DAILY QUOTE
31.12.2020
Friendly Reminder:
You aren’t going to wake up a different person
on January 1st.
You don’t need to be any different than you are.
So often our New Years resolutions are created as a response to how we behaved during the holidays.⠀
⠀
They are steeped in SHAME and hinge on the belief that there’s magic in the new year and something special about the new year.
They are created out of our regrets and disappointments in our past year.
⠀
Hear me out, I’m not against New Years resolutions if they work for you.
However for many of us (I would argue MOST), creating a resolution out of shame and guilt is incredibly ineffective.
⠀
This is because most human beings do not do well with shame as a motivator.
Shame leads to beating ourselves up, which eventually is so painful to be in, we need to find a way to escape it.
Shame also makes us feel like we need to rebel against something rather than feel empowered.
⠀
So this year can I recommend an alternative?
⠀
Rather than believing you will wake up a different person on January 1st, here are a few ideas to try…
⠀
- start with INSPIRATION instead of shame
- ask yourself - what do I value?
- what do I love doing most?
- when I look back on my year, what’s one thing
I would like to do more of?
- set small goals (1-3 months)
- select a word or phrase that inspires you
to guide you through the year
- share with others and enlist support!
⠀
(Amanda E. White)
30.12.2020
Just a loving reminder:
As we close out the year 2020, it’s important we set
realistic expectations for ourselves in 2021.
We will still be in the midst of a pandemic,
with lingering grief and many people mourning
transitioning to the next year without loved ones,
work, housing, and stability.
Simply transitioning to a new year will not have us
to awaken in better spirits.
Please allow your heart to have permission and
safety to feel what it needs to feel.
The next year will also be rough for many,
as "normalcy" will take time to be rebuilt again.
This is trauma.
And healing from trauma takes time.
This is where we are. No sugar coating,
no fairytales of sudden happily ever afters.
When the clock strikes midnight on NYE,
and you’re still feeling sad, grief, anger, confusion -
please don’t pathologize yourself.
Please don’t believe your vulnerable parts mean
there’s something wrong with you.
Your problems may still be with you in 2021.
Though your resilience is showing
that you still persevere.
You didn’t have to find your side hustle this year.
You didn’t have to meet the expectations of society
this year (or ever).
You just needed to show up as you are.
All the parts of you.
Remember this when you feel that pull to suddenly
pretend 2020 never happened.
2021 will still carry some of 2020.
Let’s set those expectations to the bar that allows
room for your self compassion.
(Natalie Y. Gutierrez)
29.12.2020
If you have not learned
anything from this year,
I have one lesson that
I’d like to share with you:
Let people know that you
love them and care about them,
and show it in a way that they
will understand it too.
Love is the most potent mover
of energy in the universe: use it.
(Sylvester McNutt)
28.12.2020
Surprises
Consider how many times you thought
you were going to drown this year.
Had someone told you what 2020
was going to be like, you would’ve
guessed it to be the thing to finish you off.
And still, there, look at you, still here.
Still giving life what you’ve got.
This year felt set to drown us all.
And look at us still here, limping and all,
but - we are still here.
We have our stories to tell, our losses
to grieve and record and perhaps our
rebirths to process too.
What a year. What a year. What a year.
But I hope you just feel genuinely and
quietly amazed at yourself.
I kind of think you did the impossible
this year. You exceeded your expectations.
Let no one ever make you feel
you can’t handle life.
You are incredible.
(S.C Lourie)
27.12.2020
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
(Rumi)
26.12.2020
To those celebrating today, I celebrate with you.
To those grieving today, I am holding you in love.
To those remembering all the good or the bad or
the traumatic or the lonely days, I hear you.
To those triggered and traumatised and terrorised
by memory, I see you, I hear you, I love you.
To those sick or in pain, physically or emotionally,
I am with you.
To those alone or lonely or outcast or lost today,
I am with you, I love you, I am here.
To those afraid and in pain and unable to leave,
I see you.
To those in solitude today by choice and
not feeling lonely at all, I honour your choosing.
To those surrounded by people and lonelier
than ever, I hear your lonely cries
into the crowded room.
To those feeling all kinds of pressure to be
and to do and to give - you are enough, truly.
