The Garden of Enchantment

  This was originally published in Perchance To Dream.

You have visited beautiful gardens before, but this garden is special.

This garden is here to restore the spirits to the disenchanted.

Welcome to The Garden of Enchantment.

From the moment you approach its all-encompassing hedge, you feel it working on you already. Your first sense affected is scent, as the Garden offers you scents from every flower you ever loved.

The sun shines on your body as you open the gate, a little iron thing which opens with a squeak to allow you entry. There is a footpath beyond, cool stone cobbles undulating across the lawn, past the central fountain with its rushing, babbling waters glittering in the daylight.

And then you walk past the fountain, and on into the garden proper, following a desire path through the grass.

This is a journey of pleasure, past banks of fragrant flowers flooding the air with their sweet scent, to clouds of pollinating bees and butterflies, clustering around overhanging wisteria.

Beyond that is a large ornamental pond, the cool waters taking away the heat of the day.

And soon, your desire path through the undergrowth takes you to the labyrinth at the heart of the garden.

This labyrinth is unicursal. The path only goes in one direction, closer and closer to the centre with each turn. As your feet step onto the winding path, your thoughts slow down, your mind growing still and silent as all urgency leaves you.

There is only the sun on your body, and the feel of the soil on the path beneath your feet, and each turn which takes away yet more of your thoughts and emotions as you carefully, methodically, calmly, just follow the path, and your planning stops as your whole life becomes just following the path, just seeing the path dead ahead, no further than the next bend.

Because, as the labyrinth takes you closer to the centre, all the paths are getting shorter, and your ability to think gets shorter and shorter, too, and it's so easy to let go and drop now, but you've got to see things through, at the centre.

Because the centre is so close, now, and when you get there, all you need to do is go blank, and let go, and let all your thoughts stop, and even as you realise this, you see the centre of the labyrinth just up ahead, and when you reach it, all your thinking stops, and your mind stops, and it all goes blank and empty, and so so peaceful, and you'll just want to go here next.

Rainfall Sounds for Meditation (Audio)

 Here is an audio file to help you to relax. 41 minutes of rainfall ASMR, for meditation.

@alex-greene-hypnotist

Audio Recital - Descending The Tower

@alex-greene-hypnotist

The text of Descending The Tower, which you could read as you listen, if you wish.

You can, on completion of the file, visit this link.

Descending The Tower

Please, make yourself comfortable. I'm going to tell you a story, and I hope you'll pay attention because you might be missing out on some of the benefits you will get when you relax and listen and just let my words and the sound of my voice carry you away.

You are going to come with me on a little trip. I hope you come prepared.

You're on a balcony, overlooking a magnificent Italian city built during the Renaissance. All those beautiful houses and buildings all around you, so far below. The dressed marble of the balcony is cold under your hands. The wind ruffles your hair. The shade is cool behind you, on this sunny day, under a lovely blue sky. The sounds of the city – rumbling traffic, beeping horns, a police siren going past, the sound going down a tone as it speeds away from you – echo and fill your body.

Far below, the soft, comfortable, incessant murmur of the street-level crowds: locals, tourists, students: forms a constant soothing backdrop.

The doorway is behind you, and beyond that the spiralling staircase going down to the ground. The area within is dark when you open the door, but warmer than you thought it would be. The draft of warm air rising up the stair column brushes against your body and gently caresses your hair as it escapes through the door.

There is a polished brass railing; it is smooth and hard in your hand, your footsteps echoing as you take your first steps down the marble stairs, past windows letting in shafts of sunlight, lazy flecks of dust slowly descending in the warm, still air as you step onto each lower step, slowly turning around and around, following the spiralling staircase down, lower and lower.

You are on the tenth floor. As you get lower, it gets warmer and a bit darker with each step you take. The tensions in your body are melting away, because it is such a lovely day. Kick off your shoes. The cool stone steps are solid and smooth beneath the soles of your feet.

Smell of warm bread nearby. Take a deep breath. Breathe it in, and release muscle tensions as you breathe out. And go deeper, take a deep breath in, and hold ...

4 ...

3 ...

2 ...

1 ...

and now release it slowly ...

4 ...

3 ...

2 ...

1 ...

You are now at 9, and so relaxed as the stair slowly takes you lower with each step that you take, slowly circling, spiralling, lower and lower, deeper with every step, and each step removing some more of that muscle tension, and you feel so very very relaxed.

Someone's garden nearby is in full bloom, and there are so many lovely scents to pick out of the heady aromatic melange in the air, encouraging you to take a deep breath in, and hold ...

