Sleep Meditation | Calm Your Mind & Relax

A sleep meditation that aims to help you be soothed and fall asleep quickly. Breathing is 'the main character' in this session, as you can calm yourself by being in touch with it.

It seems very simple 'breathing', but it plays a much bigger role in your life than you may be aware of at first glance. You reflect on this, in a calming atmosphere, before you leave for your own sacred, safe place in a cabin in a beautiful forest. There you eventually fall delightfully to sleep, but probably long before then.

I wish you much calm and peace and a wonderful deep peaceful sleep.

Royalty-free music 'Zen Flow' by Chris Collins

Transcript

Never listen to recordings like these while driving or using machinery,

Only listen in a safe environment.

Welcome,

Dear listening friends.

My name is Paola Pizzu and it will be my pleasure to keep you company and guide you during this sleep meditation to peaceful realms.

With the intention that you will quickly fall into a deep,

Sound and restful sleep and recover from the busy day already miles behind you.

With the aim that tomorrow you will be rested and full of energy to start a new day.

All the busyness is now truly behind you and you can now unwind.

Like a ship comes to rest after a storm at sea,

Where it has braved the waves and turbulence,

The surface of the water is once again mirror smooth and calm.

The sea has fully calmed down and it is as if you are now allowed to float peacefully on the water.

And what can really help you find deep relaxation is to lie down as relaxed as possible,

In a position you find most comfortable for falling asleep.

The pillow lies just right under your neck and head,

Giving you the support you want.

The under sheet and duvet lie just to your liking and there's nothing to irritate you or get in the way.

Thus you can surrender to all the calming,

Positive suggestions and the soft,

Soothing music in the background.

And to start with,

Take some deeper breaths,

4 or 5,

And then keep your own pace,

Slowly in through your nose,

And notice how that feels.

Like sniffing the cool air and inviting it in,

Making it flow in through your nose.

And naturally,

You bring the breath,

A suction-like flowing motion,

Further down into your chest,

Where your lungs slowly fill until they are full enough.

And you pause for a moment at this peak of fullness and you discern what it actually feels like,

The moment when your lungs are completely filled with fresh air.

Now on this inhalation and on the inhalations that will soon follow.

And your body gives the signal of its own accord to empty the lungs.

And automatically you exhale,

Without any particular thought,

Through your mouth,

Because everything happens all by itself.

The warm air you quietly let escape from your body,

Moving over your lips and tongue.

And also pay attention for a moment to what sound it makes.

Exhale slowly and consciously until your lungs are completely empty.

Pause at this nadir of emptiness,

And then ask yourself the question,

How does it feel to be empty?

And as you breathe here,

In complete peace and calm,

Repeat this process a few times for yourself,

At your own pace.

You breathe in and you are aware of this inhalation and how in the process the air flows in.

You are aware for a few moments how it feels when your lungs are full.

And notice that your breath arrives at a resting point,

Where the reverse movement starts and lasts just as long until your lungs are empty.

And then by itself creates that little pause,

That illicit space.

To be aware of what it feels like to be empty.

And in this way you breathe through a few times,

Slowly and without hurry,

Becoming aware of each particular facet of your breathing.

While I'll start talking again in just a little while,

You continue with this conscious way of breathing.

Unrushed,

At your leisure,

You breathe a few more times.

Noticing that each breath is just slightly different from the previous and the next.

And that's quite normal.

Each breath is more or less different from the other.

Let this process of inward and outward flow of air just be there.

Let it happen.

As if you are a spectator,

Watching and listening to your own breathing,

Where at some point your breathing instincts take over and find its natural rhythm.

And obviously keeps going,

Taking you with it in the growing calm.

Would you delightfully bathe and recover in the calmness of your own calming breathing?

Lying in the calm,

Here,

Life simplified and reduced to lying relaxed and being aware of your breathing,

Which,

In all its simplicity,

Is more than it seems,

Because you take in air filled with oxygen to the amount that you can use with each single breath in.

And as a matter of course,

You pause briefly before exhaling,

Because holding the air is pointless.

And by its nature,

Spontaneously you let breath flow out,

Because holding the breath is useless.

You may try,

But you know in advance this is in vain.

And so your breath,

In its endless wisdom,

Provides life to you.

And I invite you to reflect on this.

Consider everything in your life,

By way of experiment,

As breathing.

Compare it to the wind,

A fresh wind,

A strong wind,

A stormy wind and also a lovely breeze.

In short,

As something that comes and goes.

Because everything passes once,

Why hold on to something when it's time to let go?

Breathe.

Continuing to breathe or holding the breath.

Being attached to,

Holding on to,

Holding on to something or letting go and letting it go and relax during the process.

Increasingly relaxed.

Entering the calm atmospheres.

Bathing in calm atmospheres and letting go of what you can let go of by your own peaceful breath flow.

Breathing calmly and naturally,

Spontaneously,

Taking in exactly the amount of air you can use and giving back what you can give back.