To those who cannot be with their children,
some or all day, by circumstance or by loss,
I'm so sorry, I see you.
To those spending your days with children,
yours or another's, both basking in their excitement
and feeling your own heaviness around the day -
you are allowed to feel both/and, I hold this with you.
To those who are saying "this is not what I wanted
or chose for today", your feeling is valid,
your voice is heard.
To those finding new ways of being and
still grieving what was, grateful and grieving,
all at once, I am with you.
To those caught somewhere between joy and grief
and pain and loneliness and excitement and
triggered and loving and losing -
I see you in your complexity as a human being.
To those human and alive, moving through this day
in the complexity that it is to be here, now -
I am with you, I see you, I love you.
(Sarah Mariann Martland)
25.12.2020
He’s still in there, somewhere.
That tiny me. That exuberant,
joyful, inquisitive, playful
past version of myself.
He just wants to ride
a merry-go-round until he pukes,
and swing as high as he can.
He wants to play in a creek for hours,
and marvel in the anticipation of
that moment when he turns a stone
to see what’s beneath.
He wants to close his eyes and
gently touch moss on a tree
and feel the life in it.
He just wants to taste simple moments,
and smile a silly, dimpled smile.
What I really want to tell him is,
there’s still room for him.
There’s still a fascinating world
to explore, and magical new moments
to taste and savor.
(J. Warren Welch)
24.12.2020
Believe in love.
Believe in magic.
Hell, believe in Santa Clause.
Believe in others.
Believe in yourself.
Believe in your dreams.
If you don’t, who will?
(Jon Bon Jovi)
23.12.2020
Rather than fearfully shutting down
your sensitivity, dive in deeper
into all possible feeling.
As you expand, keep only those
who are not afraid of oceans.
(Victoria Erickson)
22.12.2020
It's not about getting to the 'top of the mountain'.
It’s not about accessing your 'higher power'.
It’s not about transcendence.
It’s not about 'rising above' the human condition.
What it is actually about is getting
to the depths of your being.
Your truest power.
Your feet planted on Mother Earth.
Your humanness.
Only from here can we know presence.
Only from here can we heal and transform our species.
There is no time left for dissociation and denial.
No time left for self-avoidance
that masquerades as awakening.
If we don’t get ‘here’ soon,
we are not going to make it.
It is time for the great arrival.
Not from the Pleiadians.
Not from the star-people.
From the humans. From us.
Right here. Right now.
We don't need to rise. We need to deepen.
We need to return to our bodies,
and heal this bloodied species.
Are you with me?
(Jeff Brown)
21.12.2020
Consciousness on this planet
is going through a shift,
buckle up because old energies
are about to lift.
And they won’t go out without a fight,
but they will be illuminated
with the integrity of light.
The light is about to be switched on,
all corruption will have no where left
to hide but be exposed.
As the energy on this planet shifts,
on a human level, Gaia level, and universal level
an expansion of consciousness is happening.
A grand awareness to new ideas,
thoughts, and inventions.
The old energy will go down swinging.
And the new will rise onward.
Swords of light shining into the endless night,
illuminating the potential of true freedom.
I am excited for that sunrise, and am ready
for the darkest before the dawn.
We are about to go from black and white
into colour.
(Stacie Martin)
20.12.2020
The visible and invisible worlds
are inextricably intertwined...
once you’ve opened your eyes to this,
you can dance between them.
(Alberto Villoldo)
True health fundamentally
means to be in tune with nature,
both inner and outer.
(Sadhguru)
When a certain number of people come together
and they choose at a moment in time
to create a precise emotion in their hearts,
that emotion literally can intentionally influence
the very fields that sustain the life on planet earth.
(Gregg Braden)
The biggest message is for you
to just be who you are.
Be as you as you can be,
because that’s why you’re here.
That’s why you’ve come here,
to express your magnificence and
to shine your light as brightly as you can.
Don’t deprive the universe or the world
of who you came here to be.
(Anita Moorjani)
Good morning Friends,
Some days ago, we have been invited to the Earthkeepers Summit, a free 3-day online gathering with the high shamans of the Andes, world-leading scientists, and various spiritual teachers.
The authors of the four quotes from today are for example a part of it. It starts today.
