So,
Just take a moment to allow your eyes to close and allow yourself to begin to relax and as you begin to gently drift to sleep,
I don't know whether you'll fall asleep faster to the sound of my words or whether it'll be to the spaces between my words and as you comfortably drift to sleep,
I'm just going to tell this bedtime story in the background and this is a sleep story where you find yourself walking through a magical forest and as you slowly and comfortably walking through this magical forest,
You can hear the sound that each of your footsteps makes,
The slight crunching sound of the leaves underfoot,
The feeling of each footstep,
That slight dull thud with each step on the path deeper and deeper into this magical forest and as you walk deeper into the magical forest to the rustling sounds of the leaves overhead,
To the occasional hint of the breeze breaking through the trees,
The last golden rays of sunlight occasionally piercing through the canopy,
Those shards of light slowly,
Softly,
Gently dancing on the path ahead,
You continue walking into this woodland,
Going deeper and deeper into the forest and this magical forest brings a deep sense of peace and calm,
A sense of safety and security and as you walk deeper into the forest,
So you can notice the way that sounds change,
Almost as if the forest is gently absorbing some of the sound and you continue walking and you turn off of the main path to carve out your own path through the forest and as you walk,
You push past the trees,
Sensation of the slightly damp and cool bark under your fingertips,
Against the palm of your hand,
Rough,
Cool sensation that feels sturdy and solid yet ever so slightly pliable on top,
Slightly squishy,
Where the dampness is set in to the outside of that bark and the light and smooth areas of the tree trunks where the bark has been dislodged and the scents from the trees,
From foliage within the forest,
Unsure of what you will discover,
Just enjoying the journey as you walk deeper and deeper into this magical forest and while walking deeper into the forest,
You are aware that the sun beyond the forest has set,
You can't see the sky directly but you can tell from the change in the sounds of the animals and the creatures of this forest,
As night time animals have become more active and as the moon rises in the sky beyond the canopy of the forest,
Where there were once golden shards of light dancing before you,
Now there are slithers of silver light almost dancing ethereally,
Almost creating a silver shimmer within the forest and you continue your journey,
The forest feeling like the most comforting embrace,
A deep sense of safety,
Of peace and calmness and stillness,
And that stillness seeming to almost be absorbed into you with each breath that you take,
As if you are breathing out any stress and tension,
Breathing in stillness,
Peace and deep relaxation,
And as you continue to walk,
So you start to hear the distant sound of the most gentle stream flowing,
And you start to walk in the direction of the sound of that stream,
The crunching of the forest floor underfoot,
Sound of the stream getting closer and closer as you continue walking towards that sound,
Occasionally moving your head left and right,
Almost as if you are looking to the left and then to the right,
But really you are moving your ears left and right to help you to pinpoint the exact direction of that stream,
As you continue walking towards it,
And as you have an awareness that you are closing in on the stream,
You also notice there is a little bit more light up ahead and you realise this would be expected if the stream widens out ever so slightly in that area,
Almost opening out a little clearing here within this magical forest,
And so you walk towards that clearing so slowly and gently,
And as you near the clearing you can hear the sound of the bubbling water sounding even louder now,
And yet still so gentle,
So soft,
And you can notice what looks like dancing,
Sparkling,
Tiny orbs of light flitting and fluttering about,
And as you approach you can hear that each tiny orb of light seems to be generating the most pleasant soft hum,
And eventually you arrive at that clearing,
Arrive at the edge of the stream,
Which passes through this area of the magical forest,
And you discover that those orbs of light are tiny fairies,
The hum,
The sound of their wings rapidly fluttering faster than a hummingbirds wings,
And these fairies are smaller than a hummingbird,
And they seem to be playing and interacting and carrying out other tasks,
All getting up to different things,
And you can smell the fresh smell of the stream water,
And the fairies at first don't notice you,
They're not paying you any attention at all,
As you sit down by the edge of the stream,
Illuminated by the silver light of the moon,
And then one of the fairies heads over to you,
Hovers about head height and about arms length away,
And the fairy in the softest of voices asks you who you are,
With a deep sense of curiosity to their tone,
And you explain who you are in that you're here exploring,
Just setting out to find peace and calm and a deep sense of inner well being,
To take a break from everyday life,
Just for a little while,
To help you find that deep sense of peace within,
And at this point some of the other fairies come over,
Intrigued by your presence,
