The Enchanted Castle & The Mystic Library

In this sleep story, you'll be visiting an old forest, where an ancient castle stands tall among the trees. As you close your eyes and drift off into relaxation, you'll be entering a magical library within the castle walls. After some time, rain begins pattering against the window, creating a cozy and sleep atmosphere…

In the old castle, ancient tomes and rare artefacts are kept and the library too is filled with secrets and mysteries, waiting to be discovered. You never know what kind of magical occurrences you may witness, but rest assured: I will be a pleasant experience! So close your eyes, take a deep breath, and let yourself be swept away to this magical realm, as you listen to this story of an old castle and its enchanted library... Sleep well!

Transcript

Good evening,

My friend,

And welcome to your guided sleep story.

My name is Stephen Dalton,

And it's my privilege to be the voice that you listen to as you go to sleep tonight.

After the story,

The sounds and music will continue to play,

So they can accompany you a little longer while you sleep.

I wish you a pleasant rest and a great sleep.

Now,

Make yourself comfortable,

And whenever you're ready,

You can close your eyes.

Notice your resting body,

And how comfortably warm and pleasant it is for you right now.

Breathe in and out naturally,

And feel your chest rise and fall.

New,

Calming energy flows into your body,

And with each exhale,

You let go of everything that no longer serves you.

Feel the comforting warmth and how much your body loosens.

Let go of everything that has burdened you today,

And surrender to your breath.

Enjoy the peace and relaxation.

Sometimes it approaches faster,

Sometimes it may take longer.

Don't force yourself.

This is your time.

Feel the security and warmth around you.

You may also feel gratitude.

It may be that there was a moment today that was special to you.

Even if it is only the gratitude of being here,

In this place,

And feeling the relaxation.

Keep breathing in your rhythm,

And let this positive energy flow.

Imagine that everything around you disappears in a soft mist,

As if you were on a soft cloud that carries you weightlessly and gently through the night.

Completely sheltered and full of lightness,

You can just be and enjoy the peace.

Notice how your muscles loosen more and more.

As your back stretches in a pleasant way,

Allow yourself to sink into your relaxation.

With each breath,

You sink deeper and deeper,

And let go of everything.

It's time for your sleep story.

You are in a forest,

A beautiful forest.

It's night time.

The moonlight shines down upon the ancient trees,

And you sense,

Perhaps,

That there is something magical about this place.

Something otherworldly.

As you walk,

Allow everything to disappear.

Anything that is happening in your life,

Let it go,

As you immerse yourself in this special place.

You stop at a tree,

A huge tree.

It looks like a redwood or sequoia.

It is so wide,

You could walk around it and be tired by the time you finish your walk.

There is something so humble about this tree.

Something so timeless.

It has stood in this one spot for thousands of years.

Imagine that.

Imagine all that it has seen.

It has known a very different world,

And now you have the privilege of standing here.

Feel how calming it is to just simply be in communion with nature.

Take some deep breaths now,

In and out.

You continue your walk,

Looking up at the stars,

Shining brightly down upon you.

How astonishing,

How stunning they are.

In your mind's eye now,

Single out one star,

And allow yourself to make a wish.

Whatever you like.

Now,

Pick another star,

And thank that star for everything that you have in your life.

You keep walking through the forest,

The soft earth beneath you calms you and adds to a sense of serenity and peace.

Eventually,

You turn a corner,

And in the distance,

In a clearing in the forest,

You see an enchanting,

Beautiful castle.

Remember,

You are completely safe here.

This is a safe and welcoming place.

You decide to explore the castle,

And you walk towards it.

It looks like an old French castle,

Very ornate and detailed,

And extremely beautiful.

You see in the windows,

Little candles burning,

Which just add to the welcoming glow that the castle gives you.

Once you arrive below the castle,

You see that there is a staircase leading to the main door.

You climb the stairs,

And each step that you take,

You feel more and more at ease.

An even greater sense of peace comes over you.

Whatever this place is,

Perhaps it offers you a level of serenity that you have never experienced.

Approaching the top of the stairs now,

Each step still bringing you to deeper and deeper peace.

Finally,

You arrive at a stunning wooden door.

It's huge,

Three times your height,

And you notice a little sign on the door.

It reads,

You have been blessed to find this place.

All are welcome to find peace and grace.

Feel free to enter,

And if you want,

Have a read,

Or find a bedroom and have a deep sleep.

The sign on the door further adds to your feeling of security and ease as you push the great door open and enter this magical castle.

All around the castle is lit by candlelight,

And one thing that amazes you is that on all of the walls of the castle there are beautiful paintings of all of your favorite things.