This is the description from the website:
"Join us and listen to inspiring and emotional stories, and the latest scientific breakthroughs and wisdom from master spiritual teachers, scientists and doctors from all around the world.
Learn how to boost your immune system, how to power up your mind, body and spirit to bring about inner-healing, and join a powerful Solstice ceremony to initiate large-scale healing for the whole world during a time of crisis".
We don’t know all the teachers and maybe there will be some spiritual bypassing going on (like it is unfortunately often the case in such online gatherings), but we will definitely participate and check this - especially the shamanic solstice ceremony.
Many years ago we were fascinated by shamanism and read a lot of books about it (also from Alberto Villoldo, the initiator of the summit).
We both made very deep transformational experiences in shamanic sessions, especially with Hiah Park, a korean shaman.
It was "veil-lifting" and life-changing.
There is so much wisdom, mystery, and healing in these ancient traditions, and even if they sometimes seem a bit strange from our contemporary perspective we should open up, listen and experience, and then find ways to integrate and transfer them into our modern society.
Most of us have lost any connection with Mother Earth, with our true self and with each other.
The global pandemic mirrors this sad fact.
It’s time to wake up now and reconnect with our humanity and our divinity.
This process has already started, but we think this will be a very special solstice tomorrow with a profound symbolic meaning.
It marks the beginning of an immense energy shift of consciousness so we love to connect with people from all around the world in this virtual space to raise the collective energy on our beautiful planet.
If you resonate we would love to "meet" you there too.
You can simply click the button below; it will lead you to the website where you can join.
It is completely free.
Sending you all much love and light ❤️✨❤️
Verena & Alex
Update 20.12.:
We just started with the first videos from Alberto Villoldo and Gregg Braden.
They are already available on the german website: www.theearthkeepers.online
Super interesting and brilliant so we can really recommend this!
Update 23.12.:
Because of the huge interest they have just extended the availability of the videos:
You can watch them until 28th December.
Really interesting stuff... !
19.12.2020
As 2020 comes to a close,
I hope you can forgive yourself
for every goal you didn’t meet,
every dream you didn’t materialize &
every old coping strategy you picked up
to deal with the stresses of this time.
You are certainly not alone.
Perhaps in the final days of this year
you can give yourself permission to
grieve, rest & integrate everything
that happened or didn’t happen.
And if there’s room, maybe you
could even celebrate all the victories,
big or small.
This year tested all of us
in different ways,
and some of us more than others.
However this year was for you,
I hope you can forgive yourself
for all of it.
(Iris McAlpin)
18.12.2020
I don’t care how spiritual you are. How long you can melt in the sweat lodge. How many peyote journeys that have blown your mind, or how well you can hold crow pose. Honestly. I don’t.
I don’t care what planets fall in what houses on your birth chart, how many crystals you have or how vegan your diet is.
I want to know how human you are. Can you sit at the feet of the dying despite the discomfort? Can you be with your grief, or mine, without trying to advise, fix or maintain it? I want to know that you can show up at the table no matter how shiny, chakra-aligned or complete you are - or not. Can you hold loving space for your beloved in the depths of your own healing without trying to be big?
It doesn’t flatter me how many online healing trainings you have, that you live in the desert or in a log cabin, or that you’ve mastered the art of tantra.
What turns me on is busy hands. Planting roots.
That despite how tired you are, you make that phone call, you board that plane, you love your children, you feed your family.
I have no interest in how well you can ascend to 5D, astral travel or have out of body sex. I want to see how beautifully you integrate into ordinary reality with your unique magic, how you find beauty and gratitude in what’s surrounding you, and how present you can be in your relationships.
I want to know that you can show up and do the hard and holy things on this gorgeously messy Earth.
I want to see that you can be sincere, grounded and compassionate as equally as you are empowered, fiery and magnetic.
I want to know that even during your achievements, you can step back and be humble enough to still be a student.
What’s beautiful and sexy and authentic is how well you can continue to celebrate others no matter how advanced you’ve become. What’s truly flattering is how much you can give despite how full you’ve made yourself. What’s honestly valuable is how better of a human you can be, in a world that is high off of spiritual materialism and jumping the next escape goat for “freedom.”
At the end of the day I don’t care how brave you are.
How productive, how popular, how enlightened you are. At the end of the day, I want to know that you were kind. That you were real.
