Exam Stress Support For 15-18 Year Olds

This track is designed to be listened to every night as the listener falls asleep. This is designer for 15-18 year olds going through exams who might not feel comfortable or able or willing to meditate. This is made to be listened to when they are ready to sleep, they can press play on and fall asleep listening to it. They do not need to concentrate on the recording, the subconscious mind will hear all the words even when they fall asleep listening to it. The work to let go of the exam stress will be done without them even realising.

Transcript

To begin, I'd like you to lie yourself back, Begin to settle down, Relax and just make yourself nice and comfortable, And just start by noticing the weight of your head resting on a pillow, And you can be aware of your head relaxing on that pillow, Knowing that that pillow will fully support the full weight of your head. So you don't have to hold on to any stress or tension in your shoulders or your neck, You can just allow your head to rest back, Nice and relaxed, And let go. You can relax your shoulders too, Because you know that the couch will fully support you. You can take your full weight, Your full height, Every muscle, Every fibre of your being, As you just relax back into that couch, Fully supported. Because now is a time for you to do nothing. You don't have to be anywhere, You don't have to do anything. You can just lie back and relax, And your mind can drift and dream as you hear all the sounds around you, Even the sounds outside. But none of these things need distract or disturb you, As they comfortably remind you that the world is safely still turning, And you can allow yourself a moment to just rest back, Relax and let go. You can let go of any tension in your stomach or across your shoulders, Ease off those muscles in your back and down your spine, Along the muscles in your legs, Down through your ankles, All the way to your feet and your toes. Even your arms and every finger, Loosening and relaxing, Perfectly at ease. Just drifting and dreaming with your thoughts as you pay attention to your breath, That gentle rise and fall that happens all by itself. And with every breath you take, And with every word I speak, You can just let go. And in a moment, I'm going to ask you to imagine certain things. But it doesn't matter if you find you can't imagine all the things I'm asking you to. You might even find your mind wandering quite a bit, So that my voice just fades into the background, But that doesn't matter either. The sound of my voice is going to continue to relax you, And it really doesn't matter if you don't hear a word I say, Because very soon now, You are going to be more relaxed than you have ever known. Just imagine yourself standing at the top of a green hill on a tropical island. You can feel the warmth of the sun on your head and shoulders. You can see the long grasses around you moving slightly in the gentlest of breezes. When you look down the hill, You can see a narrow winding path that disappears into a small forest. Beyond the forest, You can see the ocean, With sunlight from the clearest of blue skies glancing off the tops of the waves in the bay, So that a whole ocean seems to shimmer and sparkle. You begin to move lazily and easily down the path, With the ferns and grasses pushing gently against your legs as you pass. You can just catch the faint smell of salt pouring in on the breeze. You become aware of the distant sound of the ocean on the shore, Maybe hearing seabirds calling faintly from a long way off. You marvel at the deep sense of calmness and tranquility that sweeps over you, As you move on down, And down towards the forest. Moving so easily and so effortlessly, You feel almost as though you're floating on air. And in no time at all, You find yourself drifting through the trees, Their leaves closing overhead to form a canopy, And their branches making an irregular pattern against the clear blue of the sky. And it's pleasantly cool in the forest, With the gentle sound of birds singing, Echoing faintly, And the scent of the trees and undergrowth relaxes you still further, As you move easily into the inviting depths, Becoming lazier and lazier with each step you take. You can hear a stream somewhere, Its gurgling sound gradually mingling with the sound of the ocean, As you follow the winding path down, And down towards the beach that you know is in front of you. Weaving through the trees, And pushing aside the occasional piece of foliage, Until, Quite suddenly, You feel the warmth of the sun on your head and shoulders again, And you find yourself on a beautiful deserted beach. A beautiful golden shoreline, Sweeping away in a gentle curve in front of you, To a distant point where the trees seem to come right down to the shoreline, So that their branches actually seem to overhang the ocean itself. You can feel the sand warm between your toes, As you stroll lazily across the broad beach to the water's edge, The sand becoming a darker golden colour when you get there, And you enjoy the change to a moist firm cornice beneath your feet, As you wander along the shore, Leaving a lazy trail of footprints in the sand behind you. Every so often, A larger-than-usual wave sends water foaming around your feet, And as it recedes, You notice how the sand is washed away from tiny coloured pebbles, Glinting like jewels in the sun. The smell of the ocean, The sunlight on the waves, The sound of the water hissing over the sand, All these things seem to create a sense of timelessness for some unknown reason, And you find yourself a comfortable position, A grassy hollow maybe, To just sit and gaze out across the rolling