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 ten to one,
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 ten to one takes place,
Ten,
Nine,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two and one.
How many thoughts did you count?
Which 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 and 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 ten to one 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.
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.
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.
