Sleep Story: Walk With Me In The Forest

Come for an imaginary walk with me and my dog Shantih along a trail through the forest by the ocean. Breathe in fresh air, listen to the sounds of birds in the forest, and take in the beauty of wildflowers and trees. We pause at special spots along the path, a favorite resting rock, and a garden area, evoking feelings of peace and gratitude. Transition to sleep as the walk concludes. Relax and drift off into sleep, carrying the tranquility of the walk into your dreams.

Transcript

Here we are in the evening.

We're ready for bed.

We've worked with setting the stage.

Perhaps we've turned off our screens an hour ago.

We're preparing our mind and body to rest.

And as we lay down and get comfortable,

There are several things that we can do to help ease our way into sleep.

Scan from head to toes to relax our body.

Soften the belly,

Let the breath become smoother,

Quieter.

And then we might also go on a walk in our imagination.

Bring to mind a place you really enjoy.

A favorite walk.

Every day I walk with my dog in the forest.

I have a path that goes from where I live along a trail.

The air here is really clean.

Right by the ocean there's also a lot of oxygen.

There's almost always a breeze.

I often go for a walk in the morning,

But sometimes after dinner.

The sun is starting to soften in the western sky.

The birds are still singing,

But a little quieter than they are in the morning.

Shanti runs ahead,

Sniffing here and there.

I especially enjoy the summer,

Where there's a lot of different wild plants,

Grasses,

Flowers.

In late June,

The wild blueberries are blooming,

And I look forward to late July,

When the berries are ripe.

There are lady slippers in two places on my walk,

And in one place in the spring there's a wild rhododendron.

Beautiful purple flower.

It's not as big and showy as the cultivated ones,

But it's unexpected.

I come around this corner,

And there it is.

Walking is a time when I can allow my mind sometimes to wander,

But often just to take in what it is that I'm seeing.

I let my senses move to the foreground.

As soon as I walk out the door,

I take a deep in-breath.

The smell of the forest near the ocean where I live is so sweet.

I always appreciate that first in-breath when I walk outside.

And then before I start on my walk,

I look around,

Look up into the sky.

Sometimes there are clouds.

Sometimes here where I live there's fog.

And as I walk along,

The pathway is very familiar to me.

We go down a little hill and around a corner,

And then up another hill.

There's a lot of ground cover.

As we go up this first hill,

There's been a bit of erosion from heavy rains.

I've added rocks to slow the water down,

To give the soil an opportunity to soak it in.

So I enjoy walking up alongside that.

We come around the corner and start heading east.

We come up to the top of the hill where there's some bedrock on the trail,

And then some shale.

Quite an interesting pattern below my feet.

And up here,

If I turn around and face west again,

I can see trees,

The light sparkling on the water of the ocean,

The sun beginning to soften the sky into pinks,

Oranges.

The sunsets here can take an hour or longer and are quite dramatic at times.

As I walk along on the right,

There's a pathway that goes into this garden clearing that I've made.

But usually I keep going,

Heading east down another hill.

It's a little bit steep,

But I've carved out some steps.

So I take it easy going down those steps.

Then I come along a flat spot where I've planted some cedar.

I love cedar trees.

There's a lot of deer in this area,

And they also like the cedar.

So I have them fenced off a little bit to give them a chance to grow.

Shanti goes ahead looking for things to sniff out.

Sometimes there's coyotes along the trail.

She smells and finds their scat.

Sometimes she'll hear a squirrel go racing off into the forest barking.

It's a little easier physically to wander along on the flat.

Then I come to this rock.

It's just the perfect size to sit on.

It's about four feet wide,

Pretty much the same height as a chair.

And just across from it,

There's this beautiful old spruce tree.

It's had some difficulties.

It's crooked in places.

You can see where another tree has fallen and rubbed some of the bark.

I've created a little trail to walk right up to the tree.

When I lean against it,

It really has my back.

It's strong and solid.

It's been through something,

And it's well-rooted.