4 ...

3 ...

2 ...

1 ...

and now release it slowly ...

4 ...

3 ...

2 ...

1 ...

And this is floor 8, and your body remembers when you got into bed after a long day, and the sheets were crisp and fresh and sliding into the bed was a heaven. The warmth against your skin, the smell of the fresh sheets, the smooth texture of your skin, and the way your muscles couldn't help but relax and let go. And you go down deeper, taking those steps which take you lower and lower, so take a deep breath in, and hold ...

4 ...

3 ...

2 ...

1 ...

and now release it slowly ...

4 ...

3 ...

2 ...

1 ...

You are now at floor 7, and that day comes to you when everything worked out just great, just perfect, that one absolutely perfect day when everything just fit into place, as you are, as your mind and body are relaxing, as you go lower down the stairs, everything getting into place, deeper and deeper.

You dwell on the peak moment of that day, a memory of great comfort and warmth which you run through as if you were living it for the first time, immersing yourself in the joyous embrace of that memory, before you take a deep breath in, and hold ...

4 ...

3 ...

2 ...

1 ...

and now release it slowly ...

4 ...

3 ...

2 ...

1 ...

You arrive at floor 6, and your body is so relaxed, now, so heavy, and there is really only one way now – and that is down, down the stairs, round and round, slowly going deeper and deeper with every step, breathing in deeply, breathing out slowly, breathing out the tension, breathing in relaxation of the body and the mind, and hold ...

4 ...

3 ...

2 ...

1 ...

and now release it slowly ...

4 ...

3 ...

2 ...

1 ...

The wonderful changes and relaxations in your body and your mind are releasing all your tensions as you reach 5, and keep going down, lower and lower, with your body heavy and relaxed like lead, so wonderful and warm and safe and relaxed and good and the steps under your feet are so smooth and cool, your clothes on your body, the air going in and out of you, deep breath in, and hold ...

4 ...

3 ...

2 ...

1 ...

and now release it slowly ...

4 ...

3 ...

2 ...

1 ...

You are now at 4, and so close to the ground now, close to the end of your journey, and your body moves so gracefully, all the parts of your body relaxed and working and moving together, and it all fits together and you want this goodness and wonderfulness to continue, so heavy, so relaxed, and you take more steps lower and lower, deeper and deeper, and take a deep breath in, and hold ...

4 ...

3 ...

2 ...

1 ...

and now release it slowly ...

4 ...

3 ...

2 ...

1 ...

Another few steps, and you've finally got to 3. Not much further to go. So warm, so comfy, so relaxed, and let this go a little more and take the next step down. All the way down, and so relaxed, and you've got further and further to go, and it's dark and warm and safe and the stairs are going down and you are going down along with them, but no matter how far they go there's only a bit more left and all you have to do to get to the very end is to relax.

Relax so completely and fully. Let it all go. Just take a deep breath in, and hold ...

4 ...

3 ...

2 ...

1 ...

and now release it slowly ...

4 ...

3 ...

2 ...

1 ...

It's easy, isn't it?

So easy that you've reached 2 before you know it. And there is only one more step to go now, before you reach the bottom, and take a deep breath in, and hold ...

4 ...

3 ...

2 ...

1 ...

and now release it slowly ...

4 ...

3 ...

2 ...

1 ...

And you are at 1, and you can let it all go, sink down onto the warm, soft bed, lie back, pressed sheets, warm bedroom, dark, quiet, safe, and close your eyes fully and ... just ... sleep.

Yes, that's right. Very good. All the way down, and ...

Sleep.

Deep, deep, sleep.

There is a place of grace nearby: an oasis of silence amid the city's noise. It radiates blissful peace, an aura which beckons you to enter. Pay a visit to The Temple here.

The Tea Emporium Recital

 This is an audio recital of The Tea Emporium by the author.

Audio Reading

The Tea Emporium

 

A building stands before you, surrounded by a beautiful privet-hedged garden, its azure painted door open and inviting, beckoning you, O weary soul, to enter and take your rest.

Above the door is a sign which simply says TEA.

The little wrought iron gate before you also stands open, offering you a clear path. Following the path as it gently winds towards the door, you have time to see what the garden holds.

Over there, you see lavender. There, lemon balm, and jasmine. The drowsy scent of gardenias greets you as you approach the door, and beside the front door you see valerian.

The azure-framed bay windows at ground level are large, offering a grand view of the garden. You see aloe vera and snake plants in small pots on the window sills. Glancing around behind you, you see sage, rosemary, and roses growing behind the hedge which you had not noticed on your way in. Clematis rises on trellises either side of the building. There is a rosehip bush in the far corner of the garden.

