So in tonight's sleep story,
You go out for a walk through British countryside,
Hearing a telephone ringing,
Sending you on a quest to meet a wizard in the heart of the woods who asks for your help to open the magical portals.
Reconnect the realms of the dwarves and the humans.
So just take a moment to allow your eyes to close and allow yourself to begin to relax.
And as you begin to comfortably drift asleep.
I don't know whether you'll drift asleep faster to the sound of my voice.
Or whether it'll be to the spaces between my words.
And as you comfortably fall asleep.
Can take a moment to allow yourself to get comfortable and imagine a healing light softly slowly and gently.
Passing down from the top of your head.
To the tips of your toes.
Relaxing gently down through you.
As I count from 10 down to 1.
And with each count your mind can quieten and calm.
As the muscles soften and relax.
And you can begin the process of drifting peacefully asleep.
From 10.
Healing light.
Relaxing the muscles around the top of the head.
Or in the back of your head.
Gently.
Carefully.
Relaxing the muscles around the side of your head.
Around your temple,
Your forehead.
And with each out breath that relaxation deep and so peacefully.
So comfortably.
As it flows down around the eyes and around the ears.
Nine.
That relaxation moving down around the jaw.
Relaxing that jaw,
Allowing the tongue to relax,
The lips.
To relax the nostrils.
To gently relax.
With that relaxation moving carefully,
Slowly.
As that healing light passes down the back of your neck.
Softening and calming those muscles.
And sides of the neck,
The front of the neck.
Down from the head.
Gradually moving that calming,
Healing light.
Out across the shoulders,
The shoulder blades.
Relaxing those muscles,
Like a deep massage passing through your mind and body.
As that relaxation begins to move down those arms.
And I don't know which arm the relaxation will move down fastest.
Whether it will be the right arm or the left arm.
But you can be aware of that healing light spreading gently down those arms.
Around the bicep.
The tricep.
Down into the forearms.
Seven,
Moving all the way down to the wrist palms of the hands.
Down to the fingertips.
And perhaps as that relaxation continues through those arms with each out breath,
The arms begin to feel heavier.
Lighter or some other sensation as relaxation sets in.
And you know the process for sleep is that the body begins to relax and while the body becomes physically relaxed so the mind begins to drift and dream.
Initially to brief reveries before settling on the first dream of the night.
6.
And that healing light can spread down.
From the shoulders and down around the chest,
The upper back softening and relaxing those muscles.
Gently calming the breathing.
Helping you drift deeper and deeper into the experience.
Five,
The healing light moving down towards the stomach.
The lower back.
The side.
Relaxing those muscles as it goes,
Bringing a deep sense of peace and calm to your upper body.
Releasing any tension.
Perhaps occasionally finding yourself shifting just a little to get.
A bit more comfortable.
For with that relaxation spreading down around your buttocks down into the upper parts of your legs.
Three.
Passing that relaxation down towards the lower parts of your legs.
Perhaps those legs feeling heavier and heavier.
As the body becomes deeply relaxed.
And your focus drifts inside more on what's going on for you in your mind and you can lose some awareness of the body as it becomes incredibly still.
Too.
The relaxation.
Spreading down to your feet.
Calming.
Softly relaxing.
All the way down to the tips of your toes.
And one.
As a final wave of relaxation pushes gently through you,
From the top of your head down through your body.
All the way down to the tips of your toes.
As your mind begins to drift and dream.
And wander into tonight's sleep story.
And as you relax into the sleep story.
You find yourself wandering down a country lane.
And as you wander down this country lane.
The road meandering through the countryside.
Birds singing cheerfully within the trees.
Clouds ambling across the sky.
You see a red phone box in the distance.
And each footstep along the road gives a gentle crackling sound.
Each stride brings you closer.
To the heart of this landscape.
And while you walk through the landscape that phone box.
Getting larger and larger as it gets nearer and nearer.
You can feel the gentle breeze on the side of your face.
The warmth of the sun on your cheeks.
Hearing the rustling of the wind blowing through the tops of the trees.
Starlings singing in the bushes that line this road.
And as you near that phone box.
You can hear the sound of it ringing.