And as you look around the castle at the different pictures,

Whatever you want to see on the paintings appears,

Whether it be some of your favorite people,

Favorite places to visit,

Or favorite activities to do,

It's like magic.

This place really is magic.

You walk along the splendid marble floors,

And each room that you pass through makes you feel more and more relaxed.

The smells here are amazing.

All of your favorite smells travel throughout the castle.

It really feels like this castle is just for you.

The finest of fabrics,

The most precious of materials,

Adorn every room.

Eventually,

You arrive at another big doorway,

And this door has a sign above it saying,

The Library of Voices.

You're not sure what that means,

But you're looking forward to finding out.

You push the great door open,

And walk in to the most astonishing library you have ever seen.

Hundreds and thousands of huge bookcases line the walls.

And a beautiful glass-domed roof sits above.

You can see the stars through the glass,

And it just adds to the magical feeling of being here.

You walk through the library,

And you see so many familiar books.

The whole library is lit by candlelight as well.

The soft glow is so grounding.

You see a book that you would like to look into,

Pride and Prejudice.

You take it off the shelf,

And find a chair next to a warm,

Open fire.

You sit down in the unbelievably comfortable chair,

And open the book on a rag.

Mr.

Darcy's letter to Lady Catherine was in a different style,

And still different from either what Mr.

Bennett sent to Mr.

Collins in his reply to his last.

Dear Sir,

You close the book.

You're not sure what just happened,

But what seems to have happened is when you opened the book,

The book started talking to you and telling you the story within.

You open the book again on the same page.

I must trouble you once more for congratulations.

Elizabeth will soon be the wife of Mr.

Darcy.

Console Lady Catherine as well you can,

But if I were you,

I would stand by the nephew.

He has more to give.

Yours sincerely,

Etc.

Miss Bingley's congratulations to her brother on his approaching marriage were all that was affectionate and insincere.

She wrote even to Jane on the occasion to express her delight and repeat all her former professions of regard.

Jane was not deceived,

But she was affected.

And,

Though feeling no reliance on her,

Could not help writing her a much kinder answer than she knew was deserved.

The joy which Miss Darcy expressed on receiving similar information was as sincere as her brother's in sending it.

Four sides of paper were insufficient to contain all her delight and all her earnest desire of being loved by her sister.

You closed the book again.

Yes,

It was true.

The book really did speak to you.

Perhaps you are amazed by this and you would like to see if it is true for another book.

You peruse the great bookshelves and eventually find the complete works of William Shakespeare.

Just as you sit back down,

It begins to rain and the rain falls on the great glass roof above you.

How comforting it is.

You open Shakespeare on a particular page.

But,

Soft,

What light through yonder window breaks?

It is the east and Juliet is the sun.

Arise,

Fair sun,

And kill the envious moon who is already sick and pale with grief that thou,

Her maid,

Art far more fair than she.

Be not her maid,

Since she is envious.

Her vestal livery is but sick and green and none but fools do wear it.

Cast it off.

It is my lady.

O,

It is my love.

O,

That she knew she were.

She speaks,

Yet she says nothing.

What of that?

Her eye discourses.

I will answer it.

Bold.

Tis not to me she speaks.

Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven,

Having some business,

Do entreat her eyes to twinkle in their spheres till they return.

What if her eyes were there,

They in her head?

The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars as daylight doth a lamp.

Her eyes in heaven would through the airy region stream so bright that birds would sing and think it were not night.

See how she leans her cheek upon her hand,

That I might touch that cheek.

You close the book.

That you have just heard one of the great speeches by Shakespeare as Romeo sits looking at Juliet on her balcony in Verona.

Perhaps enjoying being read to by the books?

And so you go and find another.

You find the picture of Dorian Gray by Othello.

You sit back down in your sumptuous chair and open the book near you.

The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac or the more delicate perfume of the pink flowering thorn.

From the corner of the divan of Persian saddlebags on which he was lying,

Smoking,

As was his custom,

Innumerable cigarettes,

Lord Henry Wotton could just catch the gleam of the honey-sweet and honey-coloured blossoms of a laburnum whose tremulous branches seemed hardly able to bear the burden of a beauty so flame-like as theirs.

And now and then the fantastic shadows of birds in flight flitted across the long tussle silk curtains that were stretched in front of the huge window producing a kind of momentary Japanese effect and making him think of those pallid,

Jade-faced painters of Tokyo who,

Through the medium of an art that is necessarily immobile,

Seek to convey the sense of swiftness and motion.

The sullen murmur of the bees shouldering their way through the long,

Unmown grass or circling with monotonous insistence round the dusty gilt horns of the straggling woodbine seemed to make the stillness more oppressive.

The dim roar of London was like the bourdon note of a distant organ.

