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Hi, everyone, I'm Jessica Porter and welcome back to Sleep Magic, a podcast where I help you find the magic of your own mind, helping you to sleep better and live better.
Thank you everyone for being here.
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I'm in like a super good mood today.
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For some reason. I want to give some shout outs to people on Audible. There are people who leave reviews on Audible. I don't check them all that often, but I want to refer to some of them now. Someone named Instatiable has been using Sleep Magic post surgery and through some hormone changes and it's really helping. Yay. Kayla says, where have you been all my life?
Jean is a new listener, but getting good results already. And someone named Autumn says Sleep Magic is a great way to relax. Sherry struggles with ADHD and says it can be really hard to fall asleep, but doesn't know what happens five minutes into any episode. I love that some people on Audible don't post their names, but we have an insane and out like a light. And finally, from someone named Marty, he says, this podcast will change your life.
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If you let it.
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I've been amazed by how often I found little changes in my thinking, and I know they're coming from listening to Sleep Magic. One morning, I woke up happy and ready to face the day that was not like me. I've also found that I've developed a reassuring voice in my head. I hear myself saying that everything will be okay.
Wow. Wow. I just want to say that as much as this is very meaningful to me personally and a compliment that this works, it's also evidence that we are influenced by our environment. And it's really important what we let in, you know, what we let in online, what we let in on tv, what we let in in our relationships because they influence us. And I'm not suggesting that you turn off everything or shut down relationships, but just that as we understand our own suggestibility, we can then make some really.
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Positive choices to counteract anything that might be dragging us down.
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And ultimately, I do think we let.
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Go of what drags us down, but that's. That's a personal process that everyone goes.
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Through on their own time.
So thank you. Thank you everybody on Audible. If you want to reach out to us on the socials, on my website, on Sleepiest.
Please, on the podcast platforms, please let us know what you think, how you're feeling, what this is doing for you. We read everything and we really, really.
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Appreciate all of you. So thanks.
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Tonight, get sleepy. In a snowy New England town.
I had the great pleasure of living in the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts for four years in my twenties. In fact, I just mentioned the Berkshires in the Recipe episode recently. For those of you who aren't in the United States, Massachusetts is a small state. It's about 190 miles long, a rectangle. It's one of the original 13 colonies. And the Berkshire Mountains, a very old and somewhat small range of mountains at this point, take up the western edge.
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Of the state in Berkshire County.
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It's a beautiful place, dotted with small towns, and it's where people go camping in the summer or go see outdoor theater and concerts. And when the leaves change in the fall, it's one of the most beautiful places in the country.
And then the winters in the Berkshires, you know, I came from winters in a big city where everything got gray and slushy and depressing very quickly in the Berkshires. I'm not sure I've been anywhere where winter was so picturesque. It's really out of a storybook.
So we are going to Stockbridge, Massachusetts tonight. And right on the main street of Stockbridge is the studio of the iconic American painter Norman Rockwell, who moved to the area in 1953. He even did a painting of this exact main street that we'll be walking down tonight.
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A Christmas scene.
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So join me as we get sleepy.
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In New England.
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Before we begin our only ad break, which makes this magic possible. To listen ad free, follow the link in the show notes.
One thing we talk about all the time on Sleep Magic is setting up a routine that supports rest. So when I started my holiday gift shopping this year, I thought, why not give people something that helps them unwind every single night? And that's why Quince bedding has become my go to gift. It's soft, crafted to last, and made from beautiful materials like European flax, linen, organic cotton and bamboo viscose. And honestly, the linen sheets have been one of the best gifts I've given myself this year.
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They're soft and they keep the temperature just right.
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And on colder nights, I add their quilt. And that's something I'll be gifting, too. It has that warm, textured finish that makes a bed look and feel inviting.
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The moment you pull it on.
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And as a gift, Quince bedding feels meaningful without being over the top. Their quality rivals that of luxury brands that charge two or three times as much. But because Quint's works directly with trusted factories and skips the middlemen, you can give that level of craftsmanship at a much more accessible price. Give a gift they'll actually use and love with quince. Go to quince.com sleepmagic for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q-U-I-N c-e.com sleepmagic free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com sleepmagic we all have those nights when our thoughts feel a little too awake, looping, wandering, refusing to settle. Therapy can't stop those thoughts overnight, but it can help you understand them, quiet them, and eventually find peace with them. And the hardest part is often getting started. And that's where Rula can help. Rula makes it simple to begin therapy that truly fits your life. They'll match you with a licensed therapist who understands your goals and preferences, and they make sure it's covered by your insurance. Rula partners with over 100 insurance plans with an average copay of about $15 a session, sometimes even zero depending on your coverage. And because appointments are often available as soon as tomorrow, you can start feeling supported right away. And Rula's team stays involved too, checking in to make sure your care is helping you move forward. Thousands of people are already using Rula to get affordable, high quality therapy that's actually covered by Insurance. Visit rula.com sleepmagic to get started. After you sign up, you'll be asked how you heard about them. So please support our show and let them know we sent you. That's r u l a.com sleepmagic. You deserve mental health care that works with you, not against your budget.
