Vineyard Sunset

Hello, and thank you for joining us this evening at the vineyard. We're happy you could be here. The view from the patio at this time of day is magical. The sun has just begun its journey below the horizon, leaving a dreamy, orange glow in its wake. On the hills before you vast fields of grapevines are arranged in tight rows that stretch to the horizon and beyond, dipping and curving along the natural contours of the landscape. At the far end of the patio sits a large stack of aged wooden barrels. The interior of each barrel hums with activity and transformation as the sugars from last year's harvest break down and take on their new form. In the stillness of the approaching night the presence of life in these barrels is nearly audible. Now, as you settle in for the evening let us deepen your state of relaxation with 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 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, 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. Make 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 allow 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 a count of 10. 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 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. A stream gently bubbles as it snakes around the periphery of the vineyard. Nestled in between rocks and trees, the slim stream almost seems to be quietly guarding the grape vines, moving slowly to ensure that...