And they invite you back to their home,
And you follow those fairies along the edge of the stream,
Away from the clearing,
Slightly into the forest again,
And the more you travel the more you can hear a musical hum,
Like hundreds of notes playing in harmony with each other,
And then you notice some dancing light within the treetops,
As the fairies tell you that you're approaching their village,
Some of them fly up into the treetops,
To communicate with the other fairies,
And you arrive at the base of a tree,
Looking up at what looks like the most incredible tiny village up there,
Among the canopy of the trees,
And you see in the base of one of the trees,
A tiny doorway,
And this doorway is so small that it would barely fit the end of your foot inside,
And one of the fairies tells you to crouch down,
And so you crouch down at the entrance,
And the fairy waves a wand above your head,
And sparkles of light,
A little bit like a shower of glitter,
Twinkles and falls all around you from that wand,
And as it does,
So you feel a strange warmth and tingling across your whole body,
Resonating through your whole body,
And an increasing sense of light,
To the point where the light is so bright,
You can't see anything but white,
And then as that light fades,
You find that you're crouched down in front of that entrance into the tree,
Only now you're almost as tall as this doorway,
And so with a sense of curiosity,
You follow the fairy in through that doorway,
And the fairy which is only now slightly smaller than you are,
And it's much easier now for you to discern their features as if they were another human stood just in front of you,
There,
Hovering and flying up a spiral staircase within this tree,
As you're following on foot,
Walking,
Ascending that spiral staircase,
That strong deep sense of wood from the inside of this tree,
And you ascend,
Until eventually you see an exit,
And you exit following the fairy,
Finding yourself on a branch high up in the trees,
And on this branch is a fence and a row of properties,
And a walkway,
And you see from up here,
Many walkways,
Following the branches,
Weaving around the occasional branch,
Sticking out at angles from the main branches,
And then walkways and bridges made of wood and rope,
Stretching,
Connecting with areas of this location on other trees,
And the fairy guides you through the town,
And you can hear hustle and bustle,
Like any other town,
Fairies selling things,
Little market places,
Even small pets,
Creatures that look a little bit like cats,
Only probably no bigger than a caterpillar,
You see what look like small bars or pubs,
Where fairies are gathered and socialising,
You see some more grand buildings up here,
All made of wood and leaves,
You notice one of the grand buildings looks like an old library,
You take a look inside that building with the fairy,
Seeing the old scrolls,
The scent of old books wafting through the atmosphere,
And the fairy talks to you and explains this place,
Their place in this land,
You head to a tavern where,
You learn more,
You drink the most incredible nectar,
The most incredible drink,
A golden ever so slightly thick liquid,
That you can feel passing down through your body,
Filling your mind with peace and calm,
And a warmth through your body,
Like a deep sense of comfort and relaxation,
And after a number of hours,
Engaging with the fairy and some of their friends,
They invite you to stay at theirs for the night,
And so you follow them from the tavern,
You head back to their home,
You notice how cosy their home is,
The soft furnishings,
The low gentle light,
They show you to a room with the most comfortable bed and blankets,
And you settle down in that bed,
Having said goodnight,
And with a deep sense of peace and calm,
You drift and float so comfortably,
So relaxed asleep,
And while you drift asleep,
You dream of pleasant experiences,
Pleasant places in your mind,
Healing and well being,
You drift into the most profound pleasant sleep,
Having the best amount of deep sleep and dreaming sleep,
For you through the night,
And you awaken in the morning feeling so relaxed,
So refreshed and revitalized,
To the scent of the fairies cooked breakfast,
And you enjoy the breakfast with the fairy,
Before saying you should continue your journey,
And so the fairy walks you back to the doorway that leads down from this village,
And they say that all you have to do is descend the spiral staircase,
And as you leave the tree,
You'll turn back to your full sized self,
And so you say your goodbyes,
You descend that spiral staircase,
Counting down in your mind as you do,
From 20 to 19,
18,
17,
Deeper and deeper,
16,
15,
14,
13,
12,
All the way,
11,
10,
9,
8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
Nearly there,
3,
2,
And 1,
Finding yourself at the bottom of the spiral staircase,
Reaching gently for the door handle to the door,
Softly opening that door with a slight click and a creak,
And heading out of the tree,
And as you head out of the tree and close the door behind you,
Sparkling,
Pulsating light forming around you,
Getting brighter and brighter,
Until all you can see is white light,
And then as that white light clears,
So you find that you are back at your normal height,
And you bid those fairies farewell,
You head back in the direction of the stream,
And you continue on your journey,
