Tropical Island Grove

(rain pattering) There's a tropical island where boats bob gently in the harbor, and the air carries the scent of salt and fruit. Here, sounds of the jungle mingles with the pitter-patter of rain on broad leaves, and fruit grows wild and generous. (rain pattering) Known as The Island Grove, it's a place where visitors can taste what grows, listen to the trees, and rest in the hush of awaiting hammock. (rain pattering) Before we head over, let's take a brief moment for a 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 are going to be counting our breaths and then just gently noting thoughts and feelings as they arise. (rain pattering) We're not trying to change them. We're simply labeling thinking as thinking, feeling as feeling. (rain pattering) 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. Just starting with some nice, big, deep breaths. Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. (rain pattering) And with the next out breath, allow the breath to return to its natural rhythm, in and out through the nose, and just feeling the weight of the body pressing down into your bed. (rain pattering) 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, anytime you get distracted, the moment you realize you're distracted by thought, simply noted thinking, and return to the breath. Or if a feeling arises, 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. (rain pattering) (rain continues pattering) (rain continues pattering) That's great. (rain pattering) The Island Grove isn't marked by gates or signs, yet those who come here often speak of crossing an invisible threshold, (rain pattering) the moment when everything starts to slow down, as if a favorite book has just been opened. (insects humming) Among today's list of visitors was a familiar one. Dr. Ivan Murray, a soft-spoken agroforestry researcher and scientist, along with a handful of his students. (insects humming) He doesn't look much like a professor, and perhaps that's the point. His dusty olive coat is sun-bleached...