Vietnam by Moonlight

(drum beating) (rain splattering) (birds cooing) (rain pattering) Rain clouds stretch gauzily over the tropical coast of Vietnam, catching on the tops of the limestone islands. A sliver of moonlight is visible through the drifts of rain, turning the sea lavender and gray. A boat threads its way through the water, its wake peeling off in slow motion towards the shore, leaving a long arc behind it. On shore, the rainforest hums quietly, warm with rain. (rain pattering continues) Before we venture further in, let's pause for a brief wind down. 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. (rain pattering continues) 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 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. (gentle 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. (gentle rain pattering continues) 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 note it, thinking and return to the breath. Or if a feeling arises, feeling and return to the breath. That 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 pattering continues) That's great. (rain pattering continues) A bicycle slowly rolls past glistening puddles and comes to a stop at the entrance to the night market. (people chattering) Under the cool blue light of a street lamp, a young woman steps off her bicycle and wheels the bike alongside her as she enters the night market on foot. (people chattering) The air is misty and fresh with rain. (people chattering) A man plays the moon lute on the rain slicked sidewalk plucking the strings in a low mournful melody....