Calming Anxiety | Guided Meditation, Sleep Hypnosis & Panic Attack Relief

Alone the Immortals by Lord Dunsany — A Short, Dreamlike Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime

 

Drift off to sleep with Alone the Immortals by Lord Dunsany, a short, beautiful and deeply comforting prose poem about the years that have passed and where they go, read aloud by Martin Hewlett on Books at Bedtime, the sleep story series from Calming Anxiety.

 

The narrator has heard a rumour: that far away, beyond the deserts, in a country dedicated to winter, there is a hidden valley where all the years that have died are shut away, hidden from the world but not from the moon, nor from those who dream by its light. So he resolves to travel there by ways of dream, to mourn the good years that are gone and lay a wreath of sorrow at their feet.

 

But no flower seems frail enough for such an offering. The lily looks too large and the laurel too solemn, until at last he weaves a slender chain of daisies, the way he once saw a girl make one in a summer long ago. With his little wreath in hand, he follows paths of mystery to the moonlit valley, searching the grass for the poor, slight years he came to mourn. What he finds there is not at all what he expected.

 

This classic short story for adults is a gentle wind-down for a busy mind, with Dunsany's lyrical, dreamlike prose, a quietly consoling ending and Martin's calm, unhurried narration. It's a lovely, peaceful listen for anyone who finds themselves looking back on years gone by as they drift towards sleep.

 

If you enjoyed it, you'll find more Lord Dunsany on Books at Bedtime, including The Hen, A Moral Little Tale and The Return of the Exiles, all from the same collection.

 

Alone the Immortals was first published in Fifty-One Tales (London: Elkin Mathews; New York: Mitchell Kennerley, 1915). Lord Dunsany (1878–1957).

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

🌱 Try Thole, Martin's new health and wellness app, in beta on iPhone: https://testflight.apple.com/join/aUKB8W7N

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

How to Calm Racing Thoughts — Guided Meditation for a Busy Mind | When Your Mind Won't Stop, Part 3 of 3

 

Finally stopped for a moment, but your thoughts are still moving? There's something to remember, something to finish, and another idea arriving before the last one has had time to settle. If you're wondering how to calm racing thoughts, you can begin here exactly as you are. There's no need to clear your mind before we start. This 10-minute guided meditation gives a busy mind somewhere to rest in the present.

 

This is the third and final session in When Your Mind Won't Stop, hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and paramedic of over 20 years Martin Hewlett. It works on its own, whether or not you've heard Part 1 on replaying conversations or Part 2 on overthinking the future. For support between episodes, Anchored is Martin's app for panic and anxiety, with guided sessions and a free, offline Instant Calm tool. Download on iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669 and Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored. And try Martin's new health app, Thole, in beta on iPhone: https://testflight.apple.com/join/aUKB8W7N

 

There's no counting again today. We notice where the body is supported, follow the natural out-breath, soften the face, and gently acknowledge "my mind is planning" whenever the list-making starts. You'll learn to stop checking whether it's working, receive five gentle affirmations for a busy mind, and three daily caring tips.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – Thoughts still moving when you stop?

* 00:31 – Welcome: When Your Mind Won't Stop, Part 3

* 00:48 – The series so far

* 01:07 – Finding your quiet place

* 01:25 – Noticing where you're supported

* 01:43 – No counting, just the out-breath

* 02:24 – Softening the face

* 03:03 – When your mind is making a list

* 03:34 – Writing down an important thought

* 04:14 – "Am I relaxed yet?"

* 04:37 – Sinking down with every out-breath

* 05:12 – Five gentle affirmations

* 06:27 – Simply be

* 06:50 – Affirmations, once more

* 07:44 – Floating between breaths

* 08:01 – Your 3 daily caring tips

* 09:01 – Gently returning to the room

* 09:41 – Looking back on the series

* 10:04 – Anchored and Instant Calm

* 10:22 – It's just me, helping you

* 10:36 – Smile often, and be kind

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

Repeat each one after Martin or simply listen. Let the words be an invitation:

* I can rest without making every thought disappear.

* I can leave an unfinished task for another moment.

* I am allowed to move at a gentler pace.

* I can bring my attention back with kindness.

