Latest / Abide Meditation App / Sweet Dreams of Ice Cream _ Dreamy Sleepy Story
Transcript
- 0:02Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to Get Sleepy, where we listen, we relax,
- 0:09Speaker 1: and we get sleepy. My name's Thomas, and I'm your host.
- 0:16Speaker 1: It's so nice to have your company tonight. This evening,
- 0:22Speaker 1: we'll be meeting two sisters, Clara and Imogen. They own
- 0:28Speaker 1: an ice cream shop where they work together and create
- 0:32Speaker 1: delicious new flavors. And it will all be told by
- 0:37Speaker 1: the wonderful voice of Abhi Offa. Let's prepare for a
- 0:44Speaker 1: great night's sleep with a moment of relaxation. Make sure
- 0:53Speaker 1: you're comfortable in bed, letting your body ease into whatever
- 0:59Speaker 1: position feels best right now. Take a nice inhale of
- 1:09Speaker 1: air through the nose and slowly release it back out.
- 1:22Speaker 1: Tonight's story is a sweet one, not just because of
- 1:27Speaker 1: the ice cream, but because for the two sisters running
- 1:31Speaker 1: the shop, one of their childhood dreams has become a reality.
- 1:41Speaker 1: Perhaps you too have realized some of your dreams and
- 1:45Speaker 1: ambitions from childhood. Perhaps you're still on that journey, or
- 1:52Speaker 1: your life has taken you in a different direction altogether.
- 1:59Speaker 1: As we go through our lives, it's quite natural that
- 2:03Speaker 1: our dreams and plans for the future often change, and
- 2:08Speaker 1: there are many different paths to fulfillment. Just as we change, grow,
- 2:16Speaker 1: and develop as people, the world around us tends to
- 2:21Speaker 1: change in ways that we can't always foresee, and that
- 2:26Speaker 1: too can have an impact On how we choose to
- 2:29Speaker 1: live our lives. So whatever path you're on. Just know
- 2:36Speaker 1: that there is no rush. For some people. It's important
- 2:43Speaker 1: to follow specific goals and dreams. But for others. It
- 2:49Speaker 1: can be just as rewarding. To stay open minded. To
- 2:53Speaker 1: try various things. And to simply see. where life takes us. So,
- 3:04Speaker 1: settle in for a beautiful night's sleep and reassure yourself
- 3:10Speaker 1: that whatever stage you're at, you're doing just fine. It's
- 3:21Speaker 1: time now for our story. We begin on a hot
- 3:26Speaker 1: summer day Dozens of excited customers are queuing up outside
- 3:34Speaker 1: the ice cream shop.
- 3:59Speaker 2: The shop is so small you might easily miss it.
- 4:03Speaker 2: There's a single door, one narrow window, and a wooden
- 4:07Speaker 2: sign that reads, Sweet Dreams Ice Cream. When the shop
- 4:13Speaker 2: is closed, many people walk past without even noticing it's there.
- 4:18Speaker 2: But on this warm summer afternoon, there's a line of
- 4:22Speaker 2: customers going out of the door and past the neighbouring buildings.
- 4:28Speaker 2: On a hot day like today, there's nothing better than
- 4:31Speaker 2: a couple of scoops of cool chocolate ice cream, or
- 4:35Speaker 2: vanilla perhaps, or strawberry. As the customers wait to be served,
- 4:43Speaker 2: they chat about the different flavours, trying to decide what
- 4:47Speaker 2: to order. Everything here is so delicious it's hard to choose.
- 4:55Speaker 2: Inside the air-conditioned ice cream shop, the temperature is perfect.
- 5:01Speaker 2: It's pleasantly cool without being too cold, offering welcome respite
- 5:06Speaker 2: from the heat outside. The white floors, walls and ceiling
- 5:13Speaker 2: also help to create an impression of refreshing coolness. Everything
- 5:19Speaker 2: here is sparkling clean, which is just how Clara likes it.
- 5:25Speaker 2: She's one of the owners, along with her younger sister, Imogen.
- 5:31Speaker 2: They both take great pride in their shop, paying attention
- 5:35Speaker 2: to every detail just as they would in their own homes.
