Hello,
Beautiful souls.
This is Barbara and welcome to an amazing night's sleep.
Thanks for being here for another in the series of Bedtime with Barbara,
Written by June B.
Today it's time to take a well-deserved break in our day and take in some fresh air.
Let's begin.
So get into your favorite sleeping position.
Making sure you are comfortable.
Close your eyes.
Relax your muscles.
And slowly imagine yourself melting into the bed.
Now let's go to your breathing,
Slowing down the heart rate.
And let's take some nourishing breaths together.
Breath in.
Breath out.
Breath in.
Breath out.
Breath in.
Breath out.
Breath in.
Breath out.
Breath in.
Breath out.
Breath in.
Breath out.
Breath in.
Breath out.
Last time,
Breath in.
Breath out.
Settle in now.
Get comfortable.
Let go of everything that happened today.
And let's relax together.
Let yourself focus on my voice.
If your mind wanders,
It's okay.
Bringing back to the sound of my voice.
Keep your breathing slow and steady.
Let's go on our journey together.
I had some time at work doing my daily chores and facing my never-ending responsibilities.
And I feel like I need a well-deserved break.
So it's time to take a walk and get some fresh air.
I am so lucky to live close to a park.
And I'm taking this opportunity to turn right off and get grounded.
Come join me.
This quaint little park I live close to is so peaceful,
Breathtaking,
And beautiful.
I can hear the birds chirping and see all the little animals in the park that live there.
We are only visiting today and in doing so,
Sharing this amazing and healing space with them for a while.
Let's begin expanding on and exploring all of this sensory delight that we often face when we go into nature to explore.
First sense that kicks in is our sight.
So what can we see today?
Trees.
According to Wikipedia,
A tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem or trunk usually supporting branches and leaves.
Trees.
Trees.
Those that you see every day and usually take for granted tend to be long-lived,
Some reaching several thousand years old.
Trees have been in existence for over 370 million years.
It is estimated that there are some 3 trillion mature trees in the world.
Wow.
Wow.
Well,
When I look at the next tree,
It will make me feel so young in comparison,
Right?
The trees in front of us now are so huge and majestic.
I wonder to myself how many stories they have seen unfold before them.
How many people took notice of them and how much love have they been given?
Despite the weather,
Time of year,
Political climate or even war,
Most have been standing well before any of us have been here,
And many will go on to be standing for many more centuries to come after we are gone.
Isn't that a humbling thought?
There is a well-known little game that is used to help with overthinking and anxiety.
It is called Find the Space.
So what you do is look up at the leaves on the branches of any tree,
The busier the better.
Then you have to try and not look at the leaves.
You have to check out and focus on the spaces between the leaves.
It makes for a fun thing to do,
And it is proven to help with overthinking and being anxious.
This fact is scientifically proven.
The brain cannot focus on two things at the same time.
So once you are focused on looking for the spaces,
Your mind gently switches off from all our worries,
Problems and fears,
And you are given that time to relax and be at peace,
If only for a few moments.
Try it now.
Look at the branches of this amazing tree we are standing in front of and look up.
Then try to see the spaces between the leaves and see what you can see.
Sometimes you can even find shapes of things and fun objects in the spaces,
Akin to making shapes with the stars at night,
Right?
The next sense is touch.
What can we feel today?
How many times have you gone out,
Seen a tree,
And touched its bark?
Or sat amongst the grass and take your shoes off so the grass tickles in between your toes?
Or taken some wildflowers and felt the soft and smooth surface of the tiny petals between your fingers?
Dipped your hand in a stream and allowed the water to splash up on your arm or even feet for a while?
The list goes on and on.
There are so many ways you can feel nature as well as interact with it on a regular basis.
When was the last time you took the time to feel your surroundings?
Let's do that right now.
Can you hear the crickets or the birds singing?
Can you hear the water swiftly running down the little brook to our side?
What about the tiny animals that are peeping out at you from a safe distance?
If you close your eyes,
Can you hear their movements?
Listen to the sounds of nature for a moment.
The last sense we'll cover today is smell.
What can we smell today?
As the title of this track says,
Fresh air.
The air is so different in nature.
In this park we're at,
The smell of the breeze as it slowly wafts around your nose brings a wild host of different smells that we can identify right now.
Firstly,
The smell of grass.
That is the one that can be the strongest,
Especially if some has recently been cut or the rain has just fallen.
Then there is the smell of flowers.
Little yellow wildflowers bursting with the tiniest of delicate smells or the smell of sweet jasmine sailing through the air and hitting all the little hairs on the inside of your nose.
This always makes me smile,
Bringing back such great memories of feeling free and at peace.
Also,
That smell tickles those little hairs and depending on the sweetness of the smell,
Either makes me smile or the hairs on my arms stand up to attention.
Or both.
Then there is the smell of fresh water running alongside by this little brook that is here too.
It has an earthy smell and at some point slightly fishy.
Well,
That is understandable as fish live there,
Right?
Then there are the smells of the air changing from one thing to another.
You know,
That smell before it starts to rain.
Or the smell of a still and peaceful day.
Can you imagine that smell now?
Oh,
It has been such a wonderful time being with you for this great time of fresh air.
Time to get back to work now,
Feeling so much better and ready to tick off some more tasks off my to-do list.
I'm not sure about you.
I'm getting sleepy even thinking about it.
So I'm ready to let go fully and surrender to sleep.
Thanks for joining me tonight.
And as you drift away,
Have yourself a great night's sleep.
I'm looking forward to seeing you again for another in the series of Bedtime with Barbara,
Written by June B.
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