And as you approach so that ringing gets louder and louder and it doesn't seem to stop.
And so when you arrive at the phone box,
Out of curiosity.
You open the heavy door to that phone box.
Squeeze yourself inside the phone box,
That door swinging shut.
Behind you.
And then slowing down.
Close very slowly behind you.
The last.
Few centimetres.
That phone ringing before you.
Stillness to the air within the phone box.
A lack of echoing within the phone box,
Almost like the walls.
A swallowing the sound.
With curiosity.
You pick up a receiver.
You hold it to your head.
As that ringing stops.
You hear a bit of static followed by.
.
.
A voice.
And that voice is the kindest,
Most friendly sounding voice.
Asking you to come and visit.
Suggesting that you walk down the road a little further.
And then turn off and head through the woods.
And then the phone hangs up.
And so you place the receiver back down.
Push your way back out of that foam box.
And continue on your journey.
And although you're still admiring nature around you.
A part of your mind.
Is on that message.
And weather whoever made that phone call.
Made it specifically for you or anyone who is walking past that phone box.
And whether you should follow the instructions or just continue on the path you are taking.
Your plan was just to be out walking for a while.
You're staying in a nearby bed and breakfast.
Within a local village.
And you're out on a country walk.
You were following this road on this country wall.
Do you continue to follow the road?
Or if that turning exists into the woods.
Do you take that turning and head through the woods?
To visit the person who made that phone call.
And while you walk.
So you see,
A large bird.
Circling gracefully overhead.
Observing the landscape below.
You see a family of deer in a field.
You bob up and down slightly as you walk.
So that your head,
Each time you bob up,
Can see over the hedge alongside you.
Until you reach a gate into the field.
And you stop for a moment at that metal gate.
Head over to the gate.
You rest your arms on top of the gate and your chin on top of your arms.
Looking out across the field.
Watching that family of deer.
How peaceful and still they seem.
Just enjoying some food.
And you can feel the.
.
.
Warmth of that metal through your sleeves.
That's been gently warmed.
By the morning sun.
And after watching those deer for a while.
You continue on along the side of these fields.
Heading towards a wooded area,
And you can see the way that the wooded area The trees arch over the road from both sides.
Almost locking fingers in the middle.
Creating.
A comfortable,
Cool tunnel.
With just the occasional dancing dappled light.
Working its way down through the tree leaves.
And as you approach.
The edge of the wood.
So you notice.
That there's a fence running alongside the wood on either side of the road.
And in the middle of that fence.
Is a style.
On both sides of the road.
In the muddy footpath.
Cutting into the woodland.
And so you continue on,
Getting closer and closer to that gap in the fence.
Thinking to yourself about whether to veer off into the woods or just keep moving forward.
But as you reach that gap in the fence,
So your curiosity gets the better of you.
You climb over the style.
Jumped down onto the mud.
And begin to walk into that woodland.
And each footstep.
Now gives off a dull thud.
Rather than that slight crunching sound of walking on the road.
Bird-song echoes through the woodland.
Making it hard to pinpoint exactly where within the woods.
The birds singing are situated.
And all around you.
Is the sound of the rustling leaves overhead.
As the wind blows as it breathes across the tops of the trees.
And you follow this path,
Initially the path being very straight.
And then it begins to weave and turn.
As if it's been created.
To avoid causing harm to any of the trees.
Replacing the path.
Where it can go.
That fits around the nature that's already here.
And you notice off of this slightly broader path.
Occasional narrow.
Deeper seeming paths.
Often flanked.
With ivy and leafy plants.
That manage to grow.
In the dimly lit woodland.
And you recognise that these are trails.
From centuries of animals.
Finding their own paths through the woodland.
Which sometimes cross the human path.
And while you continue to walk.
So you start to notice.
The uncertain outline.
Of a cabin.
Within this woodland.
Its clear lines.
Broken by the trees and branches between you and it.
And the cabin seems to be built of the same wood of the woodland.
Helping it to blend in.
And you meander towards that cabin.
And you're curious who will live there.
And interested to find out whether they are the ones that definitely made the phone call.
And why you?
And the cabin.
