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This meditation is designed to relax your nervous system, which helps to induce sleep.

Also, practices like these will train your mind to be present during the wakeful moments of life

too. Training your mind to be present through meditation practice helps to build new pathways

in your brain and makes it easier to respond wisely instead of impulsively when difficult

circumstances arise. It's similar to how you build muscle when you exercise regularly,

but you can do this while you relax and drift off to sleep.

And it's not just about avoiding negative thoughts. Meditation also makes it easier to recognise

this, savor, and be present in the wonderful moments that life brings. That's what we'll

focus on tonight. Being present is about remembering, remembering that life happens in this moment

and nowhere else. Not in the past and not in thinking about or planning for what's going to happen

in the future. Inately, we know how to be in the moment. If you've ever spent time in nature

and felt a deep sense of belonging, then you understand how it feels to be connected with your

natural state of presence. A similar experience can be felt when we reach a state of flow,

while playing an instrument, for example, or sports, or just doing something you really love.

It's that sensation of being completely absorbed in whatever you're doing.

But often, instead of focusing on the moment at hand, we let our responsibilities, busyness,

and an abundance of thinking take over. Thoughts and mental to-do lists can pile up until it feels like

...