Sailing Towards The Sun: A Sleep Meditation For Seasonal Affective Disorder

Find relief from the seasonal affective disorder. In this bedtime story and visualization, you will migrate south with the birds and butterflies on a sailboat. The perfect golden day meets you and you soak up every bit of sun and light. Albert Camus expressed, "In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer." And tonight, you may find your own invincible summer and shine on. This meditation may help with depression and sad thoughts on gloomy, dark days. It's time to dream aa

Transcript

Relax and fall into a deep sleep in this guided sleep meditation and bedtime visualization for adults.

You are listening to Sailing Towards the Sun,

A guided meditation and sleep story to help you with seasonal effect disorder and with gloomy days.

In this journey before bed,

You will discover a golden elixir that may illuminate the darkness of the season and carry you through the most challenging of times.

Albert Camus once explained,

In the depth of winter I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.

Tonight as you get cozy and cuddle up,

You may harvest your own invincible summer.

It's time to dream away.

I would like to welcome you to Michelle's Sanctuary.

I am Michelle and as you are listening,

Please think of my voice as that of your trusted ally who is here to remind you that you have deep powers within you for self-soothing.

They may be conjured and nurtured by your own imagination and by taking the special time just for you.

Whenever you hear the words right now throughout the story,

You will feel yourself immersed in the warmth of summer and slip into a deeper state of relaxation.

This time is sacred and it's all yours.

You have earned the right to do with it whatever you like and whatever feels best.

And with that in mind,

You may let go of my voice at any point.

I am the gateway between your waking and sleeping life and you have full power to decide when to cross that bridge and fall asleep.

In the sanctuary of your room and in the sanctuary of your mind,

You may let your body do whatever it needs to in order to find comfort.

Wiggle and stretch.

Take in the deepest breath that you can and let it turn into a yawn.

Let your body know it's time for sleep and relaxing.

As you may exhale and sigh out your breath,

Letting go of your day.

Your vehicle is your breath and you may use it to transport yourself to other realms and beautiful places.

Gloomy days and longer nights create the ideal opportunities for hibernating and conjuring thoughts of warmer seasons that bring you bliss.

No season lasts forever and while you may not have control over the storms of the outside world,

You can quell your stormy thoughts and drift to visions of beauty your mind imagines for relief right now.

In the darkness of your room,

You may once again inhale and blow out the air through pursed lips as if blowing through a straw.

And imagine the stream of air becomes a wind at sea blowing the taut ivory sail of a sailboat.

You see the sailboat on cerulean waters beneath the shimmering light of the golden sun.

The prismatic waves glitter like gemstones dripping in honey and the sailboat has found its true home nestled in the gentle waters.

And on the sailboat you see yourself basking in the sun on a towel spread out on the wooden planks of the deck.

You deeply inhale the briny fragrant air,

Tasting the salt water on your lips as you float above this version of you in another time and place.

And as you exhale,

You are suddenly part of this kind,

Comfortable world.

You feel the sunlight on your bare skin.

This heat is so soothing that goosebumps form on your arms and legs from the rapturous splendor of the strong rays.

The fragrant salty mist from the sea marries the sweet tropical aromas of papaya and coconut and pineapple that come from the sunscreen on your skin.

The sun is so brilliant and strong in the cloudless cornflower blue sky that it is impossible to consider any weather or changes in seasons could affect the radiance and warmth.

And you know you may become the guardian of these sensations when you distill them in a golden memory that you keep within the sanctuary of your mind.

You feel the sailboat rocking back and forth and surrender to the sensation of being lulled into a trance state.

It enlivens memories of being on the beach many summers before when you adrift between a conscious state and a cat nap.

You feel the soft,

Plush,

Terry cloth towel beneath your skin.

You associate the nautical navy and white broad stripes of the towel with being at sea and basking in the sun's full glory.

The impression is so strong that when you see these colors in the dark of winter,

You are brought back to this fond experience.

You rock with the motion of the sailboat,

Journeying through the gentle waters.

Your body aligns itself on the solid deck.

Your neck relaxes and your spine is like a string of pearls positioned in perfect alignment.

You feel each vertebrae correcting itself,

Finding balance.

Your thoughts drift to the mainland.

The sailboat departed once the leaves began to change and before the sharp chill froze the land in the first frost.

You reimagine the sailboat leaving the harbor and marigold yellow leaves shaped like teardrops floating along the inlet.

You left just as migrating birds took flight in the sky and formed V-shapes.

Like you,

They left before the cold and darkness took hold.

The captain on your trip has twinkling blue eyes and skin that has been weathered by the sun and salt water and strong graceful hands that move the sails intuitively.

You feel safe celebrating the choice to veer toward southerly islands that offer year round warmth.

And while the days are shorter,

The early morning sunrises are both predictable and inspiring.

In winter,

The darkness plays with your circadian rhythm and you feel sluggish throughout the day and must find the sunlight while you can.

But on the sailboat,

The sunlight is bountiful and bright.

You are enlivened by the luminous beams and radiate in their warmth.

You hear the softest of flutters and look up to see a rabble of butterflies making their way south as well.

They land on the deck,

Surrounding you in their delicate magnificence.

You look to their buttery soft wings that appear to be hand painted.

They are paper thin and yet fierce enough to travel thousands of miles toward Mexico as they take off and head closer to the coastline.

A part of you goes with them.

Your imagination soars along and envisions the journey and the arrival in a warmer locale.

By air or by land or by sea or by the colorful images of your winter weary mind,

You too may go along.

You are brought back to the moment by the undulations of the tide beneath the sailboat.

