Slow Train

There's something about taking a slow train that's satisfying on a fundamental level. Okay, it's not an express, but there are no delays on the line. We're just chugging slowly through the landscape and in due course, we will arrive. There's a nice inevitability about it. Of course, one boards a train to get from A to B. That means, just by sitting in one place you're doing a perfect job. You're free to relax, enjoy the passing scenery. Everything that could be done, has been done. All that's left is the pure enjoyment of the land unrolling around you like a never-ending tapestry. To get us in the mood for this journey, I think it's always nice to begin with a little wind down. Tonight's exercise is a really simple breathing exercise. So, when you're ready, let's begin. So first, get comfortable in your bed. 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. A train cruises through a range of foothills. It must have rained here recently, drifting through your window, the air is fresh and almost smells damp like laundry drying on a line. Great puffs of white cloud float over the foothills as if the clouds were round sponges run clean of water. The grass on the hills is long and green, growing wild. As the grasses ripple in the wind, you spot the sun glinting on the yellow undersides of each leaf. This is how you can follow a breeze across the range of foothills. A breeze will begin at the top of one hill, then gently roll onto the next and the next. Your eyes trace the curves of the earth as if there were thousands of silky threads, these leaves of grass weave into a tapestry rolling by your window. The train slows down as it passes through a small town, a town of cottages and gardens. The train tracks run behind a neighborhood. You can see roofs and chimneys. You can see the backyard fences of all those little cottages. Plants peek over the fences sometimes. Look at those snapdragons waving over a red brick wall. From here, you can see the long green stems and little...