Hello and welcome to this guided sleep story where we will follow along with the journey of a boy named Peter as he travels to a secret cove on mystery island.
My name is Jason Stevenson and I invite you to follow along with me as we learn of Peter's adventure before sinking into sleep.
Before we begin just take a moment to ensure you are tucked in and comfortable,
Well supported by the blankets and cushions that you have here.
And then close your eyes and let your entire body relax from your head to your toes.
And then see if you can notice the gentle flow of your breath into and out of the body.
Just like a gentle wave that moves into and out of a peaceful shoreline,
The breath sails into and out of your body without you having to make it happen.
So for the next three breaths watch that flow as if it were a wave steadily moving in and steadily moving out.
And after that third breath just relax,
The breath will continue to support you in the background of your awareness.
And now in your imagination space of your mind where this story begins,
I invite you to call to mind a great open sea upon which a boat sails gracefully beneath the beaming sun.
Upon this boat rests Peter,
A young boy about your age,
On his way to a mysterious island that he has heard is enchanted with all sorts of gifts,
Lessons and adventures.
Peter sits by the front of the boat,
The sun shining down upon his skin through the wispy white clouds above.
The air is warm against his skin and his gaze is held open by the waters through which the mighty boat sails.
As the boat moves confidently through the sea,
Peter's eyes soon land on the destination of his dreams on mystery island.
His heart opens wider as he wonders about the adventure that awaits him and soon as the boat finally reaches the long and narrow dock,
He climbs carefully out to begin his journey.
After planting both his feet steadily on the dock beneath him,
He turns to wave to the captain as a gesture to say thank you,
He will return to the boat before the end of the day.
And so Peter makes his way along the length of the dock until finally his feet reach the warm sandy beach.
He decides to pull off his shoes and let his bare feet rest for a few moments in the soft sand.
With bare feet sinking into the sandy shore beneath him,
He stretches the top of his head up towards the sun,
His shoulders relaxing towards the earth,
His eyes gaze up a dense jungle before him.
Tall palm trees reach up towards the sky above and even higher than the top of this canopy,
Bright red,
Orange and blue birds soar through the open sky.
Peter takes a long breath in and slowly lets it back out.
And just before he is about to put his shoes back on for the journey ahead,
He feels something beneath his toes,
Buried in the sand.
He leans down and pulls away the upper layers of sand until finally revealing the mystery object.
To his surprise and delight,
It is a key,
Bright,
Shiny and gold.
To what it is,
He senses it might be of use to him later.
The young boy puts his shoes back on,
Tightens his laces and slowly makes his way toward the tropical island and away from the waves now behind him.
As he reaches the first line of trees,
Peter discovers a narrow pathway leading between the majestic palms.
With no other clues as to where he might journey,
He decides to take this unknown road ahead.
Step by step,
He makes his way into the lush jungle of this mystery island.
As he goes,
He cannot help but notice how bright the leaves of the trees are here.
Radiant green tones glimmer throughout the dense forest.
Vibrant flowers appear too,
In bright purple,
Neon pink and fiery orange.
This jungle,
Peter thinks to himself,
Is packed with the most colourful forms of life.
He is not sure he has ever been to such a radiant place before.
Now the further Peter ventures into the island,
The more he thinks about the key that rests in his pocket.
What could the key unlock?
And where will he find whatever it might open?
He is on a journey to discover what treasures this golden key might reveal and so he continues on confidently down the narrow trail through the centre of this mystical oasis.
Soon Peter reaches a fork in the road.
The trail splits,
Diverting to both the left and to the right.
He has no map of the island,
So there is no way to know which way to go.
But that is when Peter's eyes catch something hidden behind the overgrown plants.
Tucked away,
Almost completely out of sight at the fork of the road,
A wooden sign peeks out through the greenery.
The sign is as tall as Peter is,
And so carefully he raises his hand to push away the leaves that cover its message.
And on that sign,
Etched in gold handwriting,
He reads the words,
Follow the road to secret cove.
