Guided Sleep Meditation & Sleep Hypnosis from Sleep Cove - Star Gazing in Hawaii - The Mauna Kea Observatory

Episode Date: December 4, 2025

Star Gazing in Hawaii - The Mauna Kea Observatory. A relaxing and calm Sleep Story. Welcome to this special Sleep Cove episode, where we'll take a peaceful journey to the sacred summit of Mauna Kea, for a day of mountain hiking, sunset, and stargazing. Please leave a 5-star review & SUBSCRIBE on Apple and Spotify. Sleep Cove Premium Become a Premium Member for Bonus Episodes & Ad-Free listening: Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.sleepcove.com/support⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and become a Premium Member. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get Instant Access⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and sign up in two taps. The Sleep Cove Premium Feed includes: - Access to over 400 Ad-free Episodes - Regular Exclusive Bonus Episodes - A Back Catalogue of Dozens of Exclusive Episodes - Full Audiobooks like Alice in Wonderland - Your name read out on the Show - Our Love! Get your 14-day free trial:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://sleepcove.com/support⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ For Apple users, click the TRY FREE button for a 2-week free trial and become a Premium Member Today. Support our Sponsors: This episode of Sleep Cove is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠betterhelp.com/sleepcove ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and get on your way to being your best self. Our Sister Shows: - Calm Cove - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://link.chtbl.com/bgSKfkbt⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- Relaxing Music & Ambient Sounds - Mysteries at Midnight - Mystery Bedtime Stories - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://link.chtbl.com/skj6YFah⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Let's Begin - Daytime Meditations with wake sections at the end - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://link.chtbl.com/Z--DgSH4 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - YouTube Bedtime Story Channel -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://rb.gy/t7wyjk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - YouTube Sleep Hypnosis & Meditation Channel - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClE6WJgPYRBtwVQ1qDBrbqw⁠⁠⁠ Connect: - Join the Newsletter for a Bonus Meditation -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://www.sleepcove.com/bonus⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Facebook:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://rb.gy/azpdrd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Instagram:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/sleep_cove/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - TikTok:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@sleepcovechris⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Recommended Products: Comfortable Sleep Headphones -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.sleepcove.com/headphones⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Best Mattress from Puffy: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://sleepcove.com/puffy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ _______________ All Content by Sleep Cove is for educational or entertainment purposes and does not provide or replace professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your medical professional before making any changes to your treatment and if in any doubt, contact your doctor. Please listen in a place where you can safely go to sleep. Sleep Cove is not responsible or liable for any loss, damage or injury arising from the use of this content. _________________ Sleep Cove content includes guided sleep meditations, sleep hypnosis (hypnotherapy), sleep stories (visualizations) and Bedtime Stories for adults and grown-ups, all designed to help you get a great night's sleep Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back by popular demand, the Sleep Cove Premium Sale has started. For the next two months, you can get Sleep Cove Premium for free. That's right, completely free. There you'll get access to all my exclusive episodes, as well as every episode, add free. You'll also have access to my own. other podcasts, and their exclusive and ad-free content too. Sleepcove can't carry on without your support. So if you want to become a VIP member and get access to our premium feed,

please go to sleepcove.com slash support. That's sleepcove.com slash support. If you can't support the show right now, please subscribe with the bell to get alerts on all new free content Thank you Have you ever gazed in wonder at the Great Pyramid Have you marvelled at the golden face of Tudankhamun

Or admired the delicate features of Queen Nefertiti If you have, you'll probably like the History of Egypt podcast Every week we explore tales of this ancient culture The history of Egypt is available wherever you get your podcasting fix. Come, let me introduce you to the world of ancient Egypt. And welcome to Sleep Cove with me, Christopher Fitton. Tonight, we're continuing our stories and journeys in Hawaii. We visit the Big Island of Hawaii,

and we're going to take a peaceful journey to the same. sacred summit of Moana Kea for a day of mountain hiking, sunset and stargazing. All sound effects on this recording are recorded on location by our producer. So please get comfortable and in a place where you can sleep safely. Let's begin. There's nothing you need to do and know where you need to be except here. So let's relax and take a long, deep breath in and exhale and breathe out. Let these deep breaths signal to your body that it's time to relax. Feel your shoulders drop.

