Listening Lounge & Tea

Around the foothills of Sleeper Mountain, dark clouds gather to signal a long night of rain. And a small village turns their lights on early to help guide bike riders and pedestrians home. Ralphie, the owner of Nostalgia Listening Bar, turns on the blue neon light above the round wooden door to signal he's open for business. The word nostalgia glows in the damp night, welcoming all who pass by. And it's here we find ourselves escaping the weather for a sonic experience curated especially for us. Before we settle in, let's begin our evening with a short wind down exercise. Tonight's wind down is a visualization. So when you are 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 are 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 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. Outside rain continues to stream along the neon lights of business signs and down old fashioned street lamps. Droplets fall from the branches of ancient trees into puddles on the sidewalk. All around couples huddle together under umbrellas, and people use whatever they can to stay dry. Newspapers, backpacks and jackets are all fair game in this kind of downpour. There are few places to escape the weather in a hurry. The umbrellas attached to rows of mobile food carts create a manmade canopy. And for the lucky few, restaurant stalls can host several patrons at a time for Ramen, Yakitori, or Sushi. Nearby a 24-hour laundromat becomes a place of calm for drying drenched shirts and...