Just unpacking,
Letting it all out.
Falling into your resting place.
Quitting,
Giving up.
Moving on from the day that was and letting go.
When you're ready,
You close your eyes.
Or you could do the anti-meditation of trying to stay awake the whole time.
And I bet you're sleepy.
And although sleep is elusive.
Most modern people are tired.
So if you just get out of the way,
The tired might take over and you might collapse.
You might really give in.
That might be all it takes.
Human brains work a lot,
So you will have thoughts.
You will have worries,
You will have fantasies,
You will have distractions.
Because your neurons are active,
Because you are alive.
Because there is blood flowing.
You will have thoughts,
And you don't have to fight them,
But you don't have to hold on to them.
And when you get distracted,
Not if,
But when you get distracted,
You just come back.
Come to your body,
Which is.
.
.
Weary.
You might listen to my voice as a cue.
You might attend to your breath and extend the inhale and lengthen the exhale and just get deep and slow.
All into the quiet.
And when things are nice and quiet,
Just start to drift.
Surrendering.
Giving up,
Quitting,
Letting go,
Not holding on.
I mean,
You could.
You could grasp tightly on the day that was or anxiously on what's to be,
But.
.
.
Probably wouldn't help you.
You just let go.
And then when the anxiety grabs you again,
You let go.
You just fall in because you're heavy already.
And the tiredness that was there all along just starts to take up more space.
Fills up more volume in your body.
Seeping into your muscles and bones.
The weariness of day-to-day life,
It's just a challenge.
Whether you're working,
Whether you're exercising or not.
Being conscious is.
Its own effort.
Do you let go?
Stop holding on.
Then you inhale deeply and exhale slowly,
And that's a way to slow yourself down and to become more present,
More active in this moment.
Unless attending to what was,
Or what could be,
But isn't.
Just right here.
Right now.
This very instant.
In this instant,
In the next instant,
Again and again.
And you don't have to do anything.
There's nothing to do in meditation.
There's only to be.
And even that is optional.
You don't have to hold on to your consciousness.
And when you drift,
Because you do drift,
You'll just listen to my voice or breathe deeply or notice how heavy you are.
How comfortable you could be.
Start to drift away like a cloud.
And conscious thought is great,
But.
Maybe it's not for right now.
Maybe your brain gets a little soupy.
A little scrambly.
Maybe even fell asleep for a second.
And you're just breathing.
You may fall asleep,
You may not.
Maybe your body doesn't need to sleep.
I know I do,
But.
.
.
Might not be for you right now.
This might just be good relaxation.
So gentle with yourself.
It's not easy to like or love yourself,
But.
Bring that in a little,
Say something nice to yourself like.
You're so cool.
You make good toast.
I love the way you laugh.
Where you have a nice stride when you walk.
Or a funny singing voice.
Let's take a moment to be nice to yourself.
That's a good idea,
Even if you don't want to fall asleep.
Learn to say good things to yourself.
Even as simple as I love you.
And just rest.
And every day has injuries and insults,
Getting cut off in traffic.
The store being out of your favorite crackers.
You could be angry.
It'll hold on to it.
I don't object.
But it might not help you sleep,
So maybe you want to try forgiving.
Letting go of all the slights.
Because they're real.
But most likely the person who hurt your feelings didn't even know it and they're not losing sleep over it.
Maybe you want to make a choice to let go for now.
Forgive and be gentle with yourself and the world.
Maybe stretch.
Take a deep breath,
Yawn.
You exhale with the ancient Biblical word selah,
Which origin we don't know,
Nor its meaning,
But it had something to do with breathing.
Kind of pause word that is good in meditation even to this day.
And if you tried to forgive,
Maybe you can try to ask forgiveness.
And be an apology,
Knowing that.
He probably did something lousy.
On purpose or by accident,
And it would be nice not to do that again.
And that could be enough.
And maybe the light starts to change.
Maybe you really did dim your light,
Or maybe it just shifted in your eyes.
Hard to say.
Maybe you were unconscious for a moment,
Or your eyes got so heavy you didn't notice where you were.
