Whispering Pines

Welcome to the Forest of the Whispering Pines. The wind is blowing in the high trees and their trunks flex gracefully to accommodate it. The trees are supple. It's as though they're dancing a special dance to celebrate the wind. And it's the sound that is produced that gives the forest its name, Whispering Pines. Can you hear it? What a beautiful place this is. Before we begin, I think it's nice to start with a little wind-down. Tonight's wind-down is a visualization. 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. So, 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. 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 just gently bringing the attention back to the body. If we keep our voices down, there's every chance that we'll see some of the wildlife that make their home here. The quiet creatures of the woodland, the plants and animals, we can be like them, treading carefully and quietly through the undergrowth, invisible and not leaving a trace behind. In daylight, the pine needles are a very dark green at this time of year. Yet in the moonlight, they appear almost black. The trunks of the trees are lit in silver by the light of the gibbous moon. Ah, we're in luck. Partly shielded by a low branch, two deer stand side by side, their muzzles searching the plants on the forest floor. One is larger than the other, taller and more substantial in the chest. It's a mother and her fawn, a male, with his small horns still covered in their spring felt. They nose through the undergrowth, searching...