- 5:41Speaker 2: From the gleaming white tiles to the neat arrangement of
- 5:44Speaker 2: the tubs and scoops, everything is treated with loving care
- 5:49Speaker 2: and attention. At the moment, Clara is working at the till,
- 5:57Speaker 2: She's a cheerful woman with glasses and curly grey hair,
- 6:01Speaker 2: who enjoys chatting to the customers. If it gets much busier,
- 6:07Speaker 2: she'll ask Imogen to come and help, but for now,
- 6:11Speaker 2: she's happy to work alone. She finds that after a while,
- 6:17Speaker 2: she settles into a comfortable rhythm. After greeting the customer
- 6:23Speaker 2: and taking their orders, She serves generous scoops of ice
- 6:27Speaker 2: cream into a cup or cone. Then she adds a
- 6:33Speaker 2: topping like whipped cream, hot fudge or sprinkles. After this,
- 6:40Speaker 2: she processes the payment at the cash register. Then it's
- 6:45Speaker 2: on to the next and the next. She works swiftly
- 6:50Speaker 2: and efficiently but without rushing. She's noticed that the customers
- 6:56Speaker 2: are never in too much of a hurry. The ice
- 7:00Speaker 2: cream shop is one of the few places where people
- 7:03Speaker 2: are happy to wait for as long as it takes.
- 7:07Speaker 2: Perhaps it's because they need more time to make up
- 7:11Speaker 2: their minds, choosing between fruit flavours and chocolate. When it's
- 7:18Speaker 2: a child's turn to order, they're usually either very decisive
- 7:23Speaker 2: or have no idea what they want the little boy
- 7:28Speaker 2: standing in front of her now seems almost overwhelmed.
- 7:32Speaker 3: By the choice.
- 7:34Speaker 2: He gazes at the different flavours on display, his eyes
- 7:39Speaker 2: moving from left to right, then right to left. He
- 7:46Speaker 2: mutters some of the names out loud. Strawberry, Coconut, Cherry Swirl, Vanilla,
- 7:59Speaker 2: His older sister taps him gently on the shoulder, encouraging
- 8:04Speaker 2: him to make up his mind. Clara smiles and tells
- 8:09Speaker 2: the boy to take his time. There's no rush. She
- 8:14Speaker 2: can give him a recommendation if he likes, or even
- 8:18Speaker 2: a sample. The boy nods, and Clara prepares a couple
- 8:24Speaker 2: of little pink spoons with samples of the flavours. As
- 8:30Speaker 2: she watches the boy taste the ice cream, she reflects
- 8:34Speaker 2: on how he reminds her of her own grandson. The
- 8:39Speaker 2: boys are similar ages and seem to be similar in
- 8:43Speaker 2: personality too. They're both calm and serious and sometimes slow
- 8:51Speaker 2: to make decisions. In Clara's opinion, This shows that they
- 8:57Speaker 2: care about the little things in life. It's a good
- 9:02Speaker 2: quality to have. People should take their time, she thinks.
- 9:09Speaker 2: In the end, the boy chooses a cone filled with
- 9:12Speaker 2: warm melted chocolate at the bottom and two scoops. One
- 9:18Speaker 2: of milk chocolate and one of classic vanilla. Clara compliments
- 9:24Speaker 2: him on his choice. And the boy smiles. These interactions
- 9:31Speaker 2: make her day. And are one of the reasons she
- 9:36Speaker 2: and her sister decided to open an ice cream shop
- 9:40Speaker 2: in the first place. It's all about making people happy.
- 9:46Speaker 2: A simple moment of joy that can brighten up anyone's day.
- 9:53Speaker 2: And it's not just children. people of all ages seem
- 9:58Speaker 2: to relish their visits to the shop. Sometimes it's a
- 10:03Speaker 2: woman who works in a nearby office, enjoying an ice
- 10:07Speaker 2: cream on her lunch break. Or it might be a
- 10:11Speaker 2: group of construction workers, treating themselves at the end of
- 10:16Speaker 2: a long day. Then there are the tourists, who have
- 10:21Speaker 2: come to seek out the town's most famous ice cream shop.
- 10:28Speaker 2: Clara particularly enjoys chatting with the tourists, learning about where
- 10:33Speaker 2: they've come from and what brought them to the town.
