Hello my friend, welcome to your sleep story. My name is Stephen Dalton and it's my great
privilege to be the voice that you listen to as you go to sleep tonight. In tonight's story, I'll tell you a very ancient
tale. A tale of love and loss. A tale of magic and a tale that is set in
my homeland of Ireland. It is the ancient legend of Oisín and Níob
and I look forward to sharing it with you. But before that, if the video helps you, please
do hit the like button. This really helps us to keep making these
videos for you to go to sleep to. It's a little thing but it makes a big difference. Also, don't forget that if you want the video
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so you won't be disturbed by ads from upcoming videos. Now, let's do the relaxation session which
will take a few minutes before I tell you tonight's story. I'm going to count down from 10 to 1. And as I do, find yourself becoming more and
more relaxed. 10. Feeling the support beneath you now, your
bed or the floor beneath you. And even deeper, the earth, our home. This planet that gives us life. Feel cradled by it now. 9. Remember, you are safe. You are here to rest. Sink into this moment of safety now. 8. Allow my voice to be an anchor of safety in
this moment. Allow my voice to be a place of comfort that
will tell you a beautiful tale that will enable your imagination to be engaged in a very peaceful
way as you move closer and closer to sleep. 7. Become aware of any residual tension in your
body now. Anywhere you might be holding. Maybe your feet. Maybe your hands. Remember, your body has worked hard for you
today. Allow it some rest now. It deserves it. Let go. 6. Maybe, allow a little gratitude to enter in
now. For this moment. For the opportunity of sleep. For shelter. For the simple things in life. 5. Allowing the breath to just leave your body
now and be ready to breathe in, in through your nose. And as you breathe in, feel a sense of peace
entering your body. And as you breathe out, just let go a little
more. Allow your breath to return to normal now. 4. Where else are you holding? Maybe in your face? Just soften it now. 3. Know that you deserve sleep. You deserve rest. We all do. 2. I'd like you, in your mind's eye now, to begin
to see a forest. A beautiful, misty, magical forest. On a warm, Irish morning. See the colors. See the dappled light. Smell the freshness. The
healing scents of nature. The
purity of it all. 1. Now that you see your forest, allow me to
tell you a story that begins there. Ashin was a beautiful young man. He was known as a great warrior. One of the strongest. One of the bravest. One of the smartest of all the warriors in
his line. This particular morning, Ashin is riding through
the forest. He's with his band of men, called the Fianna. These men look up to Ashin. They are also brave. They are also strong. And Ashin is their leader. Ashin loves to take this ride every morning. For him, it offers peace. It offers perspective. It offers a deep connection to the nature
of his homeland, the land of Ireland. This is ancient Ireland, where Ashin has lived
all his life. He has never left this wild, green place that
sits in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the furthest western reaches of Europe. And by the way, the story I am telling you
would have been told for hundreds and thousands of years by storytellers who would travel
the land of Ireland, moving from village to village, settlement to settlement. And in the evenings, the locals would sit
around and listen to the traveling storyteller. So this story has been passed down for many
generations of Irish people. And I am telling you my version. So, as I was saying, Ashin loved this place. He had grown up running through these woods. He knew every tree, every blade of grass,
every little animal that called this place home. He used to watch the seasons move from one
to the next with great curiosity and wonder. His favorite season was the autumn or the
fall. He loved the rich colors of that time, the
different smells in the air. But on this particular late summer's morning,
as Ashin surveys the forest from his trusty horse, he notices something in the distance. It is… a figure. The figure gets closer. Ashin realizes he is seeing the most beautiful
woman he has ever seen before. She is also riding a horse. She looks at him, and he looks back at her. He can't take her eyes off her. Time passes. The leaves in the trees gently rustle. Ashin's men look to each other, not sure what
to do in this long silence. And then, eventually, she speaks. She says, Ashin, my name is Niv. I have come from the land of Tir-Nanog. You and I are destined to live our lives together
in great happiness. I know you already love me, and I already
love you. You will come with me now, and we will go
to live together, happily ever after, in the land of Tir-Nanog. Ashin couldn't quite believe what was happening. He knew that this woman was his destiny. He knew that she was right. But he also knew what he would have to give
up. He would have to leave behind his men. He would have to leave behind his family. But, it was already written, and he knew he
must go. He went to his castle and bid goodbye to his
parents. He said goodbye to his men. And then, Ashin and Niv went upon their horses and galloped over mountains, by rivers, and
throughout the beautiful land of Ireland. And as Ashin galloped along, he thought of
all of the things he loved about his homeland, the poetic nature of the people, the welcoming
