Windswept Lighthouse

At the end of a long coastal road, where the smell of ocean salt carries in the breeze, visitors can witness the life and rituals of a small white lighthouse with a grand emerald door surrounded by the coastal flora and a Garvey's that have made the sandy cliff side its home. The light house has protected the harbor for decades with its strong beacon. The lighthouse keeper mills about inside of the lighthouse as he complete his last few tasks for the night. He goes window by window making sure each is secured and locked so as not to let in the night breeze. He pauses to take in the view. It's a strong beam of light illuminating the peaceful scenery beyond him every few moments like clockwork. The lighthouse keeper closes the last window and heads to his quarters where a steaming cup of ginger tea waits for him. The cup steams in his hands as he feeds a few bits of wood into the fireplace. He sits on a well-worn inviting armchair and watches the fire crackle as he finishes his tea. I've been to this light house many times and know its details well. But before we explore them together, let's begin 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, 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 a 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, 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, 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...