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 to sleep,
I'm just going to tell this bedtime story in the background.
And as I tell this bedtime story I don't know whether you'll drift to sleep faster to the spaces around my words or whether it'll be to the words themselves.
And while you comfortably drift to sleep you can have a sense of a bear visiting a library.
And this bear visits this library frequently and it's an old library,
Smelling of old books.
And everyone inside this library is quiet and peaceful.
And when they visit the library they search the shelves for a book they think they'll find interesting to read here and now.
And they pick that book off of the shelves.
They find a comfortable seat in the library to sit and read.
And they open that book and they begin to read,
Turning those pages slowly as they read each one.
Feeling the texture of the paper of the old books,
Hearing the sound of each page as it turns.
One day they find a large old book to read.
And they begin reading that old book once upon a time.
There were three bears and as they read they become absorbed in the story.
And they become so absorbed in the story that they almost lose track of the world around them in this library.
But there's something different about this book to the books they usually read after many hours of reading.
Approaching the halfway point through the book,
Just at a cliffhanger,
At the last sentence of the page.
They turn the page to find that where the next chapter should be,
The book has been hollowed out.
And inside this hollowed out area of the book is a golden key.
And there are very few pages left at the end of the book beyond the golden key.
And as well as having a golden key hidden inside this book,
There's also a small note.
And the note just reads,
You need to make a trip to a far away land,
The land of dreams.
And in that land of dreams,
You need to find the weasel who will guide you in the direction of the pixies.
And when you discover those pixies,
They'll show you the way to continue your journey.
Where you'll uncover happiness.
And when the wind blows in the right direction,
You'll encounter a building.
And inside that building will be a magical mirror.
And it is beyond that magical mirror that your quest will come to an end.
With a discovery that will change who you are and how you think about the world around you.
And with curiosity and a little annoyance that the book ended at the cliffhanger.
Making a mental note to try and find another copy in the future.
A copy which doesn't have a key hidden inside it.
The bear set off from the library.
And they leave that library,
Head down the street,
Heading out into woodland.
And as they amble through the woodland,
They can hear the sounds of songbirds,
The sounds of rustling leaves.
They notice how calm and pleasant it feels here within the woods.
And eventually after some time walking through the woods,
They come to a small river deep within this woodland.
And they take some time to chop down a tree.
And they carve out the inside of that tree and shape that tree into a canoe.
And by this point most of the day has gone.
So they place the canoe in the water,
Making sure it floats fine.
Before pulling it up on the bank just a little bit,
Setting up a campfire.
And having themselves something to eat as the sun sets.
And they settle down for the night on the edge of this river.
Hearing the sounds of the woodland change from those daytime songbird sounds to night time sounds.
And feeling a deep sense of peace and relaxation.
They drift and float to sleep.
And while they drift and float to sleep,
They find themselves floating into a dream.
And they float into a dream where they encounter a wizard.
And this wizard waves a magic wand.
And with the wave of the magic wand the landscape bursts into colour with the most incredible violet flowers.
And this wizard approaches the bear and says that they are the mesmerist of dreams.
That they're here to share some insight and wisdom about a journey you're going on outside of your dreams.
That they are more than just a figment of your imagination.
And with this,
They write a small note.
They fold that note up.
And they tell the bear to place that note in a pocket.
And they'll discover that note outside of their dream.
And that note will help to guide them to their destination.
And with this,
The dream fades dimmer and dimmer.
Until everything goes to black and the bear drifts deeper and deeper asleep.
And the next morning,
The bear awakens with a vague memory of the dream the night before.
Awakening with the feeling of the warmth of the sun on their cheeks.
The sound of that river flowing gently past.
And they check the top pocket of their shirt,
Not expecting to find anything.
And yet they discover a folded up piece of paper.
And on that folded up piece of paper,
They see a note scrawled in purple ink.
Simply saying,
Sometimes you need to roll down a hill to find your way to the top.
And without any idea of what this means,
They place that paper back into their top pocket.
They clear away their campsite.
They drag their canoe onto the river.
Climb into the canoe and begin paddling down the river.
Continuing their journey.
And as they continue their journey,
They can smell that fresh watery smell of the river.
Hear the sounds of each stroke they make paddling through the water.
The morning sounds in the woodland around them.
Of birds and other animals.
The warmth of the sun overhead.
And just how peaceful this whole experience is.
How time seems to almost slow right down.
And eventually,
Unsure exactly where they should stop.
They continue on until they encounter a fork in this river.
