Hello dear friends,
It's Mark Joseph here and I'm going to share a lovely little sleep story with you.
Maybe your mind is racing,
You've had a busy day and you're finding it just challenging to nod off.
Well hopefully I can be of some assistance.
It is a little journey called the Journey to the Lotus Pond.
It's a story that's of mine that's been around for a couple of years now.
So let's enjoy this journey together.
Let's take one beautiful deep breath,
Breathing in through the nose,
And breathing it out the mouth.
Amazing.
Relax,
Relax,
Relax,
Breathing normally now.
We're going to use our imagination and it's sure a lot more exciting than counting sheep.
Your mind's eye,
Visualize the story that you've been working your way through a very dense jungle.
It's a very tropical climate,
It's hot,
The jungle is thick and scary.
You've been on a path for a very long time and some of the paths you've been on have just led to nowhere.
So you have to backtrack and eventually you find yourself on what seems to be a wider path with more sunlight coming through the trees and you start to feel that there's some hope that you're on the right track.
Maybe after a while you come out of the dense thick jungle into an open space,
A clearing of some sorts and in the center of this clearing is an ancient temple.
It's a ruin,
It's just there,
It's almost as if no one has ever seen it before.
You're quite relieved because it's coming to the end of the day,
It's late afternoon,
The sun is setting and you're wondering where were you going to sleep tonight and you could not imagine falling asleep in the jungle with all these threatening and terrifying sounds.
But this place looks promising,
Even a beautiful door is closed,
This ancient door and you wonder how has it lasted for all these years.
You push it open and with an ancient creaky sound you step into some sort of a courtyard and you close the door behind you and you notice in the middle of this courtyard is a beautiful big pond,
Round and just enormous and surrounding this pond are pillars and statues of ancient figures worn away by the hands of time.
And you can paint with your imagination what it could look like,
Perhaps lanterns,
Perhaps somehow lights are on,
How is it possible,
Flickering against the walls and the shadows.
It's almost as if it was made for you.
There are steps that lead down to the pond and you notice in the fading light a massive lotus flower,
Huge,
Humongous,
A human sized flower and you feel as if you could almost sit on it or lie down in it.
It looks so soft and inviting.
You take off your backpack and your heavy items and take your boots off and it's so nice and warm.
For a moment you decide to jump into the cool waters and bathe and wash your body off from the dirt and the grime of being lost for so long in the jungle.
There's a bowl of beautiful fresh fruit that you enjoy next to the bath and as you enjoy you feel that your hunger is satiated.
How is it possible that all of these wondrous things are just waiting for me?
Taking your way to the edge of the bath and deciding I'm going to try my luck,
I'm going to lie down on one of these large lotus flowers and as you make this decision to,
This beautiful flower moves closely to the edge of the bath and you step gently into its center and it holds your weight.
You then cross your legs and sit down.
You close your eyes and you feel this incredible sense of peace wash over you.
You yawn with exhaustion and you just feel that it's completely safe now.
You're completely fine in this environment,
This magical place,
So you decide to lie down.
Held,
Nurtured and supported by this beautiful floating lotus that's so life-size that it holds you completely and lying on your back the night sky is above you.
The moon is rising and the clouds are lit gently by the silvery light.
Then clouds slowly gather together and you feel a little drop,
Nothing menacing,
Just slight cooling and you reflect as the drops touch the water of the pond which has now turned quite dark in the evening.
Each little drop causing a ripple on the surface of the water,
Almost as if they were thoughts in your mind and the mind is still until a thought comes along and causes a ripple.
Going peacefully,
Miraculously on this giant lotus,
Feeling calm,
Wash over your body,
A little drop here,
A little drop there,
Just like your mind and the thoughts that arise and fade away causing little ripples,
Nothing traumatic or serious.
And the clouds above in the sky,
Glowing in the light of the full moon,
What a magical evening this is.
There's nowhere to go,
There's nothing else to do,
In this place I'm safe.
I'm looked after and everything is okay.
And if I have a thought,
It's as if it was a tiny little drop that lands on the surface of the pond.
A little bath that was so refreshing.
How can this be?
How can this place be?
It was made for me.
It was made for me.
Slowly the clouds gently move and as the mind becomes more subtle,
The tiny little drops become less and you sink deeper and deeper into relaxation.
Seeing your whole body melt into the moment,
This divine moment.
Nothing could be more amazing than this experience,
Floating on the water on a giant lotus and beautiful moonlit sky with white and silvery fluffy clouds illuminated by the full moon.
How amazing.
You may be all alone but you are not lonely.
The journey continues tomorrow but tomorrow is far away from you right now.
And in this space you are rejuvenated,
You are recharged,
You have all you need in this deep awareness and deep relaxation.
We let go of our journey and we let go of the next day and we are just here immersed in the wondrous moment.
My mind is as reflective as the bath,
The lotus is my throne bed and I lie taking my rightful place as I deserve all the rest I can get and I can let go,
Let go,
Relax,
Relax,
Relaxed.
I am safe,
I am happy,
I am doing well and I am at peace.
I am safe,
I am happy,
I am feeling well and I am at peace.
Somehow,
Things have conspired in my favor.
I am still here in this magical place.
How is it possible?
And if we feel low on gratitude,
If we find very little to appreciate in,
Well this is something isn't it?
The moon,
The stars,
The clouds,
My surroundings,
My relaxation.
Feeling my whole body so calm and so relaxed,
There is no tension anywhere in this space.
There is no power.
I feel that this is my sanctuary and I can come back here as many times as I want.
I can go off in different directions but I know that when I come back here it's safe and blissful and magical.
You are always welcome to come back here my friend.
And if you like you can let go of my voice,
Of the story and drift off.
Give yourself full permission to relax and let go.
Floating,
Lotus flower,
My body floating.
It now seems as if there's no separation between the dark waters and the sky being reflected.
My mind is calm and peaceful.
And when my mind is calm everything is reflected as it is.
Sweet dreams my friend.
Good night,
Good night,
Good night.
Good night,
Good night,
Good night.
Good night,
Good night,
Good night.
Good night,
Good night,
Good night.
