Fall asleep fast in this relaxing adult bedtime story and meditation for sleep.
You are listening to Wanderlust,
The Desert,
The first in a series of stories that involve brave adventures in an earlier time.
You travel in a custom vehicle that takes you to the most beautiful national parks and landscapes.
In this story you are in the driver's seat,
With freedom with each day to decide how you want to live.
On the open road you drive through the beautiful scenery of a desert.
The meditative process of driving allows your mind to wander to beloved memories and the most rousing settings you have seen on the planet.
As the sun dips beneath the horizon,
You set up camp in a rocky valley by a freshwater stream with your two furry companions.
You sleep beneath a starry night sky in your traveling home.
It's time to dream away.
I would like to welcome you to Michelle's Sanctuary.
I am Michelle,
And as you are listening,
You may think of my voice as that of your dear friend and fellow adventurer.
I am here to remind you that your imagination may inform your world,
Rather than allowing the world to inform your imagination.
In this special time together before sleep,
You are free to imagine the most soothing and beautiful escapes before you cross over the bridge into your sleeping life.
You deserve every moment of this time to cater to yourself and simply feel good in the sanctuary of your room and the sanctuary of your mind.
And each day it is your task to protect this sacred part of yourself.
This is your story,
And this is your life,
And at any point you may let go of my voice and drift to sleep if it calls to you first.
Know that even if you fall asleep,
The imagery in this tale will paint your dreamscape with inspiration and joy-filled adventures.
And as you settle into your bed,
You are covered with sparkling light that travels from head to toe.
It brings a tingling sensation like the one felt when your ungloved hands turn numb in the cold and then return to life by the warm glow of a fire.
You feel the warm glow return to you now.
It feels as if a loving hand brushes through your hair and massages your scalp.
You feel soothed while your head sinks deeper into your pillow.
This feeling brings a wave of relaxation down your spine,
Your muscles soften as if floating in water,
And your joints are relaxed and soft as well.
You take in a deep breath and feel your body expand until your mouth opens into a big yawn.
It feels good to yawn and signal to your body that it's okay to be sleepy.
You exhale and sigh,
Feeling relaxed.
Your breath is your vehicle.
You are the driver and can take control at any point that you need to feel in control.
You inhale again and your body expands like a birthday balloon that has broken free from a bunch and sails towards a blue sky.
And when you exhale,
You blow out as if blowing through a straw.
Your exhalation transports you to another place in time,
Decades past,
When the world seemed to be a quieter place.
You first notice your hands are gently clasping onto a large steering wheel so wide it fills your lap.
You drive on an open grey road that gleams in the brilliant sun.
As you weave through the red rock formations of a desert,
A tumbleweed blows along the shoulder of the road.
You are inspired by how something so coarse and prickly moves with the grace and ease of a ballerina.
This visual brings the perfect balance.
You feel like the tumbleweed,
Drifting through the desert without a true destination.
You simply keep in motion and decide each day where you wish to go and what you wish to do.
Your travels conjure memories of the freedom you once felt as a child,
Where a day was based around your imaginative play.
Before responsibilities or rules ever told you who or what you needed to be,
On this journey you found,
You get to be you.
You drive a vehicle of your choosing.
Perhaps it is a Volkswagen van,
Or a converted school bus,
Or a double-decker bus,
Or an RV.
This vessel has been completely customized to your tastes and desires.
It came about as the kind of venture where money did not matter and you had as much freedom to design and decorate it as a child given a blank sheet of paper and crayons and told to draw their dream house.
The driver's side window is slightly cracked and you hear the sound of the tires against asphalt and the blowing desert wind.
You smell the sweet,
Earthy,
And dusty aroma of the desert.
It mingles with the soothing smell of home in your traveling caravan.
You feel the warm rays of sunlight through the windshield that offers a view of red cliffs that look like handmade ribbon candles.
Over time,
Nature sculpted the beauty that surrounds you,
And like many sights explored on the road,
The magnitude of the beauty overwhelms you.
You are the only human being for many miles,
But you do not travel alone.
You travel with two pets,
And they are currently fast asleep in the back of your vehicle on a plush bed.
Curled up,
They bask in the warmth of the sun.
You have cuddled and nestled with them all over the continent.
It comforts you to know that no matter how far you travel,
No matter how much the landscape changes,
Your home gets to come along with you.
This gives you the freedom to explore in a way that is safe and comforting.
You experience synchronicity through the fuzzy radio broadcast of a song that plays low.
The melodic voice delivers these lyrics.
You want to be found,
Then really get lost.
