Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - A Dartmoor Dream

Starting point is 00:00:00 Before tonight's episode, I want to let you know about our supporters' feed Get Sleepy Premium, the best way to experience the show and get a good night's sleep. With Get Sleepy Premium, everything is ad-free. You'll receive a bonus episode every week, and have full access to our entire back catalogue. Your support really helps, and means so much to us. Simply tap the link in the show notes to learn more. Now, a quick word from our sponsors who make it possible for us to bring you two free episodes each week. Welcome to Get Sleepy, where we listen, we relax and we get sleepy. As always I'm your host Thomas. Thanks for tuning in.

Starting point is 00:00:52 Tonight will explore the wild windswept expanse of Dartmoor situated in the countryside county of Devon in England. Dartmoor has been home to prehistoric settlers, medieval folk, and of course many beautiful plants and animals. So, let's prepare to listen to our story by taking a few gentle steps towards the land of dreams. As you ease into your bed, try to soften your mind and relax your body. Both have worked hard all day and they deserve this time to recharge. Take a deep breath in

Starting point is 00:02:00 and let it out slowly. and let it out slowly. With each breath, you may find yourself drifting closer to that magical place where sleep and dreams come naturally. As your breathing slows, visualize yourself laying on a field of soft grass with a golden sun high in the sky. The sun's warming rays caress your skin and relax each and every muscle in your body. This peaceful caress melts away any stress or worry, bringing you a luxurious sense of sleepiness. Feel as the sun travels across your whole body, from the top of your head, down through your neck,

Starting point is 00:03:34 Your shoulders and torso, all the way down through your upper legs and lower legs into your ankles and feet. every part of you feeling warm and soothed. Basking in that soothing warmth allow your cares and worries to fade away. You are safe here and you have nothing left to do but get a good rest. Just follow my voice and allow yourself to find peace in tonight's story. We begin in the open expanse of Dart and sky all around you. There's a cool but welcoming breeze on your skin, and you can hear the gentle sound of luting bird song. As far as the eye can see, our hills and plains, brownish green and thick with wilderness. The landscape is dotted with small forests and fields. They stand out like little swatches of emerald and olive green on a huge patchwork quilt. Here and there, at the tops of other hills, there are grey smooth rocks that protrude out

Starting point is 00:05:56 of the ground like teeth. These are called taurs, and they are magical places. For generations these marks on the landscape have inspired stories and fairy tales. Perhaps some of them or all of, are true, you think. It's easy to believe standing here in this ancient and mysterious place. You take a moment to breathe in this wild landscape. As you do so, you notice its soothing quality. A vast sense of peace and

Starting point is 00:06:53 groundedness is carried on the soft wind and it greets your body like an old friend. body like an old friend. The grass underfoot is short and curiously springy. In front of you lies a tall. It is made up of large rounded rocks. But although they are mostly round in shape, they still look rough and rugged on the surface. They are piled up on top of each other, held together by nature moss. The tour rises above you invitingly and majestically. You gently pound towards it and extend your hand. Your palm brushes the granite of the rock and you sense the lingering warmth of today's sun baked into it. You take a moment to feel the solid, dependable quality of this ancient material and allow your body to absorb it. to absorb it. What feels like a whisper on the wind prompts you to turn your head to the left. To this side of you, the tour gives way, like dominoes that have fallen into a lush green hillock. The land is level and rich with long grasses, coiled ferns and clumps of reedy growth. Rising out of this green land is a cluster of bushes.

Starting point is 00:09:06 Not much taller than your shoulder, they carry green, spite leaves and are crowned with small, bright yellow flowers that look similar to sweet peas or orchids. This is gauze and it grows abundantly on the more. You notice that there are two mossy bolders hidden in the gauze. The ground is clear around them and there is a perfect gap between them. It's as if a port all lies there that is warmly inviting you to go through it. You make your way to the gauze, noticing the curious scent of coconut that the flowers emit. You approach the boulders in quiet reverence. This place seems to reassure you that what it has to show you is peaceful and wondrous. You know instinctively that this is the start of your journey and that Dartmoor will hold you gently in its embrace.