It's such a wonderful calming process in all its honesty.

You take in air filled with oxygen.

Each time you take out just what you need.

And after you've taken out what you need,

You give it back.

Taking out just what nature needs.

When you've taken out the good and that which is left,

You return as a gift.

For you,

It no longer has any additional use or value,

Given that holding on to that which has expanded its value and proved its worth is unreasonable and perhaps somewhat frivolous.

You can only reach living to the fullest by letting go.

And when you have let go,

You are able to take up again.

Letting go of your breath in peace.

On the exhale,

Recovering in an ultimate calm atmosphere.

Breathing in and out only calmness,

Surrendering to resignation,

Love and the calmness.

Breathing is a process of give and take,

In which,

By the way,

It is impossible to just give and give more and more,

Or just breathe out and immediately afterwards breathe out once again,

And breathing out for a third time in a row,

Without ever breathing in.

Breathing is a balance in which you take and then give,

And give and subsequently take.

But for anyone,

It goes without saying that you breathe in.

And that you take the air and oxygen you need.

No one has ever complained.

Look how that person is breathing all the air,

What greed.

Exactly the way life should be.

You take what you need and give what's in your power to give.

And you let go of what has played its part.

Fully in balance,

In calmness.

To breathe calmness in and out,

Simply being one,

Coinciding with your breath of life.

To breathe is to live.

Life and breath in balance,

In and out,

In and out,

In the peaceful calm,

As you lie here,

Entirely peacefully,

And relax more and even deeper.

Breathing in is as important as breathing out.

Out is as important as in.

Both are necessary and completely perfect,

In this complete utter balance that spreads the calmness within.

Just notice it while breathing in and out.

With this result,

That you can easily dwell in your self-created inner peace.

Breathing in all its simplicity,

It's so beautiful and it's so true.

You just do it,

Without thinking or contemplating it.

Which makes it clear that breathing is life.

It's just there,

Always there,

Naturally.

You don't have to ask anyone for permission to breathe.

Inhale and then release what remains,

With which it is unmistakably clear that no permission is needed to let go.

It is a form of letting go,

Of letting go that's free of any judgement.

You are completely free to let go of your breath,

Just as you are also completely free to let go without judgement of what once was.

Embedded in this serene calm,

Where silence is in the air like a witness,

And air is free,

There's always air to breathe,

And everyone assumes it's always and naturally there.

Always,

In abundance,

And hence it is unconsciously taken as a given.

Air needed to be,

To live,

To exist,

To do what you do and want to do.

An abundance you never question or doubt for a second.

Have you ever wondered if it would still be there tomorrow?

Just as you never have to doubt that what you really,

Really need will ever be lacking.

While you survey,

Contemplate and approach the world from abundance,

Whilst quietly breathing in and out.

And perhaps you can imagine your breath flowing,

That it's moving in a figure of eight,

A lamniscate,

The eight rolled,

Dead as it were,

On its side.

Along with the breath moves in and out,

In which your breath at the inhalation turns a circle and pauses briefly at the center,

And on the exhalation it goes the other part of the circle round and pauses briefly at the center,

When all the air has left your lungs.

The center,

The middle,

That connects the two circles.

The lamniscate along with breathing moves,

Thereby symbolizing continuity and infinity.

Lying in the calm,

In the calmness,

Visualizing the figure of eight there in front of you.

The infinity symbol drawn in one continuous movement.

Drawn and which has no beginning or end.

Two adjacent circles symbolizing equality between opposing forces that together are one,

Need each other,

Which are working together with a connecting point in the middle.

Breathing in all serenity,

In and out,

In an eternal cycle of renewal through the steady and ever-ongoing breathing,

Flowing in the shape of the figure of eight.

The sign of harmony and balance between opposing movements,

Who need each other in this calm atmosphere,

Working together in all possible peace,

Unmoving and imperturbably lying in tranquility,

With your eyes closed,

Looking inwards,

Totally attuned to the calm rhythm of the breath.

This peaceful form of ebb and flow is like a sanctuary,

A timeless sanctuary where calm effortlessly resides.

Where you reside in all calmness effortlessly.

With every inhale you can welcome serenity and with each exhale release tension and restlessness.

Hence you can completely envelop yourself in calm peace,

To find in the regular rhythm of your breathing,

To discover a boundless source of beneficial calm.

A gentle reminder that precisely in the simple act of breathing lies the profound power to anchor yourself in every present moment in which you can calm yourself and find solace in the middle,

The center,

While being at the center witnessing the currents of life completely calm.

A beneficial and healing journey while lying here safely,

Here in this place of peace and where you surrender easily to the pleasant calm and stillness,

Deeply,

Deeply relaxed and calm.

Travelling in a state where sleep takes over from you and dreams make their entrance.

And in that state you imagine yourself in a beautiful lush ancient forest with hundred meter high ancient trees of all shapes and sizes.