In the centre of the room,

Clamped to an upright easel,

Stood the full-length portrait of a young man of extraordinary personal beauty and in front of it,

Some little distance away,

Was sitting the artist himself,

Basil Hallward,

Whose sudden disappearance some years ago caused,

At the time,

Such public excitement and gave rise to so many strange conjectures.

You close the book and allow all of this to settle in,

This amazing place that you find yourself in.

You put back the picture of Dorian Gray and you find one last book,

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.

You are feeling tired now,

Though,

And so,

You decide to find a bedroom.

You walk through the castle,

Leaving the library behind,

And eventually,

You come across a small little door,

Almost so small that you have to crawl through it.

Once inside,

You look around the room you find yourself in.

It's the most majestic bedroom you've ever seen.

A huge four-poster bed sits in the middle of the room and a great fire burns and keeps the room warm and cozy.

The light is low.

Your favorite calming smells pervade the air.

You climb the little stairs that lead to the bed,

Down under the covers,

In this unbelievably comfortable bed.

You still have your book with you and you decide to read to help you fall asleep.

You open the book.

A man must not only consider how daily his life wasteth and decreaseth,

But this also,

That if he live long,

He cannot be certain whether his understanding shall continue so able and sufficient for either discrete consideration in matter of businesses or for contemplation,

It being the thing whereon true knowledge of things,

Both divine and human,

Both depend.

For,

If once he shall begin to dote his respiration,

Nutrition,

His imaginative and appetitive and other natural faculties may still continue the same,

He shall find no want of them.

But,

How to make that right use of himself that he should?

How to observe exactly in all things that which is right and just?

How to redress and rectify all wrong all sudden apprehensions and imaginations and even of this particular,

Whether he should live any longer or no,

To consider truly for all such things wherein the best strength and vigor of the mind his most requisite,

His power and ability will be passed and gone.

The book closes in this safe,

Comforting,

Warm,

Works powerfully and right from my words.

Dream and sleep.

You are safe and sound.

Sleep deeply and soundly.

Your body heals,

Strengthens.

Everything works powerfully.

Your mind rests.

You can let yourself drift away All is warm.

All is safe.

Everything rests in the depths of the night.

Everything is good.

Perhaps you feel a tingling in your feet or hands or perceive a heaviness or light.

It helps you to switch off.

Wake up the next morning refreshed and energized with new motivation and strength.

Be open for your self-healing.

Open for your sleep and deep relaxation.

Everything is good as it is.

Everything relaxes.

Everything lets go.

You sleep deeply and all is well.

Your muscles are warm.

You slumber deeply.

Everything is soft.

And everything is good.

Sleep well.

You have earned it.

A drift into wonderful dreams.

Your subconscious takes in the following affirmation of each of my muscles with every second they grow warmer.

Sleeping deeply and restful sleep.

Each of my muscles with every second they grow warmer.

Sleeping deeply to slumber.

My mind is safe and restful sleep.

Each of my muscles with every second they grow warmer.

Sleeping deeply to take me deeper.

Deeply in my own space.

Each of my muscles with every second sleeping deeply to slumber.

My mind is safe.

Each of my muscles with every second they grow warmer.

Sleeping deeply.

My mind is safe.

Each of my muscles with every second they grow warmer.

Sleeping deeply to take me.

My mind is safe in my own space.

Each of my muscles with every second they grow warmer and heavier.

Sleeping deeply.

Deeply.

Each of my muscles with every second they grow warmer.

My mind is safe and restful sleep.

Each of my muscles with every second they grow warmer and heavier and soundly.

Each of my muscles with every second they grow warmer.

Sleeping deeply and soundly.

My mind is safe in my own space and restful sleep.

Each of my muscles with every second I fall into a peaceful and restful sleep.

Each of my muscles with every second they grow warmer.

My mind is safe.

Each of my muscles with every second they grow warmer.

Sleeping deeply.

Each of my muscles with every second they grow warmer.

I am sleeping deeply.

My mind is safe and restful sleep.

Each of my muscles with every second sleeping deeply.

Reviews

I couldn’t tell you what the story was, as I only heard the first few minutes - so it worked beautifully. Thank you for sharing your gifts 🙏🏼💝🌟

Than you!!!💙🙏💙

I have listened to stephen on another few platforms for years. It always helps me go to a sleep filled with peace.
Thank you stephen great to listen to you here.🙏💚

My friend, the stories you write and share have touched me deeply . Your tales capture the beauty and depth of simple yet poignant moments in such a gentle manner. Your soothing voice, cadence of delivery and touching subject matter come together in a marvelous way. I am altogether smitten. Your friend and devout listener, Mary.