If you're already asleep,
Don't wake up.
And if you're not asleep yet,
Just get out of the way.
Ignore everything.
Let go of everything.
Just quit on it all.
The day is done.
Good,
Bad,
Neutral.
You can't recapture it.
And the next day is the distant future.
Just come into this moment.
And this ability to rest and perhaps to sleep or dream.
That might be nice.
Just slow down.
Let yourself go.
Let yourself sink in.
Getting quiet.
Becoming more still.
Taking in deep breaths and slow exhales.
And just using that energy,
That air,
That breath to soothe self and to ease and open up your body.
Close your eyes if they're not already.
Just falling in and falling in and getting deeper.
And feeling gravity take you.
Nothing to resist.
No need to use muscles anymore.
Day is done.
Rock yourself to sleep.
Maybe you want to yawn.
Maybe you exhale with the ancient biblical breath word,
Selah.
Letting go.
Letting go and snuggling up and letting all the energy dissipate and seep out through your skin.
And with your exhale,
Just letting go.
Saying goodnight.
Goodbye to the day that was.
Something good happened and maybe some bad things.
Just call to mind something sweet.
Maybe something just very simple.
Continuing to breathe.
Getting slower.
And when you get distracted,
Because we do,
Distraction might even be the edge of a dream just creeping its way in.
Just come back.
Let yourself drift.
Let yourself be a little bored or a little distractible or a little woozy.
Letting it all go and having fun.
And forgiving.
Just forgiving everyone who ticked you off today or this week or this month or your whole lifetime.
It's okay.
You may not even be able to or ready to forgive,
But you could try.
Test it out.
Do a pilot program of forgiveness.
See how it goes.
As you can hold on to your resentments,
But they tend to drag you with them.
And since everyone hurts us,
We must hurt a lot of people.
We must make many errors.
Maybe you don't want to make too many tomorrow.
Maybe one fewer each day.
May that be acceptable.
And your eyelids get heavy and the light gets dim and your pupils start to dilate and drift.
Little bits of dreams and fragments of ideas wander across your vision and your thoughts.
And the world's light is descending.
And you can take a moment just to be grateful for all of it.
All the ways in which it wraps itself together.
That existence is unified and distinct and comes from a single source.
All the way at the beginning,
All the way to the end.
Oneness.
There's me and there's you,
But really it's just one.
Breathe into that.
Be held by that when you sleep.
You are part of a loving universe.
And you can give that love back at every moment.
With gratitude and appreciation.
May it be so.
You're breathing.
Maybe your exhale with Stella.
Maybe you yawn.
Maybe you stretch.
Maybe you get distracted and you come back.
But you're protected.
You can trust.
You're covered beneath great wings and a powerful shield.
Nightmares won't trouble you and darkness won't fear you.
And you will be healthy and strong and robust through sleep.
And great and good forces will lift you through the night.
Protecting you.
Keeping you safe.
You're going to get distracted.
You're going to get worried about something or confused.
So you just listen to my voice or feel the comfort of your resting place.
Gravity take over.
Take a deep breath.
Slowing down.
Slowing down.
You can lie down in peace knowing that you will get up in peace.
You can be peaceful.
You can go out from this day peacefully and come back when you are ready,
Peacefully.
Night and day,
Sleep and wakefulness are all there for you.
Every time.
And you just hand your spirit over to the care of a loving God.
A beautiful,
Powerful universe.
Vast and immense.
And great and good forces look over you.
Look over those who preceded us in this world and look over those who will come next.
All to the good.
With support and grace and love and compassion and glory.
You are loved.
You are strengthened.
And the world gives you blessing and safety.
Take that in.
That you are blessed and guarded.
Think about that.
Maybe let it through.
Breathing.
Just being with that serenity.
And the world shines its light upon you with grace.
And offers you gifts.
May it be so.
It is so.
And the universe turns towards you,
Looks toward you,
Looks for you.
To give you peace.
Precious blessing of peace and wholeness and serenity.
And you are guarded.
You are protected.
Great and good forces all around.
All day you wonder and doubt and question.
And you could do that now,
But you could also just put it down.
To your right side,
Where a great and good force can.
Take care of all your worries and dreams.
And on your left side,
You can leave all of your strength and restlessness.
And vigor and grappling.
With a great and good force.
That will attend to your energies.
Muscles,
Your strength.
And ahead of you,
A light is held.
And behind you,
Peace and healing.
Entering,
Massaged into your temples and skin.
By a force for healing.
So just shuffle,
Just stretch.
Twitch,
Say any last words or prayers or thoughts.
Letting go.
And breathe in one more time and exhale with the word SELA.
And all things go on.
All things were and are and will be.
You are held in a loving universe.
No beginning and no end.
Eternal for all time.
And you rest your body and your spirit in the hand of a loving universe.
Nothing to fear.
