Island Of The Silver Reindeer | A Sleep Story

In the sleep story, “Island of the Silver Reindeer”, you will travel and experience a remote island in the arctic circle. The only place where the rare silver reindeer live. The sleep story begins with a simple relaxation exercise.

Transcript

Hi,

Thanks for joining me,

Clara,

On this guided visualization for sleep about the island of the silver reindeer.

Before we begin,

Please find a place where you feel comfortable and can rest.

Close your eyes,

Relax all the muscles in your face,

Focus on your forehead and release all the tension.

Allow the tightness to melt away from your eyes.

Drop your shoulders as low as possible to ease any stress from your neck.

Relax your upper and lower arms,

Then move down to your fingers.

Relax your chest and fill your lungs with air.

Release,

Then move down to your hips and knees,

Then finish at your ankles and feet.

You've made detailed plans to stay on the island of the silver reindeer for a short time.

The rare silver reindeer can only be found on this remote northern island.

They're pale because they're born with a recessive gene that causes their extraordinary light silver fur.

Only 219 reindeer exist on the island today.

The journey here has been a surreal experience,

Filled with joy,

Inspiration and inner calm as a passenger sailing through the northwest passage on a vintage schooner ship.

Fortunately,

The four-day crossing was smooth,

But it was freezing cold.

Sailing through an icy sea,

And you spent most of those days behind closed doors,

Next to the small wood stove,

In near total silence.

Going outside required putting on multiple layers of clothing,

Including a woolen sweater,

Hat,

Socks and waterproof boots.

And the further north the ship went,

Even more layers were required.

When the ship reached the Arctic Circle,

The only noise was its bow crunching through tiny bits of ice in a milky grey sea.

Later on,

You passed endless ice shelves in otherworldly shades of turquoise blues,

Glowing within the hollows and crevices of the glaciers.

The final day of the voyage here was rich with wildlife.

Fur seals on massive chunks of ice,

Silently watching the ship pass.

Humpback whales showing up unexpectedly,

Alongside the boat with loud and heavy breaths,

And all sorts of seabirds.

And at last,

Here you are.

The tall ship found a good anchorage in the island's peaceful lagoon at some point overnight.

At this time of year,

The sun barely reaches the horizon during the daytime,

So when you wake up in the late morning,

It's still quite dark.

The deep blue light at this hour exposes a jagged shoreline,

Behind which are high mountains chiseled by glaciers.

After a couple of cups of coffee and breakfast,

Crew members Fenn and Geordi help you load all your gear into a small zodiac boat,

And then they drive you to the island.

The surface of the water is still,

And on the way,

A small pod of dolphins playfully surf in the boat's bow waves.

Soon,

You arrive at the island.

After pulling the zodiac up onto the rocky black beach,

The burly crew members help haul your gear a couple of hundred yards to the historic hut.

The hut is situated well on the sheltered side of the island,

Safe from weather systems and the monstrous storm swells this part of the world is known for.

Fenn and Geordi say goodbye and tell you to be ready in a week on Tuesday,

When the boat will sail back here to collect you after circumnavigating the island.

Inside,

The hut is colder than on the outside,

But there's a small wood stove in the corner,

Which you fire up with wood.

From a huge stack of driftwoods that the last person who stayed here kindly left,

You're basking in the warm glow of a welcoming fire in no time.

Over the years,

This hut has been a temporary home to many arctic adventurers,

Explorers,

And researchers.

If the walls could talk,

They'd have a tale or two to tell,

And these walls are lined with shelves,

Crammed with stacks of books and tins of food.

Both old and new,

The window panes on the inside are blind with frost that you must scrape away to look outside.

After you've scraped the ice off,

You watch as the ship prepares for sea.

Finally,

The zodiac is hauled back on deck,

The anchor raised,

And the main sails hoisted.

The wind etches the sails,

And the wooden ship slips away,

Becoming smaller and smaller.

Your heart etches in your throat,

Watching it disappear beyond the horizon.

Now,

You are truly alone,

Alone on this remote,

Stark island.

Completely alone,

Miles and miles from anyone or anywhere alone.

And there's a feeling of quiet resilience and calm in that fact.

You decide to explore your island home for the next few days,

Adding on another layer of clothing before heading out.

A thick,

Waterproof coat once outside the confines of the cabin.

The stark landscape is intimidating,

Which creates a feeling of insignificance within yourself.

And yet,

The great silence and the solitude feel good.

Without a doubt,

The scenery is breathtaking.

The receding glacier in the background has exposed a vast area of grassy slopes and a low,

Undulating landscape nestled amongst high,

Steep mountains.

It's so cold so cold that all the scents have been sucked out of the air.

Nothing burns like the cold,

But at the same time,

Nothing purifies like the cold either.

The cold makes your breath hover around you in a strange,

Slow-motion cloud.

The snow you're walking on has a thick crust.

Yours are the only footprints here.

After a while,

The effort of walking through the snow begins to warm you up.

But hang on,

There are other footprints.

Fresh prints that look like reindeer imprints.

Reaching the saddle of the hill,

You look down,

And there,

A silver reindeer,

Asleep in a hollow,

Sheltered by rocks.

Five of them,

Glowing with the same ghostly cloud from their breath,

Drifting above their heads.

They all have massive,

Silver-velvet-covered antlers,

Making their heads droop toward the ground.

Sensing your presence on the hill above,

They startle,

Get up,

Turn their heads towards you,

And make eye contact with large,

Glossy eyes through a cloud of breath.

There's a connection between you,

And for a few moments,

You don't feel so alone.

They turn and run,

You watch as they disappear in a cloud of snow and a haze of fog.

And then,

You wonder,

Did you even see them at all?

Unexpectedly,

The weather quickly shifts,

And a powerful gust of wind falls down from the mountains.

The light has changed,

Too.

There's an uncanny,

Deep,

Gloomy tinge in the air.

It's unlike anything you've experienced.

You keenly sense with every fiber in your body that it's time to turn around,

And head back to the cabin before the weather really rolls in.

As you retrace your steps,

A few feathery snowflakes swirl.

Wildly,

They hover low,

With uncertain flight in the wind,

Almost landing on the ground before being reeled into remote regions of the atmosphere.

The intensity of the storm increases as you reach the cabin door.

Snow now blows horizontally,

And is almost blinding.

It's difficult to open the door against the fierce wind,

But finally,

You're inside,

And you breathe a sigh of relief.

The fire is almost extinguished during the short time you're out,

So you stack some more wood on the fire,

And light it again.

After a short time,

The harsh wind dies down,

And when you look outside,

Big snowflakes fall,

Gently,

In the deep blue haze beyond the window.

The outside world is a dream,

And inside,

It's cozy,

As the fire crackles with orange and crimson sparks.

The snow stops,

And you watch the sky clear.

Then,

The stars illuminate,

One by one.

They're dazzlingly bright in the night sky here,

So very far away from any other artificial lights.

There are more stars than you've ever seen before.

A hundred,

Million stars,

Brilliantly dense,

Like a storm cloud of light over the dark,

Depthless sea.

You watch a bright,

Neon-shooting star fall through the night sky.

It's traveled billions of miles,

Only to extinguish in seconds.

Here,

On the outer edges of the arctic world,

You make a wish,

And then turn to the bed.

Reviews

So inspiring, interesting and very cosy, love to explotre that part of the world one day. Thank you for the adventure and the tranquillity. 🙏🦋