TEA AND ZEN - THREADS

REMEMBER LOVE

Remember the boundless possibilities that emerge from understanding that love envelops you, resides within you, and that every moment of life is profoundly precious—there is no time to waste. Embrace love fully now, surrendering to its essence and power, for it is at the core of all existence. Infinite in nature, love is the eternal truth—unchanging and all-encompassing. You are a divine message, a mirror reflecting the sacred, so seek within yourself, for everything you desire is already a part of who you are. There is nothing beyond or above this divine truth. Nigel Lott teaandzen.org Get full access to Tea and Zen - Threads at teaandzen.substack.com/subscribe
In the quiet between heartbeats a whisper calls you home, you are not broken you are becoming. These threads of silence and sound are letters from the threshold, offerings from the edge of stillness. Nigel  TEA AND ZEN - MAIN LIBRARY                                                                                                                                                                  DONATE

SERVING THE ONE LOVE

"In serving the heart of another, we serve the heart within us and, the one love that connects us all...simply nothing therefore is left undone." Nigel Lott Get full access to Tea and Zen - Threads at teaandzen.substack.com/subscribe
In the quiet between heartbeats a whisper calls you home, you are not broken you are becoming. These threads of silence and sound are letters from the threshold, offerings from the edge of stillness. Nigel  TEA AND ZEN - MAIN LIBRARY                                                                                                                                                                  DONATE

WHEN GOD IS TIRED OF SPEAKING SWEETLY

Love wants to reach out and manhandle us,Break all our teacup talk of God.If you had the courage andCould give the Beloved His choice, some nights,He would just drag you around the roomBy your hair,Ripping from your grip all those toys in the worldThat bring you no joy.Love sometimes gets tired of speaking sweetlyAnd wants to rip to shredsAll your erroneous notions of truthThat make you fight within yourself, dear one,And with others,Causing the world to weepOn too many fine days.God wants to manhandle us,Lock us inside of a tiny room with HimselfAnd practice His dropkick.The Beloved sometimes wantsTo do us a great favor:Hold us upside downAnd shake all the nonsense out.But when we hearHe is in such a “playful drunken mood”Most everyone I knowQuickly packs their bags and hightails itOut of town. Hafiz Get full access to Tea and Zen - Threads at teaandzen.substack.com/subscribe
In the quiet between heartbeats a whisper calls you home, you are not broken you are becoming. These threads of silence and sound are letters from the threshold, offerings from the edge of stillness. Nigel  TEA AND ZEN - MAIN LIBRARY                                                                                                                                                                  DONATE

THE ILLUSION OF CONTROL

The belief that we can control the outcome of events or influence any person, place, or thing is ultimately an illusion. Life’s intricate complexity, the randomness of chance, and our place within the grand tapestry of the universe mean that outcomes are always beyond our direct control.We do have preferences, and our emotional responses—joy, anger, fear, grief—are shaped by how outcomes align with these preferences. In other words, we have been conditioned to base our happiness or sadness on how things turn out in relation to our desires.However! The Bhagavad Gita teaches us that the The Great Way to spiritual realization becomes clear for those who transcend personal preferences. Yet the moment we create distinctions, the gap between heaven and earth is set infinitely apart.Therefore, pursue your intentions with dedication and passion toward a noble cause. Yet, remember that while we can exert effort with all our hearts, the ultimate outcomes remain beyond our control. Destiny unfolds as it will.Nigel Lott, teaandzen.org Get full access to Tea and Zen - Threads at teaandzen.substack.com/subscribe
In the quiet between heartbeats a whisper calls you home, you are not broken you are becoming. These threads of silence and sound are letters from the threshold, offerings from the edge of stillness. Nigel  TEA AND ZEN - MAIN LIBRARY                                                                                                                                                                  DONATE

LOVE ALONE EXISTS

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In the quiet between heartbeats a whisper calls you home, you are not broken you are becoming. These threads of silence and sound are letters from the threshold, offerings from the edge of stillness. Nigel  TEA AND ZEN - MAIN LIBRARY                                                                                                                                                                  DONATE

