Let your cares drift away into the weightless embrace of the ocean in this sleepy story.
You're listening to Under the Sapphire Sea,
Part of the Short Drift Sleep Series,
A collection of short sanctuaries designed to lead you into a deep rest.
In tonight's reimagined voyage,
You will plunge beneath the surface of a moonlit sea,
Diving into a world of bioluminescent wonders and silent,
Pacifying strength.
Feel the cool pressure of the water like a comforting weighted blanket.
Offering you a desirable distance from the bustle and noise found on land.
As you descend toward a hidden refuge,
Deep beneath the sapphire waves,
It's time to dream away.
Welcome to Michelle's Sanctuary.
I'm Michelle and as you listen,
Think of me as a long-time trusted friend.
I'm your ally in this sleepy journey,
Here to help you celebrate,
Making it through another day,
And tending to your comforts.
Change any detail you like,
Because this is your special nightly holiday,
And I'm just here to help your imagination stir to life.
In the sanctuary of your room and mind,
Shift your attention to your breath,
Helping it to slow and deepen.
Inhale as your belly rises like the crest of a wave,
And then let out a dramatic,
Audible sigh,
Inviting your nervous system to stand down.
As I count us down,
Invite your body to release,
Part by part.
5 Starting with your face,
Release the tiny muscles around your eyes,
And let your eyelids become heavy,
Weighted by the cool evening mist of the coast.
4 Relaxing your jaw,
Part your teeth slightly,
And let your tongue drop away from the roof of your mouth.
Feel the softening spread through your cheeks,
Like water smoothing over sand.
3 Shifting to your back,
Feel your spine lengthening and releasing into the support beneath you.
2 Let the surface you are lying on carry your full weight,
As if you are floating on a calm,
Buoyant tide.
2 Soothed by the scent of salt air and the rhythm of the tide,
Your muscles become pleasantly heavy and sink into the softness.
1 Feeling safe and sound,
Floating and releasing from the ground of your head,
To the soles of your feet and palms of your hands,
A final yawn leads to a sigh that prepares you to dive into the magic of the deep blue.
2 The sky above you is an opulent shade of marine black,
Lush like velvet as stars glitter and pulse.
You stand on the moonlit metallic rocks of a quiet jetty that cuts deep into the silky water.
The salty sea foam meets your toes with gently crashing waves,
A cooling sensation that grounds you in this moment.
The black rocks are slick and ancient,
Holding the day's fading warmth against the cool ocean breeze.
A lemon cream crescent moon hangs low,
Its reflection shattering across the surface of the swells like spilled mercury.
You take a mental picture of this tranquility as you bend down and fill a small glass vial wrapped in copper wire that glints in the lunar light.
3 Filled to your liking,
You seal it closed and attach it to a necklace that you drape around your neck.
The vial rests against your heart center,
A point of peace you can return to whenever the waking world feels too loud.
You enjoy the weight of the glass,
Cool against your skin,
Pulsing with the rhythm of the tides.
4 You reach the tip of the jetty and take in one last breath of cool,
Briny air before you dive.
You become one with the waves instantly.
5 The transition is seamless,
As if you have always belonged to the sapphire depths.
Your body takes on a new,
Weightless form.
Perhaps a dolphin with skin like polished silk.
6 A mermaid with scales that shimmer like opals,
Or simply a shimmering spark of light.
Whatever form you take,
You are a welcomed visitor in a world you get to explore in a new way tonight.
7 As you descend,
The world and life above fades into a distant,
Barely perceptible hum.
The deeper you go,
The more the sea softens all noise from the land,
7 replacing it with a deep,
Resonant silence that vibrates reassuringly in your chest.
You swim through a garden of coral,
Bright pink,
Lavender,
And deep yellow.
8 A place where amethyst sea urchins tuck themselves into rocky crevices.
A brilliant orange starfish clings to a ledge,
Its texture reminiscent 9 of the rugged stones on the shore you left behind.
10 A bloom of jellyfish appears,
Like bioluminescent Chinese lanterns,
11 drifting through the current in shades of translucent lilac,
Sky blue,
And milk white.
They dance around you like a slow-motion carousel.
Their tentacles are feathery and extensive,
12 floating behind them like celebratory streamers in a dream.
You stay perfectly still as they balloon into their fullest expression,
13 mesmerizing and soft,
Before they collectively rise like a mobile hung above a crib,
14 leering off toward the warmer surface.
15 Further out into the indigo depths,
A sea turtle emerges from the shadows.
Its movements are calm and unhurried,
Its flippers moving like heavy wings through the dense water.
16 For over a hundred million years,
These beings have thrived and adapted,
Navigating the changing world with a quiet internal compass.
17 As you glide alongside the sea turtle,
You feel a connection to that steady strength.
Like this mighty creature,
You too have the power to go with the flow.
18 Surrendering what you cannot control and finding peace in the current.
You watch the patterns on its shell,
A mosaic of earthy browns and rich greens,
19 before it disappears into the dark blue.
The water becomes a midnight blue as you go deeper,
Filled with shimmering bits of plankton that glimmer like dust motes floating in a moonbeam.
20 You are going deeper and deeper down,
Where the silence is absolute,
And the pressure feels like a warm,
Supportive hug.
21 In the distance,
You see the silhouette of a sperm whale,
The largest of all toothed whales,
Slumbering in the deep.
He is majestic and powerful,
As large as a vessel,
Yet he floats with a lightness that defies his mass.
22 You approach with reverence,
Noticing the clusters of barnacles on his back,
23 tiny,
Intricate lifeforms,
Hitching a ride through the vastness.
As he blinks a slow,
Massive eye,
A wave of mutual trust washes over you.
24 There's nothing to fear here,
Only the shared unity of all marine life,
Settling in the night.
As you continue your journey,
A shadowy outline emerges from the ocean floor.
It is a grand shipwreck.
A vessel from a bygone era,
Firmly planted in the sand.
But as you draw closer,
It doesn't feel like a ruin,
It feels like a memory coming to life.
25 Through the portholes,
You see the faint,
Ghostly glow of a ballroom,
Where an invisible orchestra might still be playing.
26 You find your way inside,
Drifting down a quiet,
Carpeted corridor,
Now overrun with seaweed,
Toward a private suite.
This is your refuge.
27 The stateroom is adorned in jewel-toned velvet,
Deep rubies and sapphire blues.
The fabric floats in the water like an ethereal mirage.
28 The heavy drapes at the windows move in slow motion,
Blurring the lines between what is real and what is a dream.
29 You float toward the oversized bed,
Draped in silk covers that undulate and feel like liquid against your skin.
30 As you float beneath them,
You feel the grounding weight of the ocean above you.
31 You are encapsulated in the silent ship,
Protected and warm.
The deep stillness of the ocean floor holds you now.
32 You rock back and forth,
To and fro,
Drifting in a world where time has no meaning,
33 Surrendering to a place that is magical and alive with beauty,
Under the sapphire sea.
34 And you give in to its soft,
Persistent invitation to drift asleep as easily as you drifted into the secret chamber on the ocean floor.
35 Tended to.
Free.
Finding peace.
Finding stillness.
Finding sleep.
It's time to dream away.
