From Stress To Stillness - The Way Of Tea

To drink tea slowly reminds us to breathe slowly, to move more slowly, to live more slowly and more deliberately. Each sip can become a meditation. Each breath can become a prayer of gratitude. The action of making and drinking tea mindfully can bring us from stress to stillness in this busy world. Background Music: 154263140-beautiful-peaceful-relaxing-mu – Pond 5. Photo: getty-images-3CxBQv6fzKQ-unsplash

Transcript

Dear friends,

Welcome to this meditation on the way of tea.

There is no need to remind you that we live in a world that moves too quickly.

We are left with a feeling of so much to do and so little time in which to do it.

Our rushing thoughts and our scattered attention allow us little time for contemplation or concentration.

But even in a world of noise and haste,

Most of us have within easy reach the ability to stop and make a cup of tea.

But before we leave this room to put on an imaginary kettle,

Let's take a pause for reflection.

Take a slow breath in,

Hold and then let it go.

Again,

Breathe in,

This time more deeply.

Hold for a couple of seconds and slowly exhale.

Let your body soften.

Let your mind settle now as we take a 60 second pause.

A time for you to stop and just be.

Welcome back.

When we make tea mindfully,

We allow ourselves an opportunity to step out of the rush and the hurry of the day.

We turn on the water,

We fill the kettle,

We turn on the power.

There's no shortcut in this process,

So we have to wait for a change.

Let's avoid the temptation to check the phone while the water boils.

This is one of these rare opportunities to just be present.

As the water nears the boiling point,

We warm the teapot,

We put in the tea.

The water boils,

We pour in the water and now we have to wait again.

Tea invites us to slow down.

We have to allow time for the tea to draw out its flavour.

This is the first lesson given to us as we prepare tea.

A reminder to us that there is no need to hurry as much as we usually do.

A reminder also that there are things which just need to unfold in their own time.

Just as we notice the steam rising from the spout of the teapot,

This waiting time in the process of making tea is an opportunity to allow our stress to evaporate as well.

So now let's allow any stress we might be feeling to evaporate.

As we take another one minute break,

A 60 second pause.

When it comes to doing anything,

Including the making of tea,

We can take shortcuts of course,

And we do.

We can use tea bags,

Dropping them into the cup and hurrying matters along by twisting and squeezing with a spoon.

But where is the relaxation in this?

How can the tea have an opportunity to release its flavour?

This hurried procedure,

Which we all fall into from time to time,

Is just another example of our trying to do too much in too little time.

But back to today's tea.

By now the tea is drawn in the old-fashioned way,

And it's time to relax with it.

Imagine holding the cup in your hands,

Feeling its warmth,

Allowing that warmth to travel through your palms and relaxing your body.

This is your invitation for a few minutes to just sit and simply be.

Let's pause again.

As you breathe in,

Feel gratitude for this simple everyday gift,

And with every out-breath,

Release a little more of any tension you may be carrying.

Let all your stresses and concerns dissolve into the air,

Just like the steam rising from your cup.

Welcome back again.

To drink tea slowly reminds us to breathe slowly,

To move more slowly,

And to live more slowly and more deliberately.

Each sip can become a meditation.

Each breath can become a prayer of gratitude.

Hopefully this has brought us to a place of relaxation,

Awareness and gratitude.

A cup of tea connects us to more than ourselves.

In the case of tea,

We remember that the leaves grew in the earth,

Nourished by water falling from the clouds.

And bringing this gift to us in a way that we can benefit from it,

Requires the work of human hands.

A whole legion of people working in cooperation,

And over wide distances,

Before this tea lands on the shelf in our local shop or supermarket.

It's a reminder to us of the interconnected web of all existence,

In which each one of us is an inseparable part.

The Zen master and much-loved Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us,

Drink your tea slowly and reverently,

As if it is the axis on which the whole world turns.

And yes,

When,

During the moments when you do this mindfully,

The world will seem to you to turn more gently.

So there you have it,

Reflections on the way of tea.

So next time,

When you feel stressed or worn out,

When your mind begins to race about regrets concerning the past or worries about the future,

Pause,

Relax,

Make tea.

Watch it brew.

Breathe in the aroma.

Hold the warm cup in your hand,

And let the warmth remind you to extend your warmth into a world which will benefit greatly from it.

Namaste.

Reviews

Aww permission to stop..thats what we all need..and what better way than with a cup of tea..Thank you for this wonderful pause.

Great idea for bringing some mindfulness into a busy day

Thank you so much Tony for yet another of yr superb practices! I'll go forth & gain a whole new resonance with my daily tea drinking. 🫖

I love the analogy you presented between brewing a cup of tea, slowing down and taking a deep breath. Thank you Tony for your ever inspiring meditations 🙏🏻✨💐

I loved this meditation and look forward to practicing this daily with my tea. Thank you!🙏

I really needed to hear this simple message Tony, thank you 🙏 time for tea 💕

I just love this! And I love my cup of tea! Thank you dear Tony!🙏🏻❤️🫖

Thank you! I enjoyed a cup of tea along with this meditation ☕️

Tony, your parallels between making a cup of tea and slowing down the busyness of our lives was perfect . Never will I drink a cup of tea without remembering your words. Thanks!

Lovely Tony ! I grew up surrounded by tea drinkers . It punctuated our time together and it’s a special part of my life ! I love my first cup of tea and the process of preparing it . I live in a part of the US where tea isn’t as important in social situations but my time with my daughter and her husband still revolves around tea ! You are a wizard with your words and I thank you for sharing them !

Thank you Tony for such a creative and beautiful way to slow down and allow gratitude to steep in our souls!

A lovely reminder that the ordinary is extraordinary. Thanks Tony 🙏🏻

Thank you, dear Tony, for sharing this lovely meditation on mindfully brewing, holding, smelling and, above all, enjoying a wonderful cup of tea. Grateful greetings from me. Namaste 🤓🙏🏻

Thank you for sharing a quiet mindful cuppa with us and the reminder to pause and breathe into those many ordinary moments in our day. Thank you, as always, Tony

Beautiful reminder to slow down, breathe and be grateful for being alive!
Thank you Tony. Much love.

Good morning Tony! This was lovely, I haven’t made tea in quite some time so I’m going to do just that. Perfect day for it too as it’s only 34 degrees this morning. Sending you and Fran love.
🙏🏻💕

Serendipitously I found this track while enjoying my morning mug of Irish breakfast tea. Admittedly, I am usually dishing out cat food or emptying the dishwasher as the water comes to a boil and the tea (always loose, never confined to a bag!) brews, rather than taking a moment of quiet mindfulness. This meditation also brought to mind the wisdom of the Eastern Towhee, a fairly common bird of the eastern U.S., whose song seems to echo the admonition, ‘Drink your tea!’

Thank you Tony! This was just what I needed to calm my mind. 😀❤️ so grateful for your teachings here.

Dear Tony 🙏🏼
Grma for this lovely reminder of the ritual of tae making and the simple yet significant joy that it brings and how lives have been conducted, emotions soothed by this ritual.
T-bags, which I am guilty of using, have changed the foundations of the rituals meaning.
I shall make more pots of tae again as it is a ritual not to be lost in our instant way of life.
Wishing you and Fran lovely tae making sessions and do you stir the pot 3 times before pouring? 😄 Beannacht.
🌿☘️💚☘️🌿

A reminder the act of making a cup of tea adds additional pleasure and centering.
In gratitude.