Get Sleepy in Casco Bay | Guided Hypnosis for Better Sleep
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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. Hi everyone, thank you so much for being here. We've heard from a bunch of people lately, so I just want to give some shout outs. Cindy in Switzerland has ADHD and writes that Sleep Magic is really helping with sleep. She hardly ever makes it past the introduction.

which means you're sleeping now, Cindy. Good night. Someone who calls themselves PS6 goes to sleep each night to sleep magic with their chihuahua named Gomez. Hello, Gomez. I love a chihuahua. A college student who recently experienced a big loss has left their second sleep magic review. And this person's been listening for a few years now, and it's helping them to get some rest in this difficult time.

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So to help us, we brought in a reverse auctioneer, which is apparently a thing. Mint Mobile Unlimited Premium Wireless. I bet you get 30, 30, I bet you get 30, I bet you get 20, 20, 20, I bet you get 20, 20, I bet you get 15, 15, 15, 15, just 15 bucks a month. Sold! Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. $45 upfront payment equivalent to $15 per month. New customers on first three-month plan only. Taxes and fees extra. Speeds lower above 40 gigabytes each detail.

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You know, I cite all these reviews for a couple of reasons. First, because it helps people hear that this works. These little proofs are actually their own little convincers that help with people who feel uncomfortable about using a hypnosis podcast, because hypnosis has kind of a weird rap, but the truth is, hypnosis is a totally natural state of mind.

I also quote them because they are a testament to you guys, to the listeners. A lot of people write and say that this has become a practice in their lives, that they're listening regularly and getting really acclimated to the relaxation. And I think that's important because our minds aren't these light bulbs that we just switch on and switch off.

For big shifts in our lives, we need to show up and repeat the process. And then you begin to experience changes. And then momentum starts to build in that new direction. So if you've been having trouble sleeping, know that you can always come here and join us in this practice. And it works. So thank you everybody for letting us know.

Thanks for listening, giving feedback, subscribing. If you want an ad-free experience of sleep magic with even more content, please consider subscribing. Okay, tonight, get sleepy in Casco Bay. I was in Maine recently, and I went out on my way to do a little hike that I really enjoy. Now, if you know me well, you know that I'm no hiker. I once said to a friend, I don't like walking on angles.

And that's true. So please don't invite me out for your four-hour sun-soaked Sunday hike in the mountains. I will cry. But this hike, and I'm putting air quotes around the word here, is very gentle, pretty flat, and very beautiful. Really, it's a walk around Mackworth Island. So let's rewind. Portland, Maine is on a bay called Casco Bay.

which is in the Gulf of Maine, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. In this bay are more than 100 islands, including Mackworth. But unlike the other islands, Mackworth can be reached by car or by foot via a simple, longish causeway. Once there, you can park in a small lot and you begin your roughly one-mile walk around the island. So for non-hikers like me, it is a true blessing.

Close to the city, easy to get to, and yet an island with all the magical and remote qualities that come with them. So tonight we walk around Mackworth Island. So get yourself into a safe and comfortable position and let's begin. Allow your eyes to close easily and gently. And just bring your awareness to your breath. Yet again, this is part of our practice. The focusing of the mind.

but it doesn't have to be this laser focus with tons of energy behind it. It's more like you're inviting the mind to rest on a certain spot just for a moment. It's a delicate, soft focus. And now I invite you to bring your awareness up into your eyelids. As you imagine that your eyelids are becoming very sleepy and heavy,

Just imagine that your eyelids are heavy and sleepy and they're becoming loose and limp and relaxed. And now with this heaviness in your eyelids, I'd like you in a moment to accept the suggestion that your eyelids are in fact so relaxed that they will not open. And then I'm going to ask you to test your eyelids to make sure they won't open by wiggling your eyebrows while your eyes remain closed. And this is just a little trick that we do every night.

to help us step into our imaginations. So now, with your eyes closed, wiggle your eyebrows. Good. Give them a little tug. Perfect. Excellent. Now this lovely relaxation you have around your eyes, let's imagine it moving back into your head. Just feel it sinking back into your head. Imagining that warm mist moving, and now your head is feeling nice and heavy.

It feels so good to allow your head to feel heavy, like a bowling ball on the pillow, as the muscles of your face soften and let go. Your forehead softening. The muscles in your cheeks connected to your jaw loosening, softening. The muscles around your nose, muscles you don't even know that you're using when you're using them.