Within the building, you catch the odour of baking bread coming from the kitchen. Two doors stand at the far end of this room. The one on the left is behind a curtain of amethyst beads. The one on the right is the kitchen area, where the baking aroma comes from. Other scents are emerging from the other room - scents of tea, and herbs.

A number of small, round tables dot the room. You cross the room, the floorboards creaking underneath your feet, and pick your table. Looking out through the bay window into the serene garden, you are entranced both by the garden itself, and the beautiful, quiet land through which you have come to be here, O weary traveller, to take your rest before you move on.

You look down, and see a teacup and steaming teapot on the table. The linen tablecloth is cool to the touch as you reach for the cup. It is a light black tea, scented with mint, bergamot, rose, gardenia, and honey. Beside the teapot is a honeypot and a small beechwood honey dipper.

Your heavy eyelids want to close, because you want to savour the taste. The tea soothes as you sip it, each herbal flavour caressing your tongue, the light notes flooding your sinuses as the refreshing tea cleanses your palate, washing away the dryness within your mouth. Once cleared, you can taste again, savouring the fullness of the tea as you swish it around against your tongue, caressing the back of your throat, easing your tensions.

Because those tensions are easing, now, aided by the gardenias and the aromas of lemon balm and valerian, a gentle caress from within which unlocks muscles you didn't even realise had been tense, and washing away the last vestiges of anxiety and stress, replacing them with comfort, relaxation, and a desire to deepen these feelings. The Tea Emporium feels like home, its gentle aura greeting you like a long-lost prodigal member of the family, welcoming you as an old friend rather than a stranger.

Bringing you home, to where your focus can be allowed to change, and your thoughts to slow because there is no more need to hurry, which means you are at home here, and any time you come here again your soul will let go of your tensions and worries, let your thoughts drift, like the aromas from the tea, like your exhaled breath, letting your focus and thoughts drift away untethered, letting them stop, fade like steam into the air, until every thought and all the tension are gone, empty now, still and peaceful, empty, and when you are ready, still, empty, you can click on this link and visit The Teamaker's Temple.

The Mountain Lake

 It beckons you.

It's been such a long day. You're stressed. You're frustrated, and so tired. Not everything has been going your way today, and you want to go somewhere away from it all.

You can find a place for you, right where you are. You can let your mind take a walk.

It is late in the day. The sun is setting, and the woods are cool, with soft birdsong in the distance and a cool odour of pine hanging in the still air. Pine needles crunch underfoot as you traverse the slight desire path between the trees. The passage of many feet over the years has cleared this path of undergrowth, but it is thick to either side, bringing a mixture of other scents in the air - valerian, lemon balm, jasmine, lavender.

A light rain is beginning to fall. You are wearing suitable raingear, and you feel protected and warm as you follow the trail, and the rainfall is a reassuring sound on the forest canopy.

You reach a turning point, and as the upward slope reaches its peak, you see the glint of water below, at the end of the path. Your destination, the mountain lake, awaits.

You find your path down becoming easier with each step, and your destination getting closer. The harmony of floral scents also tantalises: the waters of the lake must be a blessing for the wildlife and wildflowers on its shores, a blessing which awaits you.

The light of the sun overhead is turning a glorious gold, visible through the thinning canopy. The light rain has stopped, and you will be at the lakeshore before it falls again.

And because you are descending towards the lake shore, your body is relaxing in anticipation, and you can focus on how your body feels as some of your muscles loosen, and the tension emerge from you like a golden cloud as you transform the darkness of tension into a warm golden light which leaves behind a feeling of deep contentment and peace as it exits your body.

Which means that you can enjoy drawing in a long, deep breath now through your nose, and exhaling more golden light through your mouth, making you 40% more rested and ready.

And as the focus of your mind changes, you draw in another long, luxurious breath, letting in the deeply relaxing aromas of valerian, lavender, and lemon balm, and let out another long, deep breath which increases your relaxation by another 40%, and you're almost there.

Which means that when you take each step towards the approaching lake shore, the edge of the woods, your focus changes, and it changes again as you reach the threshold of the woods, which means that you can take one more long, beautiful breath, and enjoy that cool air, and as you breathe out now, you reach 100% of where you need to be.

And at 100%, as all your conscious thoughts leave you with your outward breath, and all your conscious worries and woes go out and take your conscious mind, and you drift fully away and you let your mind go fully now, you can follow this link to the Lake, and carry on there, deepening your experience, releasing all that tension there.