Starting point is 00:10:51 Lightly, evenly, you move towards the space between the boulders. You feel a deep sense of peace sweep over you and fill your body, tug you into a more relaxed state. You notice a gentle shimmering in the air. Could this really be a portal you wonder? As you enter the shimmering air, it's as if you are passing through a cool sheet of relaxation. You close your eyes as you move your face through it. When you open them again, you realize that you have been lovingly transported to an ancient, beautiful woodland. For a moment, you pause to take in the mystical sight around you. Hundreds of curiously-stunted oak trees adorned in silvery lichen and frilly, deep green moss, surround

Starting point is 00:12:09 you. The air is peaceful and heavy with a sense of history and wisdom. This is Wisdomen's wood, and it is the last remains of the old forest that once covered much of Dartmoor thousands of years ago. You notice the twisted and contoured trunks of the trees that formed in much cooler climates. And you take another moment to savor this amazing piece of living history and allow yourself to connect deeply with the earth. You quietly move through this astounding forest, seeing more and more of the lichen that hang from the branches of each tree, like old beards on wise men. As you make your way through it, you notice how any tension in your body is being gently

Starting point is 00:13:29 absorbed by your surroundings. You take an even breath in, filling your lungs with the magical air all around. It seems to flow through your body, healing and nourishing you. It encourages any remaining tension to flow out of you and dissolve into Soil into this place, which happily takes it, converting it into new growth. You continue on through Wisdom's wood. Soon, you sense that you are being pulled towards the fringes of the wood, where it meets with open moorland. You allow yourself to move that way, watching the shade of the wood, thinning out as you reach its perimeter. You emerge from the trees onto the moorland to see that you are in a vast barren valley. You take in this amazing sweep ofcrossed with paths made by animals.

Starting point is 00:15:13 The sight draws you onwards. Continuing your journey, you walk through this valley. The further you travel across it, the more you appreciate the raw magnificence of this place. The ground is sloping upwards now, and you are easily climbing it. The slope breaks into the crest of a small hill. Greasing peacefully on it is a herd of wild ponies. They are the natural guardians of this land, and their hoof prints are said to have been found in archaeological dicks that date back three and a half thousand years.

Starting point is 00:16:14 You are so close to these peaceful creatures. They are not afraid of you nor you of them. As you observe them, you begin to sense their energy. Their tangled mains flutter in the breeze and they blink slowly, lovingly at you. You sense that they are here to guide you as if by the same magic that pulled you through the shimmering air on the more. They allow you to join the middle of their group. You notice their beautiful colours, grey white, chestnut brown, mottled hazel and almost black.

Starting point is 00:17:20 They toss their mains together and each raises their left hoof. The ponies bring their hooves down simultaneously and as they do so you feel yourself lifted above the ground. The ponies lurch forwards, breaking into a counter. They seem to carry you with them and you watch their powerful limbs as they speed into a gallop. You are galloping with these wild creatures across the moorland. A heart-opening sense of freedom and joy blooms in your chest. You watch the rugged moull pass by. Smell the earthy scent of the ground, being chand under the ponies hooves, and feel the air whipping around your face.

Starting point is 00:18:39 The landscape begins to change. You notice a different kind of forest up ahead. The familiar scent of pine drifts towards you and you to it, you feel the ponies slowing down. Eventually, they slow to a walk and then finally a stop right in front of this magnificent pine forest. You thank your guides calmly and begin to move into the trees. This forest is cool and shady. The trees climb high above you and the ground is carpeted with deep green mosses. You notice the shafts of gentle sunlight that filter through the branches. It is quiet and still here, after the joyous expanse of the more.

Starting point is 00:20:16 As you wander through these unfamiliar trees, you begin to sense the traces of other people. Perhaps settlers that lived here many years ago would have used this wood for their homes or fires. You can almost smell wood smoke in the breeze. It's as if the distant sound of children running through these trees now reverberates through the years. You can imagine them laughing and Then perhaps older children gathering them together to return home for dinner. Or perhaps you can imagine people walking here together, savoring the peace and stillness of the forest, stealing special moments with each other on summer evenings when the light is warm and the breeze mellow.

