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- [00:01]
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Hey, it's Eric. Before we begin tonight's episode, just a quick reminder. You're about to hear a few ads that help to support Listen to Sleep. If you'd rather drift off without them, you can join Listen to Sleep plus and get every episode ad free plus bonus stories and meditations. Just go to ListenToSleep.com and click on Support to learn more.
- [00:30]
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- [02:19]
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Hello, it's Eric here with another gent. Guided meditation to help you let go of the day and drift into deep, peaceful sleep. One of the things I've learned living up here on the mountain is that sleep is less like flipping a switch and more like floating down a river. You can't force it, but you can stop paddling. You can soften, let go and trust the current to carry you. Tonight's meditation is a quiet journey down just such a river. It's called the river of Dreams and it's meant to help you unwind. Gently return to the present moment and let the water of awareness carry you toward Rest. Welcome. This is a time for rest now. A time to let go of the day and allow your mind to soften like the surface of a quiet river at twilight. Wherever you are, just make yourself comfortable lying down or reclining gently with your arms and legs resting naturally. Just letting your body begin to settle. There's nowhere you need to go, nothing you need to do. So take a deep breath in and let it go. Feeling the breath moving through you, flowing in, flowing out. And let's begin with a few moments of simply arriving here, Bringing your awareness to the present moment. The way your body feels right now. The gentle pull of gravity. The places where your body makes contact with the surface beneath you. The support that's always been there. Let it hold you, noticing the way the breath moves, rising and falling without needing anything from you. Just letting your shoulders drop, letting your jaw unclench, letting your belly soften. And if the mind wants to keep thinking, that's okay. See if you can just bring it gently back to this moment, to this breath, to this feeling of being here. Now allow yourself to imagine you're standing beside a wide, slow moving river. The sky above is soft with fading light, lavender and silver, with just a hint of golden dusk on the horizon. The air is still and cool against your skin. The only sound is the gentle lapping of water against smooth stones. Somewhere nearby, you hear a loon calling. Then all is quiet again. This is the river of dreams. It flows beyond time, beyond thought, carrying everything it touches into peaceful rest. You walk slowly toward the river's edge and there's a small wooden boat waiting for you, simple and sturdy, with a soft blanket laid across its center. You step into the boat, knowing it's been waiting just for you. You lie down, feeling the soft texture of the blanket beneath you. Your head finds just the right place to rest and the boat begins to drift. No effort needed. The river knows where to go. And you can let go now. Just feeling the sensation of being held by the boat, by the water, by this quiet moment. Breathing in and gently, letting the breath go. Now, as you drift down the river of dreams, you begin to notice the landscape changing around you. The trees along the banks stretch tall into the sky, their branches swaying gently in the breeze. The rustling of the leaves. It sounds almost like a lullaby, A rhythm that moves with your breath. In and out. The river curves gently and with each turn you leave more of the day behind. Any thoughts that arise now, just let them come and go. No need to chase them or push them away, just noticing them, like leaves floating Beside your boat, watching them drift past, returning to the quiet flow. You're safe here. There's nothing to hold on to, nothing to solve. Just the gentle rhythm of breath and water and letting attention again settle into the body. Just noticing the heaviness in your shoulders, the soft release of your hands, the ease in your belly, the length in your legs, the softness in your jaw, the quiet around your eyes. And if there's a place that still feels tense or restless, you can bring your awareness there, like a hand resting gently. Not to change it, just to be with it. There's nothing to fix, only things to meet with kindness. Up ahead, the river widens. The sky deepens into a rich indigo, scattered with stars just beginning to appear. Their reflections shimmer on the water's surface like little lights that flicker in the current. It's almost like you're floating in a sky turned upside down. There's a sense of spaciousness here, a feeling that you can let go of anything that feels too heavy to carry. So if anything from the day still lingers