Welcome.
This is a guided meditation to help you let go of the day and fall into a more peaceful sleep by inviting gratitude to be with you before sleep.
I invite you now to lie comfortably as you listen and relax.
We're going to first take note of what kind of day you had today.
Was it calm?
Upsetting?
Frustrating or aggravating?
Uplifting?
Surprising?
Whatever the day has been for you,
I want you to put those thoughts,
Feelings and sensations aside in an imaginary envelope and place this envelope next to you.
Turn your attention now to the gentle movement of your breath in the body,
Perhaps sensing into any tight areas you might find and let your in-breath flow deeply into these tight holding spots.
And when you exhale each time,
Allow any tightness to soften and release even if just a tiny bit.
You might imagine your body floating,
Maybe on a soft cloud.
Or imagine lying on a comfortable floating cushion in a calm lake with gentle lapping waves on the shoreline.
Or you might imagine yourself lying in a comfortable hammock,
Swinging gently.
Breathe in deeply and sense the expansion with every in-breath.
Breathe out and let your body soften each time like a deep sigh,
Letting go,
Letting go,
Letting go.
And now invite the energy of gratitude to come in and be with you.
Welcome this into your heart and place your hands onto your chest around your heart if you want to.
No matter what kind of day you've had and even those days when you don't feel at all grateful,
Stay present now with your heart,
With your breath and let gratitude arise for the tiniest thing in your life that you feel grateful for.
It doesn't matter how small or how big the feeling of gratitude is.
Continue to stay with your breath flowing in and out and the heart opening with every breath.
Take your imaginary envelope of how you felt today and imagine yourself now placing this envelope inside of your heart to rest there,
To be absorbed and to let the energy of gratitude help dissolve all the previous thoughts and feelings about the day.
You might imagine this feeling of gratitude as a color or a shape,
An animal or flower.
Whatever you find helps you to bring in the energy of gratitude to be with you in this moment right now.
And if you find there is more than one thing you are feeling grateful for tonight,
Allow it all to be breathed into your body and let the sense of thankfulness soften your body even more so that all the muscles relax and the whole physical body begins to rest more deeply with gratitude swirling through the head,
Swirling through the belly,
Swirling through every cell of your body.
A sense of deep letting go and relaxation begins to overtake you.
Stay with this sense and feeling of gratitude and the relaxation it is bringing to you right now.
Be with the rhythm of your breath and stay for a little while longer as this energy of gratitude helps you relax,
Helps you let go of all the day's events so that you can sleep peacefully.
Stay with this for as long as you like and perhaps drifting into sleep.
There will be no bell or signal to end the meditation.
Just stay in this beautiful space of peacefulness,
Gratitude and relaxation and allow yourself to drift into deep sleep with gratitude as your sleeping companion.
