Hey,
It's Doug here.
I'm so sorry you're having trouble sleeping.
It's a pain.
Often forcing ourselves to sleep has the opposite effect.
So let's try something a little bit different tonight.
Let's think about something else for a while and just forget all about this desire or need to sleep.
Firstly though,
Before we do anything,
Let's get you comfortable.
Do what you gotta do.
Move the pillows,
Change your position,
Get that extra blanket,
Whatever it is.
All right,
Good.
Now let's breathe together.
Nice deep inhale and deep exhale.
That's great.
Let's do it again.
Deep inhale and deep exhale.
Make it easy,
Even enjoyable.
Can you find that enjoyment of simply breathing?
All right,
Let's try some visualization and see if that's gonna help us with some sleep.
But if not,
It's just an enjoyable thing to do.
Forget about your worries and concerns for now and just join me on this fun little visualization.
Now I want you to transform your bed into an inflatable room.
An inflatable ring.
Now,
Obviously not physically.
I just want you to imagine that your bed is slowly transforming into those inflatable rings.
You know,
The ones you see at amusement parks,
The ones you take on all the rides.
Take note of what it feels like to just completely relax into this rubber ring.
Feel how it gives way to your weight and then utterly supports you.
Notice how you're fully carried by this newly transformed object.
See if you can really let your weight just collapse into it.
You can literally relax every muscle in your body.
This new inflatable device will hold you.
It'll support you.
It'll carry you.
So just notice what that feels like now.
Paying attention to how your body feels now that you can totally relax it.
Just to make sure though,
I want you to take your mind's eye down to your feet,
Your toes,
And then all the way up through your legs,
Quads,
Glutes,
Hips,
Abs,
Back,
Arms,
Shoulders,
Neck and head.
Just make sure all of those places are completely relaxed.
That's going to really help us with the rest of this technique.
So do that for me now.
Alright,
Great.
So we've transformed your bed into this lovely flotation device.
Your bestial is ready.
Now let's go somewhere together.
One of my most relaxing places is the lazy rivers at Disneyland.
Now you don't have to go exactly there,
But I want you to imagine your bed is now floating on a river of your choice.
It can be any river in the world.
It can be a made up river if you want.
A magical rainbow river for like here.
Just make sure it's somewhere that you feel relaxed.
Notice now what the bed feels like bobbing up and down on this gentle and relaxing river.
Notice its buoyancy,
The gentle movements in the river,
Much like your breathing.
Gently going up,
Gently going down.
Gently going down.
Now I want you to imagine yourself being taken by the slow and gentle current of the river of your choice.
Your bed and body now move with it.
Slowly rotating on its own axis,
While bobbing up and down.
Notice how it feels good to be carried and swept away.
You simply lay back and enjoy the ride.
As you do,
You can now come back to your breathing once again.
As you float away,
You breathe in and you breathe out.
Just enjoying the ride.
Floating,
Drifting,
Suspended in space.
Completely carried,
Absolutely supported,
With no need to do anything but enjoy this feeling.
As you enjoy this gentle motion of the river carrying you around,
You feel your body getting even more relaxed.
This gentle feeling of contentment,
Of being able to enjoy the ride.
This gentle feeling of enjoyment of the present moment.
Now as you float here in this beautifully relaxed position,
Supported,
Carried,
Drifting,
There may be moments where different thoughts come into your mind.
I want you to imagine yourself being carried away.
There may be moments where different thoughts come into your mind.
I want you to imagine each one of those thoughts as something you see on the embankments of the river.
And notice how for a while they are in view.
And as they are,
You can pay attention to what the thought is.
Just observing it.
But noticing how the river carries you and very soon that thought is now out of view.
It may even be that as your bed spins on its own axis,
As it twists and rotates,
That thought is now no longer in your view.
And as it does so,
I want you to stop thinking about that thing.
Just allowing it to disappear from your mind as you come back to thinking about how good it feels to be floating down your own lazy river.
Instead focusing on the feelings that are happening in your body right now.
Now the same thought may come up again.
And that's okay.
Once again you take note of seeing it on the embankment.
And you let it just drift out of your vision as you go on your journey towards sleep.
No need to stop your raft and get out and follow that thought.
But rather choosing to stay on this river of pleasure,
Contentment,
Of relaxation.
At any point again coming back to thinking about your breath.
With those lovely inhales and those lovely exhales.
You continue to float and join everything your present moment has to offer you.
This cultivation of peace in your own mind.
Feeling like there's not a worry in the world.
All there is,
Is you floating and relaxing.
Don't fight this feeling.
Simply give into it.
Let yourself be carried.
Relinquish that control of your body.
And enjoy the pleasures that come with it.
As things stand right now,
You have everything you need.
You're safe,
You're warm and you're loved.
Let that be enough.
Sleep well.
Sleep well.
Sleep well.
You
