Drinking tea as a culture of mindfulness and a way of doing nothing. I love this. Having flesh and blood rituals, grounded in palpable sensation, is such a grounding influence. After 45 years of meditation practice I sometimes call on the sensations of physical sitting practice in the midst of a busy day. All I have to do is recall the sensation memory of what it feels like to settle into sitting posture on the cushion, and that recall alone invokes a sense of spaciousness and helps me to drop into presence wherever I am and whatever I'm doing.
Ah yes, I don't think I even used the word ritual in my post, but that's exactly what it is. The physical ritual of the body making tea, drinking tea. Mindfulness as not only a mental exercise, but an embodied practice.
Fantastic writing. I especially enjoyed your reflections on your travels and searches. And then bring it back tea to being vs. constant doing we’re all infused with. (But I still like my coffee!) Thank you for this Chris, inspiring. ✌️
Drinking tea as a culture of mindfulness and a way of doing nothing. I love this. Having flesh and blood rituals, grounded in palpable sensation, is such a grounding influence. After 45 years of meditation practice I sometimes call on the sensations of physical sitting practice in the midst of a busy day. All I have to do is recall the sensation memory of what it feels like to settle into sitting posture on the cushion, and that recall alone invokes a sense of spaciousness and helps me to drop into presence wherever I am and whatever I'm doing.
Ah yes, I don't think I even used the word ritual in my post, but that's exactly what it is. The physical ritual of the body making tea, drinking tea. Mindfulness as not only a mental exercise, but an embodied practice.
Fantastic writing. I especially enjoyed your reflections on your travels and searches. And then bring it back tea to being vs. constant doing we’re all infused with. (But I still like my coffee!) Thank you for this Chris, inspiring. ✌️
Thanks, Mark! Don't tell anyone, but I like a good cappuccino now and then, too :)
Beautiful essay, Chris! I just might have to steal your morning routine (but still make it my own) ;)
It's a great chassis on which to build your own morning routine! Great artists steal :)
And what a shining star tea is, having shone through thousands of years. Thanks for sharing a glimpse of your morning with us, Chris.