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. Merry Christmas everyone. Thank you all for being here. This episode is dropping on Christmas Eve and I just want to send some holiday cheer to anyone who might be celebrating around this time and to everyone who isn't. Obviously there are lots of people who don't do Christmas so I thought I would make tonight's episode a luxurious vacation. I had nothing to do with the holidays but to which we are all invited. So tonight, get sleepy on a yacht in Indonesia. Okay so how did we get here? Well I have a friend named Bill and he loves a good hotel. He's a big traveler and has been to a lot of them. Most of them I cannot afford. Well I was hanging it with Bill the other day and I asked him what his favorite hotel in the world was. And I was expecting an answer something along the lines of what I've heard before like the Ritz Carlton or four seasons or the Waldorf and he said the Aman in Bali. Well thank you for Google because within seconds I was looking at the most exquisite resort in Bali tucked into the side of a mountain just the type of place Bill would end up on his adventures. And as I continued to search I noticed that the Aman Hotel Group also owns a yacht or two that sail around the islands. They're like luxury hotels on the water. And when I say yacht I don't mean the big motorboats we think of. The Aman Dera is a traditional Indonesian two-masted wooden sailing vessel called a Pinesi with a teak deck and beautiful warm interior. Just the type of vessel that looks like a gem on the sea and reflects all the natural beauty around it. So every once in a while I write a podcast about a place I've never been or something I've never done which takes me down a whole research rabbit hole into history and videos and blogs in order to stitch together the experience. And the research is as fun as the trip itself might be. Well almost. So tonight let's go to Indonesia. And if you celebrate Christmas I'm sure Santa will find you there on the Aman Dera. Before we begin our only ad break which makes this magic possible. To listen ad free follow the link in the show notes. Just a short reminder before you drift off sleep awareness week is coming to a close and there are only a few days left to begin your 30 day free trial of team magic. If you've been wanting to approve your sleep and experience the very best of this show this is your final chance to enjoy 30 nights of team magic completely free. A team magic subscription gives you ad free listening plus hundreds of exclusive sleep hypnosis sessions designed to help you fall asleep faster and sleep more deeply through the night along with a new premium only release every other week. And with 30 days you'll have time to feel the shift once this extended trial ends on March 16th it won't be available again for some time. So if this feels like the right moment tap try free in Apple podcasts or use the link in the show notes before this week ends. There's no better week to choose rest. I'll be right here when you're ready. Now get yourself into a safe and comfortable position and let's begin. Allow your eyes to close easily and gently. As you bring your awareness to your breath. If you've been around for a while at sleep magic you've brought your awareness to your breath many many times. So it's getting easier to real in your awareness and bring it home to your body. Bringing it home to your breath. Good. So now I'd like you to bring your awareness up into your eyelids. Now what you'd imagine just for a moment that your eyelids are becoming sleepy. That you're tired even if you're not pretend that you're tired. Pretend that your eyelids are getting heavy and sleepy and even that weird stinging feeling you get when your eyes are so tired you can't keep them open. So allow that heaviness to take over your eyelids. And now I'd like you to accept the suggestion that your eyelids are so heavy they will not open. Of course if you really wanted to open your eyelids you could but I want you to pretend that you can't. So we're really doubling down on the pretending which is good. It's powerful powerful part of your mind. So as you pretend that your eyes are so relaxed your eyelids so heavy that you can't open them. Now test them and testing them means wiggling your eyebrows letting your eyebrows move around a bit while your eyelids remain closed. Do that? Great you can stop doing it now. Perfect. Now I'd like you to bring yourself to a moment you experienced today. A good moment. It could have been a moment simply of relaxation or peace. A moment of happiness of connection or simply observing something. Something special or new. There is no right or wrong in what you select. In fact I encourage you to just let your imagination, your memory, your body serve up a moment today. I know you had hundreds of moments. But just allow yourself right now to relive a positive moment of your day. And feel good about it. Really let it in. Let your whole body and being breathe into that moment again. Good. This is part of the magic of your mind. It's that as you relax you have more control over what you focus on and can make choices about what you focus on. And focusing on positive things, refeelling positive experiences is not only pleasant, it's powerful as you train yourself to feel good for no good reason except that you have the ability to do that. So let this be your Christmas present or your holiday gift to yourself. Good. Now as you bring your awareness back to your eyelids and that lovely heavy relaxation in your eyelids and around your eyes, let's imagine that moving back now into your head like it's falling, spreading, moving back into your brain. Let's imagine that that nice warm relaxation is moving all the way back into