I want to know that you can step down from the pedestal from time to time to kiss the earth and let your hair get dirty and your feet get muddy, and join the dance with us all.
(Taylor Rose Godfrey)
17.12.2020
Know your worth
Don‘t ask for it
State it
And never accept anything less.
(Spirit Daughter)
16.12.2020
One thing that keeps many of us stuck
instead of healing is the fear that
if you finally decide to turn your attention
inward and heal your past, you’ll have to
open up pandora’s box.
We get afraid that there may be so much
in there that we haven’t seen yet,
that we wouldn’t be able to heal it all.
The truth is, acknowledging is the first step,
the truth sets you free, and healing happens
in waves, not tsunamis.
(Rhiana Meri)
15.12.2020
People project their fears on you when
you’re moving into brave places
they’re not willing to go.
Leave their fears with them and keep going.
The process of breaking a generational cycle will come with a lot of adversity.
As you attempt to re-capture your truth and move towards a greater understanding of emotional and mental health, you will challenge those who are not willing to pursue that health for themselves.
At times that journey will be isolating. There will be moments where you feel dismissed and alone.
But, you choosing to do the work to heal your mental and emotional state will also give you a connection to the most sacred part of yourself that you’ve not yet known because it was buried under so much pain.
Along the way, trust that the braver and more courageous you become, you will be targeted by those not willing to embrace your hunger and desire to be your authentic self.
Do not be held back by anyone’s expectation in your pursuit of needed growth.
Many of us need reminders along the way that we feel lost in this new space of trying to navigate the stories we're bringing to the surface.
We need the connection to words that affirm we are going to be ok.
We need to trust that there are others out there who have also felt isolated, lonely and like they were the problem while fiercely fighting for health and healing.
I’m so glad you’re here.
I’m grateful you’re choosing to fight for your health and I hope today you are affirming what it’s cost you to break the cycle in order to feel whole and safe from the inside out.
(Nate Postlethwait)
14.12.2020
Am I listening to
my emotions so I
can hear them
or am I listening so
they will quiet down?
Am I listening to
my sadness so it
can speak
or so it will get
out of the way?
Am I "feeling
my feelings“
out of care
or so I can finish
my to-do list?
When we tune into
our emotions with
the sole intention
of silencing them, we
may be repuncturing
wounds.
Imagine a child who is upset.
Imagine the difference in their
experience being approached by a
parent who simply wants them to
stop crying versus a parent who
wants to sit with them so they
don’t have to cry alone.
These parents may even say the
same things:
"What’s wrong?"
"It’s okay"
but the embodied experience is
very different for both the parent
and the child.
How are we approaching ourselves?
It’s not always the
easiest, most
convenient, or most
familiar
but learning to approach
ourselves with
compassion may be the
most rewarding lesson
there is.
(Tyndal Elizabeth Schreiner)
13.12.2020
Don't forget to
love the way
you want to be loved,
listen the way
you want to be heard,
speak the way
you want to be spoken to,
give the way
you hope others will give,
care the way
you want others to care,
because change doesn’t
start with them.
It starts right here.
(Madalyn Beck)
Good morning Friends,
Thank you so much for all of your love, loyalty, and support, your wonderful emails and guestbook comments during the last days!
We feel very connected with you all and we are looking forward to continuing to share what we have learned and still learn on our turbulent and insightful healing journey from trauma.
We will put all of our creative energy into this website now so that it supports, uplifts, and encourages everyone who resonates.
We want to provide you with all the things that we would have loved to read, hear, and see at the most challenging points of our journey.
There is so much bullshit, inauthenticity, and toxicity out there, especially in the bypassing spiritual community.
The repression of feelings has become so normalized and widespread that when you finally learn to allow your true feelings you will meet a lot of resistance, (passive) aggression, and projection which makes the healing journey even more challenging.
May this website be a safe, reliable, and nourishing virtual space for you at any time you feel lonely, hopeless, insecure, or simply search for some inspiration, powerful reminders, and encouragement.
Feel free to connect with us via email or the guestbook, no matter if you just want to say hello, comment on a quote, share something personal, or ask a question: we are always happy to hear from you!
Have a cozy Sunday! We hope you are all healthy and safe.
