Hi everyone, 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. Here we are again. It feels so good to feel so connected to so many people. Hmm, I just want to give some shout outs. I looked on Spotify this week and someone named Spice Girls fan. I'm not sure if I've shouted out to her before, but she's only 10, but has been listening for several years to whether it was Sleep Magic or its original when I was working on Sleep Wave and loves it. Thank you Spice Girls fan. Someone named Shea, someone named Apollo, Wendelin, the greatest names. I got to tell you, Alisa, Nico, Tiffany, Hazel and Lindsay. There's also someone named Liv who's only been listening for a few weeks, but already starts to relax as soon as she hears my voice, which may be happening right now. And I just want to reiterate that that's you retraining yourself, because the subconscious mind is a learning machine. So wherever we aim it, it just gets better and better at that thing. So well done within a couple of weeks retraining your body and mind to let go. I'm so glad and thank you all for letting us know how you're doing. Please reach out to us on Apple or Spotify or whatever your podcast platform is on the socials, on the sleepiest app. We love hearing from you and we read everything. If you want more content, 50% more content, no ads and access to the entire mailback episode, please consider subscribing if you are in a position to do that. Thanks. Tonight, Get Sleepy in Big Sur. Big Sur is a roughly 90 mile stretch along the California coastline between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Big Sur is not a spot per se. It's more like an experience. There isn't a town called Big Sur and there isn't a whole lot of anything there actually, but it's where the Santa Lucia mountains slide right into the Pacific at the edge of the continent, creating some of the most scenic and rugged coastline in the world. And the only way to really experience this stretch of America is to drive along the edge of it on a skinny little coastal highway, just two lanes that didn't exist until 1937, making this area almost impossible to get to before that. So if you're coming down from the north, on your left is the grandeur of the mountains and on the right is the ocean with its vast expanse, glittering waves, pristine beaches and boulders so big in the water, it's like they were dropped by giants. So tonight we're going to Big Sur and then we'll check into a tiny little inn nestled in a redwood forest in the mountains. And it really exists. Before we begin our only ad break, which makes this magic possible. To listen ad free, follow the link in the show notes. You need anything from Tesco, like Tesco finest salted pretzel or caramelized biscuit chocolate and Easter eggs, 12 pounds each with your Tesco Club Card or Tesco finest extra fruity hot cross buns, two packs for just three pounds because every little helps selected hot cross buns majority of larger stores and online and 6th of April Club Card or app required Exclusion supply. Now get yourself into a safe and comfortable position and let's begin. Allow your eyes to close easily and gently. As you come back to your breath coming back to your body. I'd like you to check in just for a moment with some moment in your day today that felt good. Whether that meant you felt peaceful or contented or just noticed something beautiful or connected with someone. Just allow your whole focus to go back to that moment and feel good about it. Great. I would like you to bring your awareness up into your eyelids and imagine that your eyelids are feeling heavy and relaxed and imagine that they're so relaxed now as you invite this heaviness into your eyelids that they cannot open. Now of course they can open if you want to open them but I'm asking you to pretend that they're so heavy that you can't open them and this pretending is very powerful. So we're going to go with it. Now I want you to test your eyes to make sure you can't open them and you're just playing here. You're tricking yourself wiggle your eyebrows as your eyes remain shut as if you're trying to open them but you can't. Good. And now we're more in the imagination as you imagine this relaxation around your eyes is moving back into your head and your head is becoming very heavy, heavy like a bowling ball on the pillow. Your head has worked really hard today so it's nice to let it sink into the pillow as the muscles of your face soften and relax and let go. So there's no one to please right now, no one to perform for, no reaction you need to have. So your face is on vacation. As this relaxation moves into your brain deep inside your head, imagine a warm mist of relaxation taking over every single cell of your brain. So your brain is soaking in this lovely warm peaceful feeling. Good. As you allow this warm relaxation to move down now into your neck and the muscles of your neck are softening and letting go, your neck doesn't have to work that hard when you're horizontal, which is nice. So you allow it to relax as you go deeper and deeper. And this lovely heaviness that began in your eyelids is moving down into your arms now, your shoulders releasing as your arms are becoming nice and heavy. Just feel that heaviness moving all the way down into your hands, to your finger. And your arms are so heavy now it feels like they're made of marble and that's good. It's okay to let go. It's okay to feel so relaxed that everything feels heavy. Good. As that mist of relaxation moves down inside of you into your chest, imagine it spiraling inside your chest, warm and soft, opening your chest cavity, surrounding and supporting your heart, surrounding and supporting your lungs. Like your whole inner world is softening and opening. You may not have paid too much attention today to your inner world, but now as your focus slows down, comes home, you now move inside yourself. Listening to your heart, checking in with your inner world, and any stress that may have built up inside of you today is evaporating. As the relaxation moves down deeper into your torso, deep down into your belly, and you find your belly is softening, your breath is deepening, and any muscles you may hold unconsciously during the day are letting go. As your belly relaxes and your pelvis is feeling heavy, heavy, heavy on the bed. And now it feels so easy and natural to allow this heaviness to just continue down into your legs. As your legs are feeling heavy on the mattress, heavy and relaxed, this wonderful feeling moving all the way down into your feet and your