your brain. Taking over every single cell of your brain so that your head is feeling nice and heavy on the pillow. But inside your head, it feels floaty and released as all mental tension dissipates. The muscles of your face are becoming soft, soft, and relaxed. Your face is letting go from all the work it does during the day. Your face is on vacation. And that warm, relaxed feeling is moving down now to your neck. Imagine a large muscles running up and down your neck, being massaged by warm, gentle fingers, creating the perfect pressure to help those muscles let go, let go, let go. As the relaxation moves down into your shoulders, your shoulders are softening and dropping and the muscles in and around your shoulders are sort of melting and that melty feeling is moving all the way down your arms like your arms are melting, feeling heavy on the bed, and the melty feeling is moving all the way down to your palms and your fingers. As you imagine energy just pouring out your hands, any tension you may have carried today, moving all the way down through your hands, through your fingers, into the bed, and down into the ground. This moment on, no sound that you hear going out around you in your environment will bother or disturb you in any way. From this moment on, any sound that you hear, traffic on the street, someone in another room of your home, all of those sounds are now taking you deeper and deeper into relaxation. Bring your awareness now to any sounds going on around you, and let them take you deeper. Beautiful. The only sound you're paying any real attention to is the sound of my voice, and the sound of my voice is also taking you deeper and deeper. And soon the sound of my voice will seem distant, detached as you let go, and drift, and float, and dream. So let's imagine that wonderful melty feeling moving down the muscles of your back, just imagine that meltingness going down over your shoulder blades, down through your midsection, now moving down through your spine, deep into your lower back muscles, your buttocks, the whole back of your body melting into the bed. And now a lighter version of the melty feeling, like a misty version of that soft, sweet melty feeling, is moving inside your torso, like you're breathing it into your lungs, and they feel soft and relaxed. And the melty feeling is now circulating inside your chest cavity, surrounding and supporting your heart, softening your heart, and any emotional tension you may have picked up during the day, or the week, or even this whole past year is dissolving, dissolving, and it feels so nice to let it go. As that melty feeling moves down, now deep into your midsection, moving in and around and through your middle organs, and now it's moving down deep into your belly, and you feel your breath drop deep into your belly. As your pelvis feels nice and heavy on the bed, and the muscles in your belly, even the ones that you may hold unconsciously during the day, or letting go, softening, relaxing. As you're taking yourself deeper and deeper, that melty feeling is moving down your legs now, it's moving all the way down your legs down deep into your feet and your toes, so your legs feel like they've melted. As you are on vacation now, as you are going deeper and deeper and deeper, as you enjoy this experience. Imagine you are standing on a wooden jetty, an amban Indonesia, on one of the over 17,000 islands that make up this tropical archipelago. The air is warm, and the humidity hugs your skin. You smell the scent of clothes in the breeze, and as you look out over the water, the sea looks like a sparkling sapphire, rippling gently in the late afternoon light, and in the bay, floating on her anchor, you see a boat, the amandira, her twin masts rising high against the sky, with her cream colored sails furled neatly. Her polished hull is glimmering almost black as it bobs gently in the water. She looks both refined and ancient, like a royal vessel from another time. She moves step onto a tender boat. The driver starts the engine, pulls away from the jetty and moves into the bay. The sun is strong and warms your whole body, and as the tender picks up speed, it creates a gentle spray that mists your face. The hum of the small engine vibrates beneath you, and as the tender ushers you to the amandira, you're going deeper, and even deeper into relaxation. As you get closer, you see the jet black hull reflecting the light of the water. You look up and see the masts, the lines, the sails up close. She is a beauty. The driver holds your hand, steadying you as you step off the tender, and take a set of steps up onto the amandira. You step onto the deck, and your bare feet touch warm, smooth, teak. A member of the crew greets you with a bow and you bow. She hands you a cool towel, scented with lemongrass and mint. You wipe your hands and pat your face and return the towel. You feel clean and refreshed. Another crew member hands you an icy drink made from coconut, pineapple, and lime. You take a sip and the cool tropical taste slip down inside of you. It's a perfect balance to the heat. You feel calm, relaxed, going deeper, and deeper. You peek into the cabins of the vessel, crafted completely from wood. As the late afternoon sun shines through the interior's glow, and gorgeous amber. You smell the wood oil and fresh linens warmed by the sun. Your shoulders relax, taking you deeper, and deeper. You survey the bay looking all around you. There are volcanoes rising straight out of the water with their dark muscular shoulders. Their slopes streaked with old lava. You are in the ring of fire, a chain of tectonic hot spots running along the edge of the Pacific Plate. This ring of fire is home to three quarters of the world's active volcanoes. You look down over the side of