- 10:38Speaker 2: Travel is one of her passions. When she was younger,
- 10:43Speaker 2: both she and Imogen travelled whenever they could, Many of
- 10:49Speaker 2: the ice cream flavors are inspired by their trips. One
- 10:55Speaker 2: of their more unusual creations is figs with walnuts and cinnamon.
- 11:03Speaker 2: The inspiration for this flavor was Imogen's honeymoon in Greece
- 11:08Speaker 2: many years ago. She and her husband spent a couple
- 11:13Speaker 2: of weeks on the beautiful island of Zakynthos, They stayed
- 11:18Speaker 2: in a white villa near the sea, which was surrounded
- 11:22Speaker 2: by fig trees. Afterwards, whenever Imogen thought of that trip,
- 11:30Speaker 2: her main memory was of sitting by the pool, eating
- 11:35Speaker 2: fresh figs she'd picked from the trees. She could still
- 11:40Speaker 2: recall the pleasant warmth of the evenings and the sleepy
- 11:45Speaker 2: drone of the cicadas in the background. And she could
- 11:50Speaker 2: still remember that taste, the honeyed sweetness of the ripe
- 11:55Speaker 2: figs on her tongue. So when she opened the ice
- 12:01Speaker 2: cream shop with her sister, Imogen invented a flavor to
- 12:06Speaker 2: celebrate these wonderful memories. It's fresh figs mixed with walnuts
- 12:14Speaker 2: and a sprinkling of cinnamon. This is still Imogen's personal favourite,
- 12:22Speaker 2: as it brings her back to those glorious summer days.
- 12:28Speaker 2: Another special flavour is tiramisu. This is Clara's recipe, inspired
- 12:36Speaker 2: by her travels around Italy when she was a student.
- 12:42Speaker 2: With a couple of friends, she travelled from Venice to Florence,
- 12:48Speaker 2: then continued south to Rome and Naples. During the month
- 12:55Speaker 2: Clara spent in Italy, she ate so many delicious things.
- 13:01Speaker 2: There were incredible seafood pasta dishes and some of the
- 13:07Speaker 2: tastiest pizzas she'd ever eaten. They were made with just
- 13:14Speaker 2: a few simple, high-quality ingredients. the finest cheese, tomatoes and
- 13:22Speaker 2: olive oil. That was where Clara had first discovered the
- 13:29Speaker 2: importance of using the very best ingredients in the kitchen.
- 13:35Speaker 2: They made all the difference, transforming a simple dish into
- 13:40Speaker 2: something unforgettable. In Italy, Clara's favourite part of the meal
- 13:48Speaker 2: was often the desserts, and particularly the tiramisu. Her friends
- 13:55Speaker 2: would tease her, laughing as she ordered one whenever it
- 13:59Speaker 2: was on the menu. But Clara couldn't get enough of it.
- 14:05Speaker 2: She loved the mouth-watering, creamy sweetness, mixed with coffee and
- 14:11Speaker 2: cocoa powder, and how the taste changed as she went
- 14:16Speaker 2: through the different layers. Could an ice cream flavor capture
- 14:21Speaker 2: the same richness, the same complexity? She decided that she
- 14:28Speaker 2: would try to recreate it one day. Now, tiramisu is
- 14:35Speaker 2: one of the many flavors on offer at Clara's shop.
- 14:40Speaker 2: After a lot of experimentation, she's found a combination that
- 14:45Speaker 2: resembles the taste she fell in love with. all those
- 14:49Speaker 2: years ago. When she's making the ice cream, she always
- 14:55Speaker 2: adds a generous serving of coffee, so the flavour lives
- 15:00Speaker 2: up to its name. After all, the name Tiramisu means pick-me-up.
- 15:09Speaker 2: This is the flavour she recommends to adult customers who
- 15:13Speaker 2: need a bit of extra energy to get through the day.
- 15:19Speaker 2: as well as figs from Greece and tiramisu from Italy,
- 15:25Speaker 2: there are also a couple of flavours inspired by places
- 15:29Speaker 2: that Clara and Imogen haven't been to yet. These are
- 15:35Speaker 2: the countries they dream of visiting in the future. India
- 15:41Speaker 2: is at the top of the list. Clara and Imogen
- 15:47Speaker 2: often talk about visiting one day, fantasizing about their dream itinerary.
