Midnight The Cat

Midnight the Cat is a wild cat who loves to roam the forests at night and sleep through the day beneath his favourite tree. This is the story of how Midnight befriended a girl who had the power to put star magic into our dreams. 15min story drifts into 45 minutes of music. Combining mindfulness, imaginative storytelling, and visualisation, this story helps ease anxiety and worry, aid settled sleep and dispel fears about nightmares. Chrissy Ortner is a meditation teacher and clinical hypnotherapist with a background in Educational Psychology. She is based in Melbourne, Australia.

Transcript

Once upon a time there was a cat called Midnight.

Midnight was a wild cat as black as coal who searched through the shadows of night looking for treasure.

Midnight loved to scout the forests and fields in the moonlight,

Nestling in the long grass and leaping and jumping when insects rustled and the moon moths fluttered up into a starlit sky.

And perhaps he's a little bit like you,

Wriggling and restless and not a little bit tired,

His body aching to round and play just a little bit longer as the gentle breezes stirred his soul.

But I wonder if it's possible,

As you listen to the story of Midnight,

To snuggle deep down under the covers,

Nuzzling your face into the pillow just like a cat does,

Feeling comfort in the smells of this special place just like a cat,

And tuning into the sounds all around you.

And just like Midnight,

Perhaps for a moment you can lie still,

Sensing the rise and fall of your chest,

The sound of your breath coming in and out through your nostrils ever so gently,

Ever so slowly,

Noticing that cool air that touches your nostrils.

And as you snuggle even deeper,

I wonder if you can become aware of your toes,

Noticing if they're comfortable.

And just like a cat that flexes its paws rhythmically when it's feeling comfortable and settled,

You might notice if your toes feel warm or cool,

As you notice the rise and fall of your chest and all the comforting sounds and smells around you.

Midnight the cat had a special place that he liked to sleep,

Not as comfortable as where you're lying now,

His bones couldn't sleep in a warm soft bed.

Midnight's favourite place to sleep was a hard concrete slab beneath the branches of an old tree that hung over it and gave it some shade on those hot afternoons.

It was Midnight's favourite place to sleep because of the way it caught the sun on those dreamy sunny days when your eyes feel heavy from the brightness of the sun and you just want to draw a dark curtain of shade across them.

Eyes squinting and relaxing as you can imagine the warmth of Midnight's stone beneath him and every muscle and every bone relaxing and soaking in that warmth.

And Midnight would stretch out into that warmth,

Stretching out the pads and claws on his feet,

Just like you can stretch out your fingers and toes.

Midnight would always sniff the air for excitement or fun,

A cricket to catch,

A butterfly to chase,

But most often the sun would close his eyes,

Feeling heavy and sleepy,

And his velvety paws would begin to move and stretch as he drifted off to sleep,

Dreaming of adventures through sun-closed eyes.

And perhaps you'll dream just like Midnight's eyes soaking in the warmth of the sun and hearing that inner pair of contented sleep.

Sometimes we can feel it as a gentle vibration flowing out through your lips,

Out through your nose,

Flowing out through your fingers and flowing out through your toes with each slow breath.

Midnight had many dreams and sometimes he had dreams within dreams,

One minute hunting deep in the forest,

Stalking,

Whisper still,

Quiet and ready to pounce,

And then sometimes he'd waken into another dream looking at his own reflection in a pool,

Noticing how powerful and strong and sleek he looked,

His reflection shining in moonlit water.

But Midnight cared little about his appearance.

He could be scruffy or sleek,

Muddy or clean,

None of it mattered to him,

Just as long as he was rested and fed and dreaming of adventures.

And maybe you've seen that look on a cat,

But its body is stretched out long,

Its breathing steady and slow,

Just like yours.

Its tail might gently flick back and forth,

Becoming slower and slower,

Half asleep,

Half dreaming and so very comfortable.

And that feeling when there's movement around you,

The feeling when you try to open your eyes,

Knowing that you're safe.

And as you know you're safe,

Just like Midnight,

You can relax even deeper.

And so it was a dream within a dream,

Comfortable and warm,

When Midnight heard the screech of an owl and the sounds of gentle footsteps coming closer.

He stretched and yawned,

Became aware it was dark.

He heard twigs breaking,

Grass rustling in the breeze and the smell of a human close by.

Midnight began to creep,

Silently behind a tree before he could be seen,

Just like a shadow in the moonlight.

A young girl came out of the shadows.

She was tall and willowy and her long hair swished across her shoulders as she walked.

She picked her way carefully through the leaves and branches,

Moving in a straight line,

As though she knew exactly where she was going.

Midnight sniffed the air.

She smelled of strawberries and without even thinking,

He began to follow her,

At first hiding in the shadows and then,

As his curiosity grew,

Bounding behind her.

And as she walked,

She began to sing.

It was a curious song that sounded like birds or crickets,

The songs of the earth,

The moon and the stars.

Midnight had never heard such singing before.

And as his curiosity grew,

He bounded closer and closer,

Following her footprints through the forest,

The girl and the cat,

Moving with the sun.

I am one with the moon,

I am one with the trees,

I am one with the river as it flows through me.

I am one with the moon,

I am one with the sky,

I am one with the birds and my spirit flies high.