Relaxing, releasing, and even the muscles in your lips becoming soft and relaxed. As the relaxation moves down now into your chin, those little tiny muscles, maybe you've never paid attention to them, that can make your chin move or quiver. Imagine them softening, letting go. Good.

As we imagine this relaxation moving down into your throat, your neck, the muscles of your neck softening and relaxing. And now it's spilling down into your shoulders and you feel the slight heaviness in your shoulders as they let go of the day. And as the muscles of your shoulders are releasing, softening, melting,

The relaxation is spilling down into your arms now, through your biceps and triceps, through your elbows, down your forearm as your arms become heavy, heavy, like they're made of marble. As the relaxation moves down now into the palms of your hands and they feel warm and open, perhaps they even tingle a little.

As the relaxation moves down now into your fingers, every single finger feeling full, heavy, and relaxed. And if you've been listening to this podcast for a while, you are already taking yourself deeper and deeper with every word that I say, just like any habit you've ever practiced. Speaking your mother tongue, riding a bike, brushing your teeth, you're getting better.

and better at letting yourself relax at listening to my voice and letting it be a cue to take you deeper and deeper just as it is right now as you drift off on your own journey of sleep your birthright this weird inner freedom that we all have and any sounds that you're hearing going on around you

are also taking you deeper and deeper as they simply pass through you. Good. And now, let's imagine the relaxation moving down inside your torso, moving down into your chest cavity. A warm mist spiraling inside of you, surrounding and supporting your heart as you allow this mist to hold

your heart, as you hold your own heart and give yourself some love. Good. As the mist moves down deep into your belly and your pelvis is feeling heavy on the bed and the muscles of your lower back have released and relaxed, your buttocks are relaxing and any muscles you may hold unconsciously during the day in your belly are letting go.

As you take a nice deep breath from deep within, as you imagine that relaxing mist moving down your legs, down through your thighs, your knees, your calves, so that your legs are feeling heavy, heavy, like they're made of marble. As the relaxation moves down into your feet, the soles of your feet are feeling warm and open.

Maybe they even tingle a little as you allow that mist to move all the way down into your toes. Every toe completely relaxed. Imagine you are walking in Falmouth, Maine, a few short miles north of Portland on the shores of Casco Bay. It's a late afternoon and you feel relaxed as you look out over the water. Casco Bay is a large bay.

on the Gulf of Maine and is home to over 100 islands. It's teeming with life. You are walking along the shore next to a beautiful New England neighborhood with its clabbered houses and pretty blue shutters when you come to a two-lane causeway that stretches out over the water to an island. It's a beautiful afternoon.

and the sun is reflecting off the cold Atlantic waters. The tide is high, and the ducks are bobbing near the shore, diving for dinner. You begin walking along the causeway toward the small island, Mackworth Island, a special place for locals who come from the city to escape from the roads and the traffic and the sounds of civilization. Only 100 acres in size,

Mackworth Island is pristine, a shared secret, a hidden gem. As you get closer, you stop on the causeway. There's a gentle breeze moving across the water. It feels cool and refreshing. To your right, the sun is charting its course over Portland as it sinks into the west. You look up toward the island and see its huge trees.

oaks and pines and maples. And as you stand here, going deeper and deeper, you become still inside and you notice the very subtle movements of the leaves of the trees, their branches swaying ever so slightly in the breeze. You watch the breeze create tiny ripples on the water. Nature moves so beautifully.

You continue to walk, and as you reach the end of the causeway, you come to a little toll house, where you're greeted by a park ranger. "Good afternoon," he chirps, and points you toward a parking lot on your right, from which the path around the island begins. You walk several yards and enter the sandy little parking lot under the trees, which holds only 24 cars.

Mackworth Island is never. You find the path and begin to walk, slowly and calmly, and with every step you're going deeper and deeper into relaxation. You look up at the canopy of leaves above your head and the clear sky beyond them. You take a nice deep breath and take in the earthy scent of the trees.

mixed with the crisp, salty air of the ocean. The path winds around the edge of the island, and as you walk, you catch glimpses of the water through the trees. It's early autumn, so dried and colored leaves dot them here and there. The light of the setting sun beams through the leaves at an oblique angle, dappling the sandy trail

with light, and as you look down on the trail ahead of you, you notice that it's sparkling, literally sparkling. You stop, not sure you can trust your eyes, but when you kneel down you notice that there are chips of mica in the sand, some of them as big as a centimeter long, and they are reflecting the sunlight like the facets of a diamond.

