A tea ceremony is a great way to meditate as you relish in the calm and stillness of simply having a hot cup of tea
Tea is often associated with milk tea and matcha, but tea is so much more than that. Tea is an ancient tradition and has been used in meditation, as well as medicinal purposes, to help improve your wellbeing.
In a traditional tea ceremony, guests gather to partake in several bowls of tea. On average, a ceremony lasts between one to two hours depending on the number of teas being served. A tea ceremony is a silent meditation, as you focus on the tea and yourself. As you drink tea, you also meditate and relish in the calm and stillness. It’s a great way to take a break from our busy lives and to relax with a hot cup of tea.
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Not only do you share tea, but you also share your insights and reflections. After partaking in the tea, you can share what you felt during the ceremony and what insights you gained. You’d be surprised by what comes to your mind from just drinking tea. Let your mind wander as you drink tea and enjoy the beauty of the mundane.
Tea is also a form of medicine. Back in ancient times, tea was used to cultivate the equanimous mind. Having an equanimous mind means having stability and balance with your state of mind. Tea helps you gain stability and composure which is undisturbed by experience of or exposure to emotions, pain or other phenomena that may cause others to lose the balance of their mind.
Resham Daswani, Fivelements Habitat Tea Curator and Founder of Spiral Spaces, said cha dao or tea ceremony has drastically influenced her life in every aspect. She said through tea ceremony, you gain clarity, wisdom and inner healing that is deeply moving and meditative, and can open doorways to our higher selves.
“I realize that everything is connected. We are nature and it’s the separation that causes the suffering. When we begin to heal that, things can come together again in harmony,” Daswani said.
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In a tea ceremony, there is someone who prepares and serves the tea. This person sets the environment to make sure that you have a peaceful journey with tea. Another well-known practitioner is Baelyn Elspeth, or Tien Wu, who is a disciple of Tea Master Wu De. Elspeth serves tea as an anchor to ground and cultivate the space of stillness. Currently, Elspeth travels and devotes her time to sharing and facilitating sacred spaces for communities all around the world, bringing the medicine of tea and song wherever she goes. Whether serving traditional tea ceremonies or holding ritual space through sound and drum, for her these paths are ways of being a vessel for spirit and consciousness.
“Tea has helped cultivate my meditative mind and has softened my heart. It has provided a simple and direct way to be of service to others and connected me to community all around the world,” Elspeth said.
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