* For this moment, I give myself permission to unwind.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. Give unfinished tasks a place outside your head: Write a short list, then choose what actually needs your attention next. If a task can wait, note when you'll return to it.

2. Try doing one ordinary thing at an unhurried pace: Make a drink without checking your phone. Walk to the window and notice the world outside. Finish one small activity before beginning another.

3. Make a little room between activity and rest: When you finish work or a demanding task, allow a brief transition. Put things away, stretch comfortably and sit quietly for a few minutes.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

Across these three sessions, we've made space to leave a past conversation behind, put down some worries about the future, and return to the life happening here. You can come back to them any time you want. Keep Anchored close:

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

Find out more at https://calminganxiety.org/anchored, and for Martin's calming tips visit https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

🌱 Help test Thole, Martin's new app to get body and mind working together. iPhone beta here: https://testflight.apple.com/join/aUKB8W7N

 

"All of this is just me. There's no corporate backing, there's no sponsorship, it's just me helping you." If this series helped, please share it with someone whose mind won't stop, and leave a 30-second review on Apple Podcasts.

 

Have a lovely day, my friend. Truly. Smile often, positive thoughts whenever you can, and in absolutely everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box

 

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

The Return of the Exiles by Lord Dunsany — A Short, Mysterious Bedtime Story at Stonehenge | Books at Bedtime

 

Drift off with The Return of the Exiles by Lord Dunsany, a short, strange and haunting little tale set among the ancient stones of Stonehenge, read aloud by Martin Hewlett on Books at Bedtime, the sleep story series from Calming Anxiety.

 

Cycling across the English countryside one day, the narrator comes upon two very old men sitting by the roadside: one with a hammer and a blackened, hole-filled leather apron, the other with one eye and a spear. They seem shabby, humble and oddly apologetic. Touching his greasy cap, the one with the hammer asks the way to Stonehenge. "After all these years," they keep murmuring to each other, "we might just go back, just once."

 

The narrator points the way and rides on, but when he reaches the great stone circle himself, he finds a solemn group of about twenty men already waiting among the stones, as if expecting someone. And before long, the two strange old men come striding up the road. Who are they, and why have they been away so very long? Dunsany leaves just enough unsaid to set your imagination wandering as you drift towards sleep.

 

This classic short story for adults is a quietly eerie wind-down for a busy mind, with Dunsany's dreamlike, mythic prose, the timeless atmosphere of Stonehenge and Martin's calm, unhurried narration. It's ideal for anyone who loves old legends, folklore and a touch of mystery before sleep.

 

If you enjoyed it, you'll find more Lord Dunsany on Books at Bedtime, including The Hen and A Moral Little Tale, alongside classic stories by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman and L.M. Montgomery.

 

The Return of the Exiles was first published in Fifty-One Tales (London: Elkin Mathews; New York: Mitchell Kennerley, 1915). Lord Dunsany (1878–1957).

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

🌱 Try Thole, Martin's new health and wellness app, in beta on iPhone: https://testflight.apple.com/join/aUKB8W7N

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

How to Stop Overthinking the Future — Guided Meditation for "What If" Thoughts & Uncertainty | When Your Mind Won't Stop, Part 2 of 3

 

Do you find yourself worrying about something that hasn't happened yet, then imagining what might happen after that? One thought becomes another, and a small uncertainty turns into a whole afternoon spent trying to prepare for every possibility. If you've been wondering how to stop overthinking the future, this 10-minute guided meditation gives you a little space to step back from "what if" thoughts. For these few minutes, there is nothing you need to predict.

 

This is the second of three sessions in When Your Mind Won't Stop, hosted by clinical hypnotherapist Martin Hewlett. It works on its own, and if you joined Part 1 on replaying conversations, welcome back. Martin's Anchored app has 2,500+ episodes, easy to search, plus Books at Bedtime, the ambient night light and box breathing. Download on iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669 and Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored. And Martin's new app, Thole, is now in testing. Join the iPhone beta: https://testflight.apple.com/join/aUKB8W7N

 

There's no counting today, no breath to hold and no depth to achieve. We notice what's supporting you, let the natural breath arrive and leave, and learn to see "what if" questions as something your mind produces, not instructions you have to follow. You'll receive five affirmations for living with uncertainty and three practical daily caring tips.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – Worrying about what hasn't happened yet?

