And it’s funny how, when you’re looking at something like that… something so still… your eyes begin to blink… not because they have to… but because they can… and each time they do, it feels easier… to allow them to rest…

Because when your eyes begin to feel just a little heavier… that might be a signal… that your unconscious mind is ready to start listening… even more closely… than before…

Now some people say that breathing has a rhythm of its own… and others find that as they breathe in, a sense of ease begins to rise up… and as they breathe out… a little tension slips away… and maybe you’ll notice… how the chair beneath you… supports you more deeply… with each passing moment…

And whether the day outside is cloudy or clear… you might like to imagine… that it’s a beautiful summer’s day… the kind that carries the scent of blossoms… the sound of birdsong… and the warmth of sunlight that wraps itself around you… like a soft, familiar blanket…

And in that place… that imagined garden… perhaps there’s a path… a gentle one… made of cobblestones… leading just a little further into that comforting place inside yourself…

And as you notice each step… each stone beneath your feet… something inside you begins to move… downward… inward… deeper…

And isn’t it interesting… how a simple walk down a familiar path… can lead you to something new… or perhaps to something you once knew… but forgot you remembered…

Eventually, the path may shift… into a soft slope… and you might notice a few statues, maybe even a band frozen in time… and to one side… a bandstand, aged and dignified… and nearby… an inviting chair… shaded just right… waiting patiently…

Now I don’t know if you’ll take the steps down quickly or slowly… but I do know that as I count from ten to one… you’ll find yourself feeling more and more… comfortably drawn into that peaceful place…

Ten… drifting… Nine… deeper still… Eight… that’s right… Seven… letting go… Six… halfway now… Five… more relaxed than before… Four… floating down… Three… nearly there… Two… so close now… One… and here you are… right where you need to be…

That chair… yes, that one… it knows how to hold you… as if it were made just for you… and when you settle into it… something relaxes… even more…

And it’s so curious… that something which once seemed so big… like fear… now seems so… distant… or maybe even a little silly… like a shadow that disappears in the light…

Because fear and calm… they just don’t sit in the same chair, do they?

And maybe, just maybe, your mind is starting to notice… that fear… is something that was learned… and what’s learned… can be unlearned… can be seen differently… from a new angle…

It’s like when you discover that something you thought was real… was really just a trick of the light… an illusion… like a magician’s sleight of hand…

And that reminds me… of a story.

It’s a story about Dawn… and perhaps you’ve heard it… or maybe it’s just now that you’re hearing it for the first time, again…

You see, Dawn was lovely, radiant… always arriving with quiet beauty… but she had a concern… she worried about Dusk… not because Dusk was unkind… but because Dusk was also beautiful… and that made Dawn feel… unsure…

So Dawn crafted a mirror… a magical one, at least in her eyes… and every morning, she would look into it… and ask it that one question…

“Who is the most beautiful one in town?”

And each morning, the mirror said nothing… until one day, it spoke… not with an answer… but with a question of its own…

“What does it matter?”

And isn’t that something? A mirror asking a question… and a question that opened a door in Dawn’s mind…

A door that led to a calm place… a knowing place… where fear wasn’t needed anymore… because she began to remember… that she never needed the mirror at all…

And that’s how it is, sometimes… we create something long ago… to help us… to protect us… and it did help, back then… but now… you may find that you’ve outgrown the need for it…

Now, here in this chair… in this garden… in this moment… you remember that your breath is your power… your calm is your strength… and fear… is just a passing shadow that no longer fits the shape of who you are becoming…

So go ahead… take that deep breath again… and again… and notice… how each breath brings more confidence… more clarity… and more peace…

And you might even begin to imagine… all the new illusions you’ll create… illusions of joy, of possibility, of wonder… because you are the magician now…

And the old fears… well, they’re just stories… told long ago… to a younger version of you who needed them… but you… you have new stories to tell now…

In a moment, I’ll count from one to five… and when I do… you’ll return… refreshed, confident… and perhaps carrying with you… a little more of yourself than before…

One… beginning to return… Two… bringing with you what matters most… Three… becoming aware of the room… Four… eyelids fluttering… Five… eyes open, wide awake… refreshed… relaxed… and ready.