A Different State of Mind

There is, sadly, little that I do that does not involve a lot of thinking. Even if the purpose of what I’m doing is to have “fun“, then I pursue that with the idea that I need to have fun, that I need to relax. I think about it. When I spend the evening reading, there is a nagging somewhere in my mind about laundry, checking accounts, and work.

I am working on conquering this “over-thinking” tendency as a student of Lost Coin Zen.  Through that wonderful group, I am learning to focus on my state of mind.

There are two times when I manage to feel completely and magically free of the mind of pursuit, the mind of purpose, the mind of gain.

1. when I enjoy tea
2. when I sit zazen (meditation).   

Whether having tea or sitting zazen, there is a process that eases me into a different state of mind.

No Mind

The water is set to flame and tea is measured out.

The temperature of water, the steep time, the tea vessel, and the presentation of the tea all matter very much to me.

The beauty of the leaf, the smell of the blend, and the color of the liquor are experiences themselves, separate and distinct from actually drinking the tea, but also wholly part of the drinking experience.

So perfectly interwoven that one is the other.

And then there is the flavor, the temperature, the tightening of the taste buds in reaction. Time stands still. The whole process can be as long or as short in duration as I wish, but that has more to do with space to focus.

The experience itself is outside the experience of time or reason.

Tea, Zen, Mind, No Mind
White porcelain, auburn glow
No thing exists here

I suspect that this is what I was supposed to be feeling during all of those martial arts classes, but while I love martial arts, I rarely transcended thoughts of body, sequence, time, improvement, and gain. Tea is, for me, something else entirely.

When I sit zazen, I have monkey-mind of course, but there are also the moments where there is just sitting. Not thinking, not anything. That state of being defies explanation or definition.

What do you do to change your state of mind?  Please share by leaving a comment below.

Photo of rolling green tea fields by MK Media Productions

I love when a small moment and choice becomes something wonderful. In October 2008, I was surfing around on tea sites one day when I came across a little blog where a few people were trading teas.  I couldn’t tell how long it had been since anyone posted but I submitted a comment saying I would like to swap some tea. In response, I received an email from Laura Rebolledo in Michigan and the swap was on!  But, the benefit of this was all mine.  It turned out that Laura is a reviewer for Teaviews.com and she purchases and receives hundreds of teas each year.  My sparse tea package went to her and in return I received several boxes full of various teas and my world was changed forever.  Now, I’ve been exposed to teas and tea companies that it would have taken a long time to discover on my own.

Floating around on Twitter, I ran into Laura again and this connected me with all of her tea tweet-peeps.  There is a live and active world of tea going on on Twitter.  (You can follow me on Twitter by going to www.twitter.com/rebeccalong.)  One thing lead to another and all of the sudden I’m participating in twice monthly swapping through Nikki at Co-op Tea Swap and I have tea friends all over the country.

Technology is allowing tea lovers to find each other and connect.  I am having so much fun meeting people who love tea, and these connections are allowing me to greatly expand my repertoire of tea.  I look forward to connecting with more tea lovers in 2009, so join in the community and drink up!

If you know about more swap options, please share the details by leaving a comment below.

photo by romainguy

The Dos Hermanos blog recently shared an interesting Oolong Mojito recipe by Henrietta Lovell, owner of The Rare Tea Company.

The ingredients are:

• rum
• lime juice
• unrefined sugar
• fresh mint
• cooled Oolong

The full recipe is available here.

Other tea cocktail recipes:

• Royal Tea – about.com
• White Oolong Mojitea – teachat.com
• Tea Martini – about.com
• Tea Infused Vodka – several recipes at thenibble.com

Do you have a favorite tea cocktail recipe to share?  We’d love to hear your comments.

photo by jsc

Use the following coupon code in the cart: CYBER28

* There is a $30 minimum total required for the additional 25% discount.  Shipping costs do not apply.

• How to pronounce Puer
• How Puer got its name
• What forms it comes in
• Counterfeit prevention
• Cooked vs Raw
• Storing and aging Puer

What do you think of this video?  Have any experiences with puer that you’d like to share?  Please let us know in the comments below.

thumbnail photo by teajournaling

Stanley Kubrick probably had no idea that his film Full Metal Jacket would create a pop culture phenomenon out of the phrase “me love you long time“.

The phrase has been used in songs by recording artists such as 2 Live Crew, Mariah Carey, and Fergie.  It was also featured in an episode of the animated series South Park.

We invite you to celebrate your passion for oolong with our fun t-shirts and e-cards spoofing this popular phrase.

Some features that make our eCards unique are:

• We don’t store any email address. We never spam.
• The cards are sent as an image in an email. No links for the recipient to click on, so your message can be read immediately.
• Our designs celebrate your passion for tea.

We only have a few designs up as the site is first launched, but more will be added soon.  If you have any ideas you’d like to see as a tea-related greeting card, please let us know.  We’ll add the ones we like and give you credit for the idea.

Try sending a test card to yourself so you can see how it works.  Send an eCard now.

These fresh, boldly designed shirts make great gifts.

Click here to see all of our designs, or click on one of the designs below.

Expedition Six NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit demonstrates how the International Space Station crew prepares and eats snacks. In this second of four video clips, Pettit drinks from a bag of tea using chopsticks.