Taking a few deep breaths.
Inhaling deeply,
Exhaling slowly.
Coming into the moment.
Quitting on the day that was,
The week that was.
Giving up,
Letting go.
And we're just slowing down.
We're not trying to do anything,
Be anywhere,
Accomplish anything,
Zero.
Just zeroing out the accounts.
Letting go.
And close your eyes when you're ready.
As you breathe,
You just inhale into those tough,
Tight spots,
And exhale all that you need to let go of.
In and out.
You might use the ancient breath word cella.
Just enjoying that you're giving yourself this time.
Time to be quiet,
Time to be still,
Time to be slow.
You might fall asleep,
You might not.
Either way is okay.
Just slowing down.
Taking your time.
Letting go of what was,
As Humphrey Bogart said in Casablanca,
That's ancient history.
And what will be the distant and unknown.
Ungiven future.
Just right now.
Be this moment,
And then this moment,
And every other moment.
And you will get distracted.
That will inevitably happen because you are alive and your neurons are firing.
So just come back.
No pressure.
You're just gonna return to the meditation.
You might use my voice to remind you to come back.
You might take a deep breath as a reminder.
You might notice your pulse or your digestion or just the weight of your body and the lightness of your thoughts.
Letting everything drift and not holding on to any one thing in particular.
Sinking deeper.
Going even a little slower.
Getting heavy.
And enjoying the deepening quiet.
Maybe you notice that you're tired,
Sleepy,
Weary.
Yum,
Let that take over.
Right,
You don't need to make yourself fall asleep.
You just get out of the way of the tiredness that might already be there.
And if you're not tired,
Sleepy,
Just relax right now.
And when it's time to sleep,
You'll be more relaxed.
You'll be ready.
Don't try to do too much with this.
It can just be fun.
And deeply out slowly,
Maybe you exhale,
Salah.
Feel your eyes get heavy,
Your cheeks soften.
Your jaw relax.
Maybe you smile a little,
As it's good to be resting.
It's a sweet gift that not everyone can have right now.
Maybe you feel the skin on your forehead and the rest of your face softening.
Like you could give yourself a little Botox.
And you let go.
Start with forgiveness.
Start by forgiving anyone who angered or disappointed you or hurt you.
Or ruffled you today.
Anything that went wrong.
Someone bumped into you at the market.
Someone took your parking spot.
One of your kids used a curse word.
Whatever it was that troubled you.
Whatever it was that you took affront to.
Maybe you notice you don't need to be angry about it.
Maybe you can just begin to forgive.
Maybe you don't forgive and you just put it aside.
That's all you need to do for now.
Maybe in the practice of putting aside before bed,
You will learn to forgive slowly.
Breathing and settling and relaxing.
Not doing much of anything at all.
And you might have the thought that if I need to forgive,
Maybe I need to be forgiven.
Maybe.
Maybe you could put that out.
Wish to be forgiven if it's appropriate.
Maybe even if it's not appropriate,
We all need to be forgiven.
And can you forgive yourself?
Maybe so.
May all that be acceptable.
And your eyes get heavy.
The world starts to dim.
Tired and heavy and your spirit gets light and starts to drift up.
Can't keep up with it.
Letting it go.
Maybe little bits of dream creep in.
Maybe logic starts to fall apart.
And you're protected from evil and protected from mishaps and just ready to sleep.
Take a moment just to acknowledge the world we live in.
It all comes from a single origin.
It's all united in a common thread,
Sharing a destiny,
Having a oneness and a wondrousness.
Let that in.
Maybe as you let that in,
It fills you with love and wonder and awe,
Moment to moment,
For each moment.
The incredible gratitude of getting to wake up,
Getting to go to sleep,
Getting to walk and read,
Have family,
And to notice things,
Have a home.
May that all be pleasant and established.
And you're protected,
Shielded,
Covered,
Secured,
Removed from fear,
Unless you want to watch a scary movie.
Right now you're safe.
And you're safeguarded by great and good forces that will carry you through the night and apart from any challenges and dangers you are lifted,
Sated,
Given wings.
And you start to fall into tiredness,
Fall into sleepiness.
Feel the weight of your body.
You might inhale and exhale with the cella.
And it's time to lie down peacefully.
So that you rise up peacefully.
Fill your body with peace and sleep.
You can feel that you're craving it.
All you need to do is let it come.
There is no work.
There is only undoing.
Closing your eyes,
Letting yourself drift,
Knowing that you are safe.
As you go out of this world of wakeness and into the world of sleep and eventually back,
You can have peace.
And rest your spirit in a loving universe.
And great and good forces preceded us in this world and look over us now.
And will follow us thereafter and attend to those who succeed us.
The great and good universe blesses you and guards you.
And protects you.
And the great and good universe lights itself up,
Sharing its light to give you peace and grace.
Breathe it all in.
Deep exhale.
Deep inhale.
Slowing down.
And the great and good universe looks towards you,
Expectantly to offer you wholeness and peace.
And you may sleep,
But the universe goes on looking out for you.
You are surrounded by great and good forces while you rest.
In the day,
So many questions,
So many doubts,
So many worries.
All that anxiety you can place down at your right side with a great,
Good force that will hold your questions.
During waking hours,
You struggle,
You grapple,
You expend energy and muscle and strength and vigor.
Work so hard,
You can feel the tension.
You can let it fade away and melt to your left side with a great and good force responsible for strength and heroism.
Then a great force holds a light ahead of you through the dark,
Into the night and beyond,
Through dreams,
Through thoughts,
And behind you,
Another force gives you healing,
Massaging it into you with sleep and over you and all around you,
Wonder,
Mystery,
Benevolence.
Breathe in deep,
Out slow.
Stretch and fidget a little.
Inhale and exhale,
Sell up.
Feel it all sink down,
All fall down.
And the world goes on.
You can let go.
It doesn't need you to keep going.
It'll be there when you wake.
Letting everything fade,
Letting yourself let go.
The world was and it will be.
No beginning,
No end,
Just eternal and consistent.
You can rest your spirit and your body into the hand of a loving universe,
Knowing that you can go to sleep and you will be held through the night.
And right now,
You have nothing to fear.
