Crystal Shop

Good evening. Tonight, we'll be paying a visit to the little crystal shop in the valley, your go-to place for rocks, minerals, and gemstones. On a clear night, when the moon sits high above the forest of whispering pine trees on the hill, you might hear the comforting rumble of the night train crossing the viaduct, as you approach the lit shop front. Are you ready to step inside this wonderful place? A treasure trove of rocks and gems, always ethically sourced, of course, is waiting for you. Before we begin, let's pause for a short wind-down exercise. Tonight's wind-down is a visualization. When you're ready, let's begin. Take a moment to get comfortable. Letting go of the day. Enjoying that feeling of having stopped, of having nothing left to do. We are going to focus the attention of the mind on the different parts of the body, watching as the muscles in the body switch off for the night, leaving the body feeling rested and leaving the mind more at ease. So, starting down at the toes and feeling a sense of the muscles switching off, the feet, the arches, all those muscles switching off. Same in the lower half of the legs. Notice any tension being let go of as the muscles switch off, shut down. In the upper half of the legs, any tension melting away, being let go of into the area of the hips, the pelvis. Again, any muscles shutting down for the night, completely at rest. Everything from the waist downward is heavy, at ease. The muscles in the lower back and the stomach are now switching off. The middle of the back, around the diaphragm, the upper back and the chest. Any muscles not needed, shutting down, switching off for the night. The shoulders switching off. The upper half of the arms and the lower half of the arms switching off. The hands, the fingers, just switching off. Any muscles around the throat and the neck, switching off. The head, the face, the jaw, the eyes, any last areas of tension melting away as the muscles shut down, switch off, at rest for the night. Allowing thoughts to come and go, allowing the mind and body the space they need to rest. At the back of the crystal shop, there's a door leading to what the staff jokingly refer to as the Consulting Room. It's where any customer looking for tailored advice can find out more about the rocks and gems that interest them. The person who dispenses this advice is a man named Gene, a retired geologist who has a long, white beard and looks like a cross between a biker and wizard. In a way, he's both. You might have seen his motorcycle out front on your way in. Tonight, Gene is talking to a young woman named Harmony. She's a dancer and choreographer who lives with her small daughter in a boat on a stretch of river just the other...