- 15:56Speaker 2: Imogen wants to visit temples and the magnificent royal forts
- 16:01Speaker 2: in Delhi and Jaipur, while Clara is interested in trying
- 16:07Speaker 2: some of the many different cuisines. Although she's never been there,
- 16:14Speaker 2: She imagines that the fruit must be wonderful too, rich
- 16:19Speaker 2: and full of flavour. She imagines juicy pomegranates and papayas
- 16:26Speaker 2: that taste like sunshine. Then there are the mangoes. If
- 16:33Speaker 2: Clara has to choose, the mango is her favourite fruit.
- 16:39Speaker 2: she imagines herself in India sipping a cool, sweet mango lassi,
- 16:46Speaker 2: or eating succulent pieces of fruit dripping with juice. Inspired
- 16:54Speaker 2: by their dreams of India, Clara and Imogen have created
- 16:58Speaker 2: a mango and ginger ice cream flavour. The tangy ginger
- 17:05Speaker 2: adds a note of spice and zest, contrasting deliciously with
- 17:10Speaker 2: the sweet fruit. It's especially good on warm summer days.
- 17:19Speaker 2: The sisters have promised each other that one day they'll
- 17:24Speaker 2: visit India together. And in the meantime, they can daydream
- 17:30Speaker 2: and enjoy the flavors they've created. While Clara serves the customers,
- 17:39Speaker 2: Imogen works in the kitchen, making the ice cream and
- 17:43Speaker 2: conjuring up new flavours. They take it in turns, but
- 17:49Speaker 2: Imogen feels that she's more naturally suited to this kind
- 17:53Speaker 2: of work. She's quiet and not as chatty as Clara.
- 18:00Speaker 2: While she enjoys the occasional conversation with a customer, Imogen
- 18:06Speaker 2: would rather be here, In the peaceful silence of the kitchen.
- 18:13Speaker 2: In this cool, bright room, there are no distractions. There's
- 18:20Speaker 2: no need to talk or think about anything except the
- 18:26Speaker 2: task at hand. She likes the mindful, meditative nature of
- 18:33Speaker 2: the work. Often, she finds that she's barely thinking at all.
- 18:41Speaker 2: After a while, she enters into a kind of trance,
- 18:46Speaker 2: her hands moving automatically. When she's working in the kitchen,
- 18:54Speaker 2: Imogen wears an apron and gloves. She also keeps her
- 19:00Speaker 2: hair tied up neatly in a bun and covered by
- 19:04Speaker 2: a neck. The exact process for making ice cream can
- 19:11Speaker 2: vary slightly. There are many different ways to make it,
- 19:17Speaker 2: but one thing is always the same. The quality of
- 19:22Speaker 2: the ingredients. Clara and Imogen use only fresh, seasonal products.
- 19:32Speaker 2: Imogen usually starts by mixing the cream with plenty of
- 19:36Speaker 2: sugar and sometimes with egg too. Then she adds some
- 19:43Speaker 2: milk to the pot. After stirring the mixture thoroughly, and
- 19:50Speaker 2: adding any extra ingredients, she cooks it for several minutes.
- 19:57Speaker 2: This helps to bring out the flavors, giving the ice
- 20:01Speaker 2: cream a richer, more intense taste. Once she's cooked the mixture,
- 20:10Speaker 2: she pours it into a special vintage ice cream machine
- 20:14Speaker 2: from Italy. It takes several hours to transform the ingredients
- 20:21Speaker 2: into ice cream by freezing it and mixing continuously. While
- 20:29Speaker 2: the machine is at work, Imogen then gets started on
- 20:33Speaker 2: the next batch of ice cream. She might have to
- 20:37Speaker 2: grind nuts make chocolate powder or blend some fruit. Most
- 20:44Speaker 2: of the recipes have become so familiar that she can
- 20:48Speaker 2: make the ice cream almost without thinking. But every now
- 20:55Speaker 2: and then, when she has some spare time, she likes
- 20:59Speaker 2: to experiment with making new flavours. Ever since she was
- 21:05Speaker 2: a child, She's always enjoyed creating new things. She remembers
- 21:13Speaker 2: playing in the garden when she was a little girl,
- 21:17Speaker 2: creating strange mixtures of sand, leaves and petals and pretending
- 21:25Speaker 2: they were magic cakes or pies. And when she and
- 21:31Speaker 2: Clara shared a bedroom, they would often stay up till
- 21:35Speaker 2: late at night fantasizing about opening a sweet shop or
- 21:41Speaker 2: ice cream shop. They would get to make everything themselves
- 21:48Speaker 2: and taste all the flavors they wanted instead of having
- 21:52Speaker 2: to choose just one or two. Imogen smiles as she
- 21:59Speaker 2: remembers these childhood conversations. For most of her adult life,
- 22:05Speaker 2: she worked in offices, But in her spare time, she
- 22:10Speaker 2: kept experimenting and making things. She would try new recipes
- 22:17Speaker 2: in the kitchen and express her creativity through pottery and
- 22:23Speaker 2: jewellery making. Now, at last, Imogen is able to spend
- 22:30Speaker 2: most of her time working with her hands and her imaginations.
