Tropical Island Grove

(rain humming gently) Welcome back to the Island Grove where the trees grow tall and rain-washed leaves are lush beside bright fruit blossoms. Follow the smooth paths winding through the island's quiet groves. There's no rush here. Only the soft chatter of the jungle and the occasional splash of a frog leaping from leaf to leaf. Before we wander around, let's take a moment for a wind down exercise. For tonight's wind down, you're going to use your imagination, so get your imagination ready and let's begin. So no matter what's been going on today, whether it's been a busy day or a calm one, this is an opportunity to put everything down, to let go of any inner chatter and find a place of rest in both the body and the mind. So first, get yourself comfortable in bed, just taking a moment to pause and be still. And when you're ready, taking a big deep breath, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. And as you breathe out, allowing the body to sink down into your bed, feeling the weight of the body, allowing thoughts to come and go. Now, imagining a steady flow of warm sunlight flowing down through the body, dissolving any tension, any discomfort as it begins to fill the body, starting with the toes, moving up through the feet and the legs being filled with sunlight. The qualities of warmth, space, and ease as it continues to travel up through the body, up past the waist, to the back and the stomach. It's as though it washes away any discomfort. (rain continues humming gently) It continues up through the chest and the back, into the shoulders and down the arms, all the way down to the hands and fingers. A sense of relief in the body, and stillness in the mind as it continues to travel up through the neck and the throat, into the head and face, all the way to the very top of the body until there's nothing other than that sense of stillness remaining. And now, chest gently bringing the attention back to the body. In a welcoming patch of the island where banana trees arc into shaded nooks with clusters of fruit that hang like nature's chandeliers, and vines look like green jungle ribbons. There's a small wooden shelter built by hand. The roof is thatched in a tidy leaf-layered pattern, and from beneath its open overhangs, the scent of lemongrass and ginger slowly dances through the air. Inside, Mara is preparing tea. Her hands move slowly and intentionally, slicing yellow discs of ginger root with ease. Every movement is practiced and steady. It's a quiet ritual that always ends with comfort in a cup. The birds nearby converse with one another, from branch to branch, like nature's record player gently looping through the evening. Around here, Mara is not known as a farmer. Caretaker is more fitting, or perhaps teacher if you're lucky enough to...