POEM and CONTEMPLATION

Here are a few short poems by Rumi that for me have deep meaning.Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing, there is a field I'll meet you there.When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about.Ideas, language, even the phrase each other doesn't make any sense.Whoever finds love beneath hurt and grief disappears into emptiness with a thousand new disguises.Things are such that someone lifting a cup or watching the rain,petting a dog or singing,just singing,could be doing as much for this universe as anyone.This moment, this love comes to rest in me.Many beings in one being, in one wheat grain, a thousand sheaf stacks.Inside the needle's eye, a turning night of stars, this moment, this love. Get full access to Tea and Zen - Threads at teaandzen.substack.com/subscribe
In the quiet between heartbeats a whisper calls you home, you are not broken you are becoming. These threads of silence and sound are letters from the threshold, offerings from the edge of stillness. Nigel  TEA AND ZEN - MAIN LIBRARY                                                                                                                                                                  DONATE

APACHE BLESSING

May the sun bring you new energy by day.May the moon softly restore you by night.And may the rain wash away your worries.May the breeze blow new strength into your being.May you walk gently through the world and know its beauty.All the days of your life. Get full access to Tea and Zen - Threads at teaandzen.substack.com/subscribe
In the quiet between heartbeats a whisper calls you home, you are not broken you are becoming. These threads of silence and sound are letters from the threshold, offerings from the edge of stillness. Nigel  TEA AND ZEN - MAIN LIBRARY                                                                                                                                                                  DONATE

CONTEMPLATION IN THE KEY OF LOVE

One day the sun admitted I am just a shadowI wish I could show you the infinite incandescence that has cast my brilliant image.I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness, the astonishing light of your own being.I'm happy even before I have a reason.I'm full of light even before the sky.I can greet the sun or the moon.Dear companions, we have been in love with God for so very, very long.What can we do now but forever dance?I have a thousand brilliant lies for the question.How are you?I have a thousand brilliant lies for the question, what is God?If you think that the truth can be known from words,if you think that the sun and the ocean can pass through that tiny opening calledthe mouth,oh,someone should start laughing NOW! Get full access to Tea and Zen - Threads at teaandzen.substack.com/subscribe
In the quiet between heartbeats a whisper calls you home, you are not broken you are becoming. These threads of silence and sound are letters from the threshold, offerings from the edge of stillness. Nigel  TEA AND ZEN - MAIN LIBRARY                                                                                                                                                                  DONATE

LESSONS FROM NATURE

There are countless species and life forms on this planet that surpass us in emotional intelligence and heart wisdom. We have much to learn from them, and by observing and listening, may we find ourselves deeply humbled by their presence. Nigel Lott teaandzen.org 501 (C) 3 Non Profit, Registered Charity Get full access to Tea and Zen - Threads at teaandzen.substack.com/subscribe
In the quiet between heartbeats a whisper calls you home, you are not broken you are becoming. These threads of silence and sound are letters from the threshold, offerings from the edge of stillness. Nigel  TEA AND ZEN - MAIN LIBRARY                                                                                                                                                                  DONATE

EMBRACING OUR SHARED ESSENCE.

We must come to understand and accept that the love found in the heart and soul of one person is the same love present in every other person, as well as in all forms of life made manifest. There is no other reality.We are all interconnected, we are one and the same. No matter how hard we might try to distance ourselves from this love, each other. it remains a constant truth. In reality, there isn't a breath that truly separates us.Embrace this understanding and act in accordance with it. Nigel Lott Get full access to Tea and Zen - Threads at teaandzen.substack.com/subscribe
In the quiet between heartbeats a whisper calls you home, you are not broken you are becoming. These threads of silence and sound are letters from the threshold, offerings from the edge of stillness. Nigel  TEA AND ZEN - MAIN LIBRARY                                                                                                                                                                  DONATE