The muscles in your face ease and soften. Your eyes are gently closed and notice the weight of your body gently supported by the surface beneath you and you get so comfortable you move around finding the most comfortable place for you with every breath a little more tension just gently melts away

like cool mountain air washing over your warm skin and as you relax more and more It's time to imagine that it's late afternoon on the big island of Hawaii. You find yourself at the visitor station of Mona Kea already high above sea level, where the air is crisp and thin, and the world feels quieter. Above you higher still is the summit of Mona Kea. It rises, crowned in thin air, in the eternal tall sky.

We are about to begin your ascent on foot, a journey from this alpine station to the sacred summit. A world of voices and movement to a place where the earth touches the stars, and your adventure is just beginning. you're standing at the trailhead. Taking a moment to orient yourself at the visitor station, you look out and see the amazing view of the big island of Hawaii. You see rolling hills with a deep blue sky at the top, the lighter white sun at the bottom.

Beneath you is the tropical paradise and you can see this jungle beneath you. You're far above many of the clouds here and they look like trails of cotton wool just floating the tropical forest onto this paradise. It's so beautiful. There's a reason why Hawaii is known as one of the most beautiful edge of the island. continue to the start of the trail. The wind becomes your companion, steady, persistent, brushing past your ears,

carrying the scent of stone and sky. You pause for a moment, turning to look behind you. You've already climbed higher than you've realised. The visitor station is smaller now. nestled in the landscape below. And beyond that, layers upon layers of the big island, spreading outwards, green forests in the distance,

brown ranchlands, and far beyond a hinder blue ocean at the horizon's edge. You turn back to the trail. Breathing in relaxation. and breathing out tension and you continue. Your pace is slow, deliberately so, not from exhaustion, but from wisdom. At this altitude, slow is strong and you find yourself naturally sinking your breath to your movement. and meditation and moment

the landscape continues to transform less vegetation now more stone more space and more sky the volcanic rock here is ancient millions of years old the very heart of the earth and you are walking on the youngest

Hawaiian island walking on some of the oldest exposed stone in the The sun has warm on your face even as the air grows cooler and you feel its warmth on your skin as at this elevation

the sunlight is more intense as there's less atmosphere to filter it but it's a nice gentle counterpoint to the cool breeze the trail switches from left to right as you climb steadily and slowly

and your body adjusts to the thinner air you're adapting, becoming part of the mountain's rhythm. Up ahead a small lizard, darts across the trailhead, disappearing into the crevice between the rocks. A reminder that life persists here, even in this harsh, beautiful space. He smile and there is only volcanic rock, rusty red and charcoal scattered across slopes that seem to belong to another planet. The earth here is raw. Primal and untouched, trail grows steeper. You look up and the summit is closer now, and you can just start to see the white domes of the observatories, gleaming, like pearls against the deep blue sky.

Not far, but not close either. You continue, the air growing thinner with every step. Landscape, this star. And you see cinder cones rise in the distance. Ancient volcanic vents. Silent witnesses to the mountain's fiery pass. Some red. Some black, some a dusty brown.

Each one a story frozen in time. You pass a small can. A stack of stones left by previous hikers marking their way. You pause and you find a small stone from the trail and you gently place it atop the pile. A small gesture, marking that you have been here,

and adding yourself to this structure, a cooperation of hundreds of people, a silent hello to those he came before, and a promise to those who'll come after, the wind picks up as you climb higher, no longer gentle, but assertive, steady gusts that lean against you

reminding you of the mountain's power you pull your jacket a little closer now feeling the chill a little more at this altitude the temperature has dropped

noticeably perhaps 20 degrees cooler than at the visitor station but the sun still shines and you are warm enough, strong enough.

The trail levels out slightly. A brief respite and you take the opportunity to drink water. The liquid is cool and sweet and you feel it travel down. Hydrating restoring. You look around. The sky above is impossibly blue. Deeper than any blue you've seen at sea level, almost purple at its zenith. This is what happens.

