Exploring Mindfulness
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Hi, I'm Jessica Porter and welcome back to Sleep Magic, a podcast where I help you find the magic of your own mind, helping you to sleep better and live better. Happy New Year, everyone. Thank you all so much for being here. Thank you for subscribing, for spreading the word, and giving yourself the gift of relaxation this past year. And that's a gift to everyone around you.

So, yay. I got a review recently from someone named Spudstat in the UK, which makes me not know whether this is a boy or a girl, but they go on to say, I love your stories and I'm only 10 and I've been telling all my friends not that I think they care. My favorite story was Secret Garden. Please do more. P.S. Those who don't listen are suckers. P.P.S.

It soothes me in the noisy classroom when I remember to relax. Wow. Thank you, Spudstat, whoever you are. A, I'm so happy that you're learning this skill at such a young age. And you can use it anywhere, anytime. And that's the theme of tonight's episode. So thank you for this wonderful segue into the episode.

Before we get started, let's hear a quick word from our sponsors who make this free content possible. Tonight, we're exploring mindfulness. So, once again, we're in a new year and this is a celebration of all the practicing you've done in the past year. If you've been listening to Sleep Magic for a while, you're getting really good at coming back home to your body, coming back home to your breath. And that seems so important these days.

Like, I can't believe how quickly the world is changing. In real time, big changes occurring every day, and yet, here we are, as humans. We have the same brains that our ancient ancestors had. We live under the same sun, the same moon, and the things that deliver the basic pleasures of life are the same. Well, minus the dopamine hits we get from those thumbs up online.

My point is, we still live in bodies. The human experience comes through a human body. Always has, always will. And that's good news. And you are coming home to your body. Tonight and every night. Dropping back in. No matter what adventures in consciousness you had today. No matter how far away from yourself you might have felt at times.

And I hope you're seeing that by coming home to your body, things are becoming more peaceful. Things are slowing down in a good way. And in my experience, living from this more relaxed place, everything gets better. Or at least I have a shot at letting things get better from this place of relaxation. So tonight we're going to practice this presence, this mindfulness. Although I actually prefer to call it bodyfulness.

And we're going to practice it in a moment of your waking life. I will encourage you to pick a moment in your morning routine. Maybe it's when you're holding your morning mug of tea, or when you first get in the car, or maybe when you look up into the sky. I don't know. Your subconscious mind will make a good choice for you. And we're going to bring this relaxation, this presence, this bodyfulness to this moment so that you can fall into it every morning.

And then you'll be able to cultivate these moments at other points in the day. You've earned that here, practicing before you fall asleep. So let's spread this magic into your day and into this new year. Happy New Year. So get yourself into a safe and comfortable position and let's begin. Allow your eyes to close easily and gently and bring your awareness to your breathing. Here you are again with your own breath.

Just letting your awareness rest gently on your breath. And even having asked your awareness to rest on your breath, it's gonna move around a bit. That's what it does. So be nice to yourself because you may need to ask your awareness again and again to come back to your breath. Beautiful. So now let's bring your awareness up into your eyelids and just allow your eyelids to become nice and heavy.

just hang out in that heaviness for a moment. I like to imagine that they're like the big, heavy, red velvet curtains on a stage in a theater with those little ball bearings sewn into the bottom. And as your eyelids get heavier and heavier, I'd like you to accept the suggestion that your eyelids are so heavy that they simply will not open. And I know that sounds ridiculous, but I'm just asking you to imagine that they can't open because your imagination...

is the real key to your magic mind. So accepting the suggestion that your eyelids are so heavy that they will not open, I want you to test your eyelids to make sure they won't open by wiggling your eyebrows. So just give them a nice tug while your eyes remain closed as you pretend you can't open them. Perfect. Good. Now this lovely heavy relaxation you have around your eyes

That's going to begin spreading through your body. Now, as it spreads back into your head, just feel that lovely relaxation moving down into your brain. Imagine it taking over every single cell of your brain. Just feel your head as it gets heavier and heavier on the pillow.

It feels so nice to let your head relax, good, as the muscles of your face become soft and relaxed. As you imagine warm waves of relaxation lapping up against the beach of your mind. Feel those warm waves of relaxation lapping up against the beach of your mind. As all mental tension disappears,

just disappears. Great. You're doing great. And this wonderful warm relaxation that you began sensing around your eyes, now let's imagine it moving down into your throat, the muscles of your neck, down deep into your shoulders. As the muscles of your shoulders begin softening, getting heavy, releasing any tension they've been carrying during the day.

and all of the responsibilities that you carry on those shoulders. The responsibilities you've felt over this past year, and responsibilities you feel you must carry into this new year. Responsibilities you feel to your family, your work, your community. Responsibilities you feel to the world at large, to the planet, and the future. Just for right now,

Let them drop to the floor. You can pick any or all of them up in the morning. But for right now, you are allowed to let go. You are allowed to release tension, burdens, and heaviness. You and every other creature on this planet, let's go into rest every night. You don't need to earn it.

or deserve it. It's in your DNA, all of nature, contracting into action and expanding into rest. Contracting into action and expanding into rest. Just as you expand right now, giving yourself this delicious gift of relaxation. As the relaxation moves down your arms now,

Just imagine it flowing down your arms as they are becoming nice and heavy, heavy. And any tension you may have carried in your arms during the day has disappeared. And your hands are becoming nice and heavy. And any tension you may have carried in your hands during the day has disappeared as your fingers become nice and heavy, heavy, heavy.

