Tea Time Meditation

Welcome! Our little tea room offers a cup of warm loving support for you on your path. Pour yourself a cup of tea and relax with our meditations. Explore the history and medicinal uses for tea. Learn to follow your inner divine guidance and try your hand at the ancient art of tea leaf reading.

The Importance of The Moment - Time for Tea

Stopping in for tea during our busy lives is important. We often forget ways to relax and contemplate life. We would benefit from reevaluating our priorities and incorporating ways to relax. The good news is this is happening more and more.We are seeing Eastern methods of relaxation techniques with yoga and tai chi as well as all the tea offered in conjunction with the abundant coffee shops. Hopefully this is a reflection that we are trying to become more Zen-like.

Tea for Two & Two for Tea...

When sharing tea with friends we share the day's lovely or sad moments, laugh and perhaps shed a tear or two. Tea and sympathy.

You can discuss anything over tea and crumpets. - Michael Capp

Let's take a lesson from our British, Russian, Asian and Indian friends and take time for tea; I mean really do it - take tea. Let us not lose another precious moment .

Tea Accoutrements

There is a burgeoning tea market with beautiful, incredible teas from around the world, plus tea cozies, pots and accessories... even teacup candles. Don't forget the ever-important delectable edible teatime accessories - delicious Cucumber Flower Canapés, Strawberry–Chicken Salad Tea Sandwiches, Ambrosia Scones, Lime Petits Fours, Chocolate-Pecan Derby Tartlets, French Rose Macarons, cookies and breads; jellies, curds, and clotted creams. Yum!

 

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Just Take Five - Mini Meditations & Healthy Calmatives

Take five minutes and r-e-l-a-x. From sipping tea to conscious breathing, these tips can create calm.

Sip Green Tea -  a source of L-Theanine, a chemical that helps relieve anger Nosh on Chocolate -  just a square calm nerves, regulates cortisol and stabilizes metabolism Eat Honey - it reduces inflammation in the brain to fight depression and anxiety Bite Into a Mango - it helps lower stress levels Box Breathing - sit straight, feet flat, eyes closed; inhale 4 counts, hold for 4; exhale 4 counts, hold for 4; repeat Chew Gum - a few minutes of chewing actually reduce anxiety and lower cortisol levels - just chew it daintily ;) Meditate - five minutes of peacful meditation, concentrate on your breath, drop your shoulders and relax Power Nap -  grab a pillow Remember to Breathe - slow your breath in conscious breathing for a calm mind Pranayama Breathe - to relieve anxiety breathe in one nostril while closing the other, breath out through the other; then reverse Count Sheep Backward - slowly count up to 10 sheep and then back again to calm down Chat With a Good Friend - a sympathetic ear in times of stress is gold Grounding - a few minutes sitting under a tree or in the garden brings enormous health benefits and relaxation

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Creative Visualization - an instant mood boost on hectic days when we’re feeling tense Close Your Eyes - by just lowering your eyelids you can regain calm and focus Give Yourself a Hand Massage - apply luxurious lotion and knead the base of the muscle under the thumb to relieve upper body and scalp stress Be Alone - five minutes of alone time can help you collect your thoughts and clear your head Find the Sun - an easy way to lift your spirits Gaze Out a Window - looking at nature scenes like trees and public parks is soothing Organize Your Desk - leaving just what you need on top Put Your Feet Up - lie on the floor and rest your legs up against a wall helps create peace of mind Read a Good Book - tune out the world and tune into words reduces stress Take a Quick Walk - go for a quick stroll around the block to gather your thoughts Listen to Your Favorite Song - a quick fix for a bad mood - Classical music can be especially relaxing right before bedtime

Healthy Tea

Let us also remember the many health benefits of drinking tea. Herbal, black and green teas are Mother Nature's remedy for our maladies. A soothing cup of tea neutralizes 'free radical' agents, which can damage cells and lead to disease. Flavonoids, (contained in tea) also have a role in preventing heart disease by lowering cholesterol. And some property in tea appears to help the brain 're-deploy' from one task to another refreshing the parts even caffeine cannot.

Tea Leaf Divination - Tasseography

Ahh, now... you have savoured your cup of darjeeling tea, nibbled a lemon curd-dipped cranberry walnut scone, and have taken a moment to contemplate life. Hmm.

To complete the moment, consider the ancient art of tea leaf reading. Like identifying shapes in an azure blue sky's clouds, tea divination gives us a chance to gaze into our emptied cup with our thoughts focused on a single question.

Tasseography is a divination or fortune-telling method that interprets patterns in tea leaves, coffee grounds, or wine sediments. As you go through our step-by-step guide, remember to "Broaden your minds, my dears, and allow your eyes to see past the mundane!" - Professor Sibyll Trelawney, Divination, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

• Allow for one spoonful of tea and sediment at the cup's bottom
• Think of your question
• Swirl your cup gently
• Tip over onto saucer
• Right the cup and whatever is nearer you is your immediate future, toward the bottom of the cup is further into the future

Do you see a symbolic answer in your cup?

In my own hands I hold a bowl of tea; I see all of nature represented in its green color. Closing my eyes I find green mountains and pure water within my own heart.
Silently sitting alone and drinking tea, I feel these become a part of me.
- Soshitsu Sen, Grandmaster XIV, Urasenke School of Tea

Chado - Japanese Tea Ceremony

At the center of the Upper East Side town house where the Urasenke tea school is located, there is a garden surrounded by tearooms. A skylight creates the impression that it is outside — and a world away from the city streets. One of the innovations made by Sen Rikyu was requiring all visitors to the teahouse to enter from the garden through a small crawl space — making everyone equal, whether a shogun or a peasant.

The ceremony features intricate performances as the tea is prepared, and a thick tea ceremony can last as long as four hours. During a thick tea ceremony, there is silence. At a thin tea ceremony, talking is permitted, but only about the ceremony itself.

“There is no politics,” Mr. Yamada said. “No talk about who will be president in America or prime minister in Japan.”

While a tea ceremony might seem out of step with the pace of modern life, the Urasenke school has a waiting list for students. “Once you begin the study of tea, it becomes a lifetime thing,” he said. As for those who think they are too busy to make time for tea, “You discover that you are not as busy as you think you are.” - Hisashi Yamada, certified tea master Source | Visit the school