Sleep meditation for calming and relaxing a busy mind before going to bed.
Perhaps sometimes you may wish that there was an off button for your mind.
An overly busy mind can halt us in many ways throughout our lives,
And one of the main things a busy mind interrupts for millions of people around the world is a good night's sleep.
But why is this so?
To answer this,
Let's just relax your mind just a little bit right now.
Just take a few deep inhales and exhales.
I'd like you to imagine that your mind is represented by a river,
Waters that sometimes flow by slowly when there is a lack of rain,
Or sometimes very quickly,
Depending on the weather and the time of the year.
You see,
Your mind is the river and your thoughts are the water.
I invite you to begin to reflect on how quickly is your river of the mind flowing right now in this very moment.
How fast are the thoughts represented by water?
Just begin to watch this flow as if you were sitting on the riverbank,
Enjoying it.
Very good.
Now,
Just allow for the seasons to pass and the weather to change.
And watch how your river changes along with it.
The seasons represent your overall happiness in your life,
You achieving quarterly goals you set out for yourself.
Seasons change,
But each of them can be viewed as beautiful.
Some seasons can be tough,
Can be mild and enjoyable.
Waters of the river represent your thoughts.
When you focus your thoughts on your goals and desires,
Your river slows and becomes crystal clear.
The birds and the wildlife are able to see fish that they can catch to feed themselves and their offspring.
The fish can find sources of foods because the waters have slowed enough to allow for bits of plants to settle on the water and soften.
And live bugs can land on the water for them to catch.
Now,
For a moment,
Imagine a storm of thoughts are coming for your river.
See how the water rises and the animals scurry.
The fish begin to hide in safer areas and there are no bugs flying around.
It is only rushing by a little faster now.
Yet the storm is building.
The more thoughts you let into your mind,
The more the waters rush by.
It becomes a threatening river so quickly that you cannot sit on the bank watching your river any longer and observing the beauty.
You must seek shelter from the storm.
This storm of thought has taken the ability to observe away from you.
It takes a while for a storm of thoughts to pass and even longer for the after effects of the storm to calm.
Waters continue to rush at high speeds for several days or so.
This is what happens when you allow a storm of thinking to enter your mind.
It disrupts you for some time until the waters can naturally settle.
We want to always try to remain on the bank of our river,
Observing abundant nature and clear,
Calm waters.
We all know sleep is necessary and rejuvenating.
So why do so many of us suffer to achieve restful sleep?
Because we do not take charge of our busy mind,
Moving it from worry to relaxation.
Like I mentioned before,
Allowing a busy mind to go free is like never training a great horse.
The mind needs you to be in control.
It needs you to train it so it knows how to work for you instead of against you.
A calmer state of mind allows for you to not only sleep better,
But it eliminates anxiety,
Increases focus,
Treats depression,
Stops circular thinking,
Improves your memory,
Betters your relationships,
Satisfies the body,
And increases emotional intelligence.
The key to attaining all these things is actually very simple and natural for all of us.
The key is to bring into our mind the awareness of all physical sensations,
And bring into your mind your emotions,
And bringing into your mind your thoughts.
This is meditative and simply doesn't allow for bothersome thoughts to have any power over you.
Your ability to emotionalize and feel things is much more powerful than having a busy mind.
Your ability to create and ponder new ideas and a new self-image supersedes a noisy mind.
All a noisy mind is good at is distracting you.
It doesn't change anything.
It doesn't build on any new ideas.
It doesn't emotionally connect with others around you.
In fact,
An overloaded and out-of-control mind acts to disconnect you from others and from yourself.
A busy,
Overactive mind is tiring,
Yet it doesn't allow for you to rest.
Giving up control of your mind is like feeding your child nothing but breads and sugar and candy.
Eventually,
They are going to lose control because of the unhealthy information they are taking into their system.
Let's put our mind now in the being mode by implementing positive affirmations.
So go ahead and say to yourself,
Either out loud or in your head,
Thoughts are only thoughts.
I live in the present,
Not in the past or in the future.
I draw from my past when I need to plan for my future,
But I always strive to live in the present moment.
I take notice of my body often throughout the day,
Easing and relaxing my body by doing so.
When thoughts begin to swirl,
I have compassion for them and acknowledge them.
Knowing they are simply thoughts.
My thoughts come and go.
Everyone's thoughts also come and go.
No different.
When I watch my thoughts like the waters of a river,
I never get caught in a thought.
I am just a witness.
Stopping my thoughts is impossible.
Instead,
I observe them arriving and leaving.
Instead of jumping into thoughts emotionally,
I observe which thoughts I want to cultivate more of.
That which thoughts I put my energy to is what I create for myself.
By taking the time to practice these methods,
I really feel a difference.
I have the patience to retrain my mind so that I can get rest when I need it.
I have patience when I'm training my mind,
Just as I would have patience training the most magnificent horse.
I am kind to myself with this new way of being.
I am kind to others,
And I never allow overthinking in the form of judgment to cloud my relationships.
I am persistent because I know words are well worth the effort.
I see benefits right from the very start of my practice.
Very good.
Now remember that each day you practice mindfulness techniques,
The more restful and deep sleep that you receive each night.
Just relax down even more now,
Letting your body make any last adjustments it needs,
So that you get the most restful sleep every night.
Just imagine your body growing heavy,
So heavy that it's just melting into your mattress.
Just feel your head begin to grow heavy.
Just feel your jaw muscles relaxing.
Feel this warmth spread down your neck,
Down your chest,
Down your back and your arms,
Flowing down your stomach,
Flowing down your hips,
Flowing down your thighs,
Down your knees,
Down your shins,
And down your ankle,
All the way to the tip of your toes.
Just feel yourself nice and relaxed from head to toe,
And just continue to let go of anything that's in the way.
Have a good night's rest.
Just keep letting go of anything that does not serve you in this moment.
Just let go.
Just let go and drift into sleep.
Just drift deeper and deeper into sleep.
Just let go and enjoy a nice night's rest,
Drifting deeper and deeper.
