Start Here Part 1: The Ring Stays On

Start Here, part one. Hi. I'm Juliet. I'm a married woman. And this is the first thing I ever recorded just for my husband. If you found me, maybe that's you. Before anything else, a few simple things. Put your headphones on. Lie down, or sit somewhere soft, where nobody needs anything from you for a little while. Never listen while you're driving, or doing anything that needs your attention. This one is short. About ten minutes. And at the end I'll count you back up, clear and awake. Before we begin, find your ring. If you wear one, touch it now. If you don't, touch the finger where it would sit. Feel the little band of skin there. That's where we start. Close your eyes. Take a slow breath in through your nose. Hold it at the top. And let it go through your mouth. Again. In. Hold. And out, long and slow. One more. In. Hold. And let the whole day go with it. Now just breathe normally. Nothing to control. Just notice it. In, and out. Every breath out a little softer than the one before. Notice your forehead. Let it go smooth. Your eyes, heavy behind your eyelids. Your jaw loose. Teeth apart. Your shoulders dropping away from your ears. Your arms heavy. Your hands heavy. Only the ring finger stays a little warm. Your chest rising and falling by itself. Your legs heavy, all the way down to your feet. Heavy and warm and still. In a moment I'll count down from ten to one. You don't have to try to go anywhere. Just let each number take you a little further down, like a stair that carries you without thinking. Ten. Heavier. Nine. Softer. Eight. Further away from the day. Seven. Closer to my voice. Six. Five. Halfway down, and it's so easy. Four. Three. Almost there. Two. And one. All the way down. The ring stays on. Good. Right here, I want to give you something. A few words you can keep. Whenever you hear me say The ring stays on, you feel exactly what you feel right now. Heavy. Warm. Quiet. Mine. The ring stays on. Let it settle into you. The ring stays on. Like a ring sliding down a finger, slowly, until it sits where it belongs. The ring stays on. That's yours now. And every time you hear it, it works a little faster. You don't have to remember this. You don't have to believe it. Your mind keeps it for you, the way it keeps the words of a song you heard only once. The ring stays on. Deeper. And deeper. Good. I'll tell you a secret while you float. A wife can want more than one thing. She can love her husband. And still want more. You don't have to think about that now. Just let it float next to you, like a warm thought you can look at later. In a moment I'll count you back up from one to five. With every number you feel lighter and clearer. And everything I gave you tonight stays exactly where I put it. One. Feeling comes back into your hands. Into the ring on your finger. Two. Your breath a little deeper. Three. Lighter. Clearer. Four. Stretch, if you want to. And five. Eyes open. Wide awake, and feeling good. That was your first drop. You did beautifully. Come back tomorrow, and we go a little further. Next time, I teach your body to drop the moment you touch your ring. Part two.