Rolling Dunes

Welcome to the Southern Coast of Western Australia and its stunning coastal dunes. The sky above slowly fades from blue into the very beginning of a pink sunset. There is a gentle, cool breeze, which pushes a few dancing clouds along the horizon. Despite the warmth from the last beams of sunlight, there is enough shade to keep you perfectly comfortable here. The sound of the ocean gently echoes in the distance with each wave cresting and breaking. At your back, stretching into the distant horizon, is arid country. Pink-hued salmon gums and golden grasslands. In front of you, the low rolling dunes are covered with short scrub. Banksia trees stock the landscape, their gray, green leaves, and other worldly flowering cones are like no other trees on earth. This coastline is truly striking and welcoming to any visitor who is lucky enough to find themselves here, seeking out a sense of peace and calm. But before we look deeper to see what other treasures the dunes are hiding, let's pause for a short wind down exercise. Tonight's exercise is a really simple breathing exercise. So when you're ready, let's begin. So first, get yourself comfortable. Now just bringing the attention to the breath, just noticing where you feel it, in the nose, the throat, the chest, the diaphragm. You're nice and relaxed. We're going to be taking a deep breath in for four, holding it for four, and then breathing out for six. So are you ready? Let's begin. In for four, two, three, four. Hold it for four, two, three, four. Now breathing out for six, two, three, four, five, six. In for four, two, three, four. Holding for four, two, three, four. Out for six, two, three, four, five, six. In for four, two, three, four. Holding for four, two, three, four. Out for six, two, three, four, five, six. In for four, two, three, four. Holding for four, two, three, four. Out for six, two, three, four, five, six. Great. Now returning the breath to normal. Here is a perfect rock to sit and watch the waves. The rocks here are lovely, dividing a white sand beach from another landscape sparkling with quartz, flecked with pink, black, and white, rounded like river rocks, like sleeping elephants sprayed with diamond dust. The land is ancient here. The rocks, the bones of the land, have been here longer than counted time. They were there when the sea level rose after the ice age, greeting the water like a long lost friend when it came to visit. You can feel your bones relaxing as you sit in complete, perfect comfort. The waves are washing towards your seat, coming close, but never quite reaching you. You feel perfectly safe and at ease. From time to time, precisely when you need it, a larger wave fills the air with a cooling spray. You can smell it, saltwater and clean air, a moment before you can feel it. The rhythm of the...