Hummingbird Bungalow

Welcome to the garden of the hummingbird bungalow. It's not a big garden, barely more than a yard, in fact, with a single lawn, a few flower beds, and an abundance of flowers and fruits, but it is nonetheless a special place, an oasis of peace and quiet. Just catching sight of it through the fence seems like an invitation to relax, to stop, and, as the saying goes, smell the roses. Before we explore the garden, I always like to do a little 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 just 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, just allowing the body to sink down into your bed, feeling the weight of the body, allowing thoughts to come and go, just 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 quality is of warmth, space, and ease. As it continues to travel up through the body, up past the waist, to the back and the stomach, it's as though it just washes away any discomfort. It continues up through the chest and the 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 the throat, into the head and face, all the way 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. For all these nectars, this garden is loved by the hummingbirds of the neighborhood. There's one fluttering about now and his feathers are so colorful. You could imagine that the bird is made from tiny rubies and emeralds. The sun shines on every tiny feather. Notice how his wings wave shimmering in the air around him. He does seem to hum doesn't he? This hummingbird glides to his own tune swirling from trees to vines and back again. Bright as a scarf, he loops and loops all around the garden as though the bird embroiders the air with silk. He knows where all the sweets are, swooping along the pine trellis, where the honeysuckle sprawls. The flowers here are soft, yellow and white like bowls of butter and cream on...