Material World

Follow the winding river that flows through the center of Nighttown, and you'll come upon Material World, the town's preeminent fabric shop. Mr. Singh, the owner, has traveled far and wide to collect the world's finest fabrics, silks, cotton, and cashmere, rugs, tapestries, and wallpaper. As the sun begins to set, customers come from up and down the river to shop in his luxurious lamp-lit store. There's always gentle music coming from within, the sounds of a flute, the steady drone of a pump organ. Before we step inside, let's pause for a brief 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. As night falls, Mr. Singh lights the lamps inside the store. He shuffles over the soft carpets from one wall to the next, flipping switches. Some of the lamps are shaped like large glass petals. Some are carved and tall, standing on the floor, and some are placed on tables. Others have small fabric lampshades like upturned cups. As he turns them on one by one, the lamps illuminate sumptuous fabrics of all textures and hues. Silks, cashmeres, and soft cotton, rolls of carpets, sheaves of wallpaper, and swatches for upholstery. After lighting the lamps, Mr. Singh walks to a teak table in one corner. On the table, there is a small bowl of water with a flower spinning gently on the...