Starting point is 00:21:36 As you pass through these slumbering memories held in this great forest. You become aware of how grateful you feel to be here. Then the sound of a gently babbling stream reaches your ears. You realize that it must be nearby, so you use your senses to wander towards it. The trees start to thin. You can see more and more open spaces, and the sound of the stream is becoming clearer and crisper. You emerge from the forest onto grassy land, and there a few metres in front of you is the stream. Shallow but perfectly clear, it casc old stone bridge. It is short and squat, but perfectly joins this bank of the stream to the other. The stone is rough and warm, surely built in many evil times. The memories of other settlers come back to you as you marvel at the skill and craftsmanship

Starting point is 00:23:34 of this sweet bridge. You see that it's made from the same grey granite as the tours you encountered earlier. As you cross it, you brush it with your hand and feel the lingering touch of thousands before you who have crossed this bridge. The bridge leads you away from the forest. In front of you is a clear path towards open moorland. The small stones beneath you crunch with your movement. Here you feel just as peaceful and at ease as ever. You sense that you are nearing something magnificent, but you allow your pace to be easy and steady. There is no need to rush in this timeless place. The path curves around and passes through an old stone wall. Here the rocks have been piled expertly needing

Starting point is 00:25:10 no cement or binding to keep them together. Yellow rings of lycan grow on them, marking marking their age and the weather they have endured. You pass through the gap that the path makes in this wall, and into what would have been a large pasture. You continue through this pasture as it spreads into wide, wild space. Here you notice small objects on the ground, like tiny tours in the distance. As you come closer, you realise that these are flat, hefty chunks of rock that have been arranged in a circle. They stand no higher than your waist, but they feel as important as the trees and tours you have journeyed with on the more. You feel a powerful sense of reverence as you understand that this is a stone circle placed here thousands of

Starting point is 00:26:39 years ago by prehistoric people. Every stone rises out of the ground purposefully and evenly. Each one has been carefully selected and positioned for a reason that you can only gas. As you reach its perimeter, you slow to a stop. You take in this strange and beautiful sight. Your body naturally takes a deep, slow breath. You feel your lungs expand and then soften as the air flows back out. For some time you relish the profound comfort that it brings. You're enjoying this special moment, standing on the edge of the stone circle. When you notice a dip in the center of it, like a little trench or barrow. You move instinctively towards it, passing through the stone circle. Then you realize something wonderful. Nestled in this impression in the earth is a beautiful bed.

Starting point is 00:28:28 It is held on smooth oak branches and luscious moss surrounds it. The mattress is made from soft, natural material and clothed in green cotton sheets. The pillows are plump and the covers are fluffy and inviting. You become aware that your body is heavy, tired and ready to sleep. So you climb down into this beautiful bed, you give thanks for its support and comfort. You pull the covers and sheets over you, finding them warm and supple. You feel incredibly safe in this special place. The stones of the circle are protecting you and guarding you. The light of the day begins to fade and as your head sinks into the pillow, you feel your body preparing for sleep. The wonderful memories of Dartmoor hold you as you're breathing deepens and slows. You are filled with a sense of gratitude and wonder for this amazing land.

Starting point is 00:30:48 Quietly you allow your mind to be still and your thoughts to be at peace. You know that the gifts of this journey will still be with you in the morning. So you smile as you drift off into a blissful and restorative sleep. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room.

Starting point is 00:31:58 I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. Music ... ... ... ... I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room.

Starting point is 00:33:54 I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. 1.0% 2.0% 2.0% 2.0% 2.0%

Starting point is 00:34:10 2.0% 2.0% 2.0% 2.0% 2.0% 2.0% 2.0% 2.0% 2.0% ... ... ... Music ... ... ... I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing.

Starting point is 00:36:47 I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. ... ... ... you you you

Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - A Dartmoor Dream

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