Tropical Serenity in Bali

A light evening rain has just started here in Uluwatu, Bali. Small round drops cool a stone path still warm from the afternoon sun. The wind carries the earthy scent of wet leaves and grass from nearby paddies while the infinity pool ripples and mirrors the orange and violet sky. Before we arrive, let's pause for a short wind down exercise. For tonight's wind down, you're going to use your imagination. So, get your imagination ready and let's begin. So, no matter what's been going on today, whether it's been a busy day or a calm one, this is an opportunity to put everything down, to let go of any inner chatter, and find a place of rest in both the body and the mind. So first, get yourself comfortable in bed, just taking a moment to pause and be still, and when you're ready, taking a big, deep breath, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. And as you breathe out, allowing the body to sink down into your bed, feeling the weight of the body, allowing thoughts to come and go. Now, imagining a steady flow of warm sunlight flowing down through the body, dissolving any tension, any discomfort, as it begins to fill the body, starting with the toes, moving up through the feet and the legs, being filled with sunlight. The qualities of warmth, space, and ease, as it continues to travel up through the body, up past the waist, to the back and the stomach. It's as though it washes away any discomfort. It continues up through the chest, and the back, into the shoulders, and down the arms, all the way down to the hands and fingers. A sense of relief in the body and stillness in the mind as it continues to travel up through the neck and the throat into the head and face all the way to the very top of the body until there's nothing other than that sense of stillness remaining. And now, just gently bringing the attention back to the body. The last golden tendrils of sunset are fading from the sky on the Bukit Peninsula as evening draws in. During the day, thin wisps of clouds stretch like a white sheet of cotton candy across a cerulean sky. The village road holds a distance away from the beach crowds making it a perfect place for a slow, scenic ride on a bicycle should one be inclined to do so. The road leads past open fields of banana trees, cassava, and even wandering chickens who graze on the land as freely as any other bird on the island. Bougainvillea spill over stone walls in bursts of pink and magenta, and every so often, a garden gecko scurries by, their green bodies camouflaging behind the grass. Far below the path, sandy beaches are tucked into the cliff sides, like secret paradises, hidden between the slender fingers of Mother Nature's hand. As the sun sinks lower in...