The Lantern Path: Deep Sleep Journey

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Hello and welcome to this sleep meditation.

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I'm Steven and this meditation contains music and gentle notes just to help you drift off to sleep.

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And it will slowly fade down into nothing and silence near the end. And there will be a lantern path

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story. And it really doesn't matter if you hear it all or even get to the end of the beginning.

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That's all fine. So

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just a warning. You will fall asleep at some point and you may not consciously hear the whole meditation

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and that's a good thing. But just please only use this meditation if it is safe to fall asleep

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and you are in a safe place. This is your time to gently rest and I invite you to

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drift off to sleep sometime over the next few minutes.

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So before you begin, just...

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Make sure you're all prepared and the lights are dim or off and your mobile phone is on silent and

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the screen is off or face down.

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And remember, your body knows how to sleep and your mind knows how to sleep

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And they also know how to fall asleep. All we're doing in this moment is just allowing the moment to

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happen

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And your body will drift off to sleep before your mind and that's perfectly fine.

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And you may notice thoughts going through in your head. That's fine as well. Your mind evolved to think. Your

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mind evolved to analyse the situation and that's all fine.

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And it will slowly fall asleep when it's ready.

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So here is something to remember. And

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as I mentioned, the body often falls asleep first and then the mind will follow.

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So tonight, you do not have to wait for the mind to fall asleep. Just let your body lead the

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way.

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And when your body feels safe, it will soften. And

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when your body softens, it will fall asleep.

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And now we will give your body a little treat. A little simple gift. A

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way to let go of the day's tension. And

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we'll start with the legs and feet.

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And just take a slow, deep breath in. And as you breathe in, just tense up your feet. Tense your

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calves and your thighs. And hold them firm. Hold. And now just release them.

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Just feel them relax into the bed.

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And next we'll do the torso. And all that area. And just breathe in. And then gently tighten your stomach

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and your chest, your back. And hold that feeling for a moment. And now let go. Allowing the whole middle

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of your body just to drop. And become heavy and relax

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And just breathe easy for a moment.

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And now we'll do your arms and hands. And just breathe in and just... Hold your hands tight and your

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arms and your shoulders. Tighten them. And now just allow them to relax and allow them to come heavy in

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this moment and fall wherever they feel natural.

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So finally we're going to do the whole body. And

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as you just breathe in deeply now, just tighten everything from your face and your arms, your fingers, your toes,

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your bum, everything. Just hold it all really, really tight.

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Allow everything to relax. Just letting go of all the tension for the day. You become really heavy in the

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bed and it just feels just so nice to do that.

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It's just like a beautiful gift to the body. And

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from this moment in, the body will fall asleep.

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Feel the weight of your head on the pillow and

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let it be fully supported.

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There's nothing to hold.

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Allow Your breath to be easy.

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You do not need to change your breath. Just

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be aware of it.

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Breathing in calm. Breathing out relaxed.

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Breathing in calm.

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Breathing out relaxed.

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And with each breath you just allow in your body to relax even more.

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And as you feel completely safe in the bed and completely supported, You notice your body is falling

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asleep

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And soon the mind will follow.

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Now we're going to drift together into a gentle story. There's

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nothing to think about. You

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can listen if you like Or simply let the words fade into the background as you sleep.

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The Lantern Path.

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You find yourself standing at the edge of a small village,

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The quietest time of the night,

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And the world feels nice and quiet.

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A narrow path opens ahead.

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It winds gently between low stone walls.

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The walls are covered in a pale moss That glows in the moonlight.

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Every few steps along the path. A small lantern hangs from a wooden post.

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Its light is not bright, only warm,

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Just enough to guide you forward.

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As you continue to walk slowly, Your

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steps are light,

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As if the ground itself is guiding you.

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The air carries a faint faint of something sweet,

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perhaps night-blooming flowers.

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Their petals are half-closed, waiting for morning.

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And then you pass a small wooden bridge.

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The sound of water gently beneath it.

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The sound is steady.

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Beyond the bridge, the path curves gently uphill.

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The lanterns lead you on.

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Each one a little smaller than the last.

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Until they seem to blend into the stars above.

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As you climb, you notice how still the air is.

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And how far away the rest of the world feels.

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There are no voices here.

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No demands.

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Only slow, steady sound of your steps

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And a little lantern light.

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At the top of the hill, you find a small clearing.

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In the centre, a bench made of smooth, pale wood

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And you gently sit down.

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The wood feels warm,

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as if it's been waiting for you.

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From here you can see the land below.

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Village lights look like a handful of stars, scattered on the ground.

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Above you the sky holds the real stars.

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Somehow it feels as if they're breathing for you.

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A soft wind passes, and you hear the faint chime of something far away.

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You close your eyes here,

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safe in this quiet place.

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Warmth of the bench,

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the softness of the wind,

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the gentle sounds all holding

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you. Your breath slows again.

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Each inhale, like a small wave reaching the shore.

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Each exhale, the waves sliding back into the sea.

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And here, in this place,

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you feel the body sinking deeper,

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and the mind following.

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Soon the story fades.

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And you are only resting, drifting deeper

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until there is no difference between the breath, the

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body. And sleep itself.

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Just aware of your breath.

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Breathing in peace.

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Breathing out sleep.

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Everything's so still.

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There's nothing to do but sleep.

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You feel safe.

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Your body's asleep.

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Your mind's asleep.

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It's as though the whole world is asleep.