Welcome to this gentle sleep meditation,
In a moment you will begin to feel lighter,
More relaxed and perhaps calm enough to go to sleep.
Please make sure that all distractions are taken care of,
And that you are positioned as comfortably as can be.
To use this sleep meditation,
All you have to do is visualise the words that you hear and follow along in your mind,
Building images.
This will help relax your body and quieten your mind.
You may close your eyes,
Or use your imagination as if you are daydreaming,
The choice is completely yours.
If you are ready to sleep the best night's sleep,
Your journey is about to begin.
In your mind,
In your imagination,
Picture a beautiful sunny day,
With blue skies all around.
Standing on a plush green carpet of grass,
You are stood next to a hot air balloon,
To take this journey.
In this moment,
The hot air balloon is being inflated,
You can see the flames from the burner expand the material.
Looking around,
You see trees everywhere,
Most of them being very tall ferns.
Their bushy branches lean outwards,
Creating a wall of deep green.
There are mountains behind the ferns,
That reach much taller into the deeply rich blue sky.
The white tops of the mountains exhibit how high they are above sea level.
There is a castle within the grounds,
Built with large bricks of stone and timber,
Looking many years old.
On the castle you notice rabbits,
Deer,
Squirrels and many other wonderful wild animals.
Buttercups,
Daisies and dandelions sprout randomly amongst the grasses,
Giving an extended palette of colour to this picturesque place.
Not far away,
Along the line of trees is a stream,
Where butterflies and dragonflies float,
Riding the warm breeze that fills the air.
As you watch the hot air balloon inflate,
You notice the strong woven basket in which you will stand.
It's much thicker than you had imagined,
The balloon itself is much larger than you would have thought it to be.
It stretches far across the green grass.
The pilot of your craft appears in front of you,
To introduce herself.
She reassures you with confidence,
Preparing you for a most enjoyable journey.
She has a clipboard,
A compass and a phone in her hands.
On her back is a rucksack filled with various instruments to help her fly the hot air balloon.
All you see is a competent pilot that only wants the best experience for you,
As she walks towards the balloon,
Which is almost inflated.
You feel much more relaxed as you take in the beautiful surroundings.
There is no wind and the blue sky goes on for as far as your eyes can see.
You find it interesting how everything comes together,
As you observe the team of people coordinating so well,
Beckoning you over to the hot air balloon.
The pilot waves,
With a sense of positive anticipation.
You walk over,
Climbing into the strong basket,
The pilot and the ground members circle the pre flight checks.
You have with you your own backpack of comforting foods and drinks.
You can divulge yourself at any time during the flight.
Placing your backpack on the floor of the basket,
The pilot is signalled for take off.
The pilot gives you a gracious nod as she makes the short flames above,
Taller.
Rising up,
You see the inside of the balloon,
It's large and empty space begins to fill.
The ground team release the ropes that keep the balloon grounded,
And your journey begins.
Slowly your craft lifts up,
Without any drama.
Rising up,
You yourself begin to feel lighter.
As the balloon rises,
You see the higher parts of the castle,
As you reach above the portcullis and the barbican.
A little higher,
You see the arrow loops,
Which are very small windows in the towers of the castle.
And now over the battlements of the wall,
You see the bailey,
Or the yard inside,
Which of the castle can just about be made out.
Where water once encircled this great settlement.
Now over the fern trees that you saw earlier from a distance,
You see them up close and can even smell the scent of their bark.
A very earthy flavour fills the air,
You feel free,
Loose and calm.
As you observe everything that you see,
There are many trees that make up the forest down below,
With many gaps where the sunlight touches the ground,
Revealing rocks,
Leaves and a very small stream.
Higher and higher you go,
Now higher than any tree of the forest.
Peeking over the trees,
A wide river can be seen winding within the forest,
Leading out into the far off mountains and into the sea.
The hot air balloon follows the river for a while,
With its babbling whitewash sparkling in the sun.
A family of deer walk and graze about in the green areas of vast pasture land,
A mum,
Dad and babies in tow,
Drifting across the sky now silently.
All of your cares and worries have faded away,
Your breathing has slowed down and your heart rate is now at a resting pace.
You truly are in bliss with the calmness and peacefulness of this moment,
As the river winds and bends,
Farmlands and fields meet the waters edge,
A lone tractor ploughs the land whilst sheep and cows wander in groups,
Exploring the greenery.
It is so silent up here,
Not a sound can be heard,
No wind,
No traffic,
Nothing,
Not even a thought passes your mind.
Your mind is completely silent,
You are engrossed in this present moment,
Its much like a dream.
You are floating so quietly and smoothly that you could be asleep,
Even your facial expression exudes calmness as you watch the tinkling sparkles of the river,
You notice hills and valleys which are wide and large,
The sky and the land meet.
Down below you observe log cabins neatly spaced out,
Lakes that shine the reflection of the sun,
And footpaths which lead up the sides of the valley.
People are looking up at you in the hot air balloon,
And are waving,
You wave back with a soft smile,
As you watch the people walking through the hills,
Your hot air balloon lifts up a little more and passes the edge of the valley,
The people disappear from sight.
Now seeing train tracks below,
Your hot air balloon follows them to a tunnel in the mountains.
No quicker have you traced the tracks,
A steam train glides out,
Huffing and puffing as it does,
The locomotive looks like a toy from here.
So small,
But moving so smoothly,
The train passes beneath you and as you listen for some sort of sound to be heard,
You hear nothing.