And when I turn and face it,

I can put my heart right on that trunk.

Sometimes I'll put my forehead on the bark.

It's a little rough,

So I'm gentle.

It smells good,

Too,

Being in the forest.

Other days,

I just sit on my rock and have a rest,

Look around,

Enjoy the scent of the forest,

The quiet.

It's always wonderful in the spring when the birds start to come back.

In the winter,

There are a lot of crows,

Seagulls,

A few chickadees.

But in the summer,

There's this abundance of birds.

The herons come back with their loud squawk.

It's always a thrill to see them fly overhead.

Bald eagles nest near here.

Robins are an early visitor in the spring,

And I love their chirpy kind of song.

A little bit later,

The hummingbirds come,

And I always keep their feeder full with fresh sugar water.

Sometimes they're here dozens of times a day.

But out on the path,

Mostly the birds I hear are songbirds.

Occasionally I'll hear a pine siskin.

I often hear juncos,

American goldfinch,

Common yellowthroat.

As I sit for a while on the rock,

Those birds start to sing again.

The noise of the forest starts to come back.

And then most days,

I'll continue on the path heading east up another hill.

This is Old Mountain Area,

Nova Scotia,

Canada.

The hills aren't steep like they are with newer mountains out west,

So they're easier to walk up.

So I get to the top of the next hill,

And there's another flat rock.

I will often sit there.

Shanti has her little spots that she explores.

And along the way,

There's her watering holes,

Places where there's a rock or two or a beside the trail that holds water.

And I'll hear her lapping the water as she drinks.

If I keep going from there,

I reach another long hill that heads down to a saltwater pond.

I don't go down there quite as often.

When I do,

There's a trail through the forest.

So I sit at that rock right at the top of the hill.

And from there,

I can see west,

East.

There's some larger trees there.

I know these trees.

I see them every day on my walk.

And then at some point,

We turn around,

Head back towards the west,

Towards the ocean,

Towards my home.

When I come up to the top of the hill where the path leads to the garden,

I almost always take that little path.

Shanti will wait for me at the top there to see which direction I'm going.

And then she'll tear off down the trail.

She has her little routines,

Places she goes in each area.

When I first moved out here,

I cleared a space in the forest,

Built a deck,

Carried that lumber all the way through a couple hundred feet of forest.

And I built a deck.

I have a chair there.

There's a beautiful rock wall with moss on it.

I planted a few trees in there as well,

Encouraging the maples,

Some blueberries,

Even a magnolia tree.

And I planted an oak tree several years ago that came from an acorn that grew in the old cemetery from my seven generations back grandparents.

That's kind of cool.

Sometimes I'll sit in the garden for a while.

I'll always stop to rest,

Sit on the side of the deck,

Look around.

I planted some more cedars here as well.

Then I have a couple hundred feet going through a forest as I come back towards the house.

There's such beautiful moss in the forest.

There's different varieties of moss on the open trail than there is in the garden area,

And that there is in this forest that we walk through.

The moss here is quite thick and deep and green.

Sometimes the sunlight seems to dance as it comes through the trees in a wind,

Lighting up the forest floor.

Then I get back to the house.

Shanti always wants to have a cookie,

A dog treat.

I really appreciate being able to walk here.

I'm always grateful.

I live in a tiny house.

Not many people would want to live here,

Although certainly some would,

And I love it here.

I hope you've enjoyed coming on my walk with us,

And as you're falling asleep,

Imagine yourself on your favorite walk.

Let your mind take in the scene,

The aromas,

The beauty of the world.

And as you're walking,

Let your mind come more into stillness.

It's time to rest.

Reviews

Taking walks in nature has been a source of happiness in my life for as long as I can remember, and I've missed them tremendously the last two years that I've been housebound with chronic health conditions.

Getting to join you on your walk was a real treat. I'll certainly be revisiting this many times over. Thanks!

I enjoyed our walk together....feel relaxed and ready for sleep. Thank you....