As you head out into a slight clearing.
It looks like it's growing out from the woodland,
Like it's a part of the woodland.
Rather than apart from it.
And you walk up to the door.
You reach.
For the knocker on the door.
Fingertips pausing for a moment.
And then taking hold of that cool knocker.
Feeling the weight of that in your hands.
And tapping it gently against the wooden door.
The sound reverberating through the wood.
Then you step back.
And wait.
And you don't have to wait long.
Before you hear movement within the cabin.
And then a latch going on the other side of the door.
And then the door.
Carefully and slowly.
Being swung open.
To reveal the friendliest looking.
Old wizard.
The eyes having lines.
Shown years.
Of smiling.
And laughing.
And their face instantly lighting up on seeing you.
And they invite you in.
In a very enthusiastic way.
An excitable way.
They gesture for you to go and sit down.
On a comfy seat.
In the living space.
As they head into the kitchen space.
Put the kettle on and offer.
For you to have a cup of tea.
And you accept.
The offer for a cup of tea.
And they're talking and almost mumbling in an excited kind of way.
As you hear the sound of clanking china.
While I grab a couple of teacups.
And a silver spoon.
And they grab a teapot.
And they make up that tea in the teapot.
They place the teapot onto a tray and a tea cosy over the teapot.
Replace those cups.
Onto the tray and the spoon.
And then with a slight bit of fidgeting.
They carry the tray over.
To living space.
Place it down onto a table beside the chair you're sitting in.
They pull around a larger coffee table,
Placing that between two seats.
Then put the tray onto that table.
They head back to the kitchen saying they've just forgotten something.
And you hear them pottering in the kitchen space.
As they place some biscuits onto a small plate.
And then they bring those biscuits through and place them down next to the tea.
And they seem so excited to see you,
Although you've never seen them before,
You're pretty confident you don't know them and they shouldn't know you.
And they jiggle the teapot slightly.
And they say I'll just let it brew for a little while.
As they sit back in their seats.
And they start asking you questions about.
.
.
What brought you to this area.
How are you?
What do you think of the weather?
Have you found this place so far?
And after 10 or 15 minutes of them just engaging in some basic chatter with you answering some simple questions still curious why you're actually here.
They lift up the teapot.
Resting.
The three middle fingers of their other hand.
On top of the centre of the teapot on the lid.
Carefully.
Tilt that teapot and pour the tea into the cups.
They offer you some milk with the tea.
Some sugar if you want it.
Some biscuits if you'd like those.
And now that tea has been poured.
They feel that they can sit back.
And really just take their time.
To engage in conversation,
No longer a need to make small talk to fill the time.
Between sitting down and pouring the tea.
They say that they had heard from a friend about your arrival visiting the village.
And that friend.
Who'd seen you in the village.
Recognised something about you.
That you perhaps wouldn't know about yourself.
Deep quality that you have.
That most others never really cultivate.
And so they knew that you were the right person.
And they came and told the wizard of your arrival.
And they told the wizard what she looked like.
And so the wizard had put themselves into a meditative state.
Will they slow their mind?
They synchronise the frequency of their mind.
With the frequency of nature around them.
And they perform a meditation.
Where they connect.
With all living things in this area.
And enduring self.
They can see through the eyes of birds.
Another animal.
And so flying high.
As an eagle overhead.
They saw you setting off.
Wandering along that road.
As they saw you getting into earshot of the telephone.
They began to ring you.
To see if you'd come here.
And as the wizard continues to talk they stand up from their chair.
While placing their teacup down on the table.
The head around the back of the chairs.
Heading over.
To a large wall of books.
Skimming their finger across the books as if searching.
Making an acknowledgement of discovery,
Before plucking one of those books off the shelves.
They carry the book back to the seat.
Still continuing to talk.
While flicking through that book.
And finding what they're looking for.
And they talk about.
How there was a dwarven realm.
And one of the access points to that realm.
Within the farthest reaches of these woods.
And then a wizard.
A long time ago.
Cast a spell.
Sealing.
The portal.
To that dwarven realm.
Preventing them from accessing this world.
And from us accessing theirs.