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Kids. They grow up so fast. One day they're taking their first steps and the next they don't fit into the tiny sneakers they took them in. You blink your eyes and their princess dress is two sizes too small. And their dinosaur backpack isn't cool anymore. But don't cry because they're growing up. Smile because you can profit off of it for real. There are a bunch of parents on Depop looking for the stuff your kid just grew out of. Download Depop to start selling.
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Now get yourself into a safe and comfortable position. And let's begin.
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Allow your eyes to close.
Easily and gently.
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And now bring your awareness to your breathing.
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And by bringing your awareness to your breath.
Your awareness begins to settle a bit.
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The mind loves to jump around.
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So it's okay if your mind continues to feel like it's jumping around a bit, but we just continually invite it back.
To the breath.
Continually inviting it.
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Back.
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To the body.
Because this is the time of day where you get to settle and come home.
To yourself.
So bring your awareness now up into your eyelids.
And imagine that the muscles of your eyelids are feeling heavy. Just imagine that your eyes are sleepy, like you've been up way too late reading a book. And your eyes simply will not stay open.
You've experienced this heaviness before, this sleepiness.
So just as you imagine it, it begins to happen, that lovely, lovely heaviness in your eyes.
Now I'd like you to imagine that your eyes are so heavy that they will not open.
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In fact, I'd like you to take.
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That suggestion that your eyes are so.
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Heavy they will not open.
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So now I'd like you to test.
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Your eyelids to make sure they won't.
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Open by wiggling your eyebrows. Just give them a little tug while your eyelids remain closed. And I know you're faking. That's okay. Just wiggle your eyebrows. Good.
By doing that, you're really actively engaging your imagination. And that's where we want to be.
As you go deeper and deeper and the lovely heaviness around your eyes is spilling down now into your cheeks, into your jaw.
Over your nose, over your upper lip, into your lips, down to your chin. As your whole face is feeling nice and heavy.
And the same heaviness is moving up into your forehead.
And now from your forehead it's spilling back into your brain.
Just allow the heaviness to take take over your brain.
Your brain as you know it is done for the day.
And as your whole head becomes heavy on the pillow and your whole brain is saturated in this lovely heavy feeling.
Any mental tension you may have been carrying even moments ago.
Has disappeared.
As you let go.
And it feels so good.
To let go.
As you go deeper and deeper.
And the heavy feeling is moving down into your Neck into your shoulders.
Just allow your shoulders to relax and release.
You may carry a lot of things on your shoulders.
Responsibilities, pressure, burdens.
But now in bed at night.
They'Re falling off your shoulder.
Because this is your time.
To go inward.
And to drift.
And float and dream.
And everyone gets this time.
So it's okay to take it.
It's built into nature.
For you to drift.
And float.
And dream.
And any of the responsibilities that have fallen to the floor, you can pick them up tomorrow morning.
But for right now.
You'Re free.
As a lovely, heavy feeling moves down into your arms, spilling down into your arms, so your arms are feeling nice and heavy.
Heavy.
As you enjoy that heaviness. It's moving down now into your hands, your fingers.
Your arms, feeling like.
They'Re on vacation.
As you bring your awareness now to any sounds that may be taking place around you.
Tune in and notice.
Any sounds going on in your environment.
And now allow them to take you deeper.
Open to them, and allow those vibrations to take you deeper and deeper.
For this is how you use your magic mind.
And the sound of my voice is taking you deeper and deeper.
As you allow the warm, lovely.
Relaxed feeling.
To move down inside your body. Now.
Imagine that relaxation moving down into your chest.
Warming and softening and opening you from the inside.
You may have carried stress in your chest today.
But now it's dissolving.
Disappearing.
As you allow your whole.
Upper body to soften and expand.
From the inside out.
As you allow that relaxing feeling to move down.
Down deep into your belly. Now.
Perhaps your breath sinks down deep into your belly.
And the muscles you may hold there during the day are softening.
Releasing.
Going on vacation.
And you notice that your lower back is feeling warm and soft and relaxed.
As your whole torso.
Is soft and expanding.
From the inside, inside out.
It feels natural now to allow that warm, relaxed feeling to move down into your legs.
Down deep.
All the way down into your feet.
So your legs are feeling very, very heavy now.
Heavy, like they're made of marble.
And the relaxation is moving into the soles of your feet, into all ten toes.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Imagine it is late afternoon in the winter.
You are standing on the north side of Main street in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
You're wearing a warm coat and a hat.
A scarf and soft woolen gloves.