the Amandira into the water. You are floating in an ink blue bowl, dropping thousands of meters into the sea. This place is like a hinge on the planet. In this region, continental plates come together like puzzle pieces, and major ocean currents align. You are floating on the bridge between Asia and Oceania. Home to species found nowhere else, birds of paradise, dwarf seahorses, and orchids that bloom like tiny fireworks. The anchor is raised and you feel the faintest vibration beneath your feet. The tails unfurl with slow, heavy flutter until they catch the wind in wide quiet breaths. The crew is working quickly and efficiently, with ropes coiled like serpents at their feet. You take a nice deep breath, the breeze smells of salt and volcanic soil. The boat creaks gently like it's alive, moving with the water. You walk up to the bow and notice a cushioned lounge bed under a canopy. You lie down, relaxing as your body goes deeper. The warm air relaxes your whole being. The canopy is filtering the remaining sunlight into soft, golden, moving pattern. A young man brings a platter of pineapple slices sprinkled with chili and lime. You pick one up and take a bite. The perfect blend of sweet, sour, and spicy. The wind brushes across your arms. The sea stretches endlessly ahead. The almondira is really sailing now. You feel the tilt of the deck and the hush of the water as the hull slices through it. And as it sails, you are going deeper and deeper. Indonesia's history unfolds like a tapestry. Woven from islands scattered across warm seas. Each one carrying a story as old as memory. From the first seafarers who look to the stars to navigate across oceans. To the rise of powerful kingdoms like Sriva Jaya and Majapahit. This archipelago evolved, becoming one of the crossroads of the world. Traders arrived with spices and silk, new languages and beliefs. Everyone seemed to leave something behind and carry something forward. The almondira has slowed down now. And you drop anchor near the small town of Bandanera. Its horizon dotted with sharp green volcanic peaks. The islands around it look untouched as if time has forgotten them. You ride on the tender into town and disembark for a leisurely stroll. Bandanera is a small town of just 15,000 people, but it has a deep and storied history. As you walk along a humid street, children wave. Old Dutch cannons rust quietly among tropical flowers. You pass an old colonial mansion, a Dutch church and a Chinese temple. You step on something, it feels small and round. You pick it up and place in the palm of your hand where you discover a glossy brown seed in a lacy red casing. This is not mag. And now that you've stepped on it, the red outer layer called Mace is releasing a burst of scent. It's sweet and warm. And it's a scent that changed the world. For thousands of years, these microscopic volcanic islands were the only places on earth where nutmeg grew only here. But when it was finally discovered by outsiders, this aromatic seed in your hand rewired global trade routes. It spurred the age of exploration and even launched wars. These Banda Islands were for a while some of the most valuable real estate on the planet. Notmeg was so valuable that in 1667, the Dutch traded one of the Banda Islands to the English in exchange for a little island in North America called New Amsterdam, which we refer to today as Manhattan. Notmeg was worth more than gold and the world's fortunes turned on these tiny islands. You sniff the seed again. What a potent scent. As empires have risen and fallen, the people of Indonesia have maintained their sense of place, their connection to the forests, the volcanoes. The temples carved with stories of gods and humans. It is a place layered with different cultures, Indigenous, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, and European. Like sediment, creating a beautiful riverbed, countless lives have shaped the ground beneath your feet. And as you walk down the street, it is so peaceful with its bright red, boog and velia, slow bicycles, and a rooster crowing in the shade. When you return to the Amandira, you feel like you are stepping into a gentle, floating cune. The sun has a long ago dropped behind the volcanoes and the horizon is dissolving into a bluish blur. The night feels soft and humid. And as you go deeper and deeper, your inner being softens. It just feels good to simply be. The boat bobs gently around her anchor. There is an undulation that feels rhythmic, comforting, primal, like the Amandira herself is breathing. A member of the crew points your attention upward. The milky way unfurls across the sky. The stars are magnificent. So bright they cast a faint reflection on the water. The sky becomes so far from big cities, the sky becomes an ancient map. The moon is rising, you are going deeper and deeper. A crew member leads you along the deck toward your cabin. The wood planks feel smooth beneath your feet, softened by decades of oiling. You hear the waves lapping gently against the hull. You arrive at your suite. It is a simple spacious cabin, panelled in beautiful pale teak. The bed has crisp white linens that smell of jasmine. Across from the bed is a large window just above the waterline. So you can watch the sea shimmering in the moonlight. You slip between a cool sheet. You can see the sun shining into the mattress, feeling deeply relaxed. Perhaps more relaxed than you have ever been. And as you close your eyes, the almondira is cradling you. And you are being rocked to sleep by the ocean itself. And as you go deeper and even deeper. You detect the scent of spice trees drifting across the bay. And you are interbeing. It is expanding. As you drift. And float. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream. And dream.