The road is your answer at all costs.
Being on the road reminds you of how signs are everywhere if you look.
Guideposts along the way resonate with you and write you on your path.
Messages come through songs and snippets of conversations overheard at gas stations and roadside diners.
You find meaning in the most magical and vivid dreams conjured by nights spent in new places.
Being on the road awakens your intuition,
And you begin to trust it once again.
You feel unguarded and safe because you travel with the beloved belongings that remind you of yourself.
Photo albums that remind you of who you have been and how you have grown.
Blankets and framed pictures,
Dinner plates and coffee mugs,
Favorite soaps and familiar towels.
These objects have a history that you wear well.
They carry memories that spark joy.
The custom fridge designed to your specifications is now covered in colorful magnets from states and cities and national parks and beaches to remind you of where you have been.
They remind you of all the beauty that exists in the world.
The beauty of travel is that it leaves these impressions and marks.
You may not journey without becoming changed by the people you meet.
Beautiful sunrises and sunsets over lakes and mountains.
The new foods that you've tried and the experiences you could only have on the road.
You carry them with you and they color your dreams each night.
Driving through the desert,
You begin to envision other times on the road.
As often as the case,
These long,
Relaxing drives create layer upon layer of memory.
You recall driving on the highways of Maine to Acadia National Park in spring.
The first thaw opened up a bouquet of aromas of fresh pine and melting snow.
Of the wet tobacco earth and fresh spring flowers.
You drove through the crown jewel of the Atlantic coast and then hiked along the mossy trail with your pets in tow.
Throughout your nature's walk,
A robin,
The songstress of spring,
Followed you.
Her proud red breast was a swatch of color across the path lined with evergreens and barren trees sprouting new buds.
The crackling sounds of melting ice and sparse patches of snow accompanied the trek towards the coastline.
Every corner of the path was renewed by the clear gentle trickle of winter melting.
You arrived at the cobblestone beach and listened to the rhythm of the stones clashing against one another in the gentle surf.
Derived from ancient bedrock and transformed by glacial deposits,
You took in the sunset sitting atop the Maine cobbles.
Your two pets ran freely as the sun began to set and cast the Atlantic in orangey-pink hues.
You picked up the varying stones and relished their weight and cool smooth texture that took hundreds of years of tumbling delicately in the landscape to form.
Some of the most beautiful things just take time.
A couple of your favorite cobbles now rest in a cobalt blue mason jar that sits on the back of your kitchen sink.
You often wash your dishes at various camps and look at them.
The gentle spray of the nozzle takes you back to the peaceful crashing waves of Acadia.
The more you travel and the more beauty that you consume,
The more your mind only seems to wander towards soothing imagery and joyous sounds.
Your attention returns to the road that weaves like a silver herringbone chain necklace through the saturated landscape of rolling brick-red rock formations that jut against the cornflower-blue sky.
You drive over a bump and your belly rises and feels tickled by the motion.
You hear your pets collectively sigh before settling back to sleep.
The road is now dusty and particles of sand and tiny stones bounce against your vehicle with soft clanks and pings.
You see the first car in quite some time.
A powder-blue Volkswagen Beetle convertible that descends over a hilltop as if it was delivered from the sky.
Sometimes when you are on the road,
You imagine what it would feel like to fly.
A couple dressed in flowing paisley chiffon and brown suede wave eagerly to you from the convertible and honk.
You honk and return,
Towering over them in your moving home.
The three of you smile as you pass,
Like old friends linked by the camaraderie found often on the road.
At times in your life,
There may have been a sense of restlessness and longing for more.
You didn't know what it was,
But you felt a yearning.
You felt a need for connection.
And sometimes you would feel it when your face was awash in the morning sun,
When you saw the enormity of the ocean that spanned beyond your vision until it kissed the horizon.
You felt it when watching a wild animal sprint across a field with muscles flex in a demonstration of speed and agility that left you curious and inspired.
And this has led you to travel,
To live a life where you can pull over when you wish to take a nap.
You can drive to the coast when you miss the salty mist on your face.
You escape to warmer climates when the grip of winter seizes the continent.
You eat when you desire and savor each sunrise or sunset with deep gratitude for yet another day.
The sun lowers and golden hour casts the red rocks and soil in liquid gold.
It's warm,
Soothing,
And inviting.
You have sunken deeply into the wide plush cushion of the driver's seat and your body feels completely relaxed.
Your caravan and your body move with fluidity through the landscape.
Speeding down the highway,
Creating a memory so brief it is almost as if you were never there.
Your thoughts drift to the travels across America.