in your mind. A worry, a plan, a conversation, you can imagine placing it gently into the water beside you, watching it float away. It doesn't need to come with you tonight. You are free to rest now. And next to you in the boat, you notice a smooth, round stone resting near your hand. It still holds some warmth from the afternoon sun. And if you'd like, you can imagine that this stone carries the weight of any expectations you've been holding today. Just feel its solid presence in your hand, acknowledging all that it represents. And when you're ready, release it over the side. Hear the soft plunk as it slips beneath the surface, sinking gently through the silvery water until it rests on the riverbed far below. The ripples fade, and with them, the burden you are carrying dissolves into the current. The blanket beneath you is woven from quiet memories. Cottony threads of laughter, soft woolen strands of kindness. The silky shimmer of moments when you felt truly seen. Let these memories wrap around your shoulders and hold you gently. And if a smile comes, let it. If tears find their way to the corners of your eyes, let them, too. The river welcomes every part of you now. Bring your awareness to the very center of your chest, to the quiet rhythm of your heartbeat, imagining a warm glow there, the color of late summer honey. And with each breath in, the glow brightens. With each breath out, it radiates outward, drifting through your ribs, shoulders and arms, down your spine, through your hips and legs, until even your fingertips feel gently illuminated. You are A lighthouse in this twilight world. Steady, silent, guiding yourself toward deeper. Rest. High above, the first sliver of the moon peers over the treetops, casting a path of milky light across the water. Moths flicker through the glow like tiny lanterns. And somewhere deeper in the forest, an owl calls long and low, reminding you that the night is a living, breathing thing. Now take another slow breath. On the inhale, whisper silently to yourself. May I be happy. And on the exhale, may I be at ease. Just repeating these phrases a few times, letting them dissolve into the hush of the river. May I be happy, May I be at ease. Each repetition a soft promise that you are allowed to rest, to dream, to heal. May I be happy. May I be at ease. And so the river carries you through tall grasses that sway like lullabies, past sleepy willows whose branches trail the water, under a wooden bridge where the breeze hums softly, and into the quiet heart of the dreaming forest. Here, the air smells of cedar and night blossoms, and the only sound is the hush of water and your breath. This forest is ancient, older than memory. It welcomes you. You pass beneath an arch of trees, their branches reaching over the water, forming a soft canopy of shadow. Starlight fireflies drift above the water, tiny flickers of light that dance like dreams just beginning to form now, gently bringing attention to your breath again. No need to change it. Just noticing it as it is, letting it anchor you to this moment, to this gentle passage through the world of sleep. Breathing in, you arrive. Breathing out, you let go. And as you breathe, you may begin to feel a sense of inner quiet opening. Like the night sky above you. This is the space of awareness, the part of you that watches without judging, that listens without needing to speak, that knows how to rest. Even when the mind is active, there's great kindness in this space. It holds you like the river holds the boat. Effortlessly, lovingly. Just allow that space to expand. No need to understand it, just resting in it, and you float. Deeper now. The river moves more slowly here, almost still. The stars above are mirrored so clearly you can't tell where the sky ends and the water begins. They seem to be one and the same, a soft blending of sky and river and dreaming. And your body grows heavier. Even your name feels far away now. You are no longer the story of your day. You are just this breath, this presence, this peace. And only breath remains and the sound of water. In this place, there is nothing to do, nowhere to go, no one to be. There is just being, letting yourself drop into that, that simple, sacred act of being. You are not behind. You are not ahead. You are not too much or not enough. You are exactly where and who you are meant to be. Letting that truth rock you gently like the current of this timeless stream. And from here, you may begin to feel yourself slipping into dreams. The edge between waking and sleep has softened. The river has brought you to the threshold of deep rest. And you can stay here as long as you like. Floating, breathing, letting go. And when sleep comes, it will come naturally, kindly, like the river finding its way home. So just let go. Let the river carry you. You are safe. You are loved. You are held. Just rest now. Good night, Sam.