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. Welcome everyone. Thank you. Thank you for being here. I want to start tonight by saying I heard from a guy recently in Australia named Doron. He is in his mid-twenties, has worked in the music industry, and he's currently living with a health condition that I think most of us would find very challenging. Doron says that listening to Sleep Magic every night really helps, and I'm very, very grateful for that. So tonight, Doron, this one is for you, from me and from everyone in this circle of energy and care that we create each night. And that's our topic tonight. Before we get started, let's hear a quick word from our sponsors who make this free content possible. If you would like to reach out and let us know how much Sleep Magic is affecting your life, or if you have an episode idea, you can write to us on my website or at the sleepiest app or on Instagram, TikTok, or any of the podcast platforms. We love to hear from you and we read everything. It's really, really powerful to know that we're doing this all together. So thank you. Tonight, receiving care. I've been in a lot of situations this year in which someone needed care, and they really had no choice, like their health conditions required that they received care. And you know, it made me realize I'm not that good at receiving. I mean, I'm not horrible at it, but ever since I realized I could actually improve at it, I've started to practice receiving. And receiving is about relaxing and letting stuff in. I mean, duh. You know, good stuff. And some of you may already be great receivers, good at being adored on your birthday, or good at taking in praise, or good at just letting life support you from all directions, and more power to you. But some of us are more like balled up vests, resisting or deflecting good things sometimes. It sounds crazy, but sometimes we can be trained in guilt or shame or just a certain politeness that stops us from letting energy in. And instead, we spend a lot of time putting energy out, eventually getting out of balance. I think receiving is one of the great talents in this life, because we all need to receive at certain points. And the more we practice it, the more we benefit. And it's a win-win. And the math is pretty cool, because think about it. There's only one of you, but there are many, many people and sources of energy that seek to connect with you and support you. So it's okay to relax and just let stuff in. It doesn't have to be a quid pro quo. And of course, you do the giving at other times, so it's all one big dance. Because the truth is, we are all connected in ways we rarely contemplate. And that connection nourishes us all. We need each other, because we're all made of the same stuff. Now, rewind to the title of this episode, and now let's talk about care. The second part of the theme tonight is care. Receiving is one thing. We all know how to eat, say, which is receiving a sandwich for lunch. That's a form of receiving. But what about care? What about receiving some of the kindest, softest, most supportive vibes that life has to offer? We can also have a strange resistance to letting in care. And I don't even think the reasons really matter for our purposes tonight. But care is important. True care is a vibe all its own. It's the stuff of love, relationship, forgiveness. Care fertilizes growth and courage. So we're going to practice receiving tonight. Receiving care and letting that lovely, soft energy in. Look at yourself into a safe and comfortable position, and let's begin. Allow your eyes to close easily and gently. Here we are again, relaxing. So just bring your awareness to your breath for a moment. Notice what your breath is doing. Could be simple and shallow. Could be deep and releasing. Doesn't matter. The point is that your awareness, which you've been using in your day all day is coming back to the breath. You're reeling it back in. And as you reel your awareness back to the breath, back to your body, everything is beginning to slow down. Good. Now bring your awareness up into your eyelids. I'd like you to imagine that your eyelids are feeling sleepy and heavy, so relaxed, so comfortable. And as your eyelids are getting heavier and heavier because you're imagining that they're feeling heavy, I'd like you to imagine that your eyelids are so heavy and relaxed that they will not open. Now, of course, you could open your eyelids if you wanted to, but we're pretending. We're imagining. So now, imagining that your eyelids are so relaxed that they will not open, test your eyes to make sure they won't open by wiggling your eyebrows. Just give your eyebrows a little tug as your eyes remain closed. Good. Now, this lovely, heavy feeling you have in your eyelids. Let's imagine that it's moving back now, falling, falling like a waterfall back into your head. And as that heavy feeling is moving down through your brain, allow it to soak right into your brain so your whole head is becoming heavy on the pillow. Bring your awareness to the back of your head, making contact with the pillow. Just let it sink like a bowling ball. It feels so nice to allow your head to just let go. And as you go deeper and deeper into this lovely, relaxed feeling, the muscles of your face are becoming soft, smooth and relaxed. As you imagine warm waves of relaxation lapping up against the beach of your mind, just allow those warm waves of relaxation to lap up against the beach of your mind. As all mental tension disappears. Good. And now you find that that relaxation is simply flowing down through your neck, into your shoulders, your shoulders feeling soft and relaxed and released. And as that lovely heavy feeling moves down now into your upper arm, through your elbow, down into your forearm, all feeling nice and heavy. Just allow that lovely feeling to move down into the palms of your hands. And now they tingle as the heaviness moves down into every single one of your fingers. It feels so nice to let go. As your day disappears. And as you