From the northeastern states,
You drove through the blossoms of spring.
The night's still brisk,
You slept with open windows beneath a full moon that illuminated fields of wildflowers in a silver glow.
Come summer,
You arrived at the rocky west coast and spent the morning awakening in the lavender-gray marine mist that hovered over the floor of a sequoia forest.
Salty air met the minty spruce aroma of the evergreens and the sweet brown butter smells of the damp earth covered in morning dew.
Mornings were met with joyous birds singing out in splendor and your two pets circling the vehicle in an energetic frenzy.
At times you visited camps and enjoyed the clanking of metal pans and spoons and smells of pancakes and eggs and coffee made fresh over a campfire.
Your journey on the road makes you relish each unplanned day,
As morning flows into the afternoon and then into the night,
Like the melodic soundtrack of a film score led by string instruments.
The desert is now dripping in fiery orange and magenta and you drive down into the valley.
Your foot comes off the gas pedal and you glide down a hill,
The speed picking up as you navigate the vehicle to a perfect place to set up camp.
You follow a sand road that leads off the highway towards a flowing stream.
You park along the stream just as the sun dips towards the horizon,
Nearing its time to disappear for the night.
Cacti rise out of the earth,
Thick and verdant.
They are the only green to be seen.
In the otherwise golden and orange-red landscape.
Like three-pronged forks,
They rise towards the sky and manage to thrive.
You turn off the ignition and remove the large silver key from it and put on the emergency brake.
The engine pings and tinks as it begins to cool and settle for the night.
Your pets awaken and come to life,
With their ears perked and heads tilted in excitement for a new camp.
You open the door and lower yourself out of the driver's seat and they scamper behind you.
You watch them leap and as if in slow motion,
They gracefully soar out of the vehicle to land on the dusty red earth.
You stretch your hands and arms overhead and yawn in contentment.
Your body feels tired from a day of driving,
But satisfied at the same time.
You stretch your legs and arms and feel them lengthen like saltwater taffy,
Being slowly pulled in a seaside candy shop.
You take in a deep breath and the air begins to change as the coolness and humidity of night moves into the valley.
You walk towards the gurgling stream with your animals,
Soothed by its melodic sounds.
You bend down and touch the clear water that is tinted by a magical silvery blue hue.
The water is brisk and fed by a nearby cold spring and you splash your face with the fresh water.
You taste the clean droplets on your lips and feel the water begin to quickly evaporate from your face.
Your pets run along the smooth rocks of the stream's edge and splash around with one another.
While these journeys awaken your innate wildness and connect you with nature.
Seeing your animals connect with their innate wildness warms your heart and fills you with pride that you are able to give them the life they deserve and desire.
You follow your pets along the stream and find the perfect rock to sit on and watch the sunset.
They come over and nestle their furry bodies against your bare legs and you scratch their ears and backs.
Your fingers are buried into their soft fur and you move them in a familiar motion that calms them and in turn calms you.
The sky has now a vibrant array of streaks in deep purples and lava-like oranges and reds.
The wide orange orb of the sun disappears behind the rock formations and out of habit you quietly whisper,
Thank you.
You rise and walk back towards your traveling home and before you enter it you find the perfect place to assemble stones to create an outdoor fire later.
The large red and gray stones that you collect look like an oversized mosaic ring when you are done assembling them.
You walk to your motor home with your pets in tow.
They are so happy they alternate between prancing and hopping.
You open the door that leads into it.
You remove a doormat that says welcome home and place it on the desert's floor.
This mat has graced sandy beaches and mossy forest floors.
It has been placed on grassy prairies and mountain summits and through these journeys you have learned that home is wherever you roam and where you decided to be.
You feel the gentle bounce of your motor home as you walk up the stairs followed by the scampering of your pets.
You pass the sitting area.
The sofa is accented with plush pillows and throw blankets collected on your journeys from artisan markets.
Each article conjures a memory of an interaction with a creative nurturing soul.
You walk to the kitchen which is perfectly designed in your favorite colors.
The wide sink window overlooks the saturated colors of high red cliffs and cactus that are now dipped in a copper glaze from the sky.
How could anyone possibly feel stuck in an ever-changing world?
In every landscape,
The hues and light change so many times throughout the day that it's hard to imagine what staying the same would look like.
Just the same,
You have been changing.
Minute by minute.
Becoming more aware and alive.
More awakened to the beautiful experience of being life.
You remove a cast iron frying pan that hangs on the tiled kitchen wall.
It has served you well and is often used for three meals a day.