* 00:32 – Welcome: When Your Mind Won't Stop, Part 2

* 00:52 – Welcome back from Part 1

* 01:04 – Finding your quiet place

* 01:21 – Noticing what supports you

* 01:53 – No counting, just the natural breath

* 02:36 – When a "what if" asks to be heard

* 03:01 – "I'm noticing a what if thought"

* 03:30 – Why the mind searches for certainty

* 03:56 – Allowed to rest while you don't yet know

* 04:44 – Every return can be gentle

* 04:57 – Five affirmations for overthinking the future

* 06:14 – Feeling connected to where you are

* 06:38 – Affirmations, once more

* 07:37 – Treating yourself gently

* 07:59 – Your 3 daily caring tips

* 09:04 – Gently returning to the room

* 09:37 – Next time, Part 3: calming racing thoughts

* 09:54 – Anchored: 2,500 shows and more

* 10:24 – Thole, now in testing

* 10:46 – Have a lovely day, and be kind

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

Repeat each one quietly or simply listen, without needing to force a feeling:

* I can leave some questions unanswered for now.

* A "what if" thought is a possibility, not a prediction.

* I can take one useful step without solving everything.

* I am allowed to rest while life remains uncertain.

* I can meet what comes with care, and ask for support when I need it.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. Ask whether you can act on it today: If you can, choose one manageable step. Write the email, check the appointment time, or make a short list of what you need.

2. Give recurring worries somewhere to wait: Keep a notebook or a note on your phone, write down the concern, and choose a brief time during the day to look at it.

3. Make a small plan for support: If a concern feels difficult, consider who could help you think it through: a friend, someone you trust, or a professional who understands the situation. You don't need to know every answer yourself.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

You don't have to feel completely confident about the future. For now, it's enough to feel a little more connected to where you are. Next time, in the third and final session of When Your Mind Won't Stop, we'll explore how to calm racing thoughts and let a busy mind unwind. Keep Anchored close in the meantime:

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

For Martin's calming tips, visit https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

🌱 Thole is Martin's new app to get body and mind working together and reclaim your health and fitness. Help test it, iPhone beta here: https://testflight.apple.com/join/aUKB8W7N

 

If you know someone caught up in "what if" thinking, please share this episode, and leave a 30-second review on Apple Podcasts.

 

Thank you for putting your faith and trust in all Martin does. Have a lovely day, my friend. Positive thoughts whenever you can, and especially to yourself, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box

 

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

A Moral Little Tale by Lord Dunsany — A Short Classic Fable for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime

 

Drift off with A Moral Little Tale by Lord Dunsany, a short, witty and thought-provoking fable about joy, dancing and the people who would forbid them, read aloud by Martin Hewlett on Books at Bedtime, the sleep story series from Calming Anxiety.

 

There was once an earnest Puritan who held it wrong to dance, and for his principles he laboured hard. He discouraged dancing, helped to close Sunday entertainments, disapproved of fanciful poetry and always dressed in black. Everyone respected his honest face and his flowing white beard, and agreed he was a good man by his own lights.

 

Then one night, a most unexpected visitor appears to him in a dream and says, "Well done." What follows is a sharp and surprising conversation about laughter and music, butterflies on sunny hillsides, the warm west wind, village couples whispering under the harvest moon, and who really made them all. In just a few minutes, Dunsany turns everything the earnest man believed upside down.

 

This classic short story for adults is a gentle wind-down for a busy mind, with Dunsany's lyrical, dreamlike prose and Martin's calm, unhurried narration. Like all good fables, it carries a sting in its tail, so it's perfect for anyone who enjoys a little wit and wisdom before sleep.

 

If you enjoyed it, you'll also find Lord Dunsany's The Hen on Books at Bedtime, from the same collection, alongside Mary E. Wilkins Freeman's The Squirrel and L.M. Montgomery's Charlotte's Ladies.

 

A Moral Little Tale was first published in Fifty-One Tales (London: Elkin Mathews; New York: Mitchell Kennerley, 1915). Lord Dunsany (1878–1957).

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

🌱 Try Thole, Martin's new health and wellness app, in beta on iPhone: https://testflight.apple.com/join/aUKB8W7N

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.