Starlight Diner

Good evening and welcome to the Starlight Diner, the perfect roadside oasis, on this warm, clear night. From a distance, you might not think to stop at this local greasy spoon, but something about the Starlight Diner draws you in. A pink neon sign at the edge of the parking lot announces its presence. Its warm glow washes over the people inside and dances across the navy, candlelit tabletops. The booths, made from soft indigo flannel, are stationed beneath a large dome glass ceiling, offering guests an unmatched view of the stars above as they enjoy their meals. Without the competition of city lights, you can take your time counting the constellations above while sipping on a milkshake. It is both a resting place and a chance to marvel at the great beyond. As you settle into your corner booth, let's begin the evening with a short wind down exercise. 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 and 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 conditions for gentle, restful sleep. So to begin, just take a moment or two to get comfortable. Make sure you're nice and cool. Just starting with some 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 feeling the weight of the body pressing you 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 to 10, you can stop and start again at one. And remember, any time 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, note it as feeling, and return to the breath. 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. A tall chrome rectangle with rounded corners and plexiglass windows sits between the front door and the host's stand. A soft pink light illuminates the contents of this box, plastic binoculars, rocket ship plushies, planet-shaped beach balls. It's well known...