Sleep: My Countdowns Return (Full Version)

My Countdowns Return is a guided sleep meditation using countdowns from 10 – 1 coupled with gentle noticing exercises designed to help you drift away. This is introduced with a basic awareness and relaxation phase, before moving into these countdown for energetic surrender with deep and restful sleep.

Transcript

My countdowns return,

Welcome to this moment,

And here we are.

You don't need to do anything,

It's when we let go of the doing where we allow our bodies and minds to come into a place of ease,

A place of restoration.

My name is Ruben,

Let me tell you something before we start.

I have a little ritual that I like to do just before sleep,

And I'd like to share this with you.

And so this ritual is really quite simple,

Here it is,

Asking the question to yourself and reflecting upon this,

What three things went well today?

And as you move into this gentle reflection,

Letting all the other thoughts come and go,

And consciously choosing to invest in these thoughts of appreciation.

What three things went well today?

Being aware of the you that is listening to these words right now,

Resting here in this moment,

Coming to appreciate the landscape of sensations of comfort and ease that is gently enveloping your body.

Where are the sensations in your experience?

Gently acknowledging each one,

And as your awareness expands to encompass more of these areas of comfort and ease,

As your awareness seeps in to these places,

Notice how more of these experiences come into your existence,

As you melt into a place of ease and well-being.

And right here and now,

You can let go of everything,

Because the more you allow yourself to drop into this practice,

The more you come into yourself,

This inner sanctuary,

This safe space.

As right here and now,

In your immediate surroundings,

All is well,

I am safe,

I am dropping into a place of comfort and ease,

All is well for me right now.

And know that any time you wish,

Throughout this guided sleep meditation,

You can come back to these sensations that envelope your body,

The more and more you drop into a place of inner awareness,

An inner sanctuary,

Your inner sanctuary that you've carved out for yourself,

Right here,

Right now.

And in this moment,

Even though your eyes may be closed,

Notice what you can see behind your closed eyes,

Noticing the patterns,

The shapes and colours that you can see as you look onto this experience.

And as you hear the first countdown from 10 to 1,

You may like to count any thoughts that pop into your head as the countdown takes place.

In order to do this,

You just need to relax,

Watch and wait for any thought whatsoever to come into your mind,

Watching,

Waiting and counting as the countdown from 10 to 1 takes place.

10,

9,

8,

7,

6,

5,

4,

3,

2 and 1.

How many thoughts did you count?

Right now,

It doesn't matter how many,

What does matter is that you were watching from this place of awareness,

This place of stillness.

Watching your mind from the stillness of observation,

Being the watcher means you are not identified with thoughts,

This is fundamental in order to disengage from the energy of thinking In preparation for sleep,

Let go into this space within you,

This spaciousness of awareness,

Allowing the you behind your eyes to do nothing,

Giving you a deep,

Restful experience which prepares you for sleep.

And once again,

Even though your eyes are closed,

Notice what you can see behind closed eyes,

It's from this place of watching where there is stillness,

And now you have the option of giving your body a gentle scan from the top of your head and down to your toes,

This scan can take place as the countdown from 10 to 1 happens,

Noticing the different sensations from the top of your head down to your toes as the scan slowly moves down your body,

10,

9,

8,

7,

6,

5,

4,

3,

2,

And 1.

Let go into the emptiness of this space of awareness,

Allowing the you behind your eyes to do nothing,

The you that is aware of everything,

Giving you a deep,

Restful experience,

Preparing you for sleep.

My countdowns return,

Aiding this deep and restful sleep,

And now,

With the countdown from 10 to 1,

You can choose to do nothing but listen to the numbers,

Doing nothing with your thoughts,

But allowing them to pop in and out of existence,

So,

Listening to the countdown and letting your thoughts float,

10,

9,

8,

7,

6,

5,

4,

3,

2,

And 1,

Sleep is on its way,

Allowing all of your experiences to be,

Allowing everything within your awareness as you do nothing with them,

In a place of gentle noticing,

In a place of deep relaxation,

In a place of deep rest and healing.

Let go into the spaciousness of awareness,

Allowing the you behind your eyes to do nothing,

Giving you a deep,

Restful experience,

Which prepares you for sleep,

And once again,

Even though your eyes are closed,

Notice what you can see behind your closed eyes,

It's from this place of watching where there is stillness,

As the next countdown takes its course from 10 to 1,

Let go of everything,

No need for tension or resistance,

More and more ease,

More and more relaxation,

So your body melts into a deeper and deeper place of ease,

Well-being and relaxation,

As the countdown takes its course,

Allow yourself to relax even more,

The numbers being gently absorbed as your body lets go into deep relaxation,

10,

9,

8,

7,

6,

5,

4,

3,

2 and 1,

Feeling relaxed and recognizing that you have the capacity to sleep when you disengage from the world and fully engage with the emptiness of awareness within you,

This safe,

Nurturing inner refuge that you can experience as you look out from behind closed eyes,

Choosing to absorb the numbers from this next countdown as you engage with ease,

Stillness and gentle awareness,

10,

9,

8,

7,

6,

5,

4,

3,

2 and 1.

There's nothing else to do right now,

You have chosen this invitation to sleep,

Allow this experience of resting to continue so as to effortlessly pave the way for deep,

Restful sleep,

The experience of gravity pulling gently upon your body as you experience these sensations of comfort and ease,

The you that looks out from behind your eyes aware of it all,

I am disengaged from the world,

I engage with my safe space within me,

This safe,

Nurturing space within me,

There's nothing else to do,

There's nowhere else to be,

There's no need whatsoever to be invested in anything apart from this inner refuge that you have created,

There is nothing else to do,

Allow this experience of resting to continue to effortlessly pave the way for deep and restorative sleep,

Sleep is on its way,

I choose to drift away,

Sleep is on its way,

I choose to drift away,

Away,

Away,

Away,

The sound of the rain is soothing,

It heals me,

The sound of the rain activates my alpha brainwave state,

This state that helps me relax,

I choose to drift away,

Sleep is on its way,

I choose to drift away,

Away,

Away,

Away.

Reviews

The big problem is that I never hear the end of your sleep tracks, I’m always asleep!
I like this new edition, which is subtely different. It felt calmer and quieter but still included all the elements that I value in an evening meditation. It is so important for me to recall things that have gone well in my day.
I also like that you are constantly striving to change, to improve.
Whether I go with my usual 15 minute sleep track or this one, or a combination of the two remains to be seen.
Thank you Reuben
🙏Namaste🙏
Is the picture the aurora borealis? I saw them once in Iceland, they were amazing.

1.28 Christmas morning

I have consciously chooses not to drift away because I have to put theses moments into words while I can.
I think that when I listened to your new countdowns to sleep the other day I must have fallen asleep very early on, hearing your voice.
Tonight I have listened more alertly all the way through and once again I am blown away.
I have had an out of body experience, felt like I was floating and at one point thought, this is what heaven must be like. I also had a feeling that I felt all the wonder of nature, as if the sight and smell of plants was like a gas around me.
This sleep meditation is incredibly deep and much more profound than previous ones. I was able to detach and be.
You are amazing Reuben. Thank you.