TEA AND ZEN - THREADS

38 YEARS OF SOBRIETY

Celebrating 38 years of sobriety today, June 6th, 1986. I am grateful to all the people for their support that helped me generate the strength, resilience, and determination that I have found along the way. I had no idea I had that much courage...your light showed me how to embrace it.From the beginning, I've faced and overcome profound levels of trauma along the way that seemingly were that complex and deep that they stretched me to my limit and beyond at times, and yet there was love always on the other side waiting patiently for my return. I can only hope that my perseverance in healing continues to serve as a beacon of hope for others who may be on a similar path…..may all love become you.I will do my best in keeping the light shining bright, keep my heart open to others, and I pray the years ahead continue to be filled with peace, fulfillment, and continued success on the journey of recovery for all those on the path.A special mention for those who are still out there in pain, still drinking and using. My hope for you is this.....that you come to know the transformative power of a love that knows no bounds, that lays within you, always has and always will and that you find the courage to surrender and transcend your suffering.... to the healing power of that love.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

THE MORNING POEM

Then said Almitra, Speak to us of Love.     And he raised his head and looked uponthe people, and there fell a stillness uponthem. And with a great voice he said:     When love beckons to you, follow him,     Though his ways are hard and steep.     And when his wings enfold you yield tohim,     Though the sword hidden among hispinions may wound you.     And when he speaks to you believe inhim,     Though his voice may shatter your dreamsas the north wind lays waste the garden.     For even as love crowns you so shall hecrucify you. Even as he is for your growthso is he for your pruning.     Even as he ascends to your height andcaresses your tenderest branches that quiverin the sun,     So shall he descend to your roots andshake them in their clinging to the earth.                                           Like sheaves of corn he gathers you untohimself.     He threshes you to make you naