A Letter From A Star: A Healing Sleep Story

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1:45:54

A Letter From A Star: A Healing Sleep Story

by Stephen Dalton

Rated

5

Type

talks

Activity

Meditation

Suitable for

Everyone

Plays

290

Tonight, we'll sit beside a beautiful still lake beneath a sky filled with stars, with a warm blanket around our shoulders and a little fire crackling beside the water. One star shines brighter than all the others, and tonight, it has a letter especially for you. As its light reaches across the darkness, the star will speak directly to you about kindness, time, the worries we carry, the beauty of our ordinary days, and the comforting truth that you are doing your best. And when it is finally time to sleep, our new friend will stay awake in the night sky, watching over the world so that, just for tonight, you don't have to...

Sleep Preparation Ritual Stargazing Meditation Evening Reflection Practice Loving Awareness Sleep Relaxation Safety Imagination Cosmic Perspective Appreciation Sleep Story Guided Relaxation

Meet your Teacher

Ireland

Meet your Teacher

Ireland

Transcript

Hi there, This is Steven. These days I like to tell my listeners before my stories. That I'm a real human being. This is my art. And my work. And every single word you hear spoken tonight. Was recorded by me onto a microphone. In my studio. With my little dog, Timmy, At my feet. And my other dog Frankie not too far away. And with that, Hello my friend. Welcome to your sleep story. My name is Stephen Dalton. I'm an Irish Storyteller. And it's my great privilege. To be the voice that you listen to. As you go to sleep. Tonight. Some time ago I wrote a story called Letters from the Moon. And tonight it's a letter from a star. The star will speak directly to you. As you sit by a lake and a crackling fire. And the star will offer you perspective and kindness and my hope is that you find it a little healing. And that you enjoy meeting this new friend. But first, Let's do the relaxation session. Which will take a few minutes, Before tonight's sleep story. I'm going to count down from ten to one. And as I do. Allow yourself to let go. More and more. Feel the support. Of the bed beneath you. Or the floor. Or whatever you lie upon tonight. And beneath what you lie upon. Feel a deeper support. The support of the earth. Our home. Our constant support. And as you become aware of that support See if you can. Sink into this moment a little more now. Chest. Let go. A little more now. You. Are. Safe. Allow my voice. To be an anchor of safety tonight. To be a friend. To be a gentle guide. A guide that only ever brings you. To safe places. To warm. And cosy places. Places. That enable. And support. Your sleep. Trust. That my voice is a friend tonight. Feel into your body now. Notice where you might still be holding tonight. Notice. Where you may have pain. Or tingling. Attention. Notice anything. Maybe you feel something in your feet. Or in your lower legs. Resize. Or your belly. Your chest. Shoulders. Arms. Ends. Or maybe you're like me. And you hold tension in your face. Just see if you can soften a little now. This is a time bomb. Kindness. To yourself. And to your body. Seven. The day. Is. Whatever has been. Has been. Whatever will be. Will be. But right now. All you have. Is this moment. Your thoughts can't change what has gone before. Your thoughts can't change. What will come tomorrow. Your brain. Needs rest now. So as thoughts come and go now. Don't fight them. Don't chase them away. See them for what they are. Thoughts. Then just. . . Watch them go. Like leaves. Floating away. On a moonlit river. Or cloud. Passing through a starlit sky. 6. This is your moment. This. Is your time. You have earned. This moment of kindness to yourself. You deserve. To have peace in your life. We all do. So. . . As you become aware of that fact. As you. Come to the understanding. That we all deserve peace. See. If you can settle into this moment. A little more now. Letting your body know. That it's really time for rest. 5. Peace. Lives within you. It is a constant friend. Waiting to be found. Waiting to be felt. Where does it live within you? Maybe it's in your heart. Maybe it's in your head. It's up to you to find it. But I promise you it's there. Perhaps, Allow a little gratitude now. Gratitude. Of the simple things. For your body. The shelter you have tonight. Are the ones you love. And who love you. For the beauty and wonder of this world. Of this planet. That you can find. When you look for it. 3. Begin to engage with your imagination now. Begin to see. Beautiful still lake. With the night sky reflected in it. And there is one bright star there. Amongst them all. That you are about to get to know a lot better. Checking in with your body one more time now. Binding the places you are holding still. And allowing yourself. To give in. To allow the tension to ease away. Your body has worked hard for you today. It's time. To give it rest. And one. Completely letting go now. As I tell you. Tonight's sleep story. You come to the lake. By the last of the light. The path down from the road is soft underfoot. O needles and moss! And it takes you between the trees. Until the trees stop. And there is only water. The lake is long and still. Ills stand on the far side. The sky above them. Has gone from gold. To it deep. Deep blue. There is a small fire. And the Shingon near the water. It's been made for you. It's low and glowing. With a folded blanket beside it. And a flat rock to sit on. You sit on the rock and pull the blanket around your shoulders. And watch the lake. By one. The stars come out. Rest of you. Then more. Than so many. That the sky is crowded with them. And every one of them. As a twin in the woods. The lake is so still. That it is hard to say where the sky stops. One star is brighter than all the rest. It hangs low above the hills. And steady. And its reflection lies underwater. Like a lamp. Someone has sat down there. You are looking at it. And you hear the voice. It is not love. It is not near or far. It is simply there. As if. Someone had been reading to you for a while already. And you had only now begun to listen. This is what it says. Dear you. I don't know your name. I am too far away for names. But I know you are there. At the edge of the