The energy on this beautiful planet is maximal dark, heavy, and low right now, but "the night is always darkest just before dawn."
We think this saying fits well, especially regarding the collective consciousness.
The blind spots and the shadows have to come to the surface which makes them appear even more threatening before it can get better, brighter, and more aware.
Lift the veil: nothing happens without a reason.
Don’t give up.
Much love from us both ❤️
Verena & Alex
12.12.2020
lessons from 2020 to bring into 2021:
let your goals lead you
reconnect with gratitude
speak up and live your values
actually listen to your intuition
you are stronger than you think
do not take small joys for granted
give your energy to the right people
inner peace helps with the unexpected
healing your past improves your present
(Yung Pueblo)
11.12.2020
"Be yourself," they say.
"It’ll be fun," they say.
What they don’t tell you
is how the deafening crash
of a thousand doors slamming shut
because you refuse to fit in
sounds a lot like
your own bones breaking.
(J. Warren Welch)
This is a message for the former members of our group on "Insight Timer":
Dear ones,
It is about one month ago now that our group was deleted by Christopher, the CEO of the app (for details, you can read "Insight Timer" in the section "Texts“.)
During the last weeks, many members asked us via email about our feelings and if there is any news.
So, here is a final update:
Right after deleting the group, on the 12th November, Christopher wrote a post in the Mindful Moderating-Group, telling the admins and moderators there that he deleted our group, but that "no content was deleted or lost in the process" and that the saved and zipped content would be forwarded to us by the customer support team "tomorrow."
We immediately received a screenshot of this post from a friend and former member, but we decided to wait a bit to see if Christopher will keep his promise this time.
Of course, he didn't.
We received NOTHING from him or the support.
So two weeks later, we wrote him a short email with this screenshot and also sent a copy to the support, just asking him/them to please keep this promise and send the content.
We resend the same email several times to the support in the following days, but for ten more days, we heard absolutely NOTHING from anyone. Unbelievable!
On Monday, we had enough and sent Christopher the following email - we publish it here because we want to leave all of this bullshit behind us finally, and we think every former member has a right to know the truth and what we think about it:
Hi Christopher,
Let's make this clear: ten days after our email, you (and the support) still don't answer and send us the content of our group, although you announced in the Mindful Moderating-Group about three weeks ago that the support will forward it to us one day later and that no content was deleted or lost in the process.
Is this your understanding of integrity and good intention that you mentioned in your announcement???
Well, thank you for confirming once more that our feelings and impression of what's going on in the background - regarding the groups in general and especially our no-spiritual-bypassing group - were valid.
We don't feel any need to discuss this or your totally unacceptable, anti-mindful, and impulsive decision to simply delete our group without any preannouncement and any possibility to say goodbye to our 50.000 members and inform them where to find us in the future.
Although this was inhuman and kind of traumatizing for us (and the members) after four years of putting so much energy into your app, with a little detachment, we are grateful that you have finally shown your true face because we are no fans of staying in toxic, inauthentic, and gaslighting environments.
To keep it simple, there are two possibilities now:
1. You decide to continue playing games and do nothing, or have the courage to tell us that you simply enjoy it too much to "punish" us for our criticism even more by not sending us the content from four years that is rightfully ours.
In this case, you would obviously not care that we would then of course inform our followers (and some long-established teachers and admins in your app that we still have contact with) about this fact, so that they get to know the truth.
We didn't do this yet.
EVERYONE would agree with us that this is absolutely unacceptable and not correct after deleting our group in such a way and then announcing that you will send the content.
Don't forget: we have the screenshot.
2. You (or the support) finally send the content of our group to us WITHIN THE NEXT 24 HOURS so that we all can put this unpleasant chapter behind us.
That would be the more mature, mindful and "CEO of a meditation app"-worthy alternative, and in the midst of a global pandemic and a hopefully peaceful pre-Christmas time, we would prefer this one, but we are also okay with the first one.
It's your choice.
Verena & Alex
Well, what do you think happened after he received this email?
Interestingly, just a few hours later, we received a short email with our group's content from the support. Again: unbelievable!
How sad that even after impulsively deleting our group just because we expressed justified criticism, the CEO didn't have the integrity and respect to keep his publicly announced promise to send the content.
He just did it because of this pressuring email.