- 22:38Speaker 2: This afternoon, there's a good supply of all the ordinary flavors,
- 22:44Speaker 2: so there's no need to make any more. Instead, Imogen
- 22:50Speaker 2: can focus on her current project, inventing the perfect lavender
- 22:57Speaker 2: ice cream. Unlike some of the other flavors which were
- 23:03Speaker 2: inspired by her travels, the lavender idea came to Imogen
- 23:09Speaker 2: in a dream. A few nights ago, she dreamed that
- 23:15Speaker 2: it was a bright, sunny day and she was walking
- 23:20Speaker 2: through endless purple fields of lavender. Her fingers brushed through
- 23:27Speaker 2: the soft stems as she walked on and on. It
- 23:34Speaker 2: felt effortless. as though she were being carried along by
- 23:39Speaker 2: the gentle waves of the ocean towards a bright, distant horizon.
- 23:48Speaker 2: In the dream, she felt happy, calm and peaceful, and
- 23:55Speaker 2: these feelings lingered as she woke up. She resolved to
- 24:01Speaker 2: invent a new flavour, to recreate the dreamy atmosphere of
- 24:08Speaker 2: the lavender fields. Just as a spoonful of fig ice
- 24:14Speaker 2: cream took her back to her honeymoon in Greece, maybe
- 24:20Speaker 2: the taste of lavender would transport her back to the
- 24:24Speaker 2: world of her dream. At first, she tried mixing lavender
- 24:31Speaker 2: with honey, but the flavour didn't taste quite right to her.
- 24:38Speaker 2: This time, she's added white peach and vanilla, with just
- 24:44Speaker 2: a hint of lemon juice. Imogen can tell by the
- 24:50Speaker 2: sound that the ice cream machine has nearly come to
- 24:55Speaker 2: the end of the cycle. The mechanical whirring is gradually increasing,
- 25:02Speaker 2: getting quieter and slowing down. She hums happily to herself
- 25:10Speaker 2: as she waits, and then decides to pour herself a
- 25:15Speaker 2: glass of cool water from the fridge. Sometimes she gets
- 25:23Speaker 2: so absorbed in her work that she forgets to drink,
- 25:28Speaker 2: especially as the temperature in the kitchen is always cool
- 25:32Speaker 2: and comfortable. But as she sips from the glass, she
- 25:39Speaker 2: realizes just how much she needed to rehydrate. Drinking the
- 25:46Speaker 2: water has also left her mouth feeling clean and fresh,
- 25:52Speaker 2: which is good for tasting the new ice cream. She
- 25:57Speaker 2: doesn't want any lingering tastes from food she ate earlier
- 26:02Speaker 2: to interfere with the flavor. When the lavender ice cream
- 26:09Speaker 2: is ready, she takes a spoon and dips it into
- 26:14Speaker 2: the cool cream-colored mixture. The color is paler than she expected,
- 26:23Speaker 2: but when she holds the ice cream up to the light,
- 26:27Speaker 2: she sees that there's a slight purple tinge. It doesn't
- 26:33Speaker 2: really matter what it looks like anyway. It's all about
- 26:38Speaker 2: the taste. Imogen puts the spoon in her mouth and
- 26:45Speaker 2: allows the ice cream to sit on her tongue, melting
- 26:49Speaker 2: slightly before she swallows it. It's just what she wanted.
- 26:57Speaker 2: A subtle, fragrant blend of perfectly balanced flavours. Sweet, but
- 27:05Speaker 2: not too sweet. When combined with the other ingredients, the
- 27:13Speaker 2: lavender tastes less like a plant than some new exotic fruit.
