Bedtime Ritual 74

This soft bedtime practice is inspired by Kriat Sh'ma al haMitah — the Jewish tradition of reciting the Sh'ma before sleep. As the day ends, you'll be gently guided to set down whatever the day held — finished or unfinished — and settle into stillness. Through simple breath, a moment of reflection, and words from an ancient, beloved prayer, the practice cultivates forgiveness, protection, and a quiet sense of surrender. No particular beliefs or spiritual background required — just a willingness to end the day with intention, and to rest.

Transcript

Just taking a deep breath. And letting it out, Maybe with a yawn, Maybe with a stretch, Maybe with the ancient word of breath, Selah. Just falling in. Quitting on the day that was, Letting go of it, Giving up, Surrendering whatever word helps you to let go, Relax. Feeling the weight of the day just collapse in you and off you, And your body is heavy in your resting place, Whether it's a chair or a couch or a bed. Just settling down, Enjoying a few moments of slowness and stillness, In a quiet that will never be perfectly silent, That just has perturbations of breath and sound and animals and mechanical noises and rustling. Those can even be a focus of your meditation. What do you notice? What do you hear? What do you enjoy? Perhaps the goal isn't sleep, But relaxation. You can't control sleep, But you can help yourself to relax. Just by letting go, Yawning helps, Extending your breath helps, Stretching out your body, Rolling over, Getting comfortable. And then 5% more comfortable, And then 5% more slow, And heavy, And deep, And still. Coming in, Coming in again and again, Especially when your mind wanders, Because it's supposed to wander, And the meditation is just a returning. Continually returning to your body. What you can hear, What you can feel, Maybe my voice is a good cue. Coming back in. And when your mind is restless, Or your body is restless, Just let it go. Let the restlessness carry itself away, Go on its own little adventure without you. Extending your inhale deeply, And exhaling slowly. Becoming more heavy in the body, Light in the mind. Enjoying this time with yourself, Whether you sleep or not, Whether you relax or not. You're just spending time with someone you love. Your oldest friend. Maybe you weren't always friends, Maybe you aren't right now, But you can be friend and love yourself, Still. Really getting deeply out, Slowly, You could yawn, You could exhale, Selah, Whatever you need. This is based on Jewish traditions and prayers before bed, But you can use your own traditions. You can add them in your own words, Or nothing at all, And just listen quietly. Committing yourself to the universe, Just going into it, Falling into the hand of the universe. That loves you, That knows you, That cares for your destiny, That shaped you. And that's there for you right now. You can start by forgiving. People hurt you, People injure you, People are rude, You get sick, Break a bone. Forgive. Maybe not now, Maybe consider forgiving, Just so you can sleep. I guess you could fake forgive, And come back to that resentment tomorrow, That's fine. But holding on to anger right now won't help, Envy and jealousy, It won't help you sleep. Finding that inner peace and calm. And we hurt other people too, We get hurt and we definitely hurt. Maybe you want to forgive, Ask forgiveness, Maybe you're not ready, Maybe you want to forgive yourself. Maybe you're ready to apologize, Maybe you don't see that yet. Toy with it. Consider asking forgiveness, Just like you consider forgiving. And one day it can be so. And sleep and tiredness is coming. Body's taking over, Your body is tired. Your body does so much, It always needs a break. A little nap, A long sleep, A short rest, A long rest, Whatever it would be, Let your body decide. Maybe you're not that tired and you just listen to this meditation to relax and then go read a book. That's fine too. But let the world get a little dim and your eyes get heavy. As the light fades from this part of the world to illumine other parts. Taking a moment just to acknowledge the oneness of the universe. That it all comes from a shared experience, A shared source, Shares a common thread. And even a shared destiny of a sort. Feel yourself amid that weave of the universe that is all and all one, In a oneness. Breathe into that sacred unity. Let it fill you with love now, Tomorrow, When you go to bed, When you wake up. You're protected. You have a safe place. You're mostly healthy. The world is like a shield around you, Like a pair of wings over you, Hovering in goodness. You're safe with great and good forces around you. You are safe. And you are full and you have what you need right now. You can seek more tomorrow. Take a deep breath in and then exhaling with Salah. Salah. And you lie down with peace, So that when the time comes you will get up with peace. You have peace and wholeness and freedom and welfare. Your life is, In its way, Complete. And you are safe as you leave the realm of consciousness, Just as you will be safe when you come back in. But for now, Let go. Let go into that peace. And great and good forces accompany you. And they looked over those before us. And they look over those after us, Just as they look over us right now. All the powers of the universe are there at our hand, Strengthening us. The universe can look over you with blessing and protection. The universe guards you and protects you, Blessing you. Take it in. And the wide universe looks upon you and offers you grace. Take it. Receive it. And the universe looks towards you to offer you wholeness and peace, Its most precious gift. Take it in. And great and good forces surround you while you rest, While you sleep. While you're awake, You search and you grapple and you search. And you grapple and you doubt and you ask. And when you sleep, You can put all of those questions down to your right side for the great and good force that manages questions. And during the day, You wrestle, You lift weight, You walk, You run, You exercise, You support others and yourself. But at the time to sleep, You can let go. You put all of that strength at your left side with the great good force responsible for vigor. And before you, Great force holds a light, Good and sweet light to guide you the worlds of dreams. And behind you, Another force shares healing, Massaging it into your body as you sleep with the healing power of rest. And above you, Dream-like mystery, All of the goodness and wonder of the universe. The world is growing around you. And the garden is sprouting. And you can stretch, Adjust, Maybe you shimmy a little, Inhale and breathe out. And the world continues and goes on far beyond us. The universe was, It is with you, And it will be beyond us without a beginning or an end. And we get to play our part. But now it's time to close your eyes and trust the universe to go on without you, Without a fear of missing out. Resting yourself in the hand of a loving universe, Body and spirit, With nothing to fear.