We KNOW now that all the worsening bugs, especially for the groups' admins and the more and more concealed position of the groups, were no coincidence, but a long-planned preparation to suck the life out of them and ultimately replace them with the new superficial and distracting chat feature Circles.
With another CEO, who would be more open for feedback and constructive criticism from the users and who would recognize the importance and the potential of the groups, especially amid a global pandemic, it could have been a completely different and wonderful experience - for the admins, the members, and the app.
But well, it is like it is.
At least it will be much more difficult for them now to delete the groups (or how they call it "merge" them with Circles), and if this is what our "tumult" to inform our members and other admins has brought about, then it wasn't futile.
We are really glad to see things even more clearly now and to just share our content here on our website - safe and free from any restriction and spiritual bypassing.
We feel very excited and motivated about creating new ways of expressing ourselves and getting into contact with everyone who resonates.
It's wonderful to see the growing traffic on our website: so many loyal followers who visit it daily (a lot of them even several times a day with very long session durations), and every day new people show up because of recommendations and because we can meanwhile easily be found via Google.
So, Friends, the chapter "Insight Timer" is officially and forever closed now.
Time to move on.
Stay safe and healthy.
Sending you all much love ❤️
Verena & Alex
10.12.2020
The FIRST thing you must do
if you want to change your life
is to change your self-talk.
You wouldn’t let another person
talk to you the way you talk
to yourself. So why do you?
Learned behavior and a cycle
that needs to be broken.
Be better to you today. ❤️
(Michael Unbroken)
09.12.2020
how odd it is that
so much of what isn’t said,
isn’t said because
it is the truth.
(JmStorm)
08.12.2020
I will not be restricted.
I will not be whitewashed.
I will not be "love and light" washed.
I will embrace my complexity,
my messiness, my humanity,
and grow and expand
without apology.
(Tutu Mora)
07.12.2020
I don’t know who needs to hear this
but sometimes your light
may trigger people because
it shines on the shadow work
they refuse to do and
instead of looking at it,
they project their
self-judgment
onto you.
(Matt Cama)
06.12.2020
In the spiritual community, it has become a kind of unwritten cultural expectation that you need to act like what we think a spiritually enlightened person would act like; even if it is not true to how you really feel.
In other words, it has become a cultural expectation that you should ignore where you are in pursuit of where you think you should be.
The result is that most people feel as if the only acceptable emotion to feel is happy.
And if you feel less than happy, you feel as if you have somehow failed.
As if the pain of the struggle you are facing in and of itself is not enough, you frost the cake of that struggle with shame and embarrassment that you are even suffering in the first place.
(Teal Swan)
05.12.2020
If you’re about to hush your magic to keep the bitches from being jealous, don’t!
If you’re about to silence your truth to keep the trolls and assholes at bay, don’t!
If you’re about to act against yourself to keep the shitty relationships (you know, the ones you keep just to feed your ego and lick your insecurities), don’t!
If you’re about to be fake as fuck to impress the superficial world around you, don’t!
For the sake of all of us, please don’t -
stop playing this strange game.
We can do better than this.
Grow a set and be what you actually are.
Teach people how to love and fight for what is real.
(Brooke Hampton)
04.12.2020
The work you are doing on yourself
is anchoring a new consciousness
on the planet.
It goes way beyond yourself.
The more light you bring to your shadows,
the more you help shift the collective.
Keep going.
In case you need some recognition today,
let me put this right here.
Very often when we begin healing and shifting,
it can appear as a selfish endeavor.
Something that you do for yourself.
Something that you do to feel better
or to achieve something.
And even though that is true,
it is also selfless by design.
The more you heal, the more you can
hold light in your body.
And that light does not go unnoticed.
It radiates beyond your body
whether you see it or not.
It will anchor more light in the field
and it will trigger an awakening inside
the people that cross your path.
The work you are doing on yourself right now
deserves the deepest acknowledgement.
This might sound dramatic to some,
but I'll still say it out loud:
"You are literally saving the planet".
That is my firm belief.
So thank you.
Put another step forward. Keep going.
You are more resilient than you think you are.
(Xavier Dagba)
03.12.2020
Dream With Me - A Sleep Story
Hello. I’m Harry Styles, and tonight I’m going to help you drift of into sleep. With some soothing words, and calming music.
