words and images Ry-Ann Lim

“Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world revolves - slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future. Live the actual moment. Only this moment is life” - Thich Nhat Hanh.

Thanks to my friend, Lynne, I was invited to a guided tea meditation. Not to be confused with a tea tasting session, the mediation session is intended to practice mindfulness by devoting 45 minutes to sit-down practices. Stepping foot into the tea loft, I felt calm almost instantly, the soft music in the background accompanied by the dim lighting of the candles helped me to relax. Lynne was already seated there, waiting for other guests to arrive.

My mind started to come to a halt as I started tuning into my senses, first by listening to the water slowly come to a boil. Whoever hasn’t observed a pot boil probably didn’t practice meditation. If you are like me, you might enter into the session with a noisy mind, the internal noise begins to subside as you begin to listen out for the physical sounds. Sounds may be natural - water, wind, while others are man-made like a siren outside the window.  Some may be pleasant, others unpleasant. Thanks to a prompt by Lynne, she reminded me to allow each sound to be as it is, without judgement. Here, I am starting to be relaxed but still paying attention as Lynne boils the water with a fire technique. As the silence and my alertness began to heighten, I could hear what was once a hardly perceptible murmur of boiling water, intensifying as time went by. 

As I patiently waited for the tea leaves to steep into the water, I allowed myself to tune into my body. One of my favourite things about meditation is the opportunity to know my body again. Working in cosmopolitan Singapore, I find myself more often in my head than my body. I find it difficult to think and be truly aware of my breathing at the same time. Conscious breathing stops my mind. But during this tea meditation session, I was far from being in a trance or half asleep, I was awake and alert. After two to three conscious breaths, it was easier to really feel my body. With some prompts from Lynne, I began to be aware of my breathing and noticed the sensation of the breath. I felt air moving in and out of my body. I noticed how my chest and abdomen expanded and contracted slightly with the in and out breath. As my breath is unnaturally shallow, the more I'm aware of my breath, the more its natural depth reestablishes itself. Being aware of my breath forces me into the present moment, the here and now. As I breathe, the tea leaves open and unfurl in front of me. Savour the quiet, and relax into it.

As I watched Lynne beautifully pour the tea, it was delightful to listen to the tea pouring into the cup like a babbling brook. Now, I tried to consume the tea with my other senses such as touch. For example, holding the ceramic cup reminded me of touching the earth, connecting me back to nature. I then felt the warmth and the weight of the filled cup in my hands. Before I took my first sip, I breathed in the tea’s aromas and let it ignite my curiosity. What does this scent remind me of? Ginger? Grass? A forest after the rain? In case you were wondering, Lynne served an organic premium ceremonial-grade organic Oolong tea (which is extremely clean) from Taiwan that supports sustainable farming practices.

Tea meditation includes practising gratitude. I am grateful to the green, undulating hills that supplied this tea. I am grateful for all the laborious plantation work that had to happen before I enjoyed this cup of tea. Meditation helps me focus my attention on this moment and appreciate everything that has to happen for you to experience it. For this moment, this thought also expanded to Lynne and the knowledge that as humans, we depend on infinite things and people to exist for us to enjoy a moment like this. I was grateful to the tea, Lynne and lastly, myself for taking the time to practice meditation. Wonderful things do arise out of small things that are honoured and cared for.

Take a sip with fresh eyes and taste buds, as if it’s the first time you’ve ever tasted tea. Then, slowly, taking another small sip, I savoured the flavours, (or noticed the loud slurp I just made). With Lynne’s prompt, I began to notice the texture and the warmth of the tea, and how it tastes on my lips and glides across the tongue. I tried to take it slow and be intentional with every sip. While I had a desire to rush through my cup, I tried to notice my impatience with gentleness, and then returned my attention to the tea. Admittedly, I was tempted to rush through the process, but I remembered a saying by Eckhart Toelle “Paradox of time: whatever you do takes time, and yet it is always now.”

How did I feel after the session? 

After finishing the meditation practice, I let my gaze wander around the room or wherever I was, and I noticed that I now had keener attention lighting up each thing that I rested my eyes upon. I became more aware of a subtle and at first perhaps hardly noticeable sense of calm. Some people feel it as stillness in the background. Others call it peace. Basically, I was no longer totally absorbed by thinking. 

I can now see why in Japan, the tea ceremony, an elaborate ritual made up of countless choreographed movements take years to perfect. In my opinion, while the ceremony is beautiful to watch, it is not just about enjoying the elegance of the tea ritual but to enjoy the benefits of mindful tea preparation and drinking. Arianna Huffington, the founder of Huffington Post, considers her bedtime ritual “sacrosanct”. She turns off her digital devices, takes a hot bath by candlelight and often drinks a cup of calming chamomile or lavender tea. I believe this same principle can apply to almost everything. Just choose an object close to you - a pen, a chair, a cup, a plant - explore it visually, look at it with great interest, almost curiosity. Avoid anything that has writing on it such as writing on a book or bottle as it might stimulate thought and distract. As the thinking mind subsides, you may feel more relaxed.

I discovered from my time with Lynne that tea meditation is a simple and novel way of finding calm in the city. When appreciating something simple - a sound, a sight, a touch - or when I feel gratitude toward a tea picker, I notice my feelings to that experience and I am brought back to the present moment. Many poets and sages throughout the ages observed that true happiness - the joy of Being - is found in plain, seemingly unremarkable things. 

In case you were wondering, Lynne can be found helping women practice tea meditation sessions and writing mindfulness musings at www.alohablissrituals.com or @alohablissrituals on Instagram.