Flower Market

Good evening and welcome. We're so glad you could join us here at the flower market on this warm summer night. Built along the banks of a sleepy canal, the atmosphere from outside the market is one of peace and tranquility. The building's large, glass walls blend in with the natural backdrop, almost as if they were invisible. At this time of night, the flowers on the inside connect seamlessly with those on the outside. A warm light glows from inside the market, and beckoning passersby to pause and wander through the aisles, whether to shop or simply to admire the brilliant bouquets on display. As you settle in for the evening, let's deepen your state of relaxation with a short wind-down exercise. Tonight's wind-down is a visualization, when you're ready, let's begin. So 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're 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. There's a curtain in the back of the market with a sign hanging on it, which reads Ikebana. Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arranging. Several stools sit in a circle, and on each stool sits a dish with a carefully-designed flower arrangement. In one, and iris sweeps over to one side, like a wave crashing. In another, two orchids vibrate brightly, a big space between them, like a breath. A stick of incense is lit in a small red dish. There's a sense of balance, of control. The universe reflected back in the...