bring your awareness now to any sounds going on around you, sounds from outside, sounds from within your home. Notice them. And now as you receive them as vibrations, they're taking you deeper into relaxation. This is how you use the magic of your own mind, allowing these sounds to take you even deeper. Well done. The only sound you're paying any attention to is the sound of my voice. And the sound of my voice is also taking you deeper and deeper. And very soon, perhaps it's happened already. My voice will sound detached, distant, quiet. As you drift on your own personal journey, letting go. And it feels so good. As your awareness now moves down into your chest and even deeper still into your belly, your whole body becomes soft, heavy and relaxed on the bed. The muscles of your upper back, letting go, softening the muscles of your lower back, feeling warm and soft. And your pelvis is feeling very heavy on the bed. As this lovely warm relaxation moves down into your legs now, down your thighs, through your knees, down your calves, through your ankle, all the way down to the soles of your feet. And the soles of your feet feel warm. And they may even tingle a little. Because that lovely heaviness moves all the way down to your toes. Every toe feeling full and relaxed. As you bring your awareness to your breath again. And with every breath you are receiving, your body is taking an air without effort. Oxygen is flowing to yourself, nourishing you. Breathing is the most fundamental form of receiving. So take a nice deep breath and really enjoy this receiving. You are receiving every second of the day, all day. You are designed to receive. It's in your DNA. And just as you receive oxygen, imagine drinking a glass of water. Feel it moving down your body as you receive it so easily and effortlessly. Just as your body is receiving and metabolizing nutrients right now. From food that you ate earlier today, you are receiving silently, easily, naturally. And as you connect with this receiving, you begin to soften into a more receptive mode. There's nothing to do, nothing to think, nothing to strive for. You're simply allowing, simply opening. As you bring your awareness outward to the space around you. Perhaps you notice the quiet of the room of the night. Or the faint hum of life happening around you. Receive the atmosphere. Receive the sounds. Smell the air. You are being held by this moment. Held by the energy around you. And as you rest here, going deeper and deeper. Notice that life is always flowing toward you. The air sounds energy. You are supported by the earth beneath you. And you're receiving energy straight from its core. You are constantly receiving. As your shoulders soften and your hands rest loosely. And you remind yourself, I am open to receiving. I am open to receiving. I am receiving. I am receiving. Now imagine yourself in a small circle of people. A gentle circle of care around you. The circle is made up of people who really know you and love you. There may be members of your family, some of your closest friends. It is an intimate circle. Warm, familiar, loving. You feel their kindness like a soft glow. A steady warmth around you. And every breath you take draws in their love. And as you exhale, you relax more deeply into it. It feels so nice to receive this care. Any resistance you may have had to this care in the past is gone. And as you breathe, the circle begins to widen. And now that the circle includes some of your neighbors, companions, mentors, people you've met along the way, they are here too now. Each one adding threads of support. Their goodwill, their kindness, their presence, all woven into this field of energy. As you allow this care to move into you. Notice how your body feels as you let it in. And remind yourself it is safe to receive. It is safe to receive. It feels good to receive. It feels good to receive. As the care fills your chest, warm and radiant. It moves down your arms into your hands so that even your fingertips feel cared for. Let it flow down through your legs all the way into your feet. Be part of you touched by care. Any resistance you may have had to this care in the past has disappeared. As you take a nice deep breath and remind yourself I accept care. I accept care. I accept care. As the circle expands again, now it includes your community, your town or city. The people who share in your world in seen and unseen ways. You see farmers, healers, teachers, the people who build and create, whose hands and hearts contribute directly to your life. Imagine them here in this widening ring, their energy reaching you, holding you. As you remind yourself I receive love and support. I receive love and support. I receive love and support. And now the circle is stretching across the land, including the whole country. Millions of people, each with their own stories, their own families and circles of care, their own kindness to give and receive. You are part of a collective heartbeat moving through you. As you take a nice deep breath again and you remember receiving is natural, receiving is safe. Receiving is natural. Receiving is safe. Receiving is safe. As you imagine the circle now expanding beyond borders to include the whole world, billions of people, all living, creating, caring and all receiving at the same time. We are threads in a vast tapestry and you feel how strong this fabric is, how connected we are to one another and this connection feels good. No matter what we do, no matter what we say, no matter what we think, we are connected. And every breath you take is part of the great breathing of life itself. Life is breathing you. You are part of this tapestry woven into it, sustained by it and yet unique within it. Because your presence is a gift. The care you bring to the tapestry is strengthening it. As you go deeper and even deeper when you come back to your bed. Feeling the love and care that's supporting you. Feeling the care that flows endlessly through you and around you and into the whole world. As you drip. And float.