depths to the horizon, Trickling warm golden sand idly through your fingers, And there's a faint haze which makes it difficult for you to see exactly where the sky stops and the ocean starts. As you try to work it out, You see a small white cloud appear from somewhere near the horizon. It comes towards the island quite quickly, Growing larger as it approaches, Until it's immediately overhead, The largest, Fluffiest, Whitest cloud you can ever remember. And you somehow know, Just by instinct, That you can let all your worries, All your cares, All your fears, Just drift up towards this large white cloud. You can actually see them drifting away from you in a long slow spiral, Maybe like smoke from a bonfire, Just spiralling away from you towards this large white cloud. And the cloud absorbs all your worries into itself, Swallowing up all your fears and anxieties, And becoming steadily darker all the time. Until, Just as it reaches its darkest, Just as the last part of that spiral of your worries and cares disappears inside it, The sun bursts through, Dispelling every one of your worries, Every one of your fears and anxieties to the edges of the universe, Leaving you totally relaxed and perfectly at ease with yourself, Without a single care in the world. And now, All your troubles and cares having floated away from you, You settle yourself down into a comfortable position, And just drift off into a deep and relaxing sleep. While you sleep, You have a dream. You dream you're walking down a long corridor, Stretching away in front of you in a long gentle curve. So long, You can't actually see the end of it, But you know that this corridor is in the very depths of your subconscious mind, In the part of your mind that knows just what to do, And just how to do it. And as you begin to move along this beautiful corridor, Becoming even more relaxed, Even more lazy, You realize that time and space are beginning to lose their meaning. Slowly, The walls of the corridor seem to dissolve, Leaving you in a large room. The room is full of a gentle golden light that relaxes you still further, And you suddenly realize, With a surge of inspiration and pleasure, That what you once saw as limits are merely stepping stones to greater success. One wall of this room is like a huge television screen, With words and images flashing across it too fast for you to see. And you realize that this is information being transmitted to different parts of your mind and body. And you use your mind to will it to stop, And as you do so, The screen clears, And the word ready appears in large flashing letters. And now your mind is prepared and receptive to everything I'm going to say to you, And everything I say will be accepted and acted upon by your subconscious, And it will have a steadily increasing effect upon the way you think, The way you feel, And the way you behave over the coming days and weeks and months. Starting now, More and more, You will realize that happiness and unhappiness are due to your own thoughts and the way you think about situations. You will be able to shift your thoughts and the way you think about situations. You will be able to shift your thoughts to the positive aspects, And look at the positive aspects of living, Enjoying every day. You will become more and more aware that if life's situations are not the way you want them, You will work to change them, Without frustration, Without anger, And without being bothered. You will work to change things that are not the way you want them, But you'll do it with a calm, Peaceful mind, Being at ease and at peace with the universe. You will become more and more aware that everyone has problems in living, But you will also be aware that as you become more mature, That you can face problems with a calm mind, With strength and determination to work to improve them. And when you cannot change things, You will accept them calmly. You will be aware that anger and frustration do not help, And you'll realize that life is too precious and too wonderful to waste it in being bothered over little things, Little annoyances. And whilst you are resting in this very pleasant way, I want you to imagine something. I want you to imagine that you're standing at the top of a beautiful staircase in an old house. There's a thick, Warm, Soft carpet underneath your bare feet, And it feels comforting and safe, Just like your favourite hoodie, Or wrapping yourself in a duvet after a long day. This warm carpet leads all the way down into a large hallway. The hallway has smooth black and white marble tiles on the floor. Large windows are behind you, Letting in some light, But outside is a grey, Dull day, So the hall looks a bit cold and unwelcoming. You start walking slowly down the stairs, Feeling the soft carpet under your feet. On the far side of the hall, You can see an open doorway. Inside that room, You can see the same warm carpet. You feel nice and warm and comfortable on the stairs, But the tiled hallway looks chilly. You know that those tiles would feel really cold under your feet compared to the carpet. Yet, Through the open doorway, You can see bright sunlight streaming in, Making the whole room look calm, Inviting, And peaceful. You carry on down the stairs until you're nearly at the bottom. Now you can see two small tables in the hallway, Each holding a crystal vase filled with beautiful multicoloured flowers. The sunlight from the room catches the vases and makes the flowers glow with vivid colours, And you know that if the sun was shining fully, Those colours would be even brighter and more alive. You're standing on the last stair now, Looking across at that welcoming room. You really want to go inside, But