01: Trying to be more open can sometimes have the opposite effect.
When I try harder to be more aware of my thoughts and actions, it generally doesn’t go well.
Often by body tenses, my breathing becomes shallower and my attention is all over the place.
Recently I’ve been thinking about openness through a different lens - tea.
When hot water meets tea leaves, they gently unfurl in their own time.
The flavour appears once the conditions allow it.
Nothing is forced.
Breathing works in a similar way.
We breathe in and breathe out in our own natural rhythm that doesn’t need much interference from us.
A pause for tea can remind you to lean into this rhythm.
Simply becoming aware of the warmth in your hands, the steam rising as you sip at your own pace…
Space appears effortlessly around whatever was present before.
From that space, openness has room to grow.
So when you pause for tea today, notice what begins to open when the moment is given room.
p.s. For your pause for tea this week, I recommend White Peach & other teas here.
📷 Erica Moore, The Tea Mind
02: “All It Takes Is 10 Mindful Minutes”
Andy Puddicombe’s 2013 TED talk is a clear, accessible explanation of how simple pauses during the day shift how we experience life.
Andy is an English meditation teacher, author, and co-founder of Headspace, one of the world’s most popular mindfulness and meditation platforms.
Watch here: YouTube
03: A Compassion Practice for Opening the Heart
This 15-minute meditation by Sharon Salzberg in mindful.org begins by imagining yourself surrounded by a circle of the most loving beings, making generous offerings of love and goodwill to you.
Watch now: Mindful.org
Thanks for pausing for tea with me today.
If this helped, I’d love a quick comment, a heart, or a share. It genuinely helps this post reach more people who need a calmer next step.
Erica x
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