kindness they never failed to show, the landscape itself, unlike any landscape in the world. Wild and green, rocky and ocean-weathered. And speaking of the ocean, they soon arrived
there. The rain was falling as the two young lovers
reached a beautiful beach on the southwest coast of Ireland. They looked at each other and knew that they
were doing exactly the right thing. They felt so safe together, so ready
to spend each other's lives together. And as the rain fell down upon their happy
faces, they shared their first kiss. This was a moment that would stay with them
both forever. Now they mounted their horses again, and Niv
said to Ashin, Follow me. And to Ashin's surprise, Niv started to gallop
across the ocean. Ashin could do nothing else but follow her. And so, as if by some ancient Irish magic,
the two horses galloped on water. The rain continued to fall. The ocean waves were big. And sometimes, it was like they were galloping
up mountains of water. But at all times, they knew they were safe. Because they had the power of the magic within
them, and the power of their shared love together. After some time, they landed on another beach. But this beach was unlike anything Ashin had
ever seen. For this beach was on the land of Tir na nÓg. The sand was a beautiful pink color. The water, a deep turquoise. And by now, the rain had stopped. The skies had cleared. And the sun, our nearest star, was saying
goodbye to the day as it fell behind the ocean. Welcome to Tir na nÓg, Niv said. Your new home. And the two got off their horses and lay on
the soft sand beneath them. And watched as the first stars appeared in
the sky. Then they heard voices in the distance, and
music. And the voices and the music came closer. And soon it was apparent that this was their
welcoming party. All of the island folk carried kandos. And all wore smiles of great happiness to
see their beloved Niv return home. Niv's parents greeted Ashin as if he was their
own son. And that night, Niv and Ashin got married
under the stars on the pink sand beach next to the turquoise waters. It was here, next to this beach, that they
would build their first home. It was here that they spent many, many happy
years together. Ashin deeply loved Tir na nÓg. He loved swimming in its crystal clear waters. He loved the sense of community. How he felt so welcomed here. He loved Niv's parents. But most of all, he loved Niv. He loved the family they created. He loved everything about his life. But after some time had passed, I mean, a
lot of time, one day, as Ashin was walking along the beach, he looked out across the
ocean and wondered about his homeland. He wondered how his own parents were, and
he craved to see them. He went and found Niv and said to her, I need
to go home, just for one day. I need to check that my people are okay. And Niv didn't want him to go. She told him that he might never be able to
return to Tir na nÓg. But Ashin was sure he needed to go. And so, after much discussion, Niv brought
a beautiful white horse down onto the beach and handed the reins to Ashin. She said to him, take this magical white horse,
gallop across the ocean to Ireland. But when you get there, do not let any part
of yourself touch the land of Ireland. If you do, you won't be able to come back. And so, Ashin bid goodbye to his family, bid
goodbye to Niv, held her in a long embrace, mounted the white horse, and galloped out
across the ocean. First, above the turquoise waters, and then
into the Atlantic. The rain started to fall again. And after some time, Ashin was back on his
beloved homeland, Ireland. He knew not to get off the horse, and so he
galloped through the rain, over mountains and past rivers, till eventually he arrived
to where his family's settlement was, to where his castle was. And when he arrived, what had been once a
beautiful, lively settlement of people, was now abandoned, overgrown with moss and trees,
and what had been his beautiful home, the castle where his parents had raised him, was
nothing but a ruin now. Ashin couldn't understand it. Where had his people gone? He roamed the land in search of them, but
couldn't find any trace. And just as he was about to go back to the
beach, and back to Niamh, and back to the land of Tyrnanog, he saw some footprints leading
down a little laneway, and so decided to see who was there. And there, down the laneway, were some very
old men, trying to move a big rock out of the way of their path, and now Ashin was strong,
and knew he could help. But he couldn't get off the horse, and so
instead, he leaned off his horse at an angle, and tried to grab the rock with one arm, but
as he did, he slipped and fell, and landed on the soft earth of the land of Ireland. When he landed there, quite an amazing thing
happened. Ashin aged three hundred years. You see, the land of Tyrnanog is where time
stood still. While he was there, Ashin hadn't aged a day. But now that he was on his homeland, he aged
the amount of years he had been gone. The old men could see that Ashin didn't have
long left, and so they carried him, together, up to the top of a mountain called Crowpatrick,
and at the top of that mountain was where Saint Patrick lived. Saint Patrick blessed Ashin as he moved on
to another world. Now some say that the other world he went
to was straight back to Tyrnanog, and some say as well that Ashin and Niamh continued
to gallop the oceans around the beautiful, mystical, magical island of Ireland.