And one way looks rough and choppy,
Like rapids.
The other way continues smooth and calm.
And while they're still trying to process which route would be best to take.
Their canoe gets caught in the tide of the river and pulled towards the rapids.
And the rapids don't look too difficult to navigate.
Just not calm and relaxed like the other route.
And so instead of fighting fate,
The bear goes with the experience.
And the canoe heads down those rapids,
Increasing in speed.
And the bear focuses their attention on steering and navigating that canoe.
Navigating around rocks protruding out of the water.
Bouncing over waves.
The spray splashing up on their fur and in their face.
Increasing the sense of having the smell of that fresh water.
The coolness of the air with the watery spray.
Continuing to follow these rapids as they weave and wind.
Occasionally encountering small waterfalls.
Controlling the canoe with grace.
To point the canoe in the correct direction as it heads over the waterfalls.
So that it lands safely the other side of the waterfall.
And repeating this a number of times while descending down these rapids.
And noticing that the land up to one side is getting higher and higher.
Curious about how the calm side of this river is doing.
Wondering where the calm side comes out.
And eventually after a long journey down the rapids.
With one last jump down a waterfall.
Splashing down into the water.
The water becomes calm and opens out into a wider area.
Almost like a lake in the middle of the river.
And just letting that canoe gently float itself out a little way into the lake.
Placing an oar down in the water.
To trigger the canoe to turn a little so that the bear can easily look back on the route they had just taken.
They see that another part of this lake has a really high waterfall plunging down into the lake from a cliff overhead.
The bear realises that that is the end point of that calm river.
And the bear is glad that they didn't take that route.
And using the oar to reorient the canoe again.
The bear guides that canoe over to the far side of this lake.
Pulling over at the side a little way from where the lake heads back off along a calm river path.
They pull the canoe up onto the shore.
Set up a camp near this lake.
Have something to eat.
And while they eat they hear a noise coming out of the woodland.
And spy a small weasel with a cane.
And this small weasel looking like a wise weasel.
Like an elderly wise weasel.
Hobbles with its cane out of the woodland.
Comes over to the bears campsite.
And sits down diagonally from the bear.
And begins to talk with the bear.
And the weasel says.
I see you got my message in your dreams.
And understood it without knowing you understood it.
Well now that you've rolled down the hill.
It's time for you to begin ascending to your destination.
And I'll show you the way to the land of pixies.
Where they'll help you and guide you towards happiness and inner discovery.
And so take a moment to finish eating up.
Maybe resting for a moment longer.
Before we continue our journey.
And the bear continues to eat.
Before preparing to set off with the weasel.
Continuing this journey.
And once the bears packed away their belongings.
Cleared up the campsite.
The weasel gives a whistle.
And a zebra canters out of the woodland.
Pulling up next to the weasel.
Bowing its head down.
Bending its front legs.
And the weasel jumps up onto the zebra's back.
And beckons the bear to follow.
As they head deeper into the woods.
And the bear walks alongside the weasel on the zebra.
And for a long time the weasel remains silent.
And so the bear also doesn't talk.
And then occasionally the weasel will mention a thing or two about the journey.
About the landscape around them.
And after a long journey the weasel and the bear come to a clearing.
And in this clearing is what looks like a tall hedge.
Stretching off.
Filling the clearing to the left and the right.
And the weasel says that the way to the land of the pixies is through here.
And with a gesture from their cane.
The hedge in front of them seems to open up.
They nudge the zebra.
And walk in.
And the bear follows.
And the hedge closes behind them.
And they find themselves in a maze.
And the hedge is too high to see over.
And too dense to push through.
And so the weasel says that you just need to follow this maze.
You need to find your way to the centre.
Where you will discover the route to the land of pixies.
And with this the bear and the weasel start heading along the paths of the maze they are in.
And the bear asks do you know your way through the maze?
And the weasel says the maze changes its layout every time someone enters.
So they are no wiser of the route to the land of the pixies than the bear is themselves.
But it's important that they leave it to the bear to figure out the route.
And so the bear rests a paw against one of the walls of the maze.
And can feel the hedge under the paw.
And says it may take a while but I can find us to the centre of this maze.
And keeping that paw touching the hedge.
The bear begins to navigate around the maze.
And the bear doesn't give any thought to a preferred route.
The bear doesn't mind if they suspect that they are covering land they have already crossed.
For the bear knows that this strategy they are using will help them to find their way to the centre.
And quietly they walk.
And eventually they find their way to the centre of this maze.
