Initial Tea Consultation

As we begin our journey of exploration and healing together, the perfect place for us to start is to connect over a simple cup of tea.  This 30-minute Initial Consultation creates our space.  Before we can explore how we might best work together, let’s meet in a place of stillness through a practice that has been cultivated throughout thousands of years of history in Asia.

The practice of Tea originated in China over three thousand years ago.  It was very highly regarded for its medicinal and healing capablities as well as uplifting the spirit.  Vegetables were scarce and tea was consumed for health.  Later, Tea made its way to Japan by way of Zen monks and became a carefully developed mindfulness ritual.

We are simply continuing this practice of connection in a modern way.  It matters not that we are virtual or in person.

My interest and fascination with tea began in my journeys to China a number of years ago.  I explored the practice of “Gong fu cha” which is the Way of Chinese Tea Ceremony or literally “Kung fu Tea”.  Then, during my year of living in Kyoto, Japan I was introduced to “Chado” or “The Way of Tea” under a Japanese Tea Master.  Although I am far from a Master of either practice, I deeply respect and appreciate the Zen and meditative aspects of the mindful ritual of Tea.

So perhaps there is no better way for us to begin any journey toward healing and wholeness than by taking time for tea together.  Let’s connect in this practice as simply a way to step out of the intensity of all that is happening around us right now in the world, perhaps in our mind or in our circumstances.  Regardless of where we are and whatever our unique circumstances, we don’t have to look far to see the affects of a rapidly changing world around us.  This elevates stress, anxiety and fear.

This simple ritual of connecting together for tea allows us to meet in a very mindful and meditative way to begin our journey together.

In the Japanese tea ceremony this connection and appreciation is expressed with the phrase “ichi-go ichi-e”(一期一会), translated as “one time, one meeting.”

Every meeting we share with others is a once in a lifetime event, a sacred moment that we can treasure and enjoy deeply.

“Tea is an act complete in its simplicity.
When I drink tea, there is only me and the tea.
The rest of the world dissolves.
There are no worries about the future.
No dwelling on past mistakes.
Tea is simple: loose-leaf tea, hot pure water, a cup.
I inhale the scent, tiny delicate pieces of the tea floating above the cup.
I drink the tea, the essence of the leaves becoming a part of me.
I am informed by the tea, changed.
This is the act of life, in one pure moment, and in this act the truth of the world suddenly becomes revealed: all the complexity, pain, drama of life is a pretense, invented in our minds for no good purpose.
There is only the tea, and me, converging.”

― Thich Nhat Hanh