Dear reader
“Nocturnal Worlds: journeys through nature for sleep and relaxation weaves together a symphony of nature sounds and captivating storytelling in an audio experience that highlights Australia’s unique nocturnal ecosystems… Whether you're seeking a calm meditation, a restful night's sleep, or want to learn about our amazing natural world, this podcast will transport you to a nocturnal wonderland.” – from the Nocturnal Worlds Podcast webpage
And transport me it did.
I first listened to the Nocturnal Worlds Podcast on a day when I was so cranky with my life that I wasn’t sure if I would ever be non-cranky again. My world seemed vile and I had spent the morning shuffling through it as a sentient pile of hate and anger.
Twenty-two minutes after aurally diving into the world of the Spinifex Hopping Mouse I felt as if I could remember how to breathe again. The idea of a Spinifex Hopping Mouse “cuddle-puddle” - collectively grooming and then falling asleep after a night spent feasting on seeds and sensing rain on the wind - made my morning’s quotient of bullshit retreat just a little more into the background.
I first came across this podcast in the Compassion Revolution’s Three Things newsletter. Compassionate Revolutionary, Mary Freer, had written:
“The soundscape is so delicate. I could hear rustling and stirring and the song of the flying foxes as they took off for the night. I drifted into sleep knowing I was perched inside my cosy hollow, sitting still as I surveyed the land around me, waiting patiently.”
The podcast is beautifully written, narrated, and produced, and the soundscape and text take you inside the life of a nocturnal creature as it sniffs, senses, peers at, and moves through its nightscape.
So have a listen if you want to fall asleep or calm down.
Oh, by the way, you’ll learn something about the creatures featured on the podcast, so listen for that reason too.
Creative prompt
Why not choose a creature and imagine the world through its senses for just a little while?
You don’t need to choose anything exotic if you aren’t confident in your knowledge of the details of a creature’s life. I remember an aunt of mine saying that, if she accrued enough good karma, she might be lucky enough to be reincarnated as one of my mother’s cats. When I next start spiralling into rage then I might try imagining myself as a cat:
The relaxation of stretching your flexible spine to curl into yourself. The sensation of burying your pink, wet, little nose into your own tail, smelling your own warm, clean, animal smell and feeling your own velvety fur as you fall into a sleep that muffles anything happening abroad in the world.
Or is it just me that needs to do this?
Thank you for reading!
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Make a one-off donation on Ko-Fi
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Ahhh, I now have something soothing to listen to at nights. Nature's sounds are enchanting. I've heard the ocean, the heron crying at 2 am, the frog after the rain had poured all day...it's a soft, monotonous sound, rising, falling.