Drift Off at Denali

The day is winding down here at Denali National Park in Alaska. Out here, camping in the deep backcountry, the world really seems to slow down. The serene landscape is studded by the sharp, craggy peaks of mountains and crystalline glaciers. The focal point of it all is the iconic Denali, the highest mountain peak in North America, towering impressively above the low tundra. It's even more gorgeous as the sun begins to set, covering the massive mountain's snow-capped slopes with a rosy orange hue. So as we settle in for tonight's journey, let's begin our evening with a short wind down exercise. Tonight's wind down is an exercise we call noting. It helps to soothe the mind. And once you've learned it, you can even use it if you wake up during the night. We're going to be counting our breaths and then gently noting thoughts and feelings as they arise. We're not trying to change them. We're simply labeling thinking as thinking, feeling as feeling. It may sound incredibly simple, but it can help to create distance between ourselves and the thoughts and ourselves and the feeling, so we don't get so involved in it. That, in turn, creates a more restful state of mind. In other words, the perfect conditions for gentle, restful sleep. So to begin, just take a moment or two to get comfortable. Make sure you're nice and cool. Just starting with some big, deep breaths, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. And with the next out breath, allowing the breath to return to its natural rhythm, in and out through the nose, and feeling the weight of the body pressing you down into your bed. And in your own time, starting to count the breaths as they pass, one with the rise, two with the fall, just up to a count of 10. When you get to 10, you can stop and start again at one. And remember, any time you get distracted, the moment you realize you're distracted by thought, simply note it, thinking, and return to the breath. Or if a feeling arises, note it as feeling and return to the breath. Noting is very gentle, not harsh at all. Think of it like a feather just gently touching the surface of a crystal glass. I'm going to give you a few moments just to keep counting the breath and noting any thoughts and feelings that arise. That's great. A herd of Dall sheep journey below the snow line on the rocky, lichen-studded slopes. They surefootedly step over rocks and easily climb steep inclines. Their white fur sharply differentiating them from the dark earth. Young sheep graze alongside ewes on a nearby meadow dappled with sunlight. The yearlings revel and chasing each other across the grass and up and down the ridge. The rams wander separately for most of the year in herds of their own. Their large horns handsomely curve away from and towards their faces,...