Begin by lying down in your bed and make your body absolutely comfortable.
Release all tension in the body.
Just let go and relax.
Release the muscles of the face,
Surrounding your eyes and forehead,
The muscles of your mouth,
Tongue and cheeks.
Become aware of the large muscles in the legs and arms,
The shoulders,
Chest and abdomen.
Just totally release your body now,
Surrendering to the force of gravity.
Allow yourself to become perfectly still and silent.
Within the stillness,
There is perfect peace and contentment.
Observe the natural breath.
Give yourself this time to simply enjoy the soothing ebb and flow of the breath.
Become aware of all the muscles involved in breathing.
Release all tension in the muscles of respiration throughout your abdomen.
As you watch the navel rise and fall with the breath,
You can feel a pleasant,
Expansive energy radiating outwards from your belly.
A pleasant expansiveness radiating outwards from the belly.
Allow the motions of the breath to become smooth and rhythmical.
Become aware of the various points of contact between your body and the bed.
Feel these subtle points of contact one at a time,
Beginning with the back of your head and the bed.
Right shoulder blade and the bed.
Left shoulder blade and the bed.
Right elbow.
Left elbow.
Right hand.
Left hand.
Right buttock.
Left buttock.
Back of the right thigh.
Back of the left thigh.
Right calf muscle.
Left calf muscle.
Right heel.
And left heel.
Feel all these points of contact between your body and the bed simultaneously,
All at once.
Sense all the subtle points of contact and the line of gravity between your body and the bed.
Bring your awareness to the right hand.
The right hand thumb.
Second finger.
Third.
Fourth.
And fifth finger.
The palm of the hand.
Back of the hand.
The right wrist.
Lower arm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
And shoulder.
The right armpit.
Side.
Waist.
Hip.
Right thigh.
Hamstring.
Knee.
Back of the knee.
Shin.
Calf muscle.
Ankle.
Heel.
Soul of the right foot.
Top of the foot.
Right big toe.
Second toe.
Third.
Fourth.
And fifth toe.
The whole right side of your body.
Now the left hand.
The left hand thumb.
Second finger.
Third.
Fourth.
And fifth finger.
Palm of the hand.
Back of the hand.
The left wrist.
Lower arm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
And shoulder.
The left armpit.
Side.
Waist.
Hip.
Left thigh.
Hamstring.
Knee.
Back of the knee.
Shin.
Calf muscle.
Ankle.
Heel.
Soul of the left foot.
Top of the foot.
Right big toe.
Second toe.
Third.
Fourth.
And fifth toe.
The whole left side of your body.
Now the crown of your head.
Forehead.
Right eyebrow.
Left eyebrow.
The center of the eyebrows.
Right eye.
Left eye.
Right ear.
Left ear.
The nose.
The tip of the nose.
Upper lip.
Lower lip.
Mouth.
Tongue.
Cheeks.
And chin.
The throat.
Collar bones.
Right chest muscle.
Left chest muscle.
And the sternum.
The abdomen.
Navel.
Groin.
Right thigh.
Left thigh.
Right knee.
Left knee.
Right ankle.
Left ankle.
Right foot.
Left foot.
The whole right leg.
Whole left leg.
Both legs together.
The whole right arm.
Whole left arm.
Both arms together.
The front of the torso.
Your chest.
And abdomen.
The back side of the body.
The buttocks.
Spinal column.
And shoulder blades.
Both the front and back sides of the body together.
The shoulders.
Neck.
Face.
Back of the head.
Top of the head.
The whole head together.
The whole body.
Your whole body together.
From the top of the head to the tips of your toes.
Again bring your awareness to those subtle points of contact between your body and the bed.
The back of your head and the bed.
Right shoulder blade and the bed.
Left shoulder blade and the bed.
Right elbow.
Left elbow.
Right hand.
Left hand.
Right buttock.
Left buttock.
Back of the right thigh.
Back of the left thigh.
Right calf muscle.
Left calf muscle.
Right heel.
And left heel.
Focus on one single point of contact to the exclusion of everything else.
Surrender completely to the force of gravity.
Bring your awareness to the peaceful warm space in front of your closed eyes.
Gaze gently into the darkness of inner space and see a pink rose.
Golden stalks of wheat swaying with the breeze.
The yellow flame of a candle.
Stars twinkling in the clear night sky.
The brilliant full moon.
An old growth pine forest.
Snowflakes beginning to fall.
The cat reposing.
The red sky of the setting sun.
A large lagoon with blossoming lilies.
Fireflies glowing in the shadows of the tree line.
Gentle ocean swells rolling on for miles.
A wooden ship under sail.
The vast and infinite sea.
Become aware of the breath.
Feel the sensation of the air moving across the nostrils.
Mentally alternate the breath from nostril to nostril in the following manner.
Breath in through the right nostril,
Out through the left,
In through the left,
And out through the right.
This is one round.
Continue counting rounds backwards from twenty seven at your own pace.
If you should lose count or come to zero,
Again return to twenty seven and continue.
Breath in through the right nostril,
Out through the left nostril,
In through the right nostril,
And out through the left nostril.
Breath in through the right nostril,
Out through the left nostril,
And out through the right nostril.
Breath in through the right nostril,
Out through the left nostril,
And out through the right nostril.
Quickly scan your awareness around your body and relax.
Totally let go and let the breath flow with ease.
See a vision of a calm and still lake reflecting its surroundings like a mirror,
A blue lotus flower,
Dark smoke rising from a chimney,
The gentle flickering of an oil lamp.
A large and ancient oak tree.
The sandy bank of a river.
A shaved headed monk in orange robes meditating.
Buddha smiling.
Christ showing compassion.
A temple bell ringing.
Low capped mountains.
Deer grazing in a meadow.
An eagle soaring.
An old dog sleeping by the fireplace.
A dark and starry night.
Now become aware of the breath and the sternum.
Bring your awareness down to the sternum at the center of the chest.
Experience the breath dissipating in the cavity of the chest directly back from the sternum.
Breathe in,
Feeling the breath dissolve in the heart space directly back from the sternum.
And breathe out,
Feeling the breath dissolve in the same heart space outside the body.
Experience the sensation of the breath dissipating into the heart space with each inhalation and exhalation.
Breathe in,
Listening to the sound hum.
And breathe out,
Listening to the sound sa.
Inhale within the heart space hum.
And exhale outside the heart space sa.
Hum in,
Sa out.
Now dissolving all thoughts into the breath and dissolving the breath into the heart space.
Here in this space,
You are now free to rest and truly experience the deeply rejuvenating bliss of deep sleep.
May this be the initial deep sleep.
Thank you.
Thank you.
