All Shall Be Well

     At my home, on the edge of Gatineau Park in Western Quebec, January is winter. The daylight hours are short, and the trees seem to be asleep, moving only passively when the wind demands and imposes it.

     When they emerge from this time of apparent inactivity, the trees will be ready to deliver the riotous celebration we call Spring. They will be renewed. They will have arranged their reserves into accessible resources. They will allow life to burst into physical reality. The waiting of winter will be revealed as a source of massive creativity, a vital and necessary part of the annual rhythm of a tree.
     This is a good time to consider the cycle of our own bodies, and the need for rest and renewal within our daily rhythm. If we are to waken to a daytime of productivity and blossoming then we need the best possible sleep.
     There is an inevitable progression in the cycle of growth and rest. If we are to get the optimum benefit of our sleep hours, we might do well to learn from the forest.  Trees do not try to produce blooms in November, in a mad-dash rush to do more before resting. Trees spend no energy resisting the fact of winter. They allow the time of the cycle to be: it is what it is.
     Likewise, our bodies sleep. This is an inevitability and sleep deprivation is a torture. In sleep our physical body rebuilds and replaces and heals itself; our mental plane shuffles and organizes the information of the day. During the hours of rest, we are recreating the energies we will use during our waking hours.
     Preparing for the best rest means accepting that deep slumber for several hours is a better choice than a series of naps and snoozes. The number of hours varies, and learning about our individual pattern is an opportunity to appreciate our distinct connexion with the body in which we reside.
     As we prepare for sleep, we should pay attention to our mindset. The thoughts we allow will vibrate throughout the night. Dr. Wayne Dyer calls this ‘marinating.’ If our time alone in quiet darkness begins with obsessing about the driver who cut us off; the boss who took credit for our efforts; the child who may be ill, then we create a condition of anger and upset which is not slightly restful or renewing. A bedtime expression of optimism would generate a calmer, more comfortable field. Fourteenth century Christian mystic Julian of Norwich wrote a simple prayer which expresses an optimism which was unusual in the church-led practices of her day: “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well."
     In 2015, in a culture where bedtime rituals of story-telling and prayer have given way to late- night television and one more look at social media, it is not always simple to connect with positive emotions which are present within us.
     I have created Goodnight Wishes: a free downloadable file to help you to shift into a loving vibration. These are short and simple invocations which you can read for, and to, yourself. You might choose to close your eyes and transmit the idea to someone you love: energy is not impeded by distance. As you open your heart to the gentle kindnesses and celebrations contained on each page, you will shift your mind, preparing it for a different kind of sleep.
     “Go to sleep with visions of what you love,” writes Dr. Wayne Dyer, “Let your dream vision marinate overnight.”
     Download your copy of Goodnight Wishes here and let your sleep begin as you choose to connect with Spirit.

     Jo Leath has been supporting clients through change and growth since the 1980s.
     For a consultation, in person or by Skype click here
     For a free printable labyrinth click here