Hey friend,
Welcome to this soul soothing sleep meditation in which you'll wander along a peaceful beach,
Slowly watching the waves come in and out as they wash away all of your troubles and traumas and stresses,
Leaving you more and more relaxed and allowing you to fall deeply asleep.
So go ahead and settle into the most comfortable position that you can find in bed right now.
Taking the time to make any adjustments necessary to get yourself as comfortable as possible.
And once you've found that position,
Just rest your gaze there on the wall or the ceiling,
Whatever's directly across from you,
Keeping your eyes open for just a moment and slowly allowing them to close as I count down from five to one,
Starting with five and just beginning to feel that weight of your eyelids after a long day's just passed,
Four,
Your eyes maybe beginning to flicker and flutter now as we come to three,
Not forcing or squinting the gaze,
But feeling that growing sense and desire for softness.
As we reach two and you can barely see through the tiniest slit in your eyes now,
But holding on for just another second as we finally reach one and you allow your eyes to close down all the way now,
Feeling that sense of softness and relaxation spreading through the muscles of your eyes,
Into your forehead,
Your cheeks,
And your jaw,
Just relaxing all of the muscles of your face as that sense of ease spreads all the way down your body from head to toe,
Relaxing each and every muscle and each and every joint along the way and as that wave of relaxation passes through your entire body,
You take a nice deep breath in and then exhale even slower as your whole being releases and lets go,
Giving itself over completely to the support of the bed.
Again,
Inhaling all the way down into your belly and then exhaling even slower,
Just letting the air fall back out as you soften deeper and deeper down into the bed.
One more time,
Relaxing even more,
Inhale,
Collecting any lingering tension and then exhaling,
Releasing completely and giving all of your weight over to the bed as you soften deeper and deeper down and just enjoying this first moment of peace and quiet where you have nothing to do,
No problems to solve,
No energy to expend.
You can simply be and let go of everything.
And that's such a nice feeling,
Isn't it?
Now,
I don't know exactly when or how you'll fall asleep tonight or whether it might be due to the words that I say,
The way that I say them,
Or even the space between my words.
But I do know that we all fall asleep in our own way and on our own time.
And there's absolutely no need to worry about falling asleep tonight because your body is designed to sleep.
It knows how to naturally when the context is right and we get out of the way of our natural processes.
And similarly,
The body knows how to heal itself and the soul knows how to soothe itself.
And so if you'd like to embark on this self-soothing and self-healing journey of sleep,
Then I invite you to imagine standing at the edge of a vast and beautiful coastline.
The sun has a long sense dipped below the horizon,
Leaving the sky in hues of purple and dark blue.
The air carries the scent of salt and there's absolutely no one else here.
This beach is your own private sanctuary.
And as you walk along the shoreline,
You notice the powdery sensation of the sand between your toes and the sound of the waves washing up on the shore in that rhythmic,
Breath-like way.
And as you walk closer to the waterline,
You feel the sand become more firm,
Cool.
And as you look out along the beach,
You notice three large circles drawn into the sand.
And as you step into the first of these circles,
You feel a deep sense of relaxation washing over you,
Such that all of the tension in your mind and your physical body and your soul are washed away.
And this release of tension allows you to soften even deeper.
And that sensation of softening feels so pleasing and effortless that you long to move forward into the next circle drawn in the sand.
And so you do that,
Feeling that sense of softness in mind,
Body,
And soul washing over you,
Easing all physical and mental tensions.
And softening your entire being even deeper,
Allowing you to let go of everything you're holding onto.
And as that feeling of softness grows even more pleasing and effortless,
You move to the last circle drawn in the sand,
Feeling the softness doubling in your mind and your body and your soul,
Allowing you to rest deeper.
And because that softness feels so easy and natural,
You decide to take a seat here in the center of this last circle in the sand,
Feeling the full support of the soft sand as it perfectly contours to the shape of your body.
You rest your gaze on the rise and fall of the waves in front of you,
Constantly washing in and out.
And you notice that just as the ocean seems to fall farther and farther out with each passing wave,
You find yourself sinking deeper and deeper within,
As though the whole world is receding out of sight,
Out of mind.
The tide of your thoughts is going out,
Leaving behind a wide and flat expanse of silence.
And as you watch the intricate details of each wave as it rises up,
Cresting and falling and dissolving back into the sea,
In rippling white foam,
You notice that although each wave appears to be a separate thing,
It was never really separate from the ocean.
It was simply a happening of the ocean,
As though the ocean was expressing itself as a wave for just a brief and beautiful moment before returning to its all-encompassing state.
