A Mindful Meditation And Affirmations To Help You Sleep Well

Here is a short talk and meditation with affirmations to help you understand some of the reasons for sleeplessness, and how you can help yourself to better sleep. We have affirmations to aid you as well. You can say the affirmations or just listen and absorb their energy. We close with a little heart chakra ritual.

Transcript

Hi, This is Stefania, And this is a meditation to help us enjoy our sleep time a little more, With a bit more relaxing feeling, Because sometimes you might wish there was an off button for your mind. It just keeps going. You can't slow it down when you want to rest and sleep. An overly busy mind can halt us in many ways throughout our lives. One of the main things a busy mind interrupts for millions of people around the world is a good night's sleep. Why? Well, To answer this, Let's just relax your mind a little bit right now. Imagine that your mind is represented by a river, With waters that sometimes flow by slowly when there is a lack of rain, Or sometimes very quickly, Depending on the weather and the time of year. Your mind is the river, Your thoughts are the water. How quickly is your river of the mind flowing right now? How fast are the thoughts represented by water flowing in the river? Now just watch this flow as if you were sitting on the riverbank enjoying it. Now, Just allow for the seasons to pass and the weather to change, And watch your river change along with it. Seasons represent your overall happiness in your life. Are you achieving quarterly goals you set for yourself? Seasons change, But each one of them can be viewed as beautiful. Seasons can be tough or they can be mild and enjoyable. The waters of the river represent your thoughts. When you focus your thoughts on your goals and desires, Your river slows and becomes crystal clear. The birds and the wildlife are able to see fish that they will catch to feed themselves and their offspring. Fish can find sources of foods because the waters have slowed enough to allow for bits of plants to settle on the water and soften, And live bugs can land on the water for them to catch. Now, For a moment, Imagine a storm of thoughts is coming for your river. See the waters rise and the animals scurry. The fish hide in safer areas and there are no bugs flying around. It is only rushing by a little faster now, Yet the storm is building. The more thoughts you let into your mind, The more the waters rush by. It becomes a threatening river so quickly that you cannot sit on the bank watching your river any longer and observing the beauty. You must seek shelter from the storm. This storm of thought has taken the ability to observe away from you. It takes a while for the storm of thoughts to pass and even longer for the aftereffects of the storm to calm. The waters continue to rush at high speeds for several days or so, And this is what happens when you allow a storm of thinking to enter your mind. It disrupts you for some time until the waters can naturally settle. We want to always remain on the bank of our river, Observing abundant nature and clear calm waters. We all know sleep is necessary and rejuvenating. So why do so many people suffer to achieve restful sleep? They do not take charge of their busy mind, Moving it from worry to relaxation. Like I mentioned before, Allowing a busy mind to go free is like never training a great horse. The mind needs you to be in control, And it needs you to train it how to work for you. A calmer state of mind allows for you to not only sleep better, But eliminates anxiety, Increases focus, Treats depression, Stops circular thinking, Improves your memory, Betters your relationships, In many cases, Satisfies the body and increases emotional intelligence. The key to attaining all of these things is actually very simple and natural for all of us. The key is to bring into our mind the awareness of all physical sensations, And bring into your mind your emotions, And bring into your mind your thoughts. This is meditative and simply doesn't allow for bothersome thoughts to have any power over you. Your ability to create and ponder new ideas and a new self-image supersedes a noisy mind. All a noisy mind is good at is distracting you. It doesn't achieve anything. It doesn't build any new ideas. A noisy mind doesn't emotionally connect with others around you, In fact, An overloaded and out of control mind acts to disconnect you from others and from yourself. A bustling mind is tiring, Yet it doesn't allow for you to rest. Giving up control of your mind is like feeding your child nothing but breads and sugar and candy. They are going to lose control because of the unhealthy information they are taking into their system. So let's now put our mind into the being mode right now by implementing positive affirmations. Say them to yourself now. I'll say it and leave a bit of space for you to join in, Or if it's easier, Helps you sleep better, Just absorb and you don't have to repeat. Thoughts are only thoughts. I live in the present, Not in the past or in the future. I draw from my past when I need to plan for my future, But I always live in the present moment. I take notice of my body often throughout the day, Easing and relaxing my body by doing so. I take notice of my surroundings to ease my mind. When thoughts begin to swirl in my mind, I have compassion for them and acknowledge them, Knowing they are simply thoughts. When thoughts begin to swirl in my mind, I have compassion for them and acknowledge them, Knowing they are simply thoughts. My thoughts come and go. Everyone's thoughts also come and go. I am no different. When I watch my thoughts like the waters of a river, I never get caught in a thought. I am just a witness. When I watch my thoughts like the waters of a river, I never get caught in a thought. I am just a witness. Stopping my thoughts is impossible. Instead, I observe them arriving and leaving. Stopping my thoughts is impossible. Instead, I observe them arriving and leaving. Instead of jumping into thoughts emotionally, I observe which thoughts I want to cultivate more of. I know that which thoughts I put my energy to is what I create for myself. I know that which thoughts I put my energy to is what I create for myself. By taking the time to practice these methods, I really feel a difference. By taking the time to practice these methods, I really feel a difference. I have the patience to retrain my mind. I retrain my mind so that I can get rest when I need it. I retrain my mind so that I can get rest when I need it. I have patience when I'm training my mind, Just as I would have patience training the most magnificent horse. I have patience when I'm training my mind, Just as I would have patience training the most magnificent horse. I am kind to myself with this new way of being. I am kind to others, And I never allow overthinking in the form of judgment to cloud my relationships. I am kind to others, And I never allow overthinking in the form of judgment to cloud my relationships. I am persistent because I know the rewards are well worth the effort. I am persistent because I know the rewards are well worth the effort. I see benefits right from the very start of my practice. You can practice any of these affirmations whenever you feel that you need to quiet your mind down and give it a rest. And remember that each day you practice mindfulness techniques, The more restful sleep you could receive each night. Now take a deep breath, Let it out, And just relax down even more, Letting your body make any last adjustments it needs so that you get the most restful sleep every night of your life. And as the last exercise before you fall asleep, Visualize a beautiful, Soft, Green light surrounding you. Green is the color of the heart chakra, The color of peace. That soft, Green light swirling around you from head to toe, Relaxing you and letting you know that you are safe and protected. It is safe now to close your eyes and drift off into a healing, Wonderful sleep. All is well. All is well. All is well. Good night.