A sleep story. Voice for about 17 minutes, then it fades to nothing. No bell, no count back. Music underneath, and it keeps going after the voice stops
Lights off, phone face down. A lantern path up a hill, and music that fades to nothing while you go under.
About 17 minutes, tense and release first, with music that fades near the end.
Your body falls asleep first and the mind follows, so we start with the body. Tense and let go, section by section, which is the most reliable way there is into sleep. Then the walk. Stone walls with moss on them, lanterns getting smaller until they blend into the stars, and a warm bench at the top. You are not meant to reach it.
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Thank you for sitting with me.
Steven
Who this is for
You are lying there waiting for sleep to arrive, which is the one approach that reliably fails.
Your body falls asleep first and the mind follows. So we do not wait for the mind. We settle the body and let it lead.
Only listen where it is safe to fall asleep.
What happens in this meditation
Tense and release, section by section. Legs and feet, then the torso, then arms and hands, then everything at once. Then heavy in the bed.
Then the walk. A village at the quietest part of the night, and a narrow path between low stone walls with pale moss glowing on them. A lantern every few steps, warm rather than bright.
A small wooden bridge with water under it. Then uphill, the lanterns getting smaller until they blend into the stars. At the top, a clearing and a bench of smooth pale wood that feels as though it has been waiting.
You are not meant to reach it.
How to get the most from it
The file runs about an hour, but I stop talking around seventeen minutes in and the music fades away to nothing after that. There is no ending to get to and nothing will wake you at the end of the track.
Do not skip the tense and release. That part is doing most of the work.
Lights off or dim, phone silent and face down before you press play.
Questions people ask
Why does it say an hour when the notes say seventeen minutes?
Both are right. Seventeen minutes of me talking, then a long fade rather than a hard stop, so nothing jolts you awake at the end.
What if I miss the story entirely?
Then it worked. Not making it to the end is the point, and hearing none of the walk is a better outcome than hearing all of it.
Is there a bell at the end?
No. It does not bring you back, deliberately, and none of the sleep ones do.
Read along
The transcript
It follows the audio. Press any line to jump there.
sleep-story · sleep · music · visualisation
Read the transcript
Hello and welcome to this sleep meditation.
I'm Steven and this meditation contains music and gentle notes just to help you drift off to sleep.
And it will slowly fade down into nothing and silence near the end. And there will be a lantern path
story. And it really doesn't matter if you hear it all or even get to the end of the beginning.
That's all fine. So
just a warning. You will fall asleep at some point and you may not consciously hear the whole meditation
and that's a good thing. But just please only use this meditation if it is safe to fall asleep
and you are in a safe place. This is your time to gently rest and I invite you to
drift off to sleep sometime over the next few minutes.
So before you begin, just...
Make sure you're all prepared and the lights are dim or off and your mobile phone is on silent and
the screen is off or face down.
And remember, your body knows how to sleep and your mind knows how to sleep
And they also know how to fall asleep. All we're doing in this moment is just allowing the moment to
happen
And your body will drift off to sleep before your mind and that's perfectly fine.
And you may notice thoughts going through in your head. That's fine as well. Your mind evolved to think. Your
mind evolved to analyse the situation and that's all fine.
And it will slowly fall asleep when it's ready.
So here is something to remember. And
as I mentioned, the body often falls asleep first and then the mind will follow.
So tonight, you do not have to wait for the mind to fall asleep. Just let your body lead the
way.
And when your body feels safe, it will soften. And
when your body softens, it will fall asleep.
And now we will give your body a little treat. A little simple gift. A
way to let go of the day's tension. And
we'll start with the legs and feet.
And just take a slow, deep breath in. And as you breathe in, just tense up your feet. Tense your
calves and your thighs. And hold them firm. Hold. And now just release them.
Just feel them relax into the bed.
And next we'll do the torso. And all that area. And just breathe in. And then gently tighten your stomach
and your chest, your back. And hold that feeling for a moment. And now let go. Allowing the whole middle
of your body just to drop. And become heavy and relax
And just breathe easy for a moment.
And now we'll do your arms and hands. And just breathe in and just... Hold your hands tight and your
arms and your shoulders. Tighten them. And now just allow them to relax and allow them to come heavy in
this moment and fall wherever they feel natural.
So finally we're going to do the whole body. And
as you just breathe in deeply now, just tighten everything from your face and your arms, your fingers, your toes,
your bum, everything. Just hold it all really, really tight.
Allow everything to relax. Just letting go of all the tension for the day. You become really heavy in the
bed and it just feels just so nice to do that.
It's just like a beautiful gift to the body. And
from this moment in, the body will fall asleep.
Feel the weight of your head on the pillow and
let it be fully supported.
There's nothing to hold.
Allow Your breath to be easy.
You do not need to change your breath. Just
be aware of it.
Breathing in calm. Breathing out relaxed.
Breathing in calm.
Breathing out relaxed.
And with each breath you just allow in your body to relax even more.
And as you feel completely safe in the bed and completely supported, You notice your body is falling
asleep
And soon the mind will follow.
Now we're going to drift together into a gentle story. There's
nothing to think about. You
can listen if you like Or simply let the words fade into the background as you sleep.
The Lantern Path.
You find yourself standing at the edge of a small village,
The quietest time of the night,
And the world feels nice and quiet.
A narrow path opens ahead.
It winds gently between low stone walls.
The walls are covered in a pale moss That glows in the moonlight.
Every few steps along the path. A small lantern hangs from a wooden post.
Its light is not bright, only warm,
Just enough to guide you forward.
As you continue to walk slowly, Your
steps are light,
As if the ground itself is guiding you.
The air carries a faint faint of something sweet,
perhaps night-blooming flowers.
Their petals are half-closed, waiting for morning.
And then you pass a small wooden bridge.
The sound of water gently beneath it.
The sound is steady.
Beyond the bridge, the path curves gently uphill.
The lanterns lead you on.
Each one a little smaller than the last.
Until they seem to blend into the stars above.
As you climb, you notice how still the air is.
And how far away the rest of the world feels.
There are no voices here.
No demands.
Only slow, steady sound of your steps
And a little lantern light.
At the top of the hill, you find a small clearing.
In the centre, a bench made of smooth, pale wood
And you gently sit down.
The wood feels warm,
as if it's been waiting for you.
From here you can see the land below.
Village lights look like a handful of stars, scattered on the ground.
Above you the sky holds the real stars.
Somehow it feels as if they're breathing for you.
A soft wind passes, and you hear the faint chime of something far away.
You close your eyes here,
safe in this quiet place.
Warmth of the bench,
the softness of the wind,
the gentle sounds all holding
you. Your breath slows again.
Each inhale, like a small wave reaching the shore.
Each exhale, the waves sliding back into the sea.
And here, in this place,
you feel the body sinking deeper,
and the mind following.
Soon the story fades.
And you are only resting, drifting deeper
until there is no difference between the breath, the
