Sundown Place

Sundown Place is a beautiful red brick apartment complex, built around a central courtyard in a quiet part of the city, a leafy, peaceful spot, despite its urban setting. Its residents are considerate, neighborly people, occasionally ever so slightly eccentric, and whether you're just a visitor or a new arrival, they're just so welcoming and friendly. There's such a lovely view from the windows here. Always something to look at, out in the courtyard or in the apartments opposite you. As the sun sinks below the roofs and evening takes hold. Before we begin enjoying the view, it's nice to prepare with a little wind down. Tonight's wind down is an exercise we call noting. It helps to sooth 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 and feeling has 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. And just starting with some nice, big deep breaths, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. And with the next out breath, just allow the breath to return to its natural rhythm, in and out through the nose. 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. And 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 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. It's early evening and you're gazing out of a window, actually a tall set of French doors, 1930s style, opening out onto a dainty balcony. There's just room enough for two people to perch out there on the rustic pair of bistro chairs that someone picked up at a flea market. For now, though, you're inside. The doors are slightly ajar and you can feel the warmth of the apartment at your back and the cool air from outside,...