water. With the blanket around your shoulders. And the fire at your feet. And I have been waiting a long time. To say all of this. So I hope you'll forgive me. If I go on a bit. I am the bright one. The one above the hills. People on your side have given me many names over the years. And I have liked all of them. But you don't need to know any of them tonight. You can just. . . Call me the star you were looking at. That is name enough. I should tell you first. As this letter reaches you. Because it is a strange thing. And I think you'll like it. The light you are seeing. Left me a long time ago. Not so short while ago. Many years ago. It set out from me. While you were living an ordinary day. Going about your business. And it has been on its way ever since. Crossing the dark. Without stopping. And tonight. It arrives. What arrives in your eyes? So when I say I have been waiting to write to you, I mean it. Everything I am about to say. Has been travelling towards you for years. It was always going to find you here. I want to tell you what it is like to be a star. And then I want to tell you some things about you. Because I have a good view. And I think there are things you can't see. And where you are sitting. Being a star is mostly a matter of staying put. I don't go anywhere. I have been in this same corner of sky. Are longer than there have been people to look up to. And I will be here for longer. Than anyone can count. I am not in a hurry. I don't have to be. Hurry is a thing that happens to creatures. You have somewhere to be by morning. And I have already arrived. I am always all ready. Where I need to be. The other thing about being a star. . . Is that I am warm all the way through. There is no cold part of me. I don't have to make eat. Or find it. Or keep it. It is simply what I am made of. And I give it away in every direction. Or is it time? And there is never any less of it. I have been giving it away. Deeper longer than your oceans have been wet. And I have not run short. I mention this. Because I know. That from where you are. Warmth feels like a thing you have to earn. Or fetch. Or hold on to. I want you to know. A bit some warmth is just. That is all my light is. It is given. And the third thing is this. I see a great deal. From up here. I can see the whole of the night side of your world at once. I see every window with a lump in it. I see the fishing boats and the lighthouses. And the long roads with one car on them. I see the hospitals. With the corridor lights left on. And the nurses walking softly down them. I see the baker is getting up. I see children asleep. Was one arm thrown over their faces. I see people sitting up late at kitchen tables, Worrying. And I see them finally go to bed. I see. I could tell you what is happening under me right now if you like. It's the same every night. And it never gets old. On one curse. The last fairy is tying up. The man on the ramp is waving the final car off with his torch. In a city. 3000 miles from you. A woman is walking home from a late shift. With her shoes in her hand because they hurt. And she is smiling. Because it is warm. And the street is empty. And it is hers. On a farm. Somewhere. A lump. Is on a burn. And it will be on until morning. Because something is being born. And someone has decided to stay. In a flat above a shop. Two old friends are still at the table. With the plates pushed back. Saying the things they only say after midnight. A boy is reading under his covers with a torch. And sinks nobody knows. His mother knows. She is on the landing. Listening to the pages turn. And she has decided to let him. All of that is happening now. All of that is what your world looks like from here. On any night do you care to name? I have been watching your kind for a very long time. And I want to tell you what I have concluded. Because I have had longer to think about it than anyone. You. Are good. I don't mean that you are perfect. I have seen you. All of you. Be short with the people you love. I've seen you put things off. I've seen you lie awake. Going over a thing you said. Or it didn't say. And be much harder on yourself for it. Than you would be on anyone else. None of that changes what I said. You are good. I have watched millions of you. Across thousands of years. And the thing I keep seeing. Over and over. In every century. Is people. Trying. People getting it wrong. And trying again. People being kind. When no one is watching. People holding the door. People sitting with each other. People saying sorry. It is the most persistent thing about you. More persistent than the mountains. And I have watched mountains come and go. I have seen every kind of night your world has had. And I want you to know that kindness has been present in all of them. There has not been one night not one. When nobody anywhere was being gentle with somebody else. Somewhere. There has always been a person bringing another person. A cup of something warm. Somewhere. Someone has always been sitting up with a sick child. Or a frightened dog. Our friend. Somewhere. Someone. Has always been leaving a fire. For whoever came next. If you ever want to know. Whether the world is a good place. That is the answer. That is what it looks like from here. I want to say something about time. Because I have a great deal of it. And you feel you have very little. Whatever is sitting heaviest on you tonight. I have watched things like it before. I have watched people. Carry worries up to bed. That they were certain would never live. And I have watched the same people. Some months on. Sitting in a garden with a cup in their hands. And the worry. A word to be found. I have watched things that felt like the end of everything. Turn out to be the middle of something. I am not saying your worry is small. And where you are it is not small. I am saying that I have a long view. Longer than any that has ever been had. And from the long view. Things pass. They pass more often than they don't. The nights I have watched people through. Are behind them now. Everyone. They got through. Everyone. And tears they are. Dear you are. Now let me tell you something about the universe. Because it's a big word. And people say it. As if it's cold. It isn't cold. I know that better than anyone. It is mostly space. Yes. And the space is dark and quiet. But