These sparkles dance in your brain. Mackworth Island is full of surprises. This area was originally home to the Abenaki people, but in 1631, Ferdinando Gorges gifted this island to Arthur Mackworth, his deputy in Casco Bay, and it has retained his name for almost 400 years. You stand up again and close your eyes.

You hear the gentle lapping of the waves against the edge of the island and the squawks of seagulls. You open your eyes and continue to walk, and as the path moves gently uphill, you notice a handful of buildings to your left. These are the only buildings on the island, a school for the deaf that's been here since the 1950s. And as you walk past the school,

You realize you're getting higher and that the path is tracing the edge of a cliff. You come to an opening in the trees offering a beautiful view of the bay. As you stand here, you see the silhouette of Portland's skyline in the distance. The sky above the city is turning a delicate, beautiful pink with delicate streaks of clouds floating in it.

As you look down, you see the shore of Mackworth Island, with its craggy, gray main rock known for its unique, layered formations. Along the beach, you notice tide pools and seaweed as the water splashes up against the shore. It smells beautiful. You continue your stroll along the path, feeling relaxed and serene.

You pass a young mother with her toddler and then a jogger with his dog and you go deeper and deeper into the relaxation. Deeper and deeper into your own inner world. You hear the sound of your shoes crunching along the path. You watch the sunlight playing on the mica and it makes you smile.

You move into an area of the forest dotted with birch trees, so you stop and look at one closely. Its white bark is peeling away from its trunk like parchment paper. You look up and its small leaves are beginning to yellow as they flutter in the breeze. You notice a tree that's been snapped in half by lightning, tipped over at a 90 degree angle.

like a pocket knife. As you walk on your left in the heart of the woods, you see something mysterious. Against the trunks of the trees, you see sticks and twigs and leaves in different formations, little constructions. Some look like teepees, others like lean-to's, nestled into the roots of the trees. They're decorated with rocks

and dried leaves and desiccated flowers. And as you get closer, walking into the woods, you see more and more of them. Dozens within this short stretch of forest, each clearly built with love and imagination and even whispered wishes. You are in Fairy Village of Mackworth Island, where passersby

for decades have constructed these fairy houses, creating homes for the sprites of the forest. And as you look closer at the tiny details of all the different houses, you realize that they embody the enchanting feeling of this island. A magical place hovering somewhere between the imaginary and the real.

And they take you deeper and deeper into relaxation. And you decide to make your own fairy house. You explore the forest floor, gathering some early autumn leaves, a handful of twigs and sticks, and some special, beautiful rocks. And now you're constructing your own fairy house at the base of a tree, just the way you want it to be.

and perfect for a fairy. And now you make a wish. Good. You take a step back and look at your work. It's welcoming and fun. You move back onto the path and continue your walk. You're feeling very calm and peaceful, happy to be present for the smell of the sea, the touch of the breeze, and the sparkles on the path.

You come to an opening in the trees along the edge of the island and there's a bench welcoming you. You sit down and as you relax, you're going deeper and even deeper. All your muscles becoming loose and limp. And as your body is relaxing, it's relaxing. And as your mind is relaxing, your body is relaxing. And as you look out,

over Casco Bay. To your right is the sunset, the sky becoming a rich golden color, and the last vestiges of sunlight shimmering like gold on the water. Below you are more of the main rocks, folded and laminated like an ossified pastry, and gray, some almost blue,

with veins of white granite running through them. The water stretches out before you, moving from steel blue to shimmering gold. Deep below its surface are fishes and lobsters, and here, facing out into the gulf, you sense the fantastic world of the deep, home to seals and whales like the mysterious deep

within you like the mysterious deep. A mockingbird chirps and trills in the woods behind you. A chipmunk emerges from the trees, an acorn in his mouth. He stands next to your bench and looks out over the ocean. Just for a moment, he is perfectly still as he enjoys the sunset too. A tugboat steams by.

Fishing boats are coming home at the end of the day, and a fairy blasts its horn as it leaves Portland Harbor. You close your eyes, going deeper and deeper. I find peace deep inside. I find peace deep inside. I find peace deep inside. When you open your eyes, you notice that the moon is rising.

and the sun has gone over the horizon. As it gets dark, you walk back to the woods, where you find that your fairy house has expanded, and now it's big enough for you to sleep in. You step inside your fairy house and lie down on the softest, most comfortable bed imaginable. You are safe and protected on your own little magical island.

As you drift and float and dream.