So tonight as you drift asleep,
You find yourself relaxing on the bank of a lake,
As the sun begins to set,
Enjoying the sound of the water lapping gently against the shore,
Before encountering a cat which sends you on a journey of discovery.
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 fall asleep,
You 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 calmly down through you.
As I count down from 10 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,
That healing light relaxing the muscles around the top of the head,
Around 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 can deepen so peacefully,
So comfortably,
As it flows down around the eyes and around the ears.
9,
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 around the sides of the neck,
The front of the neck,
Down from the head.
Gradually moving that calming,
Healing light out across the shoulders,
The 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'll be the right arm or the left arm,
But you can be aware of that healing light spreading gently down those arms,
Around the biceps,
The triceps,
Down into the forearms.
7,
Moving all the way down to the wrists,
The 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,
Or lighter,
Or some other sensation as relaxation sets in.
Then you know that 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 to sleep.
5,
The healing light moving down towards the stomach,
The lower back,
The sides,
Relaxing those muscles as it goes.
6,
Bringing a deep sense of peace and calm to your upper body,
Releasing any tension,
Perhaps occasionally finding yourself shifting just a little to feel more comfortable.
With that relaxation spreading down around your buttocks,
Down into the upper parts of your legs.
3,
That relaxation passing 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,
To what's going on for you and your mind.
And perhaps you lose some awareness of the body as it becomes incredibly still.
2,
The relaxation spreading down to your feet,
Calming,
Softly relaxing,
All the way down to the tips of your toes.
1,
As the final wave of relaxation pulses 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 story,
You find yourself resting in a meadow beside a lake,
And you can notice woodland in the distance.
And as you rest by this lake,
With that blue sky overhead,
Which is gradually changing colour as the sun begins to set.
You can hear the sound of the gentle waves lapping softly on the shore and rustling among the reeds.
Seeing the way that the setting sunlight glistens and dances across the lake,
Bringing a shimmering light to the surface of the water.
The sounds of ducks quacking,
The sounds of sploshing as ducks poke their head under the water,
Diving down under the water before resurfacing again.
And when they resurface,
You can notice the way that the water just rolls off the ducks back,
It doesn't absorb into their feathers,
It just seems to bead and roll off of those ducks.
And you can watch as those ducks amble slowly through the water,
Creating their own ripples which spread gently out across the lake,
Gradually merging in with the calm waves traversing this lake.
And noticing the changing colours of the sky as the sun creeps its way down to the horizon,
And reds and oranges begin to take over the sky in one direction,
And the blue sky becomes darker and darker in the other direction.
And noticing the first signs of the moon creeping its way into view,
And a couple of pinpricks of light,
Probably planets due to their brightness,
That are piercing through the blue sky.
And the way the air is cooling down,
As it gently wafts across the lake,
Carrying with it the deep scents of the meadow.
And the soft distant sounds of wildlife,
And there's a freshness to this air as it enters your nostrils and you breathe it into your lungs.
That coolness,
Calming,
That gentle breeze gently stroking your cheeks,
And resting here by the lake,
You can feel the grass beneath you.
That tickle touch sensation of running a hand across the grass,
Feeling the fronds gently stroking the underside of your hand.
And with the sun setting,
You decide it's time to light a campfire and put up a tent,
And a part of you just wants to be able to stay here,
Not doing anything,
Just enjoying the nature around you,
The setting sun.
But you know you need to light that fire and set up your tent,
So you clear a space for the campfire,
Arrange the wood and kindling.
You light the fire and blow into the fire to help that fire take hold,
And you can instantly smell that scent of the burning wood and feel the warmth emanating from that fire.
And with the campfire alight,
Softly crackling away,
Shadows dancing,
The flames flickering.
You set up your tent at an angle to the fire and the lake,
And at the front of the tent,
It folds out like a small mat to sit on.
When you sit on that small mat,
The tent open behind you,
A cosy sleeping bag,
So inviting inside that tent,
All laid out in the most comfortable way.
A light hanging in the centre of the tent,
Currently turned off.
And while you relax there by the fire,
You take out a saucepan and some food,
And over the fire you make yourself something to eat.