Follow the road to the secret cove.
His heart flutters at the thought of a secret cove.
But how will he know which way to go?
The road is now split in two,
And he has no way of knowing in which direction is this hidden cove.
Peter keeps his eyes open for any clues that might help him.
He searches low towards the ground,
And then he searches high towards the sky.
And that is when he sees a mountain monkey dangling in the branches of the canopy above.
This playful animal smiles down at him,
Cheeky and delightful.
Peter waves up at it,
And with its long and nimble arm,
The monkey waves at Peter to follow him,
And then swings away through the trees that line the road to the left.
Peter takes it as a sign,
And follows the mysterious monkey down the chosen pathway.
The road that guides him becomes winding and narrow.
Without the monkey as his guide,
He likely would have turned around by now.
No wonder it is called a secret cove,
Peter thinks to himself.
And yet,
Despite the overgrown nature of the trail,
He forges onwards with courage and inspiration alive in his heart.
Soon the monkey turns to meet Peter's eyes.
This playful primate grins and waves goodbye,
Climbing into the trees away from the path that Peter is on.
For a moment,
Peter feels alone.
But he knows that this is far from the truth.
Birds and butterflies of all the rainbows colours stay with him,
Guiding him onwards.
And soon,
The secret pathway comes to an end.
The trees part,
And Peter steps out onto the small sandy beach he's been searching for.
The shoreline curves into the island,
Creating a small,
Protected cove that enchants his eyes,
Mind,
And heart.
The water here is turquoise,
Dazzling beneath the late afternoon sun.
The world is alive both within and around him.
Peter walks the length of the sandy shore,
Slowly and steadily.
And all at once,
He sees something tucked into the rocks at the far end of this mysterious cove.
Closer and closer,
He makes his way towards it,
Until soon,
He realises it is a treasure chest.
A smile extends upon his face as he considers the key that rests in his pocket.
And so as Peter finally arrives at the treasure box that sits nestled between two steady rocks,
He pulls out the golden key and fits it into the brass lock of this enchanted box.
Click!
The key works,
And the lock comes undone.
As Peter removes the lock from the hinge,
He takes a long,
Deep breath in.
And then he slowly lifts the lid.
Inside,
Peter is surprised to find some of his most treasured belongings,
His favourite toy,
His cosiest blanket,
And photos of his loved ones.
And beneath these objects,
That he is so pleased to see,
He finds a small,
Curious envelope.
He pulls it out,
Peels open its sealed edge and reads,
There are many treasures in this world,
But never forget the ones that live in your heart.
Peter gazes down at the gold ink,
Written in the same cursive writing as the sign that stood at the fork in the road.
He thinks about his heart and the treasures that live there,
His inner capacity for love,
For compassion,
For kindness,
For patience.
These,
He thinks,
Are the treasures that this letter is pointing him towards.
The sun is now making its movements towards the horizon,
And so,
Feeling as though he has uncovered the treasure he was meant to do today,
Peter gazes out at all the turquoise waters one last time.
In the distance,
He sees dolphins soaring through the air,
Expressing the beauty and magic of this life that is theirs.
Peter turns to make his way back through the tropical forest of this mysterious island.
Slowly,
Step by step,
He follows the path until the fork in the road.
There,
He turns back in the direction of the boat that brought him here.
When Peter arrives back at the dock,
He is grateful to see his captain.
The sun is now halfway behind the horizon,
And so he climbs into the boat and prepares for a sunset cruise back home.
As the boat pulls away from the island,
He takes a few more moments to gaze out at the oasis that unveiled many treasures of the world to him,
Some in the form of his favourite objects,
But many in the form of qualities that live in his heart.
Peter rests his back on the wide bench of the boat.
He gazes up at the sky,
Watching it shift from pale blue,
To orange and pink,
To deep and dazzling navy.
And beneath the skies he drifts peacefully to sleep,
Carrying his adventures with him into his dreams.
And until next time,
Goodnight my friend,
Goodnight.