Big white snowflakes are drifting down from above.
Looking magical against the gray blue sky.
You relax.
And watch a single flake fall.
Focusing on it so easily.
And as it floats down.
Soft and light and gentle.
It'S taking you deeper.
And even deeper.
You watch as it settles.
On the sidewalk.
You see other snowflakes settling along the rooftops.
And gathering on the branches of pine trees.
The south side of Main street stretches out in front of you.
Technically, this street is Route 7, a small country highway which winds up north into other small towns in the area, like Lee and Lenox.
Going all the way up to the Canadian border.
This road also stretches down from here through lovely Great Barrington.
Stringing the towns together like a necklace.
Of picturesque villages in Berkshire County.
And yet Route 7, as it passes through Stockbridge is just a small town street, like you'd see in any old movie.
You take a nice deep breath of cold air.
And the coolness moves instead of inside of you, feels fresh.
And stimulating.
The buildings along Main street are tucked together, most of them two stories tall.
They have old fashioned wooden signs and windows trimmed with holiday decorations.
You begin walking, taking your time.
Letting the cool air clear your mind.
You cross the street at a crosswalk.
To the west. The sun is setting through the bare trees on the Berkshire mountains.
Creating a strip of gold behind the trees.
You hear the crunch of the snow as you take each step.
This gentleman. A little flurry is calming everyone down.
The town is moving in slow motion.
A car crawls by with its headlights on.
As you walk down the sidewalk.
You hear a shop door open with a soft jingle.
You stop at a bakery.
Its window is fogged up from the warm ovens inside.
Through the glass you make out trays of gingerbread cookies.
Some in the shape of bells, some stars.
There are loaves of warm bread.
And a small Christmas tree near the counter.
It's strung with tiny white lights, pulsing on and off, slowly and gently.
A young woman exits the store, bag in hand, and a wave of warm, sweet air drifts out into the cold. It smells of cinnamon and sugar.
Norman Rockwell walked this exact sidewalk.
Observing the simplicities of life.
Paying attention.
To the little details.
As a young boy in New York City, he wasn't especially athletic or loud.
He didn't fit in with the bigger, tougher kids.
Instead, he watched people.
He studied expressions, movements, small interactions.
Even then, he seemed to understand that everyday moments were full of meaning.
You walk past the library.
A wreath hangs from its door.
A golden glow is coming through its large windows.
The snow continues to fall.
Steady and consistent.
It's clinging to your coat and hat.
You put out a gloved hand and watch several flakes arrive.
A snowflake lands on your cheek and melts.
You come to The Red Lion Inn.
It is the biggest building on Main street, all wood, painted white.
With a generous wraparound porch lined with rocking chairs.
The railing blinks with Christmas lights.
An older couple rocks in the chairs, sipping hot chocolate.
They smile, raising their mugs. Happy holidays, says the man. And you smile back.
The Red Lion Inn began as a small pub on this spot.
In 1773.
Before the signing of the Constitution.
As Rockwell trained as an artist, he specialized in capturing ordinary human moments.
A boy getting a haircut.
A family having dinner.
A group of teenagers on the first day of school.
He found he humor, sincerity.
Small moments of kindness.
And he was very talented.
Over 300 of his paintings grace the COVID of the Saturday Evening Post.
Many becoming iconic American images.
He became a master at conveying the humanity within dramatic political moments.
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During World.
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War II, the Civil Rights movement in Vietnam.
As he progressed as a painter, Rockwell became an activist on his canvases.
Holding up a mirror to America and its contradictions.
Long before the Internet.
Norman Rockwell was an influencer.
Shaping the American psyche.
In 19. In 1853, during the peak of his career, he moved here to Stockbridge.
He liked its pace, its friendliness. He liked this Main Street.
It was the kind of place where he could study human nature up close.
Dusk is settling in now.
The twinkling lights seem to be glowing a little brighter.
And the snow is reflecting them back.
The cold air is pressing gently against your chest cheeks.
As you continue walking, crunching in the snow.
Seeing your breath hang in the air in front of you.
You stop at the general store.
Its window display is Christmassy.
With simple wooden toys.
Boxes wrapped in brown paper and red ribbon.
And a glass jar full of candy canes.
A child next to you presses her mitten to the window.
Looking in with longing.
She has a face right out of a Rockwell painting.
You look up.
Right above the entrance to the general store is a large window, unusually large, with a soft light coming through it.
When Rockwell first came to Stockbridge.
He rented that studio above this very store, with its huge window bringing in the northern light.
You step inside the general store.
It's busy and warm and festive inside.
You loosen your scarf, unbutton your coat, relaxing.
Going deeper.
You walk through the store to a door at the back.
And it opens into a cramped hallway with a staircase.
You take a step up. It's old and creaky.
And you go up the stairs, up, up, up.