You enjoy eating that food and having a drink,
And listening to the last sounds of the songbirds going to bed,
As the last rays of sunlight creep over the horizon out of sight.
And you notice the deep coolness setting into the air,
Tempered by the warmth of the fire.
And you know that just walking a little way from the fire,
The air would be very cool,
But here it's cosy and warm,
And the shadows are now deeper and darker.
As the shadows and light interplay and dance,
And the tent almost glows in the warmth of the firelight.
And gradually there's the gentle sound of crickets rising around you,
Giving a deep sense of night time setting in.
And after eating and drinking,
You turn yourself around,
Lying down on your stomach,
Your feet deep into the tent.
Resting comfortably,
And begin reading a book,
Propping yourself up on your elbows,
As you lie there reading.
And while you read,
You can hear the crackling sound of the fire,
Notice the dancing light and shadows,
And you're reading to the firelight.
The sound of turning each page,
The feeling of the paper of that book,
The enjoyment of being absorbed in the story.
More relaxing deeper,
To the background sounds of night time here,
The occasional gentle splosh,
As a duck moves around in the water.
Occasionally quacking,
The sounds of the crickets,
The soft rustling of the reeds,
The occasional breeze,
Making the fire flicker faster.
Before it settles down again,
As the air becomes still.
Noticing how your breathing is slowing and relaxing,
As you feel the environment so peacefully relaxing,
Deeper and deeper into the experience.
And after a while,
As the fire is burnt down to embers,
You put a bit of water onto the fire,
It sizzles as it cools.
You head into the tent,
Turn on the light,
Seal up the tent for the night,
Wrap yourself into the sleeping bag.
Feeling the stillness here in the tent,
The occasional gentle movement of the fabric of the tent,
As the wind blows a breeze.
The calming night time sounds beyond the tent,
You turn off the light with the tent,
Giving off the faintest glow from the moonlight.
And as you rest here tucked away in the tent,
You can notice the coolness of the air as you breathe that air in and out.
While your body remains so cosy and warm,
At just the perfect comfortable temperature for you,
Within that sleeping bag.
And it doesn't take long before your eyes naturally close and you easily and effortlessly drift peacefully asleep.
And while you sleep,
You have the most beautiful dreams.
Dreams which are doing deep inner healing,
Supporting your well being.
Some dreams you don't remember,
That you just drift into those dreams.
You explore alternative realities in those dreams and drift into deep recuperative sleep,
Where your body heals and repairs and your mind prepares.
And you have the most pleasant nights sleep.
And the next morning,
You slowly begin to wake up to the gradual lightening within the tent,
As the sun rises outside of the tent.
That light making the tent glow so softly.
Beginning to notice that gentle glow and lightening within the tent,
Even as your eyes are closed.
And you enter that state of sleep,
Where you're half awake and half asleep,
Almost like drifting in daydreams or the most pleasant reveries.
Where you begin to become a little more aware of your surroundings,
And yet,
You're so comfortable,
You're so relaxed,
You just remain absorbed with your eyes closed on what's going on inside your mind.
And you start to hear the sound of a cat meowing.
And for a while you wonder whether that's inside your mind,
Somewhere in a dream,
Or outside your mind just beyond the tent.
And you begin to realise that meowing is coming from outside of your mind,
And you fully drift to wakefulness.
You stretch a little,
Unzip yourself from the sleeping bag,
Open the tent and breathe in some of that fresh morning air,
Cleansed by the water of the lake.
And as you open the tent,
So you notice a tabby cat,
Looking so friendly,
So kind,
Sitting before you.
And around the cat's neck,
Is a purple ribbon,
Holding a silver key.
And when the cat notices you noticing it,
And the tent is now wide open,
It stands and walks towards you.
Buffs it's head gently against you,
Rubs it's head it's side of it's neck,
Rubs it's body and extends it's tail,
Circles round and repeats this a few more times.
And then sits back down looking at you,
Seeming to almost make eye contact with you,
And behaving in a way that makes you think it wants your attention.
And so you stroke that cat,
It flops on it's side,
You rub it's belly,
You wonder where this cat has come from.