You rise above much of the atmosphere. The sky reveals its true colour. It's so beautiful. Around you is silent. Profound silence. The kind that exists, only in high remote places. No cars, no voices. No home of civilization.

Only wind, only breath, only hot. You are so close and you go up the final steep bit. And the ground levels out and opens up and you are there. 13,796 feet above the sea. The summit of Mona Kea. The White Mountain, the roof of the Pacific. You stand still for a moment catching your breath, letting your heart rate slow,

letting the reality of where you are sink in. You climbed to the summit, the observatories surround you. White doves, housing some of the world's most powerful telescopes. pointed skyward, waiting for darkness. But right now they're just witnesses. Quiet sentinels, the summit plateau. Your boots crunching on the loose cinder towards the western edge.

The view that opens before you defies description the island of Hawaii. spreads below, impossibly far below like a living map. In forest, down volcanic slopes, blue-green ocean stretching to infinity and between you, drifting below you like ships on a cotton sea, you are way above the weather now. In a place where the air is so thin and clear, you feel like you can can see the curvature of the earth. You find a flat bolt.

Brush away some loose gravel and sit. The stone is cooled solid and ancient. Close your eyes, feeling the sunset now on your face. The wind in your head moves differently here and you're not sure how long you've been sitting. The minutes have passed and the light is beginning to change. The sun has descended more slowly at first, most imperceptibly. The brilliant afternoon light begins to soften and the light has become golden, chet and light.

And if you'd like to, you can stand and walk towards the western edge of the summit where the view opens completely and there's just you and the horizon. This moment is so peaceful. and you find a spot and settle on the ground and the wind has calmed down and the sun hovers above the distant horizon perfect sphere of multiter the sky around it begins to blow

burst in the edges and the clouds below you light and puffy begin to catch the light and they turn pink coral orange and summer fiery red

as if the sky has painted the world beneath you in watercolours, soft and shifting as the colours deepen. The sun sinks lower and lower, and the volcanic landscape around you. The red cinder, the black marloreks, it's like they glowed in the last white of the day. Every stone, Every ridge, every shadow, alive with colour, with your breath, slowing down naturally, matching the pace of the sunset, unhurried and graceful.

There's something about watching the sun set from this height, from a place where the air is thin and the world feels both of us. and intimate, that reaches into the deepest part of you. Its humbly, the sun touches the distant cloud layers and golden rays cut through the gaps in the clouds. The light radiates through, creating what so called God rays, pillars of light, bridges between heaven and earth, The sun slips beneath the clouds And then just a sliver of gold remains

And a final wink of light And a farewell The sky explodes into more colors now Deeper purples and blues Flood in from above And the oranges and pinks pulse And the clouds continue their dance

red fading to purple purple fading to deep deep blue the first stars one appears then another in bricks of light piercing through the deepening blue you can see Venus the planet bright and sunny

then fainter stars then more still The transformation from day to night is gradual, gentle, like a lullaby sung in colours and light, you exhale slowly. Watching your breath, mist faintly in the cooling air, and in that exhale,

you feel gratitude, gratitude for being here. for witnessing this, for being alive in this exact moment on this ancient mountain under this infinite sky. The temperature drops a little now. But you don't mind. You have a thick clothes which keep you warm and you feel very cozy. You enjoy the space for a little one. while, breathing and watching the stars multiply overhead, more and more, appearing as the sky darkens,

like a slow blooming garden of light. The Milky Way begins to emerge, faint at first, then stronger. A river of light, stretching across the heavens. You are suspended. between worlds now, between day and night, between Earth and Cosmos, between who you were at sea level, and who you are. In this clear air, and the sky reveals its full glory. You make your way slowly across the summit, observatory buildings searched on a neighboring peak. Glowing faintly now in the starlight, your footsteps are careful now. The ground is less visible. But, your headlamp you've put on, light is surprisingly bright. The structure looms ahead, modern yet humble, designed not to dominate the landscape,

but to serve it, to honour the sky. Inside there's a transition as a wall and envelopes you. A guide greets you with a quiet nod. In a gentle smile, they move and they say perfect night. The sea is exceptional. They lead you through a short corridor. Then to the observation room

where a large telescope stands sleek and powerful and elegant. It's angled upward to a section of the sky. Already tracking something invisible to the naked eye, the room is dimly lit. Only red lights to preserve night vision. The guide speaks softly. Tonight will observe Saturn first.

