Sleeper Mountain

Welcome to Sleeper Mountain. Now, there's no denying that it's a beautiful place during the day. But the nighttime's something else altogether. It might seem quiet at first, but there really is so much to see. There are people who sit for hours in front of a television. Well I could sit for hours just looking at this view. To me, it's the best entertainment there is. You stay still for long enough, you're guaranteed to see something interesting. And that's more than you can say for your TV. Before we go on, I think it's nice to begin with a little wind-down exercise. For tonight's wind down, you're going to use your imagination. So, whether it's been a busy day or a calm one, this is an opportunity to just put everything down, to let go of any inner charter and just find a place of rest in both the body and the mind. Just get yourself comfortable in bed, taking a moment to pause and be still. And when you're ready, just taking a big, deep breath. Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. And as you breathe out, just allowing the body to sink down into your bed. Feeling the weight of the body. Allowing thoughts to come and go. Just imagining a steady flow of warm sunlight. Just 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, ease as it continues to travel up through the body. Up past the waist. To the back. And the stomach. It's as though it just washes away any discomfort. It continues up through the chest and the 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. Night falls like a blanket over Sleeper Mountain. Shadows pour down at slopes, catching and pooling beyond the boulders and trees and gathering in ravines and gullies. As the sun sets beyond the far ridge, you can see how the mountain got its name. Seen in silhouette, the ridge across from us looks like the profile of a sleeping man. You can make out the sharp point of his nose, the round peak of his chin against the bright clouds picked out against the sky by the setting sun. It's as though some giant chose this place to rest his body and slept and slept until in time he was grown over with trees and grass, drowsing here for all eternity. The mountain...