A sleep story just for you.
With all the business of your day, I know how hard it can be to get to sleep. So thank you for choosing this story and me to help you.
I wish you a wonderful night’s sleep.
So make yourself comfortable.
Take a deep beath in, and then out.
In, and then out.
And when you’re ready, close your eyes...
Have you ever wondered
What happens when you sleep?
Where you go, and what you feel;
The places that you seek?
When you start to drift away,
Your mind becomes a book.
That writes itself then fades away,
Before you wake to look.
Tonight we’re going to think about
Anything you’d like.
So first let’s visualize some scenes
To see us through the night.
Settle back
And clear your mind
We’re heading somewhere special.
Beyond the world of consciousness,
To places more celestial.
I’d like you to imagine now
You’re there beneath the stars.
Which when you pause to think about it,
Actually you are.
As you focus on the darkness
Right before your eyes,
Fill the scene with glinting lights
To emulate night skies.
Think about the things you cherish most
And those you love.
And then allow yourself
To be embraced from up above.
The power of the universe
Meanders through your mind.
So come with me,
And let’s see
What the two of us can find.
Let’s travel now to moonlit valleys,
Blanketed with heather.
The kind of landscape you and I
Would dream about forever.
Imagine lazing on the ground,
Succumbing to the charms
Of blades of grass we now caress
with fingertips and palms.
The gentle scent of cedarwood
Is floating on the breeze.
A gift from mother nature
And her nearby cedar trees.
We’re gazing at the night sky now,
Marvelling at infinity.
So allow your mind to wander
to a peaceful new vicinity.
Picture this;
A rich green forest
Damp with morning dew.
Inhale the morning air
As we explore,
Just me and you.
Leaves create mosaics
In every shade of green
As gentle birdsong mingles
With the bubbling of a stream.
Dappled sepia sunlight
Cuts through branches overhead.
As dewdrops fall from leaf to leaf
Like glistening strands of thread.
The dewdrops finally coalesce
Forming satin beads.
Occasionally they kiss our cheeks,
Small pleasure quenching needs.
Holding hands we stroll
Until we chance upon a brook.
It’s cool clear water
Mirroring our faces as we look.
The shimmering reflection
Shows us smiling from above.
But what we think
But dare not speak
is L-O-V-E love.
Now we snuggle on a raft
And drift for endless hours.
As willow trees sway in the breeze
And blossoms fall in showers.
Gently swaying to and fro,
We look up at the sky.
And watch the clouds above us
Forming shapes as they pass by.
The fragrance that the rain creates
Upon the concrete surface,
Inspires yet relaxes us
Then focuses our purpose.
To shift our minds to neutral,
And allow our thoughts to drift.
And recognize the rainfall,
As a mesmerizing gift.
Sheltering beneath the porch
We watch the rain pour down.
Though now the time has come
To leave this dreamy, moonlit town.
A gentle breeze wafts through the trees,
It causes leaves to stir.
And then the rain relents and fades
As time begins to blur.
We find ourselves upon a shoreline,
Lounging by a lake.
While crickets chirp in nearby reeds
It’s hard to stay awake.
The scene feels like a watercolour,
Soft diluted tones.
As looking down we see each other
Laughing,
Skimming stones.
The stones skip
On the gleaming lake
And ripples start to form.
And though the sun has dipped from
View we feel content and warm.
Herrons drift on thermals,
High above a sun bleached pier
And in the trees beyond the lake
We glimpse a passing deer.
Strands of cloud unfurl
Like ribbons in the orange sky.
Mirrored on the lake now,
Like a painted butterfly.
In the distance
Mountains beckon,
Capped with pristine snow.
The kind of sight that dreams evoke
When hearts and minds let go.
Contemplating nothingness,
A scene takes shape before us.
And as it sharpens in our thoughts
We hear a distant chorus.
When dampened sound of silence
That only snow can bring
Surrounds us with its calming vibes
And touches us within.
Glistening snowflakes fall in flurries,
Mountain rivers freeze.
The powdery slopes look beautiful
And fresh snow dusts the trees.
Somehow now we’re in a cabin
Taking in this view.
As a fire crackles in a corner
Just for me and you.
We linger for a moment
Or maybe it’s been hours.
