Welcome,
And I hope that each one of you will come to find peace within yourself,
And hopefully,
You'll find a peaceful sleep as well.
I know that so many people have difficulty falling asleep,
And so I'm hoping that this session will help you drift off.
One of the problems with falling asleep is that many people can't relax,
They can't let themselves sink into it.
So we're going to try that tonight.
Give yourself permission right now to let go of everything else that you're concerned with before we even get started.
And make sure that all your routine nightly activities,
Like locking the doors and making sure the stove is shut off,
Are taken care of.
So you don't have those on your mind.
So you aren't concerned with those things.
And silence all your other devices except the one you're listening to this on.
This is your time to fall asleep,
And you don't need distractions and chirps from your other devices.
Tonight,
We're returning to the shores of the Sea of Tranquility.
It's a place that many of you have visited with me before.
So right now,
Just lay in your bed,
Or your sleeping bag,
Or on your couch,
Or your comfy recliner,
Or whatever it is you feel like you want to go to sleep,
And start to settle in and get comfortable.
Comfort should always be your first consideration when you meditate,
And it's even more important when you're trying to fall asleep.
And if you want,
You can close your eyes now.
Now,
As I said earlier,
Tonight we're returning to the shore of the Sea of Tranquility,
And the sun is just beginning to set.
And it glows as a deep red disk on the horizon,
And the sky is filled with shades of pink and purple and red.
And there's a gentle rain falling.
The sand on the beach is all wet,
And the rain is falling on the trees.
And there's a gentle breeze.
You can feel it against your face and tasseling your hair.
And it's kind of warm against your skin.
And it's lightly scented with the scent of the ocean and a hint of pine and flowers.
Now,
Take in a nice,
Slow,
Deep breath.
And feel the air as it enters your body.
And as you exhale,
Feel the air as it leaves your body.
Now,
Take another breath,
Just a little bit deeper than the first one.
And just as you finish the inhale,
Take note of the little pause that's there.
If you notice,
I've mentioned this before,
We don't go instantly from inhale to exhale.
There's always this little natural pause at the end of the inhale and at the end of the exhale.
So just continue to breathe at your own pace.
Don't force anything.
We're trying to go to sleep.
And as we lay here breathing,
The sun continues to disappear against the horizon,
Sinking down into the ocean.
The waves are rolling against the beach.
The sun's beginning to slip beneath the ocean just as we begin to slip into sleep.
And the waves,
They continue their endless march to the shore.
While the rain falls softly on the beach and on the trees,
Allow your breath to ground you into the present moment.
There's nowhere else you need to be in this moment.
There's nothing else you need to be doing.
This is your time to rest your body for the new day to come.
So give yourself permission to relax and unwind and sink into the surface that you're on.
And just listen to the waves upon the shore and the sound of my voice.
And hear the rain as it gently falls on the beach and patters on the leaves in the trees.
And as you breathe,
Continue to relax.
Unfurl your brow and unclench your jaw.
Relax your hands and your arms and your shoulders.
And scan your body for any places where you might be holding tension.
Relax your neck and your arms and try to feel your body getting heavier with each and every breath.
Slowly sinking into whatever surface you're on.
Remember,
Words and thoughts have power.
And the things we think can become reality.
So think about how good it is to fall asleep,
To gently let go and slip into sleep.
It's very peaceful.
It's very restful.
Think about how soft your bed is as you softly sink into it.
And the waves continue to roll in,
Never ending,
Never pausing.
The sun is completely down now.
And as darkness covers the world,
The stars begin to appear in the sky as the rain gently falls all around us.
And the breeze is so soft against your skin.
And as you drift off to sleep,
It's a wonderful time to think about the things you're grateful for.
Perhaps it's the people in your life,
Your partner,
Your child or your pet.
Perhaps you're grateful for your health.
And all the while you're slowly breathing,
Sinking deeper into the mattress,
Noticing the natural pause in your breath.
Snug and secure in your covers as the waves roll in and the rain and the breeze blows lightly through your hair.
There's nothing to do but sleep.
There's nothing to strive for.
Nothing to worry about.
There's nothing but the waves and the rain and the breeze.
The comfort of your bed.
And sleep is calling you.
Sleep is calling you with a voice that's soft and clear.
As the waves roll in,
As the rain falls and the breeze blows,
The waves continue to roll to the shore.
And here on the shore of the Sea of Tranquility,
It's always easy to fall asleep.
Just listening to the sound of the waves as the breeze softly blows and the rain gently falls.
So softly,
So softly.
Waves gently rolling in,
Caressing the shore just as the wind caresses your face.
As the rain gently falls,
The breeze blows softly,
So softly.