- 27:20Speaker 2: Just as she hoped, the flavour brings her back to
- 27:24Speaker 2: that magical dream. walking through the lavender fields beneath a
- 27:30Speaker 2: radiant blue sky. Later that day, Clara and Imogen finish
- 27:40Speaker 2: work and close the shop. They sometimes work at night too,
- 27:47Speaker 2: but today they've decided to close early so they can
- 27:51Speaker 2: enjoy the beautiful summer evening. After cleaning up and changing
- 27:59Speaker 2: into their ordinary clothes, they walk to the nearby town square.
- 28:08Speaker 2: Clara has a comb, while Imogen has a cup. But
- 28:14Speaker 2: the ice cream flavor is the same. Lavender with peach
- 28:20Speaker 2: and vanilla. A serving of Imogen's latest creations is a
- 28:28Speaker 2: treat for both of them at the end of a
- 28:30Speaker 2: long day. The days themselves are longer at this time
- 28:37Speaker 2: of year, as the sun doesn't set until late. Clara
- 28:44Speaker 2: and Imogen love these lazy summer evenings that seem to
- 28:49Speaker 2: last forever. The atmosphere of their town transforms dramatically as
- 28:56Speaker 2: everyone looks happier and more relaxed. The warm weather puts
- 29:03Speaker 2: everyone in a good mood. It's as if they're all
- 29:09Speaker 2: on holiday, enjoying their own town as a tourist would.
- 29:17Speaker 2: The two sisters sit on a wooden bench on the
- 29:21Speaker 2: edge of the town square, It feels so good to
- 29:27Speaker 2: sit down and relax, having spent all day on their feet.
- 29:34Speaker 2: They both let out a sigh of contentment as they
- 29:39Speaker 2: make themselves comfortable. comfortable then as they continue to eat
- 29:46Speaker 2: their ice creams they discuss the taste and balance of
- 29:51Speaker 2: flavours it's delicious says Clara with a smile of approval
- 30:00Speaker 2: she's sure it will be popular with customers who are
- 30:04Speaker 2: looking for something a bit different. And although she sometimes
- 30:10Speaker 2: helps to make new flavours too, it's Imogen's area of expertise.
- 30:18Speaker 2: She's glad that their skills complement each other so well.
- 30:25Speaker 2: The ice cream melts quickly in the warm air, and
- 30:30Speaker 2: soon has the soft, almost liquid texture that Imogen loves.
- 30:38Speaker 2: She savours every mouthful. When she closes her eyes, it's
- 30:45Speaker 2: as though she's back in the world of her dream.
- 30:50Speaker 2: She's so happy to have found the perfect recipe at last.
- 30:59Speaker 2: Even after they've finished eating, Clara and Imogen continue to
- 31:06Speaker 2: sit and talk together. It's a wonderful feeling, they agree.
- 31:14Speaker 2: They're tired now, but also happy and fulfilled. They could
- 31:22Speaker 2: never have imagined how their childhood dream would become a reality.
- 31:30Speaker 2: all these years later. They continue chatting and reminiscing as
- 31:40Speaker 2: the sun goes down. The market square has a calm,
- 31:47Speaker 2: tranquil atmosphere. The only sounds are the murmurs of conversation
- 31:55Speaker 2: from people walking through the square, and the distant traffic.
- 32:03Speaker 2: Every now and then, there are also the calls of
- 32:08Speaker 2: the summer swallows that fly above, soaring joyfully over the
- 32:15Speaker 2: trees and rooftops. Clara and Imogen are starting to feel
- 32:24Speaker 2: sleepy now, but their homes are just a short walk away.
- 32:32Speaker 2: They know they'll both sleep well tonight. After a day
- 32:39Speaker 2: at the ice cream shop, they usually sleep deeply and dreamlessly.
- 32:47Speaker 2: But tonight? Who knows? Perhaps they'll dream of lavender fields
- 32:55Speaker 2: or another magical place A new source of inspiration.
- 33:34Speaker 3: You can also use the same method to create.
- 33:45Speaker 4: A new layer. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
- 36:20Speaker 4: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for watching. Thank you.
- 38:12Speaker 4: Thank you. Thank you for watching. you