You make yourself some breakfast and have a drink,
You pack everything away,
You enjoy the early morning sounds of nature,
Sounds of songbirds,
Those ducks.
And the cat looks at you expectantly,
And seems to be signalling that it wants you to follow.
And so after you're fully packed away,
You initially begin to walk the direction you planned on going,
But the cat keeps moving around in front of you,
Blocking your path,
Nudging it's head onto your legs.
As if to encourage you to go a different direction.
And so you decide to humour the cat and you'll follow it for a while.
You begin following that cat away from the lake,
Wandering through the meadow,
And as you walk through the meadow,
So you enjoy watching the bees dart from plant to plant,
The butterflies landing on plants.
Before launching back into the air,
The sounds of songbirds,
Noticing the occasional soft fluffy cloud pass through the sky.
And you walk for quite some time following that cat,
The cat managing to keep just a short distance before you,
Occasionally looking back at you to make sure you're still following.
And sometime into the walking,
You discover the ruins of an old church,
And you stop,
Enjoy some lunch,
Sitting on the remains of an old stone wall.
Imagining what this church once looked like,
You hand a bit of the food to the cat,
Who graciously eats that food,
Before continuing your journey through the meadow.
Eventually finding your way to a bridle way which passes through this landscape,
And you follow that bridle way,
Which is much easier to walk on than walking through the meadow.
And the bridle way cuts past an orchard,
And you continue on,
Exploring areas you've never visited before.
And as the evening sets in,
You notice there's the light of a campfire in the distance,
And you know that you'll need to stop at some point.
And you don't really want to stop this distance from the campfire,
Not knowing who's at that fire,
So you decide to wander to that campfire,
Meet whoever's there.
And you can find somewhere to set up camp,
After you've met this person.
And so you arrive at that camp,
And meet a wanderer,
And the cat purrs and rubs themselves against the wanderer,
Letting you know that this wanderer is safe and friendly,
That they're a kind person.
And the wanderer offers you some tea and food,
And as you sit down and enjoy a meal with them,
They explain to you the journey that they're on.
And you listen with intrigue to their story,
And they suggest why don't you set up your tent here near theirs.
As you set up your tent,
Diagonally to theirs,
The cat tucks itself down into the tent and falls asleep,
While yourself and the wanderer chat by the campfire late into the night,
Sharing different tales,
Enjoying each other's stories.
Before it gets so late,
You begin to feel deeply tired,
You say goodnight and settle down into your tent and drift so deeply,
So peacefully asleep.
And the next morning,
You're awoken by the most beautiful scent of breakfast,
The sounds of the food cooking.
You open the tent,
The wanderer offers you some breakfast,
And hands you a plate of that food,
And puts a little bit of the food down in a bowl for the cat,
And you enjoy that food.
And the cat seems to enjoy the food,
And the wanderer tells you about the most incredible library in the nearby town,
Just half a day's walk away.
And so when you pack away to continue the journey,
You wonder whether you'll get an opportunity to check out that library,
Because you're just following the cat where it walks.
You say goodbye to the wanderer,
You continue along the path,
And eventually it leads towards that town.
And so you head into that town,
Wandering through the town,
Finding that library,
And it's a really old looking library,
With a rustic and weathered wooden door.
And you open the door and head into the library to be met with the scent of old books,
And the sight of dust moats hanging in the beams of light from the windows.
And greeted by a friendly bear with ink stained paws,
Who tells you that they're the guardian of knowledge.
And they speak with a deep and comfortable,
Soft voice,
That seems to almost draw you in.
And they show you around the library,
Showing you some of those ancient texts which are stored within the library,
And you feel to yourself that you could just sit in here at a table,
And read for a lifetime.
But the cat looks at you impatiently,
And you know you need to continue your journey.
So you make almost a mental note that you want to come back and visit here,
And once you're done following the cat,
You say goodbye to that bear.
You wander through the town,
And continue following the path as it weaves around,
And starts to head towards the woodland.
And as you wander towards that woodland,
Beginning to hear the rustling sound of the trees,
You notice on the edge of the woodland,
The lights of a cozy cottage.
And the cat seems excited and begins to speed up,
Heading towards that cottage,
And you follow them all the way up to the cottage.
