Hi,
Hello and welcome.
My name is Julie and in today's relaxation we will calm down your mind before going to bed.
You can practice this relaxation in or before you move into bed.
Make yourself as comfortable as possible and do make sure you don't have to move too much or turn on any harsh lights between this practice and starting your night.
Let's begin.
Maybe sometimes you may wish there was an off button for your mind.
A very busy mind can hold us in many ways throughout our lives and one of the main things a busy mind interrupts for millions of people around the world is a good night's sleep every single night.
Now why would that be?
Do birds and dogs and giraffes lose sleep because of their busy minds?
Instead of answering this question let's try to relax your mind just a little bit right now.
Imagine for a moment that your mind is like a river with water that sometimes flows by quite slowly like when it hasn't rained in a while and that sometimes moves quite quickly.
Depending on the weather and the time of year your mind is like a river.
Your thoughts are the water.
How quickly is your river of the mind flowing right now?
How fast are your thoughts flowing in the river?
Just notice this flow as if you were sitting on the riverbank enjoying the sights,
Enjoying the movement of the water.
That's good.
Now just allow for the seasons to pass and the weather to change and watch your river change along with it.
The changing seasons,
The changing weather represent your life.
Seasons change but each and every one of them can be beautiful.
Seasons can be tough or they can be mild and enjoyable.
Perhaps this is a season of activity for you and perhaps this is a season of rest.
You can see this season,
This moment of rest,
As a moment to recharge.
The waters of the river represent your thoughts.
The river is never crystal clear.
There are always some thoughts,
No matter how slow they are and that's okay.
Your life depends on changes and movement.
It depends on activity and on rest.
Thoughts come and thoughts go.
Any river depends on movement and changes.
Any environment depends on sediment and dirt and muck in the river to sustain itself.
The birds and the wildlife,
The unexpected things,
They depend on what lives in the river.
The unexpected things,
They pass through the river of the mind.
Now if you like,
You can imagine a storm coming through your river.
A storm of thoughts coming past your river and if you have the space for it today you can imagine the waters rise and swirl.
You can see any local animals scurry.
The fish hide in safer spots in the mud and there are no bugs to be seen for the moment.
The river is rushing by faster.
The storm is building.
The more thoughts come into your mind,
The more waters rush by.
The river almost becomes threatening.
See for a moment if you can still observe your river.
Observe the beauty in the movement.
The storm of thoughts disturbs the river but it's possible that it doesn't disturb you.
It takes a while for a storm,
Any storm,
To pass and then it takes even longer for the after-effects of the storm to calm.
Even if the water continues to speed for more than a few moments,
A few hours,
A few days,
The water will always naturally settle.
We can remain on the bank of our river.
We can continue to observe no matter the weather.
With practice we can continue to observe our thoughts no matter how stormy until they calm down.
When we struggle to sleep,
Even though we know it's necessary and rejuvenating,
We get involved in the surging river of thoughts.
We allow ourselves to get swept away by the storm.
There will be thoughts.
There will be storms.
There will be all manner of things and that's okay.
With practice you will become better at observing the storm and remaining distant from your thoughts.
The worrying mind the river will continue but you don't have to go along with it.
A calmer state of mind being the observer can help you get to sleep.
If you struggle with your thoughts today,
You can bring your attention to the physical sensations in your body.
Feel your clothes or your bedsheets against your body.
See the colors moving around behind your closed eyes.
Hear the sounds around you in your room.
Feel your belly and your chest move up and down with the breath.
Hear the sounds of others in your building.
Hear the sounds outside.
Smell the smells around you.
Feel your digestion gently moving in your stomach.
Hear the sound of air moving in and out of your body.
Feel the movement of your breath in and out of your nostrils and keep your attention with the breath.
The most subtle,
Slow,
Soft movement of the breath in the nose.
The breath moving in and the breath moving out.
Allow your body to relax more and more.
Allow your thoughts to just float by on the river of your mind.
Allow your body to relax.
Allow your breath to move in and out of your body.
Allow your thoughts to simply float on by with every breath in and every breath out.
