Sunset Cruise

Hello, and welcome aboard the Sunset Cruise, a serene river tour through the Pacific's wetlands. Settle back and relax as you float down the still, salty water, which breathes life into the ancient mangroves that line the river. The mangroves aren't the only special feature of this tropical landscape. As you gaze down river, you'll spot cranes stretching, dancing, and playing in the floodplains. Birds, insects, horses, and water buffalo have all found a home along the river, too. They're just as comfortable here as you are, gliding atop the water without a care in the world. But before continuing on your journey down the river, let's take a moment to do 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 out 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, making 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, allowing 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 the count of 10. When you get to 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, 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. At the edge of the water where the river gives way to shallow floodplains, two tall, pale gray birds are performing a curious dance. These majestic creatures are known as brolga. They have long legs and beaks and their slender necks curve like a swan's. Each has a distinctive stripe of red plumage across the top of its head, like they've donned matching headbands for their performance. And my goodness, it's a fine piece...