You knock on the door,
And there's no answer.
You try the door handle,
And the door doesn't open.
You wander around and look through the windows,
And it seems as if no one's home.
And the cat rests its paws up against you,
As if trying to communicate with you.
And you realize they're trying to get you to take that key from their neck,
So you reach down.
You undo the ribbon and take that key.
You try the key in the door,
And the door opens.
And you walk into that quiet,
Cozy cottage.
And you light the lamps within the cottage,
Helping to give that cottage a cozy glow,
The soft orange light dancing around the walls,
As you begin to explore.
And the stillness in this cottage feels palpable,
And you notice a mirror on the back wall of the main living area.
And you're surprised to see a sad-looking woman,
Sitting on a seat in what looks like a reflection of the inside of the room you're in.
And at the foot of the mirror is an old book,
Face down and open,
As if it had been dropped.
You pick up the book and notice that it's a book of spells,
With the spell that it's open on being a mirror life spell.
You see the instructions for reversing the spell,
And decide to follow these instructions.
And as you do,
The mirror glows and sparkles and shimmers,
And there's a faint hum in the room.
The woman notices and heads over to the mirror inside the reflection,
And manages to step through the mirror,
Through that shimmering,
And into the cottage.
And as she steps into the cottage,
The cat dashes over to her and excitedly greets her,
As she excitedly greets the cat in return,
Before acknowledging your presence.
She explains to you that she felt that her life wasn't going anywhere.
She questioned what she'd achieved in life.
She visited the nearby town and visited the library,
And in the library she found a book of spells.
And she decided to do the mirror life spell,
Thinking that it would give her the opposite life,
One where she'd achieved things and felt like she'd done something with her life.
Instead,
She got sucked into the mirror and trapped there.
And while trapped,
She had a lot of time to think,
And she realized how much she actually has,
And she began to miss her life and Wolfie,
Her cat.
She was worried about Wolfie being left all alone in the cottage while she was stuck in the mirror cottage.
She kept on trying to escape the mirror cottage,
But all that existed in the mirror cottage was everything inanimate that was reflected in the mirror at the point she passed through.
So when she opened the front door in the mirror cottage,
There was nothing beyond the door.
When she opened the windows,
There was nothing beyond the windows.
The only thing in this mirror cottage was exactly what was reflected in the mirror.
And pleased to be back in her cottage,
The woman lights the fire and asks if you're happy to stay for something to eat as a thank you.
She feeds Wolfie and Wolfie comes over and nudges against you as if to thank you for your help.
She then prepares dinner and you sit together eating in front of the fire.
And after dinner,
You continue chatting in front of the fire as Wolfie jumps up onto the woman's lap.
And she pets Wolfie as Wolfie purrs and drifts peacefully asleep.
She asks if you'd like to stay for the night.
You say that you're happy to do this and so she makes up the spare room.
You settle down for the night in the most comfortable bed,
Drifting peacefully asleep.
And the next day,
Wolfie says goodbye,
The woman says goodbye.
And you're a long way off course with the direction that you're planning on going.
But you were really only wandering,
So you decide to just wander in a new direction from here.
You head back down to the town,
You visit that library for a while.
Before heading through the town to a fork in the road where you decide to head the opposite direction to the one you came down as you approached that town before.
And you glance back at the town and think back on that cabin and your experiences,
Pondering that as you walk,
Before bringing your attention back to your journey.
As you continue on wandering,
Curious what other random encounters you might have.
And what random journeys those encounters might lead you on.
And much of this journey is just you quietly walking in nature,
Enjoying the peace and tranquility.
And the sun sets on another day and you notice rain creeping across the landscape in the distance.
You set up your tent and settle down.
As those first raindrops begin to tap on the outside of the tent,
With that rain gradually becoming heavier and heavier.
And with the rain becoming heavier,
It reaches a point where it's so peaceful and comfortable that it's almost as if each raindrop hitting the tent is guiding you into relaxing deeper and deeper in the experience.
Helping you feel so relaxed,
Your eyes just want to close while your ears listen for a little longer to the rain,
Really savoring the experience.
Before drifting so peacefully and comfortably asleep into slumberland.