And in doing so locking off a huge amount of knowledge and wisdom.
But only the right person has the power.
To reopen.
That portal.
And you are that person,
You have the qualities you need.
And unknown to you.
You have the lineage that's required.
And they can recognize it in you straight away,
Something in your eyes,
In your mannerisms.
In the way that you speak and focus your attention.
And while they're talking,
They're pointing at points in the book.
They're saying everything in their own words.
But you can tell that they're talking about what it is that they're reading.
They say they'd like your help.
To reopen that portal.
And in doing so it will reopen all the other portals.
That were closed at the same time in all the other locations.
It will allow.
Beings from both worlds to interact.
Communicate once more.
It just requires you.
To go to the portal.
Perform a magical spell at the portal.
And a small ritual.
And then the portal should open.
And they turn to a page in this old dusty book.
That shows an ancient map of this woodland.
They point to where this cabin is.
Nightmare.
And there are no paths marked on the map.
And so you take a look at that map.
You try and see any landmarks.
That could help you to know.
When you are heading in the right direction.
And the wizard tells you the direction of travel.
But as long as you're heading in their direction then you should find your way.
And they then say that they've got an idea to help you further.
And close their eyes.
They rest their hands around.
The teapot.
They begin to deeply and comfortably.
Chant a magic spell.
And some faint blue steam.
Comes out the spout of the teapot.
And a gentle bubbling can be heard within the teapot.
Then,
While seemingly staying in the same,
Trance that they entered to perform that magic spell.
Pour out another cup of tea for you.
And you can see the top of the T.
Has fizzing,
Popping,
Light.
They tell you to drink that tea and that on doing so it will infuse within you.
And you'll feel an instinctive knowing.
When you're pointing in the direction of your destination.
And so that'll help you to find where you're going.
And so you drink that tea.
And it takes you a little while.
So while drinking,
The two of you just chat.
And after drinking.
You set off.
From the cabin.
You try and recall the direction you need to go.
You begin walking in that direction.
And there are no paths in this direction.
And you can feel that instinctive.
Sensation.
That you are going the right way.
And while walking through this woodland.
Their birds singing softly.
The occasional hoot of an owl reverberating among the trees.
The pulsing of the rustling of the leaves as the wind blows a breeze,
Sometimes stronger Sometimes the breeze almost comes to a standstill.
And you weave yourself around trunks of trees.
The rough feeling of the bark beneath your fingertips.
Different types of trees dotted through the woodland,
Each with its own unique scent.
The smell of pine.
Smell of oak.
The scent of the undergrowth.
And while you continue to walk,
So the day continues.
To plod on towards night.
And so as the sun begins to set beyond the woodland.
You stop and set up a camp.
You clear a space.
You dig a pit.
And create a small campfire.
You light that campfire and have yourself something to eat and drink.
You make a shelter.
From some branches and leaves.
You place many leaves down in your shelter,
Add some smooth padding.
After eating and having something to drink.
You tuck yourself into your shelter.
And listening to the sounds of nature around you.
And feeling so deeply relaxed.
You drift comfortably asleep.
And the next morning you awaken feeling so refreshed and revitalised and very little direct sunlight makes it into the woodland.
But the glow within the woodland gets lighter and lighter as the sun continues to rise.
And a miss.
Within the woodland.
Gradually dissipates.
Rising up.
Through the trees.
Revealing the depth of the woodland once more.
Can you clear everything away and continue on your journey?
And you instinctively know the right direction to go.
And as you continue walking so you faintly hear the distant sound of flowing water.
And you know that at one point during this journey,
You have to follow a stream and then cross over just before the stream turns.
For you to remain on track.
And so you begin to head towards that sound of flowing water.
Until eventually you arrive at the stream.
And this stream cutting through the woodland.
Allows a bit more light from overhead.
As you can notice along the edge of the stream.
The fluffy patches of grass.
And other wildflowers.
Making the most of this light here.
And you follow the stream.
The air smelling fresher near this water.
And just at the point the stream begins to turn.
You know that's your cue to cross.
And so you give a little leap.
To the other side of the stream.
Continue on your journey.
The sound of the stream gradually.