You could spend eternity here,
In this space in the sky,
There are no distractions and there is nothing to think about.
You are at peace with yourself and the world around.
The warm sun tingles on your skin,
A pleasant heat that makes you feel good.
The air is fresh and clean up here,
Helping you to breathe those deeper and longer calming breaths.
The company is great too,
As your pilot talks with you,
Showing you various places and things to see,
Also making sure that you are enjoying this experience.
Looking just a little bit higher,
Each time the balloon is filled with warm air,
You relax a little bit more,
You feel no stress or worry in this moment.
Every muscle in your body is now loose,
Your shoulders are especially relaxed,
The beautiful sight makes you appreciate everything you see,
The colours make you feel present and the atmosphere of this flight is just blissful.
Now slowly lowering,
It becomes silent once more,
No sound can be heard,
Except for your own breathing.
You can still see the river that bends as you fly adjacent to it up above,
The sea has a shimmer to it and the waves look still and motionless,
But obviously they are moving,
You are just too high to see them.
Yellow and white beaches line the coast,
Looking clean and untouched,
Almost like an oil painting.
The stillness of everything brings calmness to your every being.
It seems like all that you see is stood still in time.
If this were a time machine,
This is perhaps what it would look like,
Drifting down more,
You can just make out boats that look stationary and if it wasn't for the water that trails behind them,
You wouldn't know any different.
Now above the cliffs,
A red and white lighthouse stands proud,
Ready to shine its beacon for the coming night.
As you look up and ahead,
The setting sun brings with it a warm redness as it starts to sink beneath the horizon.
It won't be long before it's night time,
Coming in to land at a field near the beach.
You begin to hear the sounds of the world once again,
The sound of the waves of the beach roll their slushing wash on the sand,
The breeze subtly rustles the leaves of the trees and the birdsong of dusk can be heard.
Lowering down further,
You softly land,
As the basket whips the grass of the field.
The hot air balloon stands tall and wide,
As the greeting team anchor your craft into the ground.
Your pilot thanks you for taking the ride and wishes you well,
Whilst asking you if you enjoyed the experience.
You reply with a smile and wish her well too,
Whilst also thanking her for the excellent and memorable journey.
Clambering out of the basket,
Your feet touch the grass.
Although now on ground,
You feel light as a feather,
Your mind is clear,
Your body is ever so relaxed.
You decide to walk onto the beach for some reflective time to yourself.
The grass becomes sparse as it is replaced with fine grains of white sand.
Sinking as you walk towards the waters edge,
You hear the waves much more clearly now.
Looking out to sea,
The sky turns into a deep purple,
As the sun sinks and dips into the horizon.
The first stars of night appear and it begins to get dark,
Every breath calm,
Deep and relaxed.
Every thought of tranquility,
Peace and calmness.
Focusing on coming back now,
The image of the hot air balloon begins to fade as the pilot waves to you.
Every sound and sight slowly disappears as you bring yourself to the here and now.
You may already be asleep,
And if not,
You soon will be as you feel ever so relaxed,
Sensing your body resting in a most comfortable place,
And your focus now on sleep.
You relax some more,
As you come back now,
You feel exhilarated,
Free and calm.
Every muscle now deflating,
Lowering yourself and descending into your bed,
You begin to gently sink into pure comfort,
Your mind is now so quiet,
All you want to do is sleep,
Feel and sense any expansion of relaxed sensations in your toes and feet now.
As you notice how loose they are,
They lower with all their weight into your mattress,
Warm,
Safe and peaceful.
With the freedom now felt in your ankles,
Your legs soften into their resting position for the night.
With the weight of your legs and feet helping you to find your slumber,
Your lower back and pelvic area settles down too,
Descending more and more,
And relaxing intensely.
As your breathing slows down,
And your heart rate finds its resting rhythm,
Your abdomen and chest give up any energy or tense sensations.
Starting with tranquility and peacefulness,
Your shoulders,
Arms,
Hands and fingers let go of awareness,
Heavily lowering themselves down with the automatic response of going to sleep.
As you breathe longer and deeper breaths,
Your neck loosens,
Allowing your head to feel the pillow beneath,
With all its weight.
As you let your head rest,
All the weight has been taken off your mind,
This moment is about relaxing,
Taking time for yourself and sleeping the best night's sleep you could ever have.
In the next breath in,
You accept the invitation to go to sleep,
And as you breathe out,
You fall asleep.
There is nothing to think about,
Except how peaceful you feel after your calming journey.
As you smoothly now transition into sleep,
Every sight and every sound now fades as you lose awareness.
Your mind is filled with peace,
Enough for you to sleep now,
You are loose,
Free and relaxed.
Every part of you is letting go of your awareness,
And encourages you to sleep deeply tonight.
There is nothing to think about in this moment,
As you rest,
The peace you feel inside will rejuvenate you,
You feel clear in emotion,
Thinking and feeling.
Every part of your body is descending downwards,
Sinking further into your bed,
Now is a perfect time to go to sleep.
Every breath in brings even sleepier sensations,
Nothing can distract you from going to sleep now.
As you listen to your breathing,
Your body rests deeper,
You are hypnotised by your own breathing,
Nothing matters in this moment,
Except sleep.
You are going to sleep,
The best night's sleep you have ever had,
You are losing awareness of the outside world,
There are no sounds to be heard.
As you drift deeper,
Your eyelids are heavy,
Your head is heavy,
You are asleep.