Your frequent use has conditioned the pan in a shimmering ebony gloss.
The cool night air contrasts the heat of the gas range as you prepare an easy yet beloved meal.
The smells of cooking food fill the kitchen and your pets sit loyally at your feet and beg.
You remove ceramic pet bowls from the cupboard that are hand-painted in calligraphy with your animal's names.
You fill them and place them on a pet mat next to their water fountain that flows and makes a soothing trickling sound.
Your attention returns to your food,
Which is now done.
You place it on a plate that conjures happy memories of meals with loved ones whenever you see it.
At times on the road,
You are happy to gather with those who love you most and share your adventures.
You pour a glass of homemade tea and then carry your dishes to the dining nook that may be turned into an extra bed when you welcome guests.
You savor the meal and feel the night air blow in a breeze through the open door.
You hear the night sounds of the desert warming up with chirps and howls of the nocturnal animals that now come to life.
You finish your meal and wash your dishes quickly then place them on a drying rack.
You feel full,
Satiated,
And content.
You grab a lighter,
Fire starter cubes,
And a handful of chopped wood and then exit the home.
You walk to the fire pit you made and start a fire.
It catches quickly in the night air and wide marmalade flames begin to rise and warm you.
Golden sparks take off towards the indigo-ink sky that is now freckled with so many silver stars.
It would take an entire night to count them all.
You take a seat on a large rock that still carries the warmth of a day spent baking in the sun.
Your furry companions join you around the fire.
You find yourself spontaneously smiling in the warm light.
This moment,
Like so many on the road,
You wish to encapsulate in a vial and open and unleash this memory whenever life feels burdensome.
This is the secret elixir that stirs joy and gratitude.
Feelings like this are why you came to this planet and life to begin with.
Feeling so small on the always-expanding canvas of the universe causes your problems and challenges to become like specks of dust that lose their meaning when your purpose is revealed.
And you see how small they are in comparison.
And that purpose is to enjoy the gifts that surround you.
You lose track of time as the dancing translucent flames die down into pearly-orange-pink embers.
The coolness of the night sets into your bones.
And at times you feel your muscles are still being massaged by the constant motion on the road.
You rise and grab a bucket from your vehicle that you then fill with stream water and put out the embers.
The steam rises in a loud hiss when the last of the glowing cinder goes dark.
You return to your vehicle and your pets follow and race off to the bed.
You go to your cozy bathroom and the light of the moon shines through stained-glass jewel-toned windows.
The sapphire-and-ruby-and-emerald-and-amethyst-glass-pattern is forever hypnotic.
When you run your hands across the texture,
You turn on the shower and press a button that causes an overhead window to open so you may shower beneath the Milky Way.
You remove your clothes and step into the shower.
Steam fills the small space and floats away into the cool night,
Heated by solar panels.
The water is always hot and it feels good as it massages your muscles cascading out of the rain showerhead.
You wash your hair with homemade soaps picked up along your travels and they smell of your favorite ripe fruits.
You wash away the dust of the desert and feel squeaky clean from head to toe.
You look up to the stars and the rising moon and once again feel so lucky for this moment in time.
You turn off the shower and then towel yourself dry to change into soft terrycloth pajamas.
You massage lotion into your skin,
Which now feels renewed and silky.
You brush your teeth and enjoy the sensation of peppermint oil tingling on your gums and lips.
This nightly routine grounds you and prepares you for deep healing sleep.
You walk to the back of the vehicle where your plush queen-sized bed awaits.
You peel back the heavy duvet and crisp cotton sheets and sink into the comfortable bed.
Your pets pin you beneath the covers,
Each one nestling on a side of your body.
They tuck you in,
Applying pressure to the duvet so you feel like you are beneath a weighted blanket.
There is an open skylight window above the bed and you feel the cool desert air on your face.
You enjoy the perfect contrast.
Breathing in the cool night while being warm all over in the comforts of your bed.
As soft as a cloud.
You look to the stars one last time before your eyelids fall heavily upon your tired eyes.
The backs of your eyelids are movie screens that play out a seemingly endless gray highway,
Seen through the windshield of your caravan in motion.
You let yourself drift on this road.
As you journey towards sleep,
You find yourself approaching the darkness of the night.
And surrender to the floating sensation that leads you to a night of deeply restorative sleep.
And I am going to count you down to a night of sweet dreams beneath the celestial sky.
So you may find restoration and renewal to begin another unwritten day with joy and excitement.
Because every day,
You may write another page in your story.
Finding enchantment.
Finding peace.
Finding sleep.
Finding you.
Good night.
