This recording begins with a lesson.
To skip to the meditation,
Go to 5 minutes and 30 seconds.
Going to sleep requires that we let go of the worries of the day.
That we surrender the efforts that we've put in,
And the efforts we haven't put in,
Into the hands of a higher power.
Going to sleep also requires that we close our eyes,
And release any illusion of control that we have over our world.
That we trust that we're safe.
That we trust that as we go into the unknown places where our subconscious is going to guide us,
That everything will be alright.
And in order to let go of the worries of the day,
And to ease into the unknown,
We have to feel safety and calm in our bodies.
And my experience is that the easiest way to experience the safety and calm and eventually joy that allows us to let go,
Is to enter a state of hoda'ah,
Of gratitude.
Of acknowledging the blessings in our lives,
And where those blessings come from.
Yehudim,
The Jewish people,
Are the descendants of Yehuda,
The second son of Leah.
Who is given his name because Leah is in such gratitude to the divine for the blessing of this baby that she's holding in her arms.
And so the Jewish people get our name from Yehuda,
From he who is grateful.
And we are the nation that is grateful.
It is our birthright to express gratitude many times a day.
To bless others with gratitude,
And to shine the light of gratitude onto the entire world.
And so whether you,
Precious one,
Listening to this right now,
Are a Yehudi,
A Jew,
Or simply wish to connect to the light of the Yehudim,
To the light of the Jewish people,
That we have been commanded to bless onto the world,
I wish to bless you with an ever greater capacity for gratitude.
So that you may experience more joy in your days,
And more ease and relaxation and deep nourishing sleep in your nights.
In this meditation,
I will offer you the opportunity to explore your day,
And the myriad ways you can experience gratitude,
Physically,
Emotionally,
Mentally,
And spiritually,
For the blessings in your life.
I invite you to lay comfortably in your bed,
And close your eyes,
Becoming more and more aware of your breath,
Of the rise and fall of your belly and chest as you breathe,
Of the expansion of your breath as you allow yourself to experience how you are being breathed in this moment,
And this moment,
And this moment,
As if divine lips were breathing a Nishmat Chaim,
A breath of life,
Right into your nostrils.
And a divine hand were pumping that breath of life into every fiber of your being,
From the top of your head that is resting ever more comfortably with the support of the mattress beneath you,
Inviting the muscles of your scalp and brow and jaw to relax and feel that Nishmat Chaim making its way down your neck and shoulders,
Inviting you to let go of any tension they might be holding,
With an audible sigh breathing in,
And feel that relaxation making its way down your arms to your elbows and wrists,
And all the way to the tips of your fingers,
So that your arms feel heavier and heavier with every breath you take,
And as that Nishmat Chaim makes its way down your spine,
One vertebra at a time,
Feel your chest expanding that much more,
Your diaphragm softening into the breath,
And the organs of your belly becoming loose and soft and relaxed,
And feel that relaxation unlocking your hips,
So that Nishmat Chaim can make its way into your thighs and calves,
And all the way down to the tips of your toes,
So that your legs too feel heavier and heavier as they experience support of the mattress beneath them.
And now precious one,
I wish to invite you to focus your attention on a part of your body that supported you today,
And offer that body part the gift of your gratitude.
Allow a smile to come upon your face,
A memory of how this body part helped you to light up in your mind's eye,
A feeling of love and appreciation to fill your heart,
As you express with your breath and your feeling and your smile a thank you to this part of your body.
And now allow your awareness to shift,
As you think of someone who helped you today,
Could be a family member,
Could be the guy at the electric company who made sure you had access to electricity,
Could be your employer,
Whoever it is,
See their face in your mind's eye,
And allow your heart to fill with gratitude for this person's kindness,
And allow a smile to come upon your face as you picture them,
And allow your breath to deepen as you soak them in and feel their presence before you.
And through your breath and your feeling and your smile,
Say thank you to this person.
And now I invite you to shift your awareness to an object in your life that supported you today,
Perhaps it's the bed on which you lay,
The phone you used to call a friend,
Whatever that object is for you,
Envision it right now in your mind's eye,
And allow your heart to swell in gratitude for this object and its gift to you today,
As you feel appreciation for this object,
And allow your breath to expand as you soak this object in,
You don't know how long you'll have it in your life,
But for today,
This is good.
And through your breath and your feeling and your smile,
To express thank you to that,
To this object,
For the gifts it offered you today.
I expect that you know what it's like to enter a space with really good energy.
The energy of a space comes from the people who inhabit it,
Their emotions,
Their thoughts,
Their prayers,
Their blessings.
So I invite you now to think of a space that held you today,
Perhaps your home or office or coffee shop,
Wherever that space may be,
Imagine it in your mind's eye right now,
And allow yourself to feel how this space held you today,
And become aware of how it supported you in whatever experience you wanted to have in that space.
Allow your heart to be filled with appreciation that makes its way into a smile on your face,
And expands your breath to soak in this space,
And feel your breath and your feeling and your smile,
Expressing a beautiful blessing of appreciation and encouragement to this space.
That it may hold yourself and others in this way in the future.
Now I invite you to turn your awareness to yourself,
And think of something you appreciate about yourself today.
A choice that you made for the good.
Live that experience as if it's happening right now.
What colors and textures and sounds can you notice in your surroundings?
What emotions arise as you relive this beautiful moment?
Allow them to fill up your heart,
And allow yourself to thank yourself for this moment.
And to feel the gratitude in your heart,
In your breath,
And in your smile,
As you say to death,
Thank you,
To your beautiful self.
I invite you now to shift your awareness to the divine.
To the higher power that lives fully in you,
All around you,
And beyond space and time.
For some way that you felt its presence today.
Perhaps in a synchronicity.
Or perhaps in the simplest of pleasures.
And allow a gratitude for the divine to fill your heart.
And expand your breath even more.
And to make its way as a smile upon your face.
And see if you can expand your awareness even more.
To recognize how your body is a gift from the divine.
Every space you inhabit is a gift from the divine.
Every person you meet is a gift from the divine.
Every object,
And you yourself,
Precious one,
Are a gift from the divine.
A source of light,
And love,
And beauty for the rest of us.
I invite you to allow this gratitude to deepen more deeply into relaxation.
And have her so gently into a nourishing,
Delicious,
And deep sleep.
Sending you blessings and a good night from Jesus.
