Welcome to this moment.
My name is Ruben.
You don't need to do anything.
It's letting go of the doing where we allow our bodies and minds to rest.
Let me tell you something.
I have a little ritual that I like to do just before sleep.
I want to share this with you.
It's wonderful in two ways.
The first way is that it helps you reflect upon your day from the perspective of abundance and well-being.
And the second reason is that it helps strengthen neural templates within your brain for appreciation.
So by consciously engaging in this simple ritual,
We benefit in these two ways and it wakes us up in preparation for drifting off to sleep.
And this little ritual is so simple.
And here it is,
Asking the question and reflecting upon this.
What three things went well today?
As we do this,
Letting all the other thoughts come and go and consciously choosing to invest in these thoughts of appreciation.
What three things went well today?
And now,
Gently letting go of those reflections.
Be aware of the you that is listening to these words right now,
Resting here in this moment.
Come to appreciate all the sensations of comfort that are gently inviting your body towards a sense of well-being and ease.
Where are these sensations in your experience?
Gently acknowledging each one.
And as your awareness expands to encompass more of these areas of comfort,
Notice how more too may come into your existence.
Know that any time you wish,
Throughout this meditation,
You can come back to these sensations that envelope your body so as to come out of your mind and simply to ground yourself in well-being and ease.
Right now,
Even though your eyes are closed,
Notice what you can see behind closed eyes.
Notice the patterns,
The shapes,
As you look on to this experience.
And when I say so,
For a count down from 10 to 1,
I want you to count any thoughts that pop into your mind.
In order to do this,
You just need to watch and wait for any thought whatsoever to pop into your mind.
Just watch and wait.
That's it.
Ready?
Nine.
Seven.
How many thoughts did you count?
Right now,
It doesn't matter how many.
What does matter is that you are watching.
From this place of watching is where the stillness happens.
Watching your mind.
Being the watcher means that you're not identified.
And this is fundamental in order to disengage from the energy of thinking in preparation for sleep.
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 closed eyes.
It's from this place of watching where there is stillness.
I'm going to ask you to give your body a gentle scan from the top of your head and down to your toes.
As I count down from 10 to 1,
Gently notice the different sensations as they appear and disappear.
Ready?
Nine.
Seven.
Six.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
And now,
From the count of 10 to 1,
I want you to do nothing,
And I want you to be the watcher of everything.
Giving you a deep,
Restful experience,
Which prepares you for sleep.
And now,
From the count of 10 to 1,
I want you to do nothing but listen to the numbers.
Do nothing with your thoughts,
But allow them to pop in and out of existence.
So,
Listen to the countdown and let your thoughts float.
Seven.
Six.
Be gently aware.
Sleep is on its way.
Allowing all of your experiences to come into your awareness as you do nothing with them.
In a place of relaxation,
Of rest and sleep.
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 closed eyes.
It's from this place of watching where there is stillness.
The experience of gravity pulling gently upon your body in a reliable and inviting way.
The invitation is for sleep.
Recognize that there's nothing else to do.
There is no need whatsoever to be invested in anything.
There is nothing else to do.
You are here.
Allow this experience of resting to continue so as to automatically and effortlessly pave the way for restful sleep.
