As we continue to live on this planet we keep making discoveries and advances, yet in the words of any great sage ‘No-thing is really new’. The explorations that we make in the world also have an inner conscious component to them, whether it is implored or left unobserved.
Among other things Tea represents our connection to Heaven and Earth and also to each other. Far from being a ‘new’ beverage, tea is emerging in the west now in its fully conscious capacity. Again, tea for our sake has always been there, yet it is us living in the west who are finally opening up to it. Because we are able to approach this age-old tradition with beginner’s mind, we have the potential to expand the joy of tea drinking farther out in the world and also deeply within ourselves.
Tea is simply a beverage that requires more awareness, and with our attentiveness to it, we can fully imbibe all of its qualities and incorporate them into every facet of our life. When taking in any substance responsibly we should ask ourselves: is the spirit of this substance something I really want to be a steward of? Unlike a martini on a mountain top it is a very high-’bar’ for us to grasp, becoming aware at this level of subtlety and understanding, although gradually we do; but we do not do it alone. Everything that we take into ourselves has a particular spirit or Way about it and we become representatives for the spirit of those things we partake in. Witness a session at a wine bar and a tea house: both parties have a ‘good’ time, it then becomes a question of which way the energy is flowing.
There is no right or wrong, only truth and non-truth, transcendence or bondage, light or shade, oneness or duality, expansion or contraction. The question then changes: does this action/substance expand my awareness or contract it? Even those rapidly mind-expanding substances come with their inevitable intense mind-contractions. Yet what about a supreme substance that can bring you as much experience as you would but pay it attention, without any negative consequences? Sounds too good to be brew.
Tea is a beverage of expanding conscious awareness. This is indicative in the limitless ways you can process tea leaves to taste differently, as well as the myriad ways that you can brew tea. From what we know of coffee: we have a bean that can be roasted to any degree of delight to bring out its best qualities and has various methods worldwide to extract its flavor, correlating to the coarseness or fineness of its grind. In general all coffee must be brewed using high heat for proper extraction, which depending on the grind requires exact time-frames, to the degree that the entirety of the coffees’ taste depends on it. Under extraction leaves one with a watery unsatisfying warmish coffee-flavored mouth swish. Over extraction: a biting acidic brew that makes bitter beer face look like graduation smile fit for a mothers mantle. With the degree of exactitude required, there is certainly little room for error and also little room for intuition. As for tea it is built-in, i.e. (in-tea-uition).
Most people ask, ‘how do I brew tea?’ It is one of my favorite questions and it tells me that people are thinking beyond bag teas and really using their loose-leafed, free will of thought. It none the less suffices that I always seem to supply them with the same answer, ‘however you like!’ Unlike the cold and unthinking science of making coffee the possibili-teas for Camillia Sinensis are literally endless. You can use a little, you can use a lot, a large space or a small space, hot water or cold water, the end goal remains the same: pulling the joy out of the leaves. This phrase has become a personal goal in the aspiration for attainment of full teawakening through the art of Gong Fu Cha. After experimenting with tea, you begin to develop an understanding with the leaves, the processes that they have undergone and what amount/temperature/time will be best for their teachings to be imparted; their joy to be shared. You could call this listening to the leaves, or in this case: trying to predict the next steep.
Whether we like it or not the world is changing, and whether you believe it or not; evolving. Every man, woman and child must make the necessary changes in their individual lives so that we can collectively move forward on our necessary destiny towards completion.
Our choices are becoming weighted more heavily by the second as the propelling force of ingenuity connects us in new ways, helping us to realize that we are responsible not only for ourselves and our family, but also for the world and all of its inhabitants. The more we choose to partake in peaceful, calming and conscious activities; the more we shed light into the world by being an example of how peace can manifest on the planet. For our sake if peace is what we wish to promote, we had better know what it looks, feels and tastes like. Share a cup of tea!
by Steve Bonnell
