And you feel it moving through your hair.
And,
As it moves over you,
Something begins to feel lighter.
Your body becomes less solid.
Less heavy.
It's as though gravity has softened its hold upon you.
With each breath out,
You are becoming a little lighter.
And,
With each breath in,
You are filled with calm,
Steady air.
You do not have to move.
You feel yourself lifting from the ground.
Just very slightly at first.
Hovering an inch above the grass.
Then,
Two.
There is no effort.
No strain.
Just a gentle buoyancy.
The meadow slowly drifts below you.
You are fully floating now.
Cradled safely by the air.
Supported by something unseen,
But gentle and steady.
And,
It feels completely free and natural to you.
You start to rise a little higher.
Below you now,
Stretches a vast forest.
Dark green,
And seemingly infinite.
The treetops ripple softly,
Like waves as wind moves through them.
You glide above them,
Effortlessly.
You smell the scent of pine as it rises up to meet you.
Cool and grounding.
You feel so calm.
You are steady and wholly protected.
Moonlight touches the tops of the trees,
Silvering their edges.
From above,
The forest feels ancient,
Knowing and wise.
And,
You are moving smoothly across it.
You are like a feather carried by warm air.
You notice how smooth your movement is.
There are no sudden drops.
No sharp turns.
Just steady,
Smooth,
Gliding.
The kind of motion that is so soothing to your nervous system.
As you pass over a clearing,
You see,
A small lake reflecting the moon.
The surface is still like a mirror.
Untroubled.
You glide across its reflective surface.
And you see the stars reflected below,
As well as above.
You feel like you are floating through the sky twice.
Your breath is slow now.
Your body is heavy again,
In the best possible way.
You feel the kind of heaviness that signals that sleep is a step closer.
Ahead of you now,
The land begins to rise.
Soft,
Sloping hills turn into gentle,
Beautiful mountains.
You glide effortlessly upward,
Matching their height.
Snow dusts the peaks,
Glowing faintly under the starlight.
You notice the air is cooler here.
Fresh.
Crisp.
Clean.
As you pass over the first mountain ridge,
You feel a silent strength beneath you.
Mountains do not rush.
They do not strain.
They simply stand.
And you feel that same,
Still silent strength inside of your own body.
You continue to drift over valleys filled with magical mist.
Clouds settle low between peaks like blankets.
Your movement slows even more now.
As though the air itself is encouraging you to rest.
The rhythm of your breath now matches the slow rise and fall of the mountains beneath you.
Thoughts,
If they appear,
Simply dissolve into the mist.
There is no mystery to solve here.
Nothing to revisit.
Just drifting gently over the vast,
Sleeping earth.
Gradually,
The mountains start to give way to coastline.
Below you,
The sea stretches wide and endless.
Moonlight scatters across gentle waves.
The ocean is so calm tonight.
Slow breaths,
Like waves.
You glide a little lower,
Just enough to feel the rhythm of the water beneath you.
Each wave rises,
Then falls,
Like your chest.
The sound is distant and soft.
A quiet lullaby.
You move further out over the water now.
Nothing but open sea and sky.
It feels so spacious,
Peaceful,
Infinite.
The air is warm now,
Almost like being wrapped up in a blanket.
You no longer feel like you are flying.
Instead,
You feel like you are being carried by something older than thought.
Gradually now,
Almost imperceptibly,
You feel yourself begin to rise again.
The ocean grows smaller below you.
The sky grows closer to meet you.
You float upward,
Into deeper blue.
You see the stars,
They appear much brighter now.
Closer,
More gentle.
You are drifting among them.
The stars are not sharp or distant.
They appear as soft lights,
Like lanterns.
Warm and steady.
Your body feels heavier now.
It's not floating,
But sinking safely.
As though the sky itself has become your soft bed.
Your arms are warm.
Your wrists are loose.
Your breath is slow and automatic.
My friend,
You are no longer travelling.
You are suspended,
Safely held,
Completely safe,
Completely supported.
Very slowly,
The sense of movement is fading away.
The stars dim,
Into darkness.
The sky softens,
Into a deep,
Velvety night.
And you feel yourself,
Gently descending.
Not falling,
Just settling.
You are returning to the meadow,
Where you began.
Lower,
And lower,
Until you feel the soft grass meet your back,
Once again.
The earth gratefully receives you.
Warm,
Steady.
Your body feels so heavy now.
Comfortably,
Blissfully heavy.
Your mind is quiet.
You do not need to follow the rest of my words.
Just let them fade out,
Into the ground.
Your body knows the way,
Into sleep.
Allow your breathing to slow even more.
Feel the weight of your legs.
Of your arms.
The softness of your face.
And,
As you rest here,
Beneath the wide night sky.
Supported by earth.
Drifting.
Nowhere.
Sleep is arriving,
And starts to beckon you.
Gently.
Naturally.
So,
Easily.
Goodnight.