To another door.
You open it and step.
The air is warm and smells of wood and old paint.
The hardwood floor has dents from years of Use.
The ceiling is high.
And the whole room is painted white.
And your inner being begins to expand in here.
This is where Norman Rockwell painted.
For several years.
Along one wall is a long shelf holding cans of brushes.
Some are pointed and clean.
Others are frayed from long hours of painting.
Below the shelf you see a drafting table with pencils and small stacks of of photos.
Rockwell often photographs scenes before painting them, asking his neighbors and friends to hold poses.
Capturing the exact expression he wanted.
You take a slow walk around the room.
On the opposite wall are framed studies. He sketched.
Faces, hands, bits of clothing.
Expressions caught mid motion.
A young girl waiting outside. Inside the principal's office.
You sense the patience in them.
The curiosity.
The honesty.
Here, in this quiet place.
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You see.
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Why he was so beloved.
He painted people as they were.
Awkward.
Hopeful.
Worried.
Kind.
To Rockwell, ordinary life mattered.
And he believed the small gestures people make toward each other.
Are the real heart of things.
Rockwell painted not just bodies.
But inner beings.
He painted connection.
Next to the large window is an easel with a blank canvas on it.
There's a stool beside it, worn smooth by years of use.
You sit on the stool.
And there's a palette next to you with a rainbow of paints squeezed onto it.
You pick up a brush and dip your brush in a color.
And you explore on the canvas.
Painting whatever you want.
Having fun.
As you feel your inner being expand.
And you allow your imagination to flow onto the canvas.
And just notice.
What you paint.
And no matter what you see.
It feels good to express yourself.
It feels good.
To be alive.
You put down your paintbrush. Now.
Move away from the canvas.
And step back to admire it.
Now take a seat on a small daybed near the window.
The snow is falling even more heavily now.
Covering Main street.
The shops, the inn.
The sidewalks you walked earlier.
The world is softer now.
Calmer.
Like a blanket has been pulled up to its chin.
As your breath goes even deeper.
Your shoulders and.
Are relaxing.
And the quiet of the room.
Is sinking into you.
You lie back on the bed.
And get under its woolen blanket.
It's warm, heavier than you expected.
And it settles over you in a comforting way.
As your body sinks happily into the mattress.
The room.
Is growing softer around the edges.
As the snow continues to fall.
You close your eyes.
Hearing faint winter sounds.
From outside.
As the snow falls gently.
Into the night.
Sa.
As the day.
Fades away.
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Sa.
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You drift.
And flow.
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It.
B
It.
It.
Podcast: Sleep Magic: Sleep Hypnosis & Meditation for Sleep
Host: Jessica Porter
Date: December 10, 2025
In this soothing episode, hypnotherapist Jessica Porter leads listeners through a calming journey designed to promote deep, restorative sleep using sleep hypnosis, gentle meditation, and a hypnotic bedtime story. Set in the picturesque, snow-covered town of Stockbridge, Massachusetts, listeners are peacefully guided through a winter evening, exploring iconic local sights and the studio of artist Norman Rockwell. The episode deftly blends relaxation techniques with evocative storytelling to ease anxiety, quiet the mind, and encourage restful slumber.
Start of Session: 09:59
Jessica’s signature hypnosis style takes listeners gently from body awareness to deep relaxation:
Scenic Hypnotic Journey: 21:02–45:30
Jessica weaves a vivid story, inviting the listener to stroll down Main Street in Stockbridge, midwinter, as snow tumbles softly from the sky.
| Segment | Timestamp | |-------------------------------------------------|---------------------| | Listener Feedback & Influence | 00:24 – 02:53 | | Episode Setting and Stockbridge Introduction | 03:27 – 05:12 | | Start of Sleep Hypnosis Session | 09:59 – 10:12 | | Progressive Body Relaxation | 10:12 – 21:02 | | Visualization Begins: Main Street Arrival | 21:02 – 23:25 | | Bakery and Library Scenes | 26:08 – 28:32 | | The Red Lion Inn & Rockwell Tribute | 29:04 – 32:11 | | General Store & Rockwell’s Studio | 33:02 – 36:23 | | Painting Visualization | 39:41 – 41:33 | | Daybed, Blanket, and Nightfall | 42:31 – 45:34 | | Deep Silence and Sleep | 45:34 onward |
Calm, nurturing, and gently hypnotic. Jessica’s warm voice and steady pacing encourage presence, deep tranquility, and a heartfelt embrace of rest and imagination. Her storytelling is vivid and evocative, balancing realism with a sense of magical possibility.
This episode gently escorts the listener from waking tension to sleepy contentment, using lyrical visualization and expert hypnotherapy to foster not just sleep but also creative renewal and emotional balance. A cozy, magical recommendation—especially for those who treasure winter nights and small-town wonder.