I'll sing you my song as the moon begins to rise.

As I sing from my heart,

Your dreams take flight.

I am spirit,

I am sound,

I am energy.

From the source comes you,

From the source comes me.

Midnight didn't know what the words meant,

But he knew how they felt,

Warm and calm,

Gentle and kind.

And he followed the girls dancing feet and their gentle rhythm.

And all around him he could hear the sounds of crickets and owls,

The crunch of leaves beneath his feet and the warm smell of strawberries.

The girl was a dream seeder.

She carried in one hand a twisted branch carved into beautiful spirals.

Ribbons hung from one end of the branch and a clear quartz crystal was set in the other end.

And as she sang,

She pointed the crystal to each star as it emerged into the night sky.

It was just like joining the dots in a picture.

She drew a picture of herself and the cat into the stars,

The cat's tail resting on a crescent moon.

The crystal shone in the moonlight and as each star emerged the crystal grew brighter and brighter.

And the further she traveled through the forest the quicker she moved.

Midnight was now running to keep up with her as she bounded through the forest as graceful as a ballerina,

Twirling her wand and sending light beams through the trees.

They ran and ran until midnight tired,

He felt he could go no more,

Every muscle in his legs was aching.

But the girl and her song and the crystal light led him to the top of a hill that opened out into a clearing.

Far below shone the light of many houses,

Maybe even yours.

And far,

Far above shone the light of millions of stars.

It was then that the girl turned to face midnight and he saw her green cat-like eyes and a gentle smile flickered across her face.

It's time to begin,

She whispered,

And she scooped the cat up into her arms.

Midnight was too surprised to resist,

He'd never trusted humans,

Yet as she once more began to sing and rocked him gently in her arms he felt warm and safe.

Midnight closed his eyes and as he closed them heavy and tired,

Just like you,

His soft face nuzzled into warm skin and he felt safe and loved.

And then he saw them,

And then he felt them.

All those children sleeping far,

Far below,

Their dreams floated out high above the houses,

Flowing out through the windows,

Flowing out through the chimneys,

Swirling pinks and green,

Purple and red,

Gold and orange,

Violet and blue.

Those dreams creating beautiful stories and pictures in the night sky.

And the girl laughed and sang louder,

Calling them closer.

And maybe he dreamt it,

Or maybe he saw it.

The light from the crystal sent those dreams all the way to the stars.

Only the good dreams can rise to the starlight,

She whispered.

We must focus on the fun ones,

She said to the cat.

And the cat purred louder.

And his purrs were heard far and wide,

And the children below felt that purr rustling deep in their hearts.

Midnight the cat hears brave and fearless,

And his purr can be heard as you drift off to sleep.

And the sky girl is singing,

She's summoning your good dreams.

She's singing them to the starlight and into your mornings and all through the day.

Maybe one day you'll hear her,

Hear her song,

And maybe one day you'll feel midnight.

Feel him close as you nuzzle into your pillow,

Grateful for all you are and all you can be.

But one with the earth and the moon and the stars,

But one with the source and all that you can see.

And maybe you'll dream a dream within a dream,

Warm and safe like a cat can be.

Catching light from the stars,

You can summon the good dreams that wait to be seen.

And far in the distance,

The star girl is singing.

She's singing for you and she's singing for me.

And there by her side,

Midnight is dreaming the most magical story a cat can dream.

He's no longer alone,

He's here by your side.

And maybe you'll feel him stretching and yawning,

Peering soft breath warm on your face.

He sleeps in the shadows when you close your eyes and vanishes by the first light of day.

And when you awaken,

The sun fills the room,

Feeling happy and playful,

Just like a cat.

With your heart full of stardust and daydreams and magic,

Your dream starts to wake by the girl and the cat.

But just for now you're sleeping,

Drifting and dreaming.

Midnight is with you,

Peering at night and the star girl is dancing,

Your dreams to the stars,

Drifting and sleeping,

Safe like a cat.

Your nursery всего de Mar.

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Reviews

Thank you. So soothing I drifted off… look forward to listening again. Many blessings! 💜🙏

AMAZING I love listening to the same story every night I love cats and stars and trees🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛😾😺😸😺😸😺😸😺😸😺😹🐈🐈🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈🐈🐈‍⬛🐈🐈🐈‍⬛🐈🐈‍⬛🐈🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🐯🐯🐯🐯🐯🦐🕊️🦐🦐🕊️🕊️😻😻😻

Great, fell asleep fast! Please make more dragon stories

Absolutely or these to help our kid go to bed. She has the most soothing voice. Love the nature sounds at the end of the track.

Amazing a fell asleep right away! I love your tracks they are always so nice and calm

I love the the background music!

Absolutely wonderful! The soft crickets in the background made me feel like I was out in a peaceful spot in the forest, and your voice was very soothing! I slept perfectly, and I’m thinking about showing this to my parents sometime soon!

I feel asleep almost as soon as it began!! Your voice is very calming 😌

I love the music that goes along with this amazing story!!!

Thanks for the lovely tale, Chrissy . Have a great day. Léna in Alps of NthEast Vic🙂.

It got me & my daughter to sleep. Very relaxing