than Jupiter and if you like the Andromeda galaxy And you step up to the eyepiece Pressing your eye gently To the soft rubber ring And then your eye adjust Hanging in the blackness Of space like a jewel

Perfectly round With rings Stretching out on either side impossibly thin and clear you can see the gap between the rings and the planet you can see the shadow the planet casts

on its own rings you see the subtle bands of colour across its surface soft amber the guide tells you that it's 900 million miles away and you're seeing it because it's real that distant

ancient world, circling the sun, carry its rings and existing in the vast darkness. It's right there, right now, visible to you. You stay at the eyepiece for a long moment, drinking in the sight, memorizing every detail in the telescope shifts, and the dome above rotating. with a low mechanical hum, opening a new window to the sky. You can see Jupiter, brighter than Saturn and larger, covered in swirling bands of cream and rust and ochre. You can see the stripes clearing the zones and the bell.

Amphospheric bands churning in Jupiter's strong well. Strong weather systems and beside the planet, four tiny points of light. The Galilean moons. Io, Europa, Ganymede, Calisto, each one a world of its own, moons that Galileo himself saw over 400 years ago. The same moons, the same dance, you feel a shiver run through you. Not from cold, but from the sheer scale of it. The beauty, the impossibility made visible. Time stretches and compresses, minutes pass, and finally the telescope.

moves one last time. The guide's voice is even softer now. This one special, they say. The Indromeda Galaxy Two and a half million light years away. The most distant object visible to their naked eye, though you'll see it much better

through the scope. You step up to the scope. to the eyepiece once more. And first, you're not sure what you're seeing, a faint glowing smudge, soft, diffuse. But as your eyes adjust, you begin to understand

that faint glow is an entire galaxy. Hundreds of billions of stars. so far away that their light has been travelling through space for two and a half million years. You're seeing the past, an ancient light, a message sent across the universe, and received here. Tonight by you, you're pulling away slowly, feeling something shift deep inside, A sense of scale, of perspective of connection. You are small, so impossibly beautifully small, to you are here. Part of this, a witness to the cosmos.

And all your troubles seems so small too, so inconsequential. You thank your guide and you step back outside. you step away from the dim red lights of the observatory and the night sky reveals itself in all its glory the Milky Way stretches overhead not just visible

but blazing a glowing river of billions of stars so dense and bright it looks like a brush stroke of light painted across the heavens. You can see structure in it. Dark lanes of cosmic dust. Bright clusters.

The core glowing brilliant white. You walk a short distance from the observatory away from many structures. And he sat down on a camping chair that has been left behind by someone else. and you gaze upward in a timeless moment. You simply exist beneath the stars. Beneath the infinite.

So many stars. More stars than you knew existed. More clouds that drift upward. As if you're exceiling pieces of yourself into the cosmos. The familiar constellations are there. the big dipper Sagittarius, but they're surrounded by thousands of other stars. Fainter ones that are never visible

from lower elevations. The sky is not black. It's deep blue, almost purple, alive with light. Streaks across the sky, bright and sudden, gone in a heartbeat and then another and another

shooting stars and you smile and by the camping chair you notice that someone has brought blankets soft and warm and you wrap yourselves up

or settles over your body like an embrace pulling you closer cocooning yourself as you still gaze upwards at the infinite stars and your eyelids grew heavy because you're so at peace and you barely notice the moment

you're simply here and present stretching above you and you just rest your eyes for a moment their presence surrounds you your breath becomes quieter and slower and the sound of the wind is left like a lullaby now. Gentle, constant and soothing,

and you feel yourself sinking, it holds you. The stars watch over you and the universe cradles you in its infinite you are home under the stars on the sacred mountain. You're so good.