you have to cross the cold-looking tiles first. You hesitate for a second, Imagining how freezing they might feel, But you also know that the only way to reach that bright, Calm room is to step across. So you gently place one foot onto the tile. It does feel cold at first, A bit of a shock, But interesting rather than scary. Almost straight away, You notice the tile under your foot starts to warm up. You smile and place the other foot down. Again, One foot warm, One foot cool, But the second tile warms up quickly too. With each step, The tiles feel less cold, And soon you're walking comfortably across the hallway. Before you know it, You're stepping through the open doorway into the bright room, And as you enter, You realise that this is a special place, Where exam stress simply doesn't exist. It's not somewhere you have to fight or push stress away. It's a room where pressure and worry have no power at all. It might feel familiar, Like a favourite spot from years ago, Or the perfect room you've always imagined. It's filled with things that make you feel good. Comfortable sofas and chairs, Maybe a warm lamp or a fireplace, Books or posters. Whatever helps you feel relaxed and happy. The sunshine is streaming through the windows, Gently warming your skin, And you sink into a really comfortable seat and let yourself settle deeply. This is your time to enjoy this peaceful space, And reflect on how things used to be with exams. Because you've already begun letting go of the old habit of exam stress. A habit that once felt necessary, But now you know it is no longer helpful or right for you. I don't know exactly when you'll notice the full change, Perhaps in a few days, A few weeks, Or maybe by the time your first exam comes round. But one day soon, You'll look back at this moment and feel genuinely proud of how calm and confident you've become. You are going to be surprised at how easily something which you thought will be difficult, How easy it will turn out to be. It will get easier and easier as each day goes by, And you will take an awful lot of pride and pleasure in the ease with which you release the exam stress habit. You will be surprised, And so will your friends. Your friends and classmates who are still stressing out may seem pleased for you, But don't be fooled. They're not always happy to be reminded that you've conquered something they're still struggling with. So don't be surprised if worried talk or anxious energy drifts your way. You'll find these words to spring naturally to your lips. No thanks, I'm calm and prepared. No thanks, I'm relaxed and focused. No thanks, I'm calm and confident. You will be surprised how easily these words just come to you as if you've had nothing to do with it at all. No thanks, I'm calm and prepared. You'll just find yourself saying it without any effort. You'll take a very special pride in now being able to say, No thanks, I'm calm and confident. You are going to take a lot of pleasure in the ease with which you'll go through your revision and your days without the need or the wish for exam stress. You will be pleased with a new sense of freedom and control that is now yours, And you have mastered this and removed that old pressure from your life permanently. Because all that old desire to feel stressed about exams, Every bit of it is now being removed from your entire mind and body, Completely and permanently. It is being replaced with a powerful natural feeling of calm confidence, So that from now on, Should you ever think of letting exam worry take over again, You will feel it's totally unhelpful. Because you know excessive stress only clouds your thinking, Affects your memory and gets in the way of your best performance. You know that exam stress creates unnecessary tension that can mess with your concentration and sleep. But now, Because you realise this fully, Every moment of unnecessary worry is fading away, And you will feel so relieved to simply stop the exam stress habit for good. You will simply stop the exam stress habit for good, And you'll be so relieved that you no longer carry that weight. You are delighted and happy that you have beaten it. Your mind and body are no longer being held back, And you will have no anxiety about being a calm, Confident student. You are delighted, Pleased to be a calm, Focused, High-performing student. And because you are a calm, Confident student, You will simply have no wish to feel stressed about your exams or any other pressure. In fact, From this day on, You will be so thankful that you have no need for it. Not only will you feel better now you've released the exam stress habit, You'll actually see a difference in yourself. You'll have clearer thinking, Sharper focus, And more energy for revision and everything else. Others will start to notice the new you, Calmer, More in control, Radiating quiet confidence and energy. You'll be pleased to discover just how much more energy and enjoyment you have, How much easier revision flows. Because you've let go of this unhelpful habit, You're going to have more focus, More success, And more enjoyment in every way. In fact, Your life is about to become more enjoyable in every way. Extra clarity, Extra energy, Extra confidence, And real peace of mind. You're going to start enjoying these benefits immediately. At the same time, You're gaining a more relaxed viewpoint on life. All the things that used to stress you out will now just calm and relax you. And the more they used to upset you, The more they will now help you stay calm and centered. And now, You can relax and really enjoy the wonderful thought that you no longer need to feel stressed about exams. You are no longer dominated by that