Breathe slowly,
Breathe deeply.
Breathe slowly,
Breathe deeply.
Good,
Good.
Part of sleeping well,
Of having a good night's sleep,
Is quieting the mind.
Your mind is active all day long.
Going from this thought to that thought,
From this feeling to that feeling.
Trying to solve all these problems,
Desires,
Fears,
But mostly just going round and round and not getting you anywhere.
So in order to sleep well,
In order to sleep soundly,
It's important to see how it's important to have a break from this mind chatter.
To give your mind a break,
To give it rest,
To give it the peacefulness that it requires so that tomorrow you can be prepared and have another wonderful day.
So sleep is a time of rest,
Of letting your mind be still,
Of letting your mind be quiet.
And one of the nicest,
Easiest ways to do that is to breathe.
So let's just spend some time together following our breath and breathing,
Breathing slowly,
Breathing deeply,
Breathing slowly,
Breathing deeply.
Good,
Good.
As you're meditating now,
You may find that your mind wanders to one of those worries,
One of those fears,
One of those desires of the day.
But now is a time for rest.
Now is a time for relaxation.
Let those thoughts float away,
Drift away as you just follow your breath and listen to the words that I'm speaking.
And when they're silent,
Go back to your breath,
Breathing slowly,
Breathing peacefully,
Breathing slowly,
Breathing peacefully.
Good.
And as those worries,
Which they tend to do,
Come back,
Perhaps you're worried that you won't get enough sleep tonight because those thoughts,
Those intruding thoughts will come again.
What you can do is when they come,
Witness them,
Notice them,
But then get back to your breathing,
Get back to this meditation and just be with me,
Be still and be following your breath,
Following the peaceful rhythm of the breath going in and out,
Slowly in and slowly out,
Slowly in and slowly out.
Good.
Good.
But those thoughts can come back and they might continue to come back.
But if you just witness them and get back to being with me and your breath,
You will find that their noise,
Their intrusion becomes quieter and quieter even though they're there.
It's like the background noise of a creek,
Of a clock,
Of music in the background that you know it's there if you give it your attention.
But because you're so focused on your breath and this guided meditation,
That background noise becomes that background,
Quiet,
Still.
The worries and problems will be there in the morning later on when you end this meditation,
But right now you are experiencing a restful,
Peaceful meditation.
Be with that so that you can give it rest,
Much,
Much needed rest that it needs so that you can be present right here right now.
Following your breath,
Being still and letting the worries,
The concerns just float away.
When you breathe out,
Imagine those worries going out with your breath.
They become less and less as you get quieter and more peaceful inside.
And though a part of you may want to worry tonight when you sleep about if I'll get enough,
Will there be enough sleep for me for tomorrow?
If you just be in the silence of the night when your mind wants to wander to the worries,
Fears and desires of the day,
Say no,
Right now I'm going to be with the beautiful silence of the night.
And right now I'm going to be with this meditation.
Because meditation gives my mind the peace,
The rest that keeps me healthy,
Keeps me well,
And keeps me in a place where I can be whole so that when it is time to sleep,
No matter how little or how much sleep I get,
It doesn't really matter because if I don't get enough,
I'll sleep well the next night.
And I will be rested and I will be peaceful because even in the silence,
I can enjoy the quietness and the peace of a still,
Quiet mind.
Peace.
