Begin where you are,
In the most restful position you can find.
If you're standing,
Try sitting.
If you're sitting,
You might want to recline or come lying down.
Close your eyes when you're ready.
Begin to shake off the day that was and the days that have passed.
Let go of the distant future,
Which is tomorrow.
Let go of any will to fall asleep.
It's a nearly magical process,
Leaving consciousness.
You can't exactly control it.
You can attend to it.
You can be curious whether you will fall asleep with an inhale or an exhale at what moment,
But it is unknowable and can't be forced.
So just rest into that unknowing,
Accepting the unpredictability of life and your body.
How special that all is.
Wherever and whatever your breath is now,
Note it with a generous awareness,
And then,
Out of a sense of curiosity,
See if you can breathe in deeper and exhale longer,
And just keep working with that curiosity.
How deeply can you inhale?
How gently can you exhale?
Slowing down,
Becoming more still and steady.
You are always enough.
Falling asleep is a natural,
Uncontrollable,
Unavoidable,
And even silly process.
Just being awake one moment,
And then you're not.
Breathing in and breathing out,
Beginning to release yourself from the day that was.
Aware that in every life,
In any 24-hour period or any week,
People harm each other and make mistakes and scare each other,
Push each other's buttons.
See if you can forgive someone or some people who have done you wrong.
They may have done it on purpose.
They may have done it by accident,
And it's not going to do you any good tonight to dwell on and hold on to such resentment.
Practice forgiving,
Even if it's just a temporary forgiving.
Let go for the moment.
Release.
Breathe in and out.
The counterpoint to what I've said is that you have probably hurt someone's feelings today.
It's a thing we do.
We are so broken in search of wholeness that we fumble about and hurt each other.
Allow yourself to be forgiven.
Forgive yourself and ask forgiveness,
Even if you don't know or understand or agree that you need forgiveness.
Forgive and let yourself be forgiven.
As you breathe,
You might start to feel your eyelids getting heavy,
Your face getting soft and deep.
Feel yourself slowing down.
Notice or just imagine the light beginning to dim and darkness descending gently on all the land,
And your bed is a place of wholeness and completion.
You can be at peace.
Breathe in to that quiet and breathe out with the stillness and settle in,
Letting gravity take over and listening.
Listening so attentively as the world closes its eyes and prepares to rest,
Knowing that this,
All of this,
Is one,
Is part of a greater wholeness and unity.
And when you encounter and become aware of the unity of all creation,
Allow yourself to bubble up with love,
To feel a gratitude and a faithfulness toward all that exists,
All that comes from the same origin and is part of a shared universe.
If only you could be aware of that unity at every moment,
It would overwhelm you with gratitude and love.
And where you are resting now,
As your body prepares for sleep,
You are sheltered.
The shadows of night enclose you like a sweet blanket,
Like an eagle's wing,
Like a protecting shield.
You speak to the universe,
The universe listens and knows your name and wishes only well for you.
You prepare,
Lying down to rest with wholeness and peace and harmony,
Such that you can wake up in the future with vigor.
And while you are in the in-between state,
From sleep to waking,
You are protected with a great canopy.
When you go out of consciousness and when you come back in,
You are guarded.
At every moment,
There are great and good forces shepherding your welfare,
Looking out for you.
These great and good forces looked out for those who came before you,
And they will attend to those who come after you,
Ever vigilant,
Securing your welfare as you rest,
Even sleep.
Breathing in deeply,
Out slowly,
And letting your thoughts drift and unspool and unwind and become haphazard.
The universe has blessing for you,
And the universe guards you,
And the universe enlightens you with grace,
And the universe looks upon you with favor,
Granting you wholeness,
Peace.
And of all these great and good forces that exist for your welfare,
We can imagine them at our different sides.
On your right side,
There is a force that attends to your questions.
You spend the day wistful and wondering,
Confused or curious,
And you can put aside all those questions and rest them to your right with the force responsible for all mysteries.
We spend our days striving,
Exerting,
Being strong and forceful,
Not always vulnerable.
You can rest all of that striving and energy on your left side with the force within this universe responsible for strength.
During the day,
You may have confusion,
Darkness,
Uncertainty.
You can rest all of that uncertainty at your feet.
The force resting before you that is responsible for illumination.
Bodies hurt and ache and break,
Struggle,
Cramp.
There is a force responsible for healing just behind you,
Trust in its healing.
And above and around you,
A great and awesome canopy covering you as you sleep.
Breathe into all of that mystery and all of that support as you feel gravity and sleepiness pulling at you.
Your breath starting to slip less consciously and your thoughts starting to drift.
Maybe you take one last wiggle,
A little bit of fidget,
A last restful exhale and prepare to depart.
Drifting off to rest and sleep in the hand of a loving universe,
Knowing that you are always safe and you don't need to fear.