Fading into the background behind you.
And it's still quite a walk back through this woodland.
Sheltered from the sunlight overhead.
Still feeling yourself being on the right direction.
Until eventually.
.
.
That feeling becomes so overwhelmingly strong you know.
You're about to arrive where you need to be.
And you see this grand old oak tree within this woodland.
With its gnarled trunk.
Looking like it's straining under the weight of its canopy.
Like it's been holding that canopy up.
For centuries.
You clear a space in front of that old oak.
You mix up.
A small potion.
Following the instructions you were given.
And you begin the ritual.
You begin to say the magic spell.
Pausing at the points you need to pause.
To drink some of that drink.
And the drink and the spell help connect you.
With a different frequency.
Frequency between realms.
That allows you to start.
To see.
That portal before you.
It begins to form on the trunk of that old oak tree.
Like a slightly glowing,
Pulsing,
Electric blue,
Swirling tunnel.
That seems to be blocked off,
Like there's a door trapped over the front of it.
And chains wrapped around that door.
And you know that this is only a psychic representation.
To help you to understand.
This portal.
Is currently trapped shut.
There isn't really a door and chains blocking the portal.
It's really magic.
Which is preventing the portal from opening.
And so you continue on.
With the magic spell.
And as you do,
You see those chains.
Begin to glow brighter and brighter.
From electric blue through to white.
Before appearing like they're becoming brittle and then breaking and falling from the door and the trunk.
And the planks blocking the portal.
Can be heard to splinter and crack.
Before shattering.
And falling away.
And the large.
Wooden door blocking the portal.
Begins to crack and splinter.
Until that,
Too.
Explodes and disintegrates.
And with the word.
Dhamm.
The portal leaps to life.
Almost like a whirlpool suddenly created.
Where you see that increase in depth very quickly.
As if sucked into the tree.
Into a nothingness.
And a shimmering occurs around the outside of the portal.
And then you see a flash of light in the heart of the portal.
As if.
The other end of the portal is connected.
With the realm.
It was opening to.
And then you see somebody.
Through the portal.
Peering in.
And they're wearing a red hat.
Green clothes.
They seem short.
But well built and strong.
And one of those people steps through the portal.
And although when you look through the portal they look so far away like they're at the end of a long tunnel.
When they step through.
It's like they're just stepping.
Through a doorway.
And as they step through so they look around with a big smile on their face looking up and around the landscape They see you.
Engaging in that ritual and that magic spell.
They come over as you finish the spell and the portals now open.
And they reach and grab your hand and shake your hand and thank you.
For opening the portal.
And then you see more come through.
And they say that the other portals.
.
.
Have also opened.
The two realms are now reconnected again.
They can come back to bringing magic to this world.
And sharing knowledge between the realms.
And they invite you to a party in the realm of the dwarves.
To celebrate the opening of the portals.
They take you through the portal to a land which seems strange.
Where trees seem to grow upside down.
Where everything is a slightly different colour to what you would expect.
Where the gravity here seems to make you feel heavier.
Than the gravity where you've come from.
And they build a massive bonfire.
They place log seats around the bonfire.
They cook up.
A massive barbecue.
And have a feast fit for a king.
As they celebrate.
Your health.
In opening up those portals.
And you engage in that feast and different dwarves come and sit next to you and share their knowledge and wisdom.
And answer your questions about Dwarven society.
About this place here.
About their history.
Until eventually.
It's getting late and they let you stay with them for a while and the next day you head back through the portal.
You set off early,
Finding your way through the woodland.
You head back to the wizard.
You tell them about how you've helped.
The wizard already knows.
And they say they hope that you have a great rest of your holiday.
You head back to the village.
And back at the village you're greeted.
As if you're some kind of a hero.
As if somehow everyone here knew who you were.
What you've just been and done.
And you head to the bread and breakfast.
Your head to bed.
Settling down so comfortably on your bed.
Feeling a deep sense of sleep.
Waft over you.
So happy to be in an incredibly comfortable bed.
Rather than sleeping on the ground.
Pondering the experience you've had.
You drift and float,
So deeply relaxed asleep.
Into slumberland.