toes. Good. And now that your body is really relaxing, your mind is relaxing. And as your mind is relaxing, your body is relaxing. Going deeper and deeper. And any sounds that you may be hearing going on around you in your environment, or even the sound of my voice or this music, it's all taking you deeper and even deeper. Good. Imagine you're driving south along the California coastline. Your hands rest lightly on the steering wheel. The sunlight glows across your arms, warming your skin. The car is moving at a leisurely pace, and you are completely safe. The road curves and winds above the Pacific Ocean. The water is stretching endlessly to the horizon, its surface glimmering in the late afternoon sun. You feel the gentle pull of each turn and hear the tires humming softly against the pavement. You roll your window down and smell the salty air tinged with eucalyptus. You hear the sound of the waves from below. They offer their slow, steady, ancient rhythm, like a calm heartbeat, the heartbeat of the planet. You come to a pullout and stop the car. You get out of the car and stand, facing the water. You take a nice deep breath of sea air and you take it in. It feels like the whole world is opening up before you, opening wide. And as you relax, going deeper and deeper, your inner being is expanding. Everything is slowing down here. Your thoughts, your heartbeat, your sense of time. You get back in the car and continue to drive south. Highway 1 unwinds ahead of you, a thin, curving ribbon of asphalt pressed between mountain and ocean. As you look ahead, you see that the cliffs are rising even higher and the coastline is becoming even wilder. For thousands of years, the Esalen tribe lived here in rhythm with the rivers and the canyons. This place was not remote to them. It was the center, a place where the mountains and the sea keep each other company. And although this area was eventually invaded by the Spanish and the tribe was decimated, in recent years, more than 1500 acres have been returned to members of the Esalen tribe, the largest land return in state history. You round another bend and the view opens again. Endless blue ocean, sunlight dappling its surface. Each turn of the road feels like discovery, as though you're seeing the edge of the world for the first time. In the late 1800s, a handful of European families made the journey to Big Sir, hauling their supplies by mule, lighting lanterns against the endless dark. There were only a few of them, the posts, the fifers, the dechans, who built their homes here from redwood and stone. This place has always been a frontier of the soul, attracting stubborn seekers and dreamers. Cypress trees lean toward the sea. The sound of the surf deepens, crashing softly, endlessly. You drive along the bridge at Bixby Canyon. It's beautiful arch is gleaming in the light. And the view opens wide again, as if the whole Pacific has been waiting for you. As you go deeper and deeper. The photographer Edward Weston captured the stark grace of this landscape. His photos showing the way light and stone interact. Jack Kerouac drove along this very mountain's edge. And the author Henry Miller lived in Big Sir for decades. And through it all, the Pacific kept on breathing, steady, endless. The sun is beginning to set. So you pull off the road again and stop. The engine quiets. The only sounds now are the ocean. The soft hiss of wind through the grass. And the distant cry of a gull. You step out of the car and the air is cooling down now. But the giant rocks below still hold some heat from the day. You walk toward the edge and see the whole horizon laid out before you. And as the sun drops toward the ocean, the sky is becoming a deep gold. And there are tinges, rows. Brush strokes of lavender. Some indigo. It is a painting. Being painted. As you watch. And the water is catching all of it. Rippling in color. Reflecting. And your inner being expands. As you go deeper. And deeper. Your body feels like a part of this landscape. Your lungs are moving like the tide. Your heart is steady like the pulse of the sea. You are connected to the rhythms of nature. And as you watch the sun sink below the horizon. And you feel that sweet poignancy. That comes from experiencing beauty. And now you feel very calm. As the light fades to blue. And the first star twinkles above the water. And you return to the car. And you turn the headlights on and their beams seem soft and warm against the darkening road. You drive only a minute or so. And you see a small wooden sign half hidden among the trees. It says teachings. Big sir in. You turn in and follow a gravel driveway into a grove of redwoods. The air here feels different. Cooler. Still. And fragrant with wood smoke. You park your car. And get out one last time. As you feel the gravel crunching under your shoes. You breathe in the woods you sent. The earth a smell of redwood trees mingled with damp moth. You see a cabin. It was built in the 1930s by hand by Helmut Deichen. An immigrant from Norway. He and his wife Helen bought six acres here and opened their barn to travelers. Making it one of the earliest inns for visitors to big sir. The door creaks open as you enter. The walls are made from rough pine. And the window panes are wavy with age. It feels like you've stepped back in time. Creaky wood floors. Candlelight. And your phone doesn't work here. And there's no Wi-Fi. You breathe in the scent of the room. It smells of wood. Soap. And the faintest trace of ocean. There's a low fire in the stone hearth. And a wool blanket is folded neatly at the foot of the bed. This is your home for the night. You take off your shoes. The floorboards feel smooth beneath your feet. You wash your hands in a small porcelain sink. The water feels cool and clean. Refreshing. And as you go deeper and deeper, you get into the bed. The sheets are crisp and clean. You pull the blanket over you and it is heavy and comforting. The window in the cabin stays open. And you hear the ocean below. It's a deep, slow, rhythm, steady as your breath. You hear the wind in the redwoods rustling gently. And the faint creak of the old wood as it settles in for the night. You feel the mattress beneath you. It's soft and comforting. As the weight of your body sinks down into it. Your eyelids are growing heavy. As each wave that reaches the shore pulls you further into stillness. As you go deeper. As you go deeper. And even deeper. In this old cabin. In the woods. Held by the rhythm of the sea. As your body rests. Rest. And your mind, quiet. And float. And dream. You
