Living Biodome

(bird shrieking) (rain pattering) (wind howling) Within the sheltered walls of the living biodome, a scheduled storm moves across a tropical expanse. Mist clings to the air, softening the glow of bioluminescent fungi that shine like an enchanted cosmos. Rain falls steadily, nourishing the life within, while a bright green tree frog with yellow webbed feet sits on a curled passion flower vine, waiting for the storm to pass. (wind whistling) (rain pattering) Before we explore, let's take a moment for a brief wind-down exercise. Tonight's wind-down is a visualization. So 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. (wind whistling) (rain pattering) 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. (wind whistling) (rain pattering) 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. (wind whistling) (rain pattering) When night settles over the Astral Junction Desert, the sands turn cool beneath the evening breeze. Colossal cacti with spined arms stand tall, keeping watch over the desert's dwellers and its wanderers. Beyond the violet pink neon glow of the Starlight Diner and not far from the faint hum of the desert planetarium, the living biodome rises. Its expansive enclosure holding an ecosystem untouched by the world outside. A vast dome of tempered glass curves like the shell of a sleeping giant. Here nature and design move in harmony. Between the diverse climate domes, short passageways lead through airlock systems that open and close with a soft hiss. Sliding glass doors help keep the air temperature and humidity of each habitat...