Hi,
I'm Catherine,
Your meditation instructor,
And a very warm welcome to this evening's meditation to help you relax as you transition into a restful state and into sleep.
Make sure that you have minimised any distractions so that you can focus on this.
Let's begin as you find your way into a comfortable position.
Taking a moment to settle in here with three deeper breaths.
Breathing in deeply through your nose.
Breathing out smoothly through your mouth.
Breathing in deeply through your nose.
Exhaling smoothly and evenly out through your mouth.
Deep breath in and exhale all the air from your nose.
From your lungs.
And then allow your breath to return to its natural flow.
Noticing the surface beneath you.
Closing your eyes if that feels good.
Relaxing your jaw.
Release your shoulders.
And as best you can,
Relax everywhere.
Any tension,
Stress or anxiety.
Dissolving with each breath.
And as you continue to breathe evenly and smoothly,
Gently begin to focus on your mind for a moment.
And as you do,
Gently noticing any thoughts that are present in your mind.
And instead of attaching to them or resisting them,
Just allow them to be there.
Then observe how thoughts come and go.
As best you can,
Notice that there is an ebb and flow of thoughts.
There is movement of the mind.
Just watch without making a comment or judgment.
Watch the movement of your mind and let it be.
Just let it be.
Because the mind is designed to think.
And sometimes the mind feels busy and chaotic.
And other times you'll notice that the mind is slower,
More relaxed.
And you might even notice the gaps between thoughts or a stillness.
For now,
Just be with whatever is in this moment.
Whether it's busyness or stillness.
Always observing with a gentle,
Non-judgmental awareness.
Because you are not your mind.
You have a mind and yet you are not your mind.
Smoothly and evenly.
Begin to move your awareness to your emotions.
Noticing what emotions are present in this moment.
Noticing what emotions are absent.
Checking in with how you feel.
No need to comment or judge.
Just noticing.
And as you do,
Begin to become aware of where in your body you're feeling these emotions.
Maybe they're sensations.
Tingling,
Pressure,
Vibration.
Maybe a warmth or a coolness.
Notice if there's an intensity to the emotion or an energy.
Emotions are dynamic and they flow.
There's a movement to them.
They rise and fall.
They rise and pass away.
Noticing this rising and passing away of emotions,
Of sensations.
And let it be.
As always,
Observing with non-judgmental awareness.
Because,
Yes,
You have emotions.
But you are not your emotions.
Consider that whatever your mind is doing,
Whatever your emotions are doing,
You can be still.
And you can be peaceful.
Whether you're sitting or lying in stillness,
And just observe the flow and the dynamic nature of thoughts and feelings.
Ever moving.
Rising and passing away.
Just watch.
Breathing easily and smoothly.
And as you let it be,
Ask yourself,
Just for this evening,
How can I show myself some compassion?
Just for this evening,
How can I show others compassion?
Just for this evening,
How can I go with the flow and let life be as it is?
Having taken some time to contemplate these words,
Let any focus fade.
Then,
If you want to continue with your evening,
You can gently blink your eyes open and slowly get up from where you are.
Or,
If you would like to rest more deeply,
And maybe even transition from this place of rest and into sleep,
You can remain where you are.
Maybe make any adjustments you need to allow your comfort and relaxation to deepen.
Then,
Have a sense that you can sink more deeply into the surface beneath you and allow yourself to be supported.
Let go completely.
Consciously feeling the muscles in your body,
Release and relax.
Consciously relax your jaw.
Feel that your eyes are resting deeply in their socket.
Relax.
And tune into the rise and the fall of your breath.
Always present with the soothing sound of your breath.
Breathing easily and gently.
Feeling your body expanding as you inhale and softening as you exhale.
Today is drawing to a close.
Nothing else to do,
Just rest here.
Be with your breath.
Be with yourself.
All is well.
And maybe,
As you rest here,
You can picture yourself beneath an infinite night sky.
The expansive night sky,
Inky black,
Deep and endless,
Punctuated with stars that twinkle like little diamonds in the silence.
Drifting into the silence,
Of the sleeping world.
Surrendering to a world of sleep and dreams.
Imagining the moon,
A soft silvery light that spills across the dreamy landscape.
Bathing everything in a tranquil radiance.
Maybe having a sense of drifting among the stars themselves.
Suspended in this quiet sky,
Embraced by the vastness.
The gentle glow of the universe surrounding you.
Maybe you just let go of my words now and you drift and wander towards sleep.
Exploring this dreamy landscape inside your mind as you rest and relax.
Remain slow and steady.
Almost like the gentle pull of the tides beneath the moon.
And now,
Just rest.
Just sleep.