in the dark. There are more of me than you could count in a hundred lifetimes. And every one of us is warm. And every one of us is giving light away. In every direction. Without being asked. That is what the universe is doing. It is not indifferent. It is not looking the other way. It is. More than anything else. Shining. It has been shining for as long as there has been anything. And it is shining now. Right over your head. And a good deal of it. Is shining directly not to you. You are made of the same stuff as I am. This is not a figure of speech. Nearly everything in you. Was made inside a star. Before your world existed. The iron in your blood. Calcium in your bones. It was all made in a star. Given away. And gathered up. Over a very long time. Into you. You are not a visitor here. You are a piece of the night sky. That learned how to sit by a lake. And feel the cool of the evening on its face. When you look up. You are looking at family. And since we're family. I will tell you a secret. There are things you can do. That I can. And I think about them. More than you would guess. I can't be surprised. I have seen everything that has happened. And I know a great deal of what will. And nothing arrives for me. The way it arrives for you. All at once. Out of nowhere. In the middle of an ordinary afternoon. I can't taste bread. I can't be undid something. I can't have a cold morning. And then a warm kitchen. You can't. Sit with someone in the quiet. And knows that they are glad I am there. I can't put a hand on another hand. I can light a whole sky. And i would give a good part of it be able to do that just once. You do it all the time. You do it without thinking. You have done it this week, I would bet. And not counted it as anything. From up here. It counts as everything. It is the thing I would come down for. If I could come down. A short life. Close to the ground. With people in it. I have watched your kind. Were longer than I can say. And I have never stopped thinking. That you got the better arrangement. And here is the thing I most want you to hear. So. . . I'll say it plainly. You. Are doing. Your best. I know it doesn't always feel like it. I know there are days when your best looks. Small tear. When it is just getting up. Or answering one message. Or making a meal. Of being polite. When you'd rather not be. I know you compare it. To some. Other bests do you imagine you should have? And come up short. But I have been watching your kind. Since before there were words. And I have never once seen a person. Whose best was not enough. Present day. It was given to. Your best. Has always been enough. It was enough today. It will be enough tomorrow. What you did today. With what you heard. Was enough. I am the brightest star in your sky. And I. Am telling you so. And I want to say a word for your ordinary days. Since I suspect you don't think much of them. The ones where nothing happens. Where you got up and did the things and came home. And did the other things. And went to bed. I have seen more of those days. Than any other kind. And I have come to sing. Are the best thing your world makes. A day where the cattle went down. And someone was fed. And the bill was paid. And a bed was made. And a dark was walked. And nobody was hurt. And a few people were a little glad you were there. From up here. That is a day. The whole sky would sign its name to. Referred to thousands of them. You will have thousands more. Every one of them. Has been a small. Why? Good thing. Put into the world by you. And the world has kept. Everyone. You carry more. Than you let anyone see. I see it. I see the things you are keeping an eye on for other people. The thing you are worried about that you haven't said. The kindness you did this week. That nobody noticed. I noticed. I notice all of it. And I want you to know that you are alone. To put it down for the night. Not forever. Just for tonight. Nothing is going to happen to it while you sleep. I'll be up. I'm always up. I will keep an eye. The whole of the night side of your world. It's the way I always do. And you. And go. And sleep. And let somebody else do the watching for once. I know you sometimes feel that you are on your own with it all. From up here. I can tell you. That to you. Have never once been on your own. There has never been a night when you were the only one awake. There has never been a night. And you. But the only one worried. Were the only one trying. The only one who lay in the dark. They were doing. Alright. All over the night side of your world. Right now. Are people feeling exactly what you feel? And every one of them is good. And every one of them is doing their best. And every one of them is under my light. You are in very good company. You always have been. I don't sleep you know. I never have. So I've had a long time to watch you do it. And I want to tell you what I think of it. Because I don't think you give it enough credit. Every night. All across the dark side of the world. I watch it happen. The lights go out one by one. The roads go quiet. Somebody in every house. Puts the last thing down and lies back. And their breathing slows. And their hands open. And for a while. They are not carrying anything at all. In the morning. The whole world gets up and starts again. Softer than it was. With the heart. Edges rubbed off. I think if I could have one thing of yours it might be this one. The lying down at the end of it. With the day done. You are about to do it. You are very close to it now. You don't have to do anything. And die. I'm going to stop soon. Because you are tired. Sleep now. You have done enough. You are good. You are me. Of the same stuff as the stars. And you have been doing your best with it. Since the day you arrived. And from up here. Where I can see all of it. It looks like a very fine thing to have done. With all the warmth I have which is more than you can imagine. And never runs out. You are. Dark. The voice stops. The lake is as still as it was. The fire crackles away. Above you the sky is full the bright star sits low over the hills. Your eyes are heavy. Each time they close. You relax a little more. Each time they appear. The star is still there. And the last thing you see. As your eyes. Close for the night. Is one. Low. And warm. And steady. Waking up. So that you of two.