old, Tense, Distracting habit. It belongs to the past. Close the door on it and leave it there, So that you can live a happy, Successful student life now. And you can look forward to your future with optimism and enthusiasm, Knowing you no longer link exams or revision with worry or tension. You are a calm, Confident student. Forever. And even now, Your sense of pride and self-worth are growing stronger. And as you relax even deeper into that comfortable seat, I'd like you to imagine something. I'd like you to imagine that you're looking at a steel ball resting at the top of a gentle slope. So just imagine that now. You're looking at a steel ball resting at the top of a gentle slope. And as you look at it, So the ball begins to roll slowly down the slope. It moves slowly and follows a very straight course as it moves. But now I want you to imagine that a little way ahead of the steel ball and off to one side of the track, You can see a strong magnet. And as the ball is rolling towards the magnet, It enters into the magnetic field and the magnet pulls on the steel ball. Not enough to make it stick to it, But enough to make it change its course. The steel ball is now rolling in a completely different direction from its original path. And there's a reason for imagining this. Because your pathway through life is like the path taken by that steel ball. In the beginning, Your pathway through life was set. You were following a course that was right for you. It was comfortable and it was right for you. And it felt right. But you soon found that you were being influenced by other people. Acting like magnets, Trying to pull you off course, Trying to make you change direction. In short, They made you feel that your way was wrong. They wanted you to conform to their ways and follow their course of action. By trying to please them, You changed your course and have been following a way that is not what you originally set for yourself. The result has been that you have felt uncomfortable. This is not felt right. You have consequently felt that you have lost your individuality through trying to please other people. And this has been the problem. So let's see what can be done about it. Let's return to that picture of the steel ball and make a few changes. Once again, Imagine that steel ball at the top of the slope. But this time, As you look at it, See it grow to double its size, Weighing twice as much. Now see it rolling and see what happens. It approaches the magnet and the magnet tries to pull on it. But this time the ball is too heavy and too big and does not deviate from its course. It keeps on rolling in the same direction. The influence of the magnet has not been strong enough to affect the ball. It just rolls straight past. These simple changes were enough to overcome the problem. And for you to overcome the problem, It's not necessary to grow in size or put on weight. But you can grow in strength and in power. And you can do this easily. As you rest there now, I want you to realize something and realize it well. Understand it and acknowledge it. But it's not your purpose in life to become a carbon copy of someone else. You are an individual in your own right. You have your own opinions and you have your own personality. And these things are right for you. No other person has a right to try and take these things away from you and to make you conform to their ways. You are a person in your own right. A complete person. And they must either accept this fact or go on their way. Your individuality is precious and it must be protected. And you can protect it with your own strength. Your strength has been weakened by the influences of other people. But that strength is still there within you now. So now is the time to rediscover it and let it grow. So as you rest there now, Just imagine yourself as being strong. Strong enough to withstand the influences of other people. Strong enough to stand on your own feet. Imagine you are that strong now. And as you imagine it, Feel that strength. It's there and you can feel it. Feel the confidence that goes along with it. Feel yourself able to speak out. Able to defend your own individuality. Feel these things now. Because as you can now feel them, You know they are there. You already have that strength. It's there and you can feel it. So you know it's there. Acknowledge it and welcome it. It's yours. Now that you've experienced these things, You can recognise them and use them. Now that you know they are there, You can become more aware of them. And because of this, You already feel stronger and more able in yourself. And this feeling is going to remain with you and become stronger as each day goes by. No longer are you influenced into a wrong course by other people. No longer do you allow your individuality to be taken away from you. Because it is precious and it is yours. And from today, You will go forth into the world looking forward with a new and determined optimism. For you are armed now with new knowledge and understanding of the person that you are. Unique and special. Your real self. Confident in your own abilities to be true to the values that are really important to you and to recognise what is false and inappropriate. Now you love and respect yourself for the person that you are and you'll be happy with all that you have. Yesterday has gone and with it is gone all the influences that could make it different. Tomorrow is just a myth that we can paint with imagination. But today, This very moment, All is real. And for these moments we live. And then they too are gone, Either seized upon and enjoyed or wasted. And you can choose too, Which reality is yours. And you will. Will you not?