Himalayan Mist

A cool rain sweeps over the porch of the Somalian mountain cottage. In the corner of the garden, a small bonfire crackles and hisses in the mist. This is the perfect time for a visit as the colors of the evening light are brilliant from the cottage's porch. the cushion on the gently swaying porch swing offers each visitor a soft place to rest. Tonight, out of all the sights and sounds in the mountain garden, something rare is happening. Though the rain is falling, it is so light that the constellations can still be seen in the night sky as the clouds slowly move across it. The pole star, also known as north star, glints through a rift in the clouds. The cottage and the landscape around it are a perfect place to relax. There is so much more to see. But before we do, let's take a moment for a short wind-down exercise. Tonight's wind-down is a visualization. So when you're ready, let's begin. So no matter what's been going on today, whether it's been a busy day or a calm one, this is an opportunity to put everything down, to let go of any inner chatter, and find a place of rest in both the body and the mind. So first, get yourself comfortable in bed, just taking a moment to pause and be still. And when you're ready, taking a big, deep breath, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. And as you breathe out, allowing the body to sink down into your bed, feeling the weight of the body, allowing thoughts to come and go. Now imagining a steady flow of warm sunlight flowing down through the body, dissolving any tension, any discomfort as it begins to fill the body, starting with the toes, moving up through the feet and the legs. Being filled with sunlight, the qualities of warmth, space, and ease as it continues to travel up through the body, up past the waist, through the back and the stomach. It's as though it washes away any discomfort. It continues up through the chest and the upper back, into the shoulders and down the arms, all the way down to the hands and fingers. A sense of relief in the body and stillness in the mind as it continues to travel up through the neck and throat, into the head and face, all the way up to the very top of the body until there's nothing other than that sense of stillness remaining. And now just gently bringing the attention back to the body. Flights of going birds head to their nests in formation overhead. All around, night insects begin their steady music. At the edge of the horizon, the sun is a vibrant red. It casts long beams of light up to the heavens. And this brightness illuminates the sprawling green of the garden. The clouds are a lovely shade of mauve in a marmalade sky. The canvas of...