Sandy Cove

Sandy Cove cottage is a quaint stone house nestled on a grassy slope above a secluded beach with woods that stretch up over the ridge behind it. The view from the picture window, which looks out over the bay, perfectly encapsulates the phrase getting away from it all. From here, you can see the calm sea in a peaceful bay where the gulls call and the waves lap the shore in contemplation. There's a generosity to the window and the view it shows it. It invites you to take it all in as though it were framed, especially for you and who would refuse central generous invitation. The only thing to do is to sit back and take it all in. Before we do, let's begin with a little wind down. Tonight's wind down is an exercise we call noting. It helps to soothe the mind and once you've learned it, you can even use it if you wake up in the night. We're going to be counting our breaths and then just gently noting thoughts and feelings as they arise. We're not trying to change them. We're simply labeling thinking as thinking, feeling as feeling. It may sound incredibly simple, but it can help to create distance between ourselves and the thought. ourselves and the feeling, so we don't get so involved in it. That in turn creates a more restful state of mind. In other words, the perfect state of mind for gentle restful sleep. So to begin with, just take a moment or two to get comfortable, make sure you're nice and cool. As starting with some nice, big, deep breaths, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. And with the next out-breath, allow the breath to return to its natural rhythm, in and out through the nose and just feeling the weight of the body, pressing down into your bed. And in your own time, starting to count the breaths as they pass. One, with the rise. Two, with the fall. Just up to a count of 10. When you get 10, you can stop and start again at one. And remember, anytime you get distracted, the moment you realize you're distracted by thought, simply note it thinking and return to the breath, or if a feeling arises, feeling and return to the breath. That noting is very gentle, not harsh at all. Think of it like a feather, just gently touching the surface of a crystal glass. I'm going to give you a few moments just to keep counting the breath and noting any thoughts and feelings that arise. That's great. As you drove down the winding hill through the forest to get to the cottage, a feeling of peace descended amid the soothing green light of the trees and the scent of wild garlic. Occasionally, an overgrown bush or stray bow would brush against the sides of your car with a pleasant somehow encouraging rustle, as if to say, "Nearly there"....