As your body is relaxing, your mind is relaxing. And as your mind is relaxing, your body is relaxing. And as your body is relaxing, is relaxing. As you automatically go deeper and deeper. And as you listen to this recording, you may still be hearing sounds going on around you in your environment. But as you know,

That's okay. Because from now on, when you hear a sound in your environment, you're letting it take you deeper and deeper into relaxation. It's a cool trick that you've learned and it can work in any environment. Or some sound that used to irritate you now is taking you deeper. Because you decide that it does. Because you are using your mind

in an intelligent way, in ways that work for you. So as you bring your awareness to any sounds going on around you right now, let them take you deeper. Very good. And the only sound you're paying any real attention to is my voice. But my voice is also taking you deeper and deeper. So deep that you let go of it at a certain point.

Maybe you already have as you drift and float and dream. And that wonderful warm relaxation is moving down into your chest now, warming and expanding your whole chest cavity, warming and softening your heart. And any emotional tension that may have built up in your heart or in your chest during this day has disappeared.

And you're just present, just present. As that warm relaxation moves down deeper now, deep into your belly. And as your whole belly releases, muscles letting go, lower back relaxing, your pelvis feeling heavy. Any feelings that may have built up in your belly today, any tension that may have been stored there,

has disappeared and your whole body is sinking deeper and deeper into the bed. As that warm relaxation moves down deep into your legs, flowing down your thighs, through your knees, down your calves, as your legs become nice and heavy, heavy. And any tension that may have built up in your lower body

is flowing down through your legs, out your feet. Your feet are becoming nice and heavy and relaxed. And your feet are on vacation for the night. As the relaxation moves down into your toes, every toe feeling heavy, heavy. So now that you're deeply relaxed, we're gonna play in your imagination. I'd like you to imagine

that you are waking up tomorrow morning. Just notice the first few moments you experience after a good night's sleep, after getting deep, deep rest. How do you feel first thing in the morning? What does your room look like? What are some of the sounds going on around you? What are you touching? And now I'd like you to imagine

that you're beginning your morning routine. What's the first thing you do in the morning? And the second thing? And the third? You may not do these things in the same order every day, but they are things that you do do every day. And from within this morning routine, I'd like you to find one moment in one activity

Let's choose a moment that you experience almost every day. Maybe it's looking at yourself in the mirror while brushing your teeth. Perhaps it's standing in a hot shower or dipping a tea bag into hot water. Maybe you're making your bed. Just choose something that's simple. Something you do again and again and again every day.

There's no right or wrong, and there's no perfect choice. Just allow your mind to settle in one moment. You can change it later if you want to. So, I'd like you to be in this moment, and perhaps up until now, you haven't really paid much attention to this moment or how you feel in it. Maybe your mind has generally wandered or raced ahead

into your plans for the day while you've been in this moment before. That's okay. We're going to be in this moment in a new way, a different way. So as you experience this moment, bring your consciousness into your feet. Feel what they're making contact with. And now bring your consciousness into your hands and just notice what they're doing or touching or sensing.

good. You've been in this place thousands of times, just as you've been in your body your entire life, and now you're just being in this moment, just slowing the whole thing and dropping in to this moment. Everything has slowed down because you have all the time in the world. You have the time

in the world. Now that everything has slowed down, notice what you're seeing. It doesn't matter if it's interesting or boring. What are you looking at? Really study it for a moment. Take it in. Take your time. What are you hearing in this moment? Is there a sound associated with this activity? Or sounds within your environment?

You know you've been in this place many, many times. So just listen, listen and take your time. Are you smelling anything in this moment? Just notice. Are you tasting anything in this moment? Just notice. And now I'd like you to notice what your body is doing, how you feel within your body.

Just let yourself relax and feel at home in your own skin. You're safe. It's okay to slow down. Take your time. It feels nice to just be. It's okay to just be. It's okay to have no agenda, no thoughts, no plan, and just be as you are just being.

in this moment. As you allow your awareness now to drop into your heart, are you experiencing a feeling in this moment? If so, let yourself feel it without judgment or pressure. And as the feeling expresses itself, you go deeper and deeper, just letting the feeling be.

Now allow your awareness to drop deeper into your belly. How are you feeling deep inside in your belly? And whatever feeling is in there, let it expand and release without judgment as you go deeper and deeper. From now on, whenever you are in this moment, in this activity in the morning, you will relax

and settle into your body, experiencing your senses and simply being. From now on, every time you're in this moment, you will settle, sense, and be. From now on, whenever you're in this moment, just as you are in this moment right now, you will settle, sense, and be. And every time you find yourself

In this moment, it will get easier and easier to settle, sense, and be. This is your new way of being, a new practice that you're cultivating gently every day. In this moment, you are using the power of your magic mind. From now on, when I find myself in this moment, I will settle, sense,

and be. Every time I find myself in this moment, it gets easier to settle, sense, and be. Settle, sense, and be good. And now you're coming back to bed again as you feel your head against the pillow, your body heavy on the mattress as you go deeper and deeper

and you will notice these words bubbling up into your consciousness during the day, seemingly out of nowhere. Settle, sense, and be. Settle, sense, settle, sense, and be. As you are naturally stringing together moment after moment of this experience, enjoy this presence as you settle

Sense and be.