My Mindful Tea Meditation

 Mindful Tea Time

I offer this as a template - a starting point for you to create your own Mindful Tea Meditation. What I am presenting here is what I've created for myself using ideas I've read and from my own experiences. I hope you will find this beneficial and useful.

First a word from Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese Zen Master and mindfulness expert:

“Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves. Slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future. Live the actual moment. Only this moment is life. You must be completely awake in the present to enjoy the tea. Only in the awareness of the present, can your hands feel the pleasant warmth of the cup. Only in the present, can you savor the aroma, taste the sweetness, appreciate the delicacy. If you are ruminating about the past, or worrying about the future, you will completely miss the experience of enjoying the cup of tea. You will look down at the cup, and the tea will be gone.

Life is like that. If you are not fully present, you will look around and it will be gone. You will have missed the feel, the aroma, the delicacy and beauty of life. It will seem to be speeding past you. The past is finished. Learn from it and let it go. The future is not even here yet. Plan for it, but do not waste your time worrying about it. Worrying is worthless. When you stop ruminating about what has already happened, when you stop worrying about what might never happen, then you will be in the present moment. Then you will begin to experience joy in life.”

“I don't think of the past anymore, I don't think of the future anymore, I'm free from the past, from the future, and there is a real encounter between me and the tea.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh

~*~

My Mindful Tea Meditation

Mindful Tea Preparation

Each step is to be done mindfully

Choose your tea cup and set it down

Select the tea you are going to brew

Put water in your kettle.

Put the kettle on.

While the water is heating up,

Sit and practice breathing meditation.

Simply observe your breath.

Breathing in - I know I am breathing in.

Breathing out - I know I am breathing out.

When the water is ready,

Mindfully place the tea in the cup or teapot.

Pour the freshly boiled water over it

And let it brew from three to five minutes

(depending on the type of tea and your taste preference)

As it brews, sit beside it and again follow your breathing.

Once the tea is brewed

Lovingly pour the tea into your cup

Then

Let it sit six minutes to reach it's optimum temperature

This is based on a scientific study done in England

(Article can be found HERE)

As it cools, continue following your breath.

After the six minutes

Drink the tea using the following mindful tea drinking exercise:

Drinking Tea Mindfully

This is the meditation I use when actually drinking my tea.

Basically, I inhale the aroma and exhale to cool the tea before I take each sip.

After each sip I take a couple of breaths while I savor the sensations and aftertaste.

Most inhalations are for savoring the aroma of the tea

So as you inhale, focus on the aroma

Most exhalations are for cooling the tea

which produce a sort of silent airy mantra

Now

Sitting in a comfy chair

Mindully pick up and hold the cup in both hands

As a most sacred and holy friend

Feel the warmth and texture of the cup

Before the first sip:

Do these two steps four times before taking the first sip.

1. Bring the cup to the nose

Breathing in through the nose

Inhale the tea's aroma

Notice all the subtleties

Be present, here and now

When ready to exhale

2. Move the cup to the lips

Breathing out

Exhale blowing through pursed lips over the surface of the tea

Thinking the breath as a light breeze or soft ocean wave

Now

The First Sip:

After the fourth exhalation

Mindfully, take a sip of tea

As you inhale air through your nose

Enjoy the aroma as the tea enters your mouth

Feel the tea as it crosses your lips

And fills your mouth

Notice all the different sensations

When the sip is in your mouth

Exhale while lightly swirling the tea in your mouth

Then inhale before swallowing the tea

Once ready to exhale, first

Swallow the tea

Then exhale with light force through the nose

Then sit very still and silent

Breathing In and Out two to four times

Focusing on the aftertaste of the tea and

The sensations in the mouth

When ready for another sip

Inhale the aroma

Exhale cooling the tea

Take another sip repeating the First Sip Steps.

When finished

Meditate a prayer of loving-kindness

Giving gratitude:

To the earth for producing the tea

To the people who cultivated the tea

To the people who picked the tea

To the people who processed the tea

To the people who shipped the tea

To the people who sold the tea

To all who brought the tea to me

~*~

As Thich Nhat Hanh says:

Tea meditation is a time to be with the Sangha in a joyful and serene atmosphere. Just to enjoy our tea together is enough. It is like a “good news” occasion, when we share our joy and happiness in being together.

At times, when we are drinking tea with a friend, we are not aware of the tea or even of our friend sitting there. Practicing tea meditation is to be truly present with our tea and our friends. We recognize that we can dwell happily in the present moment despite all of our sorrows and worries. We sit there relaxed without having to say anything. If we like, we may also share a song, a story or a dance.

You may like to bring a musical instrument or prepare something ahead of time. It is an opportunity for us to water the seeds of happiness and joy, of understanding and love in each one of us." (Source)