For when we blink and look again
A vista swathed in flowers.
Another destination lulls us,
Closer now it seems.
Perhaps it’s real
Or just another chapter in our dreams.
Drifting in and out of sleep
Our thoughts take us elsewhere.
To an island fringed by swaying palms
Lush beyond compare.
A path winds through the mangroves
Towards a distant beach
That underlines the turquoise ocean,
Now within our reach.
Eventually we feel the powdery sand
Right beneath our feet.
The sun above now blessing us
With gentle, soothing heat.
We hear the lilting sound of surf
Breaking up ahead
While spiral cells and pearly shards
Determine where we tread.
Finally a lapping wave
Engulfs our sandy feet.
It seems to pause and ruminate
Then gradually retreat,
We dig our goes in cool wet sand
Then sit and face the sea.
And let the sand wash over us,
Alone just you and me.
Staring at the nothingness
That stretches on forever,
Our thoughts dovetail and unify
In tune two minds together.
As minutes turn to hours
We drift off somewhere new.
And visualize a stairway
To a door we now walk through.
Imagine now a meadow
On a balmy afternoon.
Birds and bees and rustling trees
Create a summer tune.
Flaked by fields of sunflowers,
Hand in hand we walk
As the gentle sound of nature
Surrounds us while we talk.
The sunflowers give the scenery
A warm and golden hue,
While hazy sunshine softens
Our idyllic rustic view.
As we roam past hedgerows
A farmhouse sits alone.
Its open shutters pressed against
Uneven walls of stone.
A garden winds around the house
And daisies poke through grass.
A bench that’s lived through countless summers
Creaks as we walk past.
We wonder if the house is empty,
Once loved but no longer.
The thought of passing time inspires
A feeling that grows stronger.
This feeling washes over us
Lost between a sigh.
And as the sun begins to set
We stop and wonder why.
Gravity caresses us
and pulls you close to me
Then the scene begins to fade.
A new reality.
Deeper
Gradually deeper
We drift and now transcend.
To unfamiliar places,
Too surreal to comprehend.
Slowly we capitulate
as sleep begins to call.
Entwined in dreams and twisting scenes
we drift and gently fall.
Friendly faces
Glorious places
Things we hope to do.
Intertwined with snapshots
Some of me, and some of you.
Moonlit valleys,
Burdened forests,
Gazing at the ocean.
Summer meadows,
Tranquil sunsets,
Steeped in pure emotion.
The tenderness we feel
When we are close
Two minds as one
Surrounds us and connects us
But we’ve only just begun.
For now we dream together
Of all there is to follow.
And know that sleep will keep us safe
From now until tomorrow.
Maybe all the memories
That we’ve gathered here tonight
Are all dreams now remembered
Or wishes in plain sight.
No matter what
They’re with us now.
For this night and forever.
And every time we close our eyes
They’re yours and mine to treasure.
Goodnight and sleep well.
(Story by Steve Cleverley and Sanj Sen,
Narration by Harry Styles,
Meditation App Calm)
02.12.2020
It is these undeniable qualities of human love
and compassion and self-sacrifice
that give me hope for the future.
We are, indeed, often cruel and evil.
Nobody can deny this.
We gang up on each one another,
we torture each other,
with words as well as deeds,
we fight, we kill.
But we are also capable of the most noble,
generous, and heroic behavior.
(Jane Goodall)
'I grabbed him and just held him':
Heartbreaking photo shows Houston doctor
in full PPE hugging crying COVID patient
who missed his wife on Thanksgiving.
(Photo by Go Nakamura)
01.12.2020
The moment I die
I will try to come back to you
as quickly as possible.
I promise it will not take long.
Isn’t it true
I am already with you
as I die each moment?
I come back to you
in every moment.
Just look,
feel my presence.
If you want to cry,
please cry,
And know
that I will cry with you.
The tears you shed
will heal us both.
Your tears and mine.
The earth I tread this morning
transcends history.
Spring and Winter are both present
in the moment.
The young leaf and the old leaf
are really one.
My feet touch deathlessness,
And my feet are yours.
Walk with me now.
Let us enter the dimension of oneness
and see the cherry tree blossom in Winter.
Why should we talk about death?
I don’t need to die
to be back with you.
(Thich Nhat Hanh)