I've been thinking a lot about sleep recently. My two-year-old has finally settled down into

a palatable pattern, and I'm relearning the simple pleasures of long deep sleep. I've

always been a decent sleeper, but I do know that it's a big issue for so many people.

And in fact, probably the biggest reason people turn to mindfulness and meditation.

So in this special episode I'm going to focus on sleep. So I would also recommend

only listening to it when going to sleep, because you know, as it happens, we heard from

our listener survey that many of you like to listen to Meditative Story as you prepare

for sleep anyway. As a new added benefit for members, we'll be releasing a companion audio

experience to Meditative Story called Sleep Song. I like to think of Sleep Song as a new bedtime

experience. We created it because so many of you love the original music we compose for the

podcast. Our composer Ryan takes the beautiful melodies from each Meditative Story episode,

and custom creates soundtracks that settle your mind, allowing you to wind down.

Then as you shift into sleep, Sleep Song transitions into more abstract musical washes and

tones that shift in and out of focus, essentially becoming a dream score. It's one of the benefits

we've created for members, which we offer for $99 a year. So please head to meditativestory.com

forward slash member to sign up and become a member. We'll be adding new sleep songs every month.

Okay, so speaking of sleep, out of all the meditations I've designed over the years,

this is the one I get asked about the most, and I call it fade. And what we're learning to do

is quiet our mind, since quiet minds and good night sleep are best friends. Let's start by just

enjoying lying here. Your body is supported by the bed. Know that you're totally held by the bed,

with no effort from you at all. Nice and supported. Nice and cozy.

And for the start of this meditation, we'll actually open our eyes, even though it's dark,

...