And your pupils are getting big,
Stretching,
But not capturing.
Your eyes are getting heavy.
And the illumination of the day is fading.
And you take a moment to listen to the world as it descends.
As it departs.
You realize that everything you hear,
Everything in you and around you.
All comes from the same source.
The universe has a unity.
And a coherence.
Maybe you acknowledge that with love and gratitude.
You get to be part of such a wonderful existence.
With all of its sorrows and setbacks.
And you'll take a moment again and again during the day to give.
Love.
And gratitude when you.
Lie down and when you'll get up.
You'll think lovingly about this.
Wonderful,
Coherent universe that is universal.
Maybe so.
In your shelter.
Protected.
Strengthen,
Hovered,
Shielded.
Nothing to fear.
Not right now.
You're safe.
As safe as can be.
And you're carried by great and good forces that support you.
Look out for you.
The universe cares about you.
That it gives a darn.
And sleep will make you strong.
And secure and free.
And fall.
Healthy.
Just lean into it.
Let the bed take you in.
Let sleep overwhelm you.
Don't force.
You can't make yourself sleep.
You can just acknowledge that you are tired and let the train come through.
And take a deep breath and maybe exhale with a Salah.
Fella.
Oh goodness.
And you lie down peacefully.
So that when the time comes,
You can get up peacefully.
And learn and grow.
Be shielded and protected.
Your path clear.
You go out of this day in safety and peace to come back.
When the time is right.
Safely and peacefully.
And great and good forces looked over all of the generations before us,
And they look over you.
And they will look over those who come next.
Beyond us.
And on and on.
Loving Universe.
And you are supported and protected.
And the universe blesses you and guards you.
Take that.
Absorb it,
Bring it in.
That sense of blessing and protection.
Deep breath in,
Slow breath out.
And the universe looks its face towards you to give you grace.
Feel it shining on you.
With grace.
And the universe looks toward you to offer you peace.
And wholeness.
The harmony that passes understanding a deep,
Deep gift.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Just staying slow.
Okay if you don't fall asleep.
It wasn't meant to be,
But it is a good time to relax and just.
.
.
Enjoy your resting place,
Your bed,
Your couch,
Your chair.
Just enjoy being tired.
That's probably enough.
And be grateful that you took time to rest.
We can't control the outcome.
Breathing in deeply,
Out slowly,
Noticing your body.
What do you need?
Where is it stiff?
Where is it happy?
And as you lie down,
Great and good forces.
Circle you.
During the day you have all these questions,
All these concerns.
They're real,
They're probably important,
But right now you could put them down and.
.
.
You can deposit them on your right side with the great and good force responsible for questions and doubts.
And during the day,
You use all this muscle work,
All this strength and vigor and racing.
Lifting,
Do we?
It's hard.
To let go.
But you can put all that energy to your left side.
With a great and good force that handles energy and strength.
Breathe in deep,
Out slow,
And sense that there is a force ahead of you holding a light through the realms of sleep and dream.
Traveling with you,
Behind you,
Is a great and good force.
Of healing.
Through which sleep and dream heals you.
Brings you comfort and wholeness.
And above you and all around.
A loving universe in its glory.
And you are fortunate.
Fruitful,
Peaceful.
Maybe you need to shift and shimmy or shiver.
Fidget just a little more.
That's good.
Get real comfortable.
Little more quiet,
Breathe in deeply and out with the cella.
And the universe goes on.
Sustains itself while you sleep.
It was,
It is,
And it will be.
This one wonderful universe in which you play a part,
Small and important.
And you can just rest knowing that you will do your work another time,
But right now is just time for you,
Time for you to heal.
And increase in strength and renew and refresh.
Whether you sleep or not.
The universe has no beginning and no end and you are somewhere amid all of it.
Have what you need.
And you can put your body and spirit into the hand of a loving universe with nothing to fear.
Distressing.
Deep breaths in,
Slow breaths out.
Fading and drifting like a boat at sea.
Beautiful night.
And yourself go.
Bingo.
Slipping away.