Following the stream,
And you walk for a while,
Through a slight clearing,
Until the stream narrows and the trees encroach once more,
And you continue following that stream now deeper,
And deeper back into the magical forest,
And after many hours of walking,
Taking in the atmosphere,
Enjoying this gentle walk,
This journey of discovery,
Where you are learning,
Developing,
Gaining knowledge,
You decide as it's getting late to set up a camp,
You settle down in that camp,
You have yourself something to eat and drink,
You read under a gentle light for a little while,
Before deciding it's time to drift comfortably and peacefully asleep,
And so you settle down so comfortably,
So relaxed,
You close your eyes and listen to the soft sounds of the forest,
The gentle rustling of leaves,
The occasional sound of distant forest animals,
The slight breeze,
And as you rest there with your eyes closed,
So you start to focus on the top of your head,
Finding that you can focus on your body to quieten your mind,
And so you focus on the top of your head,
You focus on the sensations around your head,
Focusing on the back of your head and noticing what your head is resting on,
How it's so comfortably supported in place,
Allowing that awareness to move to the sensations around the side of your head,
To your temple,
Softening,
Relaxing the muscles around the top of the head,
The side of the head,
The back of the head,
And your temple,
And your forehead,
Moving that relaxation down gently,
Almost like you do so with each out breath,
Breathing in peace and calm and breathing out any tension and all those things you need to let go,
As you relax,
With your awareness moving around your eyes,
Softening,
Relaxing the muscles around your eyes to the point where the eyes just want to remain calmly and peacefully shut,
Bringing a deep sense of comfort,
As your awareness moves around your ears,
Around the top of your jaw,
Around your cheeks,
Your nose,
Softening and relaxing those muscles,
Around your lips,
The lower part of your jaw,
Down into the back of your neck,
The muscles around the sides of your neck and the front of your neck,
Softening,
Relaxing,
Deepening all the way,
As your awareness moves down past your throat,
To the top of your shoulders,
Relaxing those muscles,
Almost like the most comfortable massage around those muscles,
Spreading relaxation down into the arms,
Softening,
Relaxing the muscles in those arms,
Biceps,
Triceps,
Down each arm towards the fingertips,
I don't know which arm will relax fastest,
As the relaxation spreads to those fingertips and whether it will be experienced as those arms becoming heavier,
Relaxing so deeply,
So comfortably,
All the way and as the relaxation works its way around your upper back and then around,
Under your armpits,
Around your sides,
Around your chest,
The breathing can calm in its own way,
Filling you with peace and comfort,
As that relaxation so gently and so comfortably moves down your back,
To the lower back,
Around your lower sides and around to your abdomen,
Relaxing those muscles,
Deeper and deeper,
All the way with the relaxation moving down to your buttocks,
Into your legs,
All the way down,
So gently,
So peacefully,
Through your legs to your feet,
As you drift deeper and deeper asleep,
Almost becoming aware of external sounds,
As you drift deeper into a dream and a pleasant sleep,
While you start to have a sense of a healing light,
Gently moving into you with each breath,
Breathing in that healing light,
Breathing out any stress and tension and discomfort,
With the healing light passing through your head,
Filling your entire head,
Passing down your neck,
Your shoulders,
Your arms to your hands,
To the tips of your fingertips,
Through your chest,
Your back,
Right the way down through your body,
Filling every inch of your body,
All the way down to your buttocks,
Then down those legs to the tips of your toes,
Filling you with the most comfortable healing light,
That you notice is spreading out from you across the landscape around you,
Breathing in the healing light,
Breathing out any stress,
Worry,
Tension,
Discomfort,
As if the healing light is connecting you with the earth,
With the world around you,
Breathing it in from the sky,
From the ether,
From the world above,
Passing down through you,
Connecting you with the physical,
Connecting you with the spiritual,
Connecting you with the psychological,
And with the world around you,
And with all this,
Your mind becomes stiller and stiller,
And drifting asleep,
Becomes more inevitable into the most pleasant,
Peaceful night's sleep,
Until eventually,
You let go,
And you don't notice exactly at what point,
A bit like crossing the threshold of a black hole,
Continuing on becomes inevitable,
Consciously you don't feel any different,
But falling asleep is now inevitable,
It's just a question of discovery,
And you are unlikely to discover that you have fallen asleep,
Until you wake in the morning,
Because it happens automatically,
Effortlessly,
So easily,
And so all you do is engage in the process here,
Now,
Knowing you fall asleep,
So easily and effortlessly,
As you follow along,
Knowing that you will continue your journey in the morning,
For now reflecting on your journey to this point,
In the most pleasant way,
In the most pleasant dreams,
Drifting,
Floating,
Deeply,
Relaxed into slumberland,
