Guided Meditation for Better Sleep | My Mindful Existence

[Transcript]

Welcome to this guided meditation for better sleep. One of the reasons why it’s hard to fall asleep sometimes is because the mind keeps bouncing back and forth from one thing to another seemingly out of country.

You might be thinking about a shopping list where the thing that you did yesterday that bugged you, or maybe you’re thinking about a TV show or a movie or a million things that our minds tend to wear every week. It is natural that the mind keeps bouncing around from one thing to the next it’s completely normal and it’s fine.

But how do you control this? One method that has worked for a lot of people is repeating.

There are four phrases that I would like to share with you that when repeated over and over in the head, help to concentrate the mind so that it stops bouncing all over the place. These four phrases induce a sense of care and self and loving kindness for ourselves and the people who we really care about.

These phrases are not a form of hypnosis. They’re really a form of mental training, that cultivate a sense of care and concentration that allows us to fall asleep faster and with more ease.

What are these phrases? They are:

May I be safe?

May I be healthy?

May I be happy.

May I live with ease?

So to repeat that,

May I be safe?

May I be healthy?

May I be happy?

May I live with ease?

As you try to fall asleep. As you lay down in your bed with your feet outstretched and your hands by your side, it can be helpful just to repeat these phrases over and over again, your mind will naturally wander everywhere, but the trick is to acknowledge when your mind is wandering gently and kindly come back to the phrases

Starting over again. And again, coming back to the phrases.

May I be safe?

May I be healthy?

May I be happy?

May I live with these now?

As we start this practice, you can be sitting or standing or driving. If you’re laying down, simply relax the breath. Relax, the body taking a deep breath and just breathing naturally, starting over with the phrases.

May I be safe?

May I be healthy?

May I be happy?

May I live with ease?

May I be safe?

May I be healthy?

May I be happy?

May I live with ease?

May I be safe?

May I be healthy?

May I live with these.

If you wish to think of someone else, other than yourself, you can shift your awareness to maybe an image of someone you would like to share warm wishes for

May they be safe?

May they be healthy?

May they be happy?

May they live with these?

May they be safe?

May they be healthy?

May they be happy?

He or she is safe.

He or she is healthy.

He or she is happy.

He or she lives with ease.

May I be safe?

May I be healthy?

May I be happy?

May I live with ease?

May I be safe?

May I be healthy?

May I be happy?

May I live with ease?

Safe.

Healthy.

Happy.

Ease.