Fairy Tale Gallery

Here at the heart of the mountain valley, in the little village by the lake, the day has been warm and blissful. There was something to explore around every corner. Charming chalet stores selling alpine souvenirs, coffee rooms and cafes, serving chocolate box treats, and fly fishing in the halcyon waters of the Bavarian Lake. The scenery here is perfect as a painting, or a fairytale pop book. Snow frosted mountains in the background, their tips scraping the skies. Sage green slopes in the mid ground, dotted with trees. And huddled in the heart of the village, an old art gallery sits in the foreground, reflected in the glassy surface of the lake. The tourists have returned home now, leaving the local villagers to light their fires and evening lamps, which flicker behind shuttered windows. But you'll be staying a while longer. You have been invited as a special guest to the gallery, where a nighttime exhibition has been curated for a few choice visitors. Tonight, the theme is fairytales. But before we delve into the magical world within, let us begin with a little wind down. Tonight's wind down is a visualization. When you are ready, let's begin. Just 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. Middle of the back, around the diaphragm, the upper back, and the chest. So, 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, 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. And allowing thoughts to come and go. Allowing the mind and body the space they need to rest. A purple, tinted spotlight shines down from a high ceiling, lighting up the dove-gray stones of a wishing well. The well sits quietly at the center of the gallery...