They stand around you like protectors,

Like loyal sentinels.

And for a short while you are aware of the subtle rustling of the leaves.

Set in motion by the wind as if they are whispering.

The foliage of the trees casts pleasant shadows and therefore it's wonderfully fresh and cool,

Allowing the earthy scent of pine and moss fills the air.

And very far away,

Somewhere in the distance,

You become aware of the soft rustling sound of a lovely and steady flow of water in a stream,

Whose rhythmic sound brings even more calm and tranquility.

Calm and tranquility.

Strolling along the path partly covered with leaves and needles that leads you further into the soothing forest.

As if with every step you take you slip deeper into relaxation.

With each step,

Tension flows out of your body as you keep breathing calmly,

Totally relaxed.

Merging with the peaceful energy of this forest stream.

And when you look in through a window from some distance,

You discover that it's not just the forest,

It's a welcoming haven just for you.

And when you look in through a window from some distance,

You discover that it's a simple and attractive check that seems to invite you to enter.

And you step over the threshold and straight away you notice a sense of peace and comfort that's part of this cozy space.

A sanctuary of silence located here in the center of calm,

Hidden among the trees.

The interior is rustic with wooden beams and cozy furniture.

Which makes you feel right at home.

This is the place where you can always unwind,

Coming home to silence.

You're curious to discern whether the house might have more in store for you and discover the various equally pleasant rooms.

And,

On opening the back door,

You step into a sort of courtyard,

A patio,

Where a large hammock gently and invitingly sways between two sturdy trees.

A welcome surprise and a delightful feature of this check.

This is truly your sanctuary,

A venue where you can let go completely to surrender to calm,

Peace and tranquility.

You nestle into the hammock and feel it supporting your body perfectly.

While you lie here now,

The gentle rocking in the hammock soothes you even more.

As if the forest itself protects you and transfers its soothing,

Calm energy.

Transfers to you as if you are breathing with the forest and meet in it.

It's just about the time of day when dusk sets in and you witness how the sky slowly changes into its corresponding warm dusk hues.

The last glimpses of the sun's rays paint some distant mountains with a golden light.

Here and now in the golden hours.

And your gaze is momentarily captured by the breathtaking view that lies in your field of vision.

The mountains tower high above everything and stand majestically as an eternal symbol of timeless strength and serenity.

And in your half-sleep,

Half-dream,

You wander,

Looking at the mountains.

And you allow yourself to concede to this moment,

To the place,

The feeling,

The deep sense of peace and safety.

Realizing that you are completely safe here,

Safe with your surroundings and with yourself.

All you have to do is be here.

Everything remains as it is.

Just be there,

Merging and dwelling in the calm.

Sensing how a gentle breeze touches and tenderly caresses your skin.

And you are slightly aware that in the distance you can still hear the lovely,

Mild swirling sound of the uninterrupted flowing water in the stream,

Still rippling.

And a little closer,

You catch the sound of rustling leaves,

Familiar,

Friendly,

Reassuring sounds that make you sink into even more relaxation.

Relaxing deeply,

You are still aware of the sound of rustling leaves.

Deeper and deeper as the hemlock gently sways.

Supporting you,

Comforting you,

Rocking you,

As you relent to the comforting embrace of these beautiful surroundings.

In this sacred space,

You can let go of all worries and fears,

And surrender to slumber and sleep.

Just let yourself drift away.

Trusting in the safety of this refuge in the forest.

Giving in to the calmness,

Relaxation and security that you have granted to yourself by being one with your continuous flow of breath.

Releasing all tension.

Merging into a relaxed,

Laid-back state of being.

Fully fostered by all the support you give to yourself,

That you grant yourself.

Allowing you to feel yourself sinking just a little further with each exhalation.

Sinking deeper into the space that this calmness offers you.

Now that dusk has given way to night and the stars in the night sky begin to twinkle,

Know then that you are never alone.

And now,

In this special night,

There at the forest,

The mountains,

The stars,

They're all with you and watching over you.

You are part of this beautiful,

Luminous,

Natural world.

And which is there to support you,

Nurture you and care for you.

As you breathe naturally here,

Breathing the air that's always available and provides life to everything in the cycle of life.

Sense how your body becomes lighter and your mind even more peaceful.

And you can now surrender completely to the peace,

Safety,

Calm and the serene beauty of this moment.

Now,

While you relax further and further in your hammock,

Fall asleep.

You can fall asleep so easily.

Let the peace you are right now and all the peacefulness of this setting carry you on into that deep,

Restful slumber.

You're perfectly safe.

You're intensely calm.

You're intensely calm.

You are peace.

You are at peace with yourself.

Go along,

Go along with the night and rest well.

Go along,

Dream softly,

Sleep softly,

Slumber softly,

Surrender,

Relax.

Relax deeply.

Immerse yourself in the tranquil,

Calm,

Serene realms,

Sleep softly,

Slumber softly.

Sleep well.