And in this way,
Each wave is a moment in the ocean,
A story,
And you too are just like a wave,
A story with a name,
A job,
A history,
A happening on the surface of existence.
And just like the wave appears to be its own separate existence,
Any feeling you have of being separate,
Of being alone,
Is just a figment of the mind.
An illusion of the senses.
In truth,
You are the ocean expressing itself,
And the ocean is timeless.
It cannot be broken.
It cannot be stressed.
And deep beneath the conscious surface of your mind,
There is a stillness that no storm can reach.
You are always safe.
You are always supported and connected.
The ocean doesn't try to be the ocean or to be a wave.
It simply is.
And just as the waves of the ocean wash onto the shore and then draw back into the deep,
You can see these waves as the stories and the troubles and the problems that your soul has been carrying.
And as the waves come and go,
You may even begin to see depictions of those troubles and problems and stories in the crests of the waves,
Reflecting in the light of the moon.
And perhaps in this way,
And from this vantage point,
You can begin to see each of these troubles or stories.
Or problems as a happening of existence in the exact same way that you are.
Each is a teacher offering a lesson,
A challenge that prepared you for the journey ahead,
Giving you the strength and the knowledge you didn't know you had inside of you.
And for each of those lessons appearing in the waves,
You can whisper to them,
Thank you for all you taught me.
I release you now,
For it's time for the next wave.
And you watch as the tide washes back that trouble or story or problem,
Recognizing it for the momentary happening that it is.
And as it's washed away,
You feel a weight lifted from your body,
The tension in your mind that surrounded it,
Released and relaxed.
And as the next wave comes and goes,
You do the same thing with each story and trouble and problem that you perceive in your life.
Thanking each one for the lesson it offered and then releasing it back into the ocean.
And as these stories and problems leave you one by one,
You feel the tension around your soul,
Relaxing,
Easing back into its natural state.
Of all encompassing effortlessness,
And through this process of gratitude and release,
You begin to realize that all of your problems and troubles and stories are temporary and that they pale in comparison to the vastness that you are.
That all the bracing and holding on and squeezing and clinging to ideas that you've been doing for your whole life is no longer necessary.
As you are washed clean by the waves of the ocean,
You are unmade so that you may be renewed to your natural state of pure existence.
An endless ocean and all encompassing sky.
And as the waves recede farther and farther,
The silence becomes greater.
Your thoughts become fewer and your relaxation becomes deeper,
Releasing all sense of the self into the silence.
Every wave and every breath guiding you towards sleep.
Letting go of all the stories and troubles and tensions that you've been holding on to,
For they are not serving you here in this moment.
And as you let go more and more,
You embrace the deepest sense of timelessness,
Of acceptance,
And of recognition that you are all that is,
And all that is,
Is in you.
Finding gratitude for every step in the journey of life,
And then releasing it so that you may appreciate the next one,
Knowing that you are always safe,
You are always supported,
You are always at home,
And you are always exactly where you need to be,
Doing exactly what you need to be.
As each breath and each wave draws you deeper and deeper into sleep,
And as the waves recede farther and farther,
The silence becomes greater.
Your thoughts become fewer and your relaxation becomes deeper,
Releasing all sense of the self into the silence.
Every wave and every breath guiding you towards sleep.
Letting go of all the stories and troubles and tensions that you've been holding on to,
For they are not serving you here in this moment.
And as you let go more and more,
You embrace the deepest sense of timelessness,
Of acceptance,
And of recognition that you are all that is,
And all that is,
Is in you.
Finding gratitude for every step in the journey of life,
And then releasing it so that you may appreciate the next one,
Knowing that you are always safe,
You are always supported,
You are always at home,
And you are always exactly where you need to be,
Doing exactly what you need to be.
As each breath and each wave draws you deeper and deeper,
And as the waves recede farther and farther,
The silence becomes greater,
Your thoughts become fewer,
And your relaxation becomes deeper,
Releasing all sense of the self into the silence.
Every wave and every breath guiding you towards sleep,
All the stories and troubles and tensions that you've been holding on to,
For they are not serving you here in this moment.
And as you let go more and more,
You embrace the deepest sense of timelessness,
Of acceptance,
And of recognition that you are all that is,
And all that is,
Is in you.
Finding gratitude for every step in the journey of life,
So that you may appreciate the next one,
Knowing that you are always safe,
You are always supported,
And you are always exactly where you need to be,
Doing exactly what you need to be.
As each breath and each wave