And in the centre of the maze there's a certain stillness.
As if all wind has died down.
As if the world has ground to a halt.
And there's a sundial in the centre of this maze.
And yet it doesn't show any time.
And there appears to be no shadow.
And the bear heads over to the sundial while the weasel waits on the zebra.
And the bear looks at the sundial and notices that the sundial doesn't seem to be positioned correctly.
And so the bear turns that sundial to orient it correctly.
And as they do they suddenly hear a clicking sound and a grinding sound.
And then the other side of the sundial there's a slight cloud of dust.
As the ground seems to be moving apart left and right.
Revealing some steps heading down under the ground.
And the weasel says this is as far as I need to take you.
Down there is the land of the pixies.
And the bear begins to descend those steps.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 All the way to the bottom step.
Begins to walk along the corridor.
Footsteps echoing reverberating.
The sound of those footsteps bouncing all the way back.
Then eventually finding what seems to be a giant root of a tree.
And running their paw over that root.
Trying to find any clue.
And accidentally popping open a door into this root of this tree.
And as the door opens so they see in to the tree.
They see the land of the pixies.
And yet it doesn't look at all like it's within a tree.
There's a sky overhead.
There's meadows and trees.
Distant woodland.
And dancing pixies.
And one of the pixies notices them.
As they enter.
And that pixie comes over to them.
And says I know who you're here to see.
And the bear says I don't even know who I'm here to see.
And the pixie smiles and dashes off.
And returns with another pixie who's wearing a strange hat.
With a point that's floppy and hanging down.
This pixie says that I hear that you're here to find happiness.
To gain new knowledge.
And the bear says they don't know exactly why they're here.
They've just been following a journey.
That they had found a golden key.
And a simple note.
That started them on their journey.
They encountered a weasel.
And had had an unusual dream.
The bear showed the golden key.
And the pixie said that you'll need that key when you arrive.
This pixie then gestured up towards the sun.
And with that a shard of light seemed to beam down from the sun.
Into the meadow in front of them.
And as the pixie closed their hand.
Twisted their wrist a little and pulled their hand back.
That beam of light broadened.
And got brighter and brighter.
And then seemed almost like it was pulled back.
Shrinking and vanishing back to the sun.
Revealing the most beautiful unicorn.
Sparkling and twinkling.
Like it was covered in a million diamonds.
And the pixie said.
Climb onto the unicorn.
And the unicorn will take you where you need to go.
And as the unicorn takes you where you need to go.
All you have to do.
Is nudge the unicorn from time to time.
Just to keep it on track.
Because it'll have a tendency to want to stop.
And eat.
Or perhaps to be distracted.
And so the bear climbs on the unicorn.
Nudges the unicorn's sides.
Says goodbye to the pixie.
And the unicorn starts to trot through the meadow.
The scent of the beautiful flowers around them.
The warmth of that sun overhead.
And the unicorn continues away from all those pixies.
As the land gets quieter and quieter.
Trotting along finding a path.
Which it navigates.
Over undulating hills.
And as the sun sets.
The bear decides that it would be good to stop.
Take a break.
And so the bear stops.
Sets up camp.
The unicorn munches on some grass.
The bear eats.
The two relax peacefully for a while.
And the next day.
They continue their journey.
And after what felt like a very long time.
Of going over undulating hills.
The most incredible beautiful meadows.
They head once again into some woodland.
And this time passing through this woodland.
They follow a path.
And the unicorn stops.
At a slight clearing.
And in this clearing.
Appears to be a rickety old shack.
And with the unicorn not seeming to want to go any further.
The bear concludes this must be the destination.
They head over to that rickety old shack.
It all seems well sealed.
Despite its rickety nature.
The bear knocks on the door.
And there's no answer.
The bear heads around the back.
And there is no back door.
The bear heads back round to the front.
Tries to open the door.
The door appears to be locked.
And the bear peers in the windows.
But can't really see what it looks like inside this shack.
And so the bear decides to try the key.
And is surprised when this golden key.
Which looks out of place in conjunction to this shack.
Works.
The door clicks unlocked.
The bear takes that key.
Puts it back in a pocket.
Carefully opens the door.
With a slight creak.
Walks inside.
And is surprised and amazed.
At the beauty of the inside of this shack.
From the outside it seems drab and run down.
Not really much to look at.
Somewhere you may not even really pay attention or stop to think about.
And yet the inside is deep and beautiful.
And with a sense of amazement.
Closes that door behind them and begins to explore.
