hs: snowville

hello there thanks for joining us for tonight's visit to Stovall it's no exaggeration to say that it's one of the coziest places on earth with its spires and domes and twinkling lights its ivy-covered archways and cobbled streets well it could have come straight from the pages of a children's storybook but the most amazing thing is that it all came about quite naturally it's reassuring to know that places like this still exist and that whatever you do by day Snowville is always here for you to visit at night before we go on I think it's nice to begin with a little wine down exercise for tonight's wind down you're going to use your imagination 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 just put everything down to let go of any inner chatter and just 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 to be still and when you're ready just taking a big deep breath breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth and as you breathe out just allowing the body to sink down into your bed feeling the weight of the body allowing thoughts to come and go just imagining a steady flow of warm sunlight just 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 warm space Yves as it continues to travel up through the body I'll pass the waste to the back and the stomach it's as though it just 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 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 nestled in the mountains overlooking a forested valley and a gleaming ribbon of river snow veau is a beautifully preserved medieval town renowned for its festive night market on a snowy winters evening it's one of the best places to be from a distance the town is fast a sprinkling of light and then a warm glow tucked into the mountains shadowy slopes the headlights of the car that brought you here illuminated a beautiful stone archway with what looked like a bell tower on top somewhere a specialist no Ville has to have a special entrance when the car passed through the archway you became aware of an atmosphere a feeling romantic mysterious and comforting all at once and when you open the door and got out It was as if you'd stepped out into a fairy tale the night market occupies one side of the town square the stalls are enclosed in wooden huts decorated with fairy lights and sprigs of fur you stroll towards the stalls taking in the sounds and smells sugar and pastry spices sizzling sausages snatches of festive music and the low hubbub of market goers here's a stool selling mulled wine the deep pots the wine is prepared in send up clouds of steam as the stall holders ladle mugful after mugful for their customers a gaggle of well wrapped up people stand in front of the stall clutching their mugs which are shaped like boots in gloved hands you don't even have to taste it just the smell of the wine with its notes of orange cinnamon and cloves is heady and warming you breathe in deeply next door specializes and deep fried balls of sweet pastry you watch the stool holder rolling out an oblong of dough now he swiftly cuts it into strips and gathers it into a ball he's used to being watched while he works so he performs each action with a small suresh just before you move on he looks up catches your eye inclines his head and docks his white baker's cap as if to say thanks for stopping by one of the many special things about this town is its lights everywhere you go you find fairy lights cascading from buildings or illuminating your path through an ivy-covered archway there are trees strung with lights and lights running up poles and the dazzling fairground lights of the carousel there are the beaming store windows and the warm lights blooming from the upper storey windows as if the building's occupants might be having a cosy night in a round of fire the lights alone in this town would be enough to hold anyone's attention as you stroll through the streets and square every now and then stopping in front of a window display or a stool to take in some new delights like this door selling silver candle holders with a lacy design cut into them the glow of the candlelight showing off the silhouettes of the designs a leaping form or a motif of stars which shine out into the night here's a store with the display of cuckoo clocks in the window there long pendulums which hang from the base of each clock swing back and forth beautifully carved out of wood these clocks look like miniature chalets the one you're looking at has tiny criss-cross windows with red shutters and a balcony across the front above the clock face with two colorful figures standing on it the painted details on these figures are such that you can see one has a red waistcoat with white buttons and the other is wearing a green dress and the base of the clock are trees and the figure of a woodcutter who looks like he might leap into action when the hour strikes just as you're about to turn away the clock chimes sure enough the woodcutter lifts his axe bends to chop wood and straightens again meanwhile the two figures shoot out of their balcony bow to each other and then retake their places perfect timing you're strolling down a narrow cobbled street there's a nip in the air for sure and most of the roofs are still layered with snow but you're cozy in your winter coat and scarf you notice many of the stores have these incredible raw iron signs hanging above their doorways their guild signs dating from medieval times they spell out the name of the premises willed the type of business with some kind of emblem here's one for a locksmith it has a golden key hanging from it the bracket holding the sign to the front of the building is wonderfully ornate embellished with leaf motifs and curlicues here's another which shows a pig and a little girl in silhouette miss charming pear sits in the center of an iron ring with a further ring of spirals around it now that you're looking for them you notice these signs everywhere all along the street and in the distance beyond the town you can just make out the snowy mountain peaks and above them a crescent moon looking magical does the moon ever not look magical now your eye is caught dazzled actually by what seems to be a gift store the whole building is waved in fairy lights they run along the edges of its pointed roof picking out a perfect triangle and curve around each window so that from a distance it looks like a child's drawing of a house glowing in the dark there are a number of people milling about in front of the store gazing in you join them all of you transfixed by the window display it shows a miniature town one that looks rather familiar of course it's a miniature version of this town made up of detailed porcelain model houses laid out on three levels on a white cloth it's so convincing you might imagine your viewing of real town from the air nestled among the snowy slopes of a mountain all the houses have steep pointed roofs just like the real houses here with their timber framework neatly painted on in chocolate brown they almost look good enough to eat each house contains some sort of light source within so their small windows glow enchantingly here and there model people stand about in their model hats and gloves taking a stroll around their little snow Ville just as you're taking a stroll around yours as you're wandering around the town you notice a set of stone steps leading upwards just like the streets these steps have been thoroughly diced you take hold of the sturdy wooden balusters and ascend to find yourself on the town's ramparts a stone walkway circling the walls of the town it's lit by lanterns affording you a wonderful view of the town at night the pointed roofs of the houses seem to jostle together at this height some still coated with small drifts of snow some releasing little puffs of smoke from their chimneys a cobbled texture of small round tiles and some of the roofs almost makes them look knitted on the streets below you can see people wandering about and woolly hats peering into shop windows sampling local delicacies and celebrating their finds with each other the ramparts though are quiet and you stand still to enjoy this peaceful moment looking up at the night sky which is a deep dark blue splashed with stars you're standing in the town square the snow has been cleared from the ground the benefit of pedestrians and you can feel the cobbles under your boots directly in front of you is a huge building which you assume must be the Town Hall at both several turrets if your eyes don't deceive you it's evening after all and those spires are some way up it looks as though there's a small triangular flag flying from each one it wouldn't be a surprise to find out that a fairytale princess lived here the Town Hall has a great number of windows including about eight keeping up out of the roof which is dusted with a light layer of snow the rows of windows twinkle in the darkness like candles on an elaborate cake it's only a building of course but you sense of benevolence and kind meanness emanating from the Town Hall it's glad to see you a light snow has started falling now and the people around you quicken their pace bundling in closer under awnings stomping the snow of their boots as they enter the town's guest house presumably to partake of some warming repast it's a half-timbered building with wonky beams and sleepy-looking leaded windows each time the door opens there's a faint burst I'm an enclosed sound being briefly set free before the peaceful atmosphere that the snow has brought resumes smudged by the snow flurry the lights decorating the town and becoming muddy losing their sharp edges you snowball more deeply into your scarf preparing to head indoors but first you can't resist looking up at the gathering whiteness brightening the dark as you do one or two snowflakes alight on your cheek gently like a goodnight kiss

Channel: Xanax

Views: 2,849

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: headspace, sleepcast, snowville, sleep, calm, guided meditation, sleepcasts

Id: qj-d0Nsk3Fw

Length: 40min 0sec (2400 seconds)

Published: Fri May 29 2020