You desire to be one with the warm waters and feel them cascade over you like a silky blue blanket.

You sit up and use your hand to block your eyes from the sun.

In the near distance,

You recognize the outline of an island.

The captain navigates the sailboat towards the pristine landscape.

The anchor is thrown into the sea when you are close to the shoreline.

You decide to go for a swim.

The water is now cast in the sparkling tangerine light of the sun that is lowering in the late afternoon sky.

The water is tepid like a bath and you relish the feeling when you jump off the side of the sailboat and plunge deep into the turquoise waves.

The sun pours through the clear water and creates a dreamy haze of light around the vibrant coral reefs.

Tropical fish swim in and out of the reefs and you can see them when you come to the surface of the rippling waves.

And as you swim,

You imagine capturing this experience in a crystal ball that you place on your bed stand.

And every night when you go to bed,

You hold this ball in your hands and you watch the joyous occasion of swimming with sea turtles and feeling warm in temperatures that instill a sense that summer can go on forever.

You envision the warm crystal ball in your hands,

Smooth and solid,

It is a portal to this experience.

It is a dream weaver that rests near your sleeping head at night and transports you out of the cold.

Away from the sadness of winter and shorter days,

To a place where the sun always shines.

You taste the salt water on your lips and feel it dry on your face.

You float on your back surrendering to the tide,

Surrendering to the feeling and softness of the moment,

Listening to the lapping of the sea against the glossy snow white surface of the sailboat.

When you encounter a blanket of snow come winter,

You will be reminded of the sailboat's lustrous façade and this temperate day at sea.

You look to the sky and continue to float on your back and relish the comforts.

Your skin luxuriates beneath a blanket of light and your hands are face up and cupping the warm water as it flows through your fingers.

With palms open,

You are accepting all the light the world has to offer.

You swim back to the sailboat and pull yourself up the rope ladder over the side of the boat.

You come to the deck and sit on your towel and dry in the lowering sun.

You can feel the heat radiating through your skin and staying with you,

Resonating deep within right now.

Emerson said,

What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.

And what is inside of you is golden and richly saturated and warming you from the inside out.

You towel off and feel the salt form white crystals on your skin as the captain removes the anchor and you sail on through the sunset.

The sun becomes a metallic magenta orb like molten lava and the sky becomes a raspberry pink.

Come morning you will see the sun and should you not find it,

You will envision this moment and should you find yourself walking in the coolness of the shade,

You will make the effort to cross the street.

No matter what time it adds to your journey,

To feel the sun.

You will recall the brilliance of this solar light and carry it inside you and carry it wherever you go.

And whenever the day becomes dark and cold,

You will feel it in your heart center.

You will let it shine through your eyes with a deep joy and understanding that the days will become longer again,

That the season shall pass.

And you may relish the season of winter,

Not just by remembering these warm days,

But taking full advantage of the dark nights.

While hibernating you will get cozy and go to the sunniest of thoughts and the most mesmerizing of dreams.

The sun lowers beyond the horizon as night falls and the air remains warm.

The soft breeze blows and you descend to the lower deck to shower.

You go into the small wood paneled bathroom and shower off the seawater on your skin.

You grab a bar of lavender soap and inhale its sleep inducing powers.

Taking in a deep breath and sighing it out audibly as the sprinkling water cascades down your body.

Right now you turn off the water and wrap yourself in a terry cloth robe and go to the cavernous sleeping quarters.

You make your way to the bed,

Pull back the covers and bury yourself within them.

Looking back and forth as the sailboat continues southerly,

You drift between many worlds from this imaginative escape to your dreamscape,

To the comforts of your own bed where this all began.

And you feel yourself floating,

Leaving the scene as you watch yourself sleeping in the small bedroom on the sailboat.

You are now traveling above the sailboat in the glittering navy blue sea.

You are going towards the stars,

Riding on the delicate night's breeze that is like a soft whisper that guides you home.

And you find yourself back in your sanctuary,

Tucked into your bed and carrying with you the golden journey at sea.

It follows you wherever you go.

The warmth and radiance of the sun and an eternal summer are tucked away inside you,

On the shelves of your mental sanctuary,

In the pockets of your rib cage,

In the depths of your belly,

You feel the elation whenever you need to call on these sensations.

For summer is within you,

The light is within you,

And winter and long nights give you a palette of darkness upon which you can shine this light.

Near you may remind the world and remind yourself of the golden luminosity within you.

And near your bed,

You recall the crystal ball that rests and replays this day of sailing beneath the sunny sky.

Calm and dreamy thoughts waft over you and surround you like a barely visible opal veil,

Comforting and soothing you.

All the light is inside of you.

And all the light will return again.

And you may use this time to retreat and to go within yourself.

You may use this time to float on the memories of sunny days and the joyous times shared with others.

The sun reminded you to smile.

And I am going to count you down to sleep.

You may let go of my voice and drift away towards summery landscapes and the balmiest of days.

As you cross the bridge to your sleeping life,

You will connect with the feelings and imagery that you most long for right now.

Ten,

Nine,

Eight,

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Finding bliss,

Finding respite,

Finding peace,

Finding warmth,

Finding light,

Finding sleep.

It's time to dream away.

Good night.

Reviews

I always fall asleep straight away to your soothing voice.

Michelle, I fell asleep quickly & don’t remember anything! Slept in and had the oddest dream about an old friend I haven’t seen for years! Thank you kindly for this amazing bedtime story! Feeling rested and in a great mood to start the day! 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗

Hi Michelle
Thank you so much for another of your spectacular meditations .
Much love
Namaste
🍄

Wonderful visualization story