And they see.
In one room that it appears to be a library room.
With walls covered in books.
And they look around what those books are.
And one book catches them by surprise.
It's the same title of book as the one.
Which they found the key in in the library.
So they take that book off the shelf.
They worry for a moment.
That this will just be another disappointment.
They flick to the page they had got to in the library.
They turn the page.
Only this time the pages continue and the book is complete.
And they place that book down on a small table in this library.
Hoping that they have the opportunity to ask whoever lives here.
Whether they can borrow this book.
Or at least just read to the end.
And they continue to explore.
In another room is a cozy reading space.
In front of a fire.
And the fire is comfortably crackling away.
As if someone perhaps does live here and maybe is here.
And they ascend the stairs to the next level.
And they are surprised at how large this place seems.
Compared to the run down shack like look from the outside.
And up the stairs checking different rooms.
They open a door.
And are greeted by a squirrel.
And this squirrel announces that they are a hermit.
They love to keep themselves to themselves.
They are a little quirky,
Often misunderstood.
People judge them on their appearance.
People judge them from the outside.
Rather than looking on the inside.
And the squirrel says I knew that you were coming.
I knew that you would be seeking what you're seeking.
I knew all this before you knew this about yourself.
And I've got something to show you.
That will help to bring you happiness.
Inner peace and wisdom.
And the journey is part of the experience.
And the squirrel shows the bear up to the attic.
And in the attic is something covered by a sheet.
An old looking sheet.
And the squirrel removes that sheet.
And there's a tall mirror stood there.
And other than this tall mirror the attic looks bare.
And the bear looks into the mirror.
And the squirrel asks what do you see?
And the bear explains that they just see themselves and the attic.
And the squirrel says that sometimes you need to look deeper inside yourself.
So take a look deeper inside the mirror.
And as the bear looks into the mirror.
So the mirror seems to fizz visually around the edges.
This intrigues the bear who then reaches out.
Touches that mirror with a paw.
And as they do.
The attic turns beautiful.
And the squirrel smiles at the bear.
And says you're seeing the inside of this shack.
As it truly is.
Not as it seems from the outside.
And there'll be something deep you can learn.
But to learn it fully.
Why not head back to the reading area.
Take some time to finish that book you so wanted to finish.
And you'll understand everything once you do.
And so the bear leaves the attic.
Walks through this beautiful building.
Heads back to that reading area.
Finds that book.
And sits down and reads.
And they continue to read from the point they had reached.
They read about a frog's encounter with a shark.
And how this shark lived in a petri dish.
And the frog rescued the shark from the petri dish.
And they did this by revealing to the shark.
That the whole ocean didn't reside in that petri dish that they were confined to.
That once they realised.
There was ocean beyond the edge of the petri dish.
And that the petri dish itself didn't technically exist beyond being what it was.
They found deep freedom.
And the bear reads the story.
They read about the changing wind.
The pipe playing dodo.
And how reality can shift at sunset.
And they read all the way through to the end.
At which point they closed the book.
Feeling a deep sense of satisfaction and understanding.
They understood this journey.
They understood this shack.
They understood the difference between the inside and the outside.
To their views on the outside to the inside.
Their journey through the land of the pixies.
And beyond with the weasel on the zebra.
They placed that book back and the squirrel said.
You've learned what you need to learn.
It'll take a few sleeps for you to integrate that into who you are.
To truly learn and discover more.
You know what you know.
You just don't know all of that yet.
You don't realize you know it all.
Even though you know it.
And the bear thanks the squirrel.
Leaves the shack.
And on looking back at the shack it no longer looks shack like to them.
And they journey back on that unicorn.
Back through the land of the pixies.
They leave the land of the pixies.
Navigate through that maze.
And the weasel explains that to them no time has really passed.
It was just a matter of seconds between them walking down those steps.
And them seeming to be walking back up the steps again.
And what they discovered down those steps can remain deep inside them.
And they find their way all the way back to their canoe.
Journeying back.
And they find that the easiest way back is to drag the canoe on their back.
Up the side of the tall waterfall.
To walk along a little way.
Pulling their canoe along behind them in the water.
Just away from that waterfall's edge.
And then using the calm river.
They leisurely and relaxed find their way all the way back to the woodland.
Where they set off.
Eventually arriving home.
Settling down in bed.
Drifting and floating asleep.
Curious and wondering about the experience.
Knowing their mind will be updated with all this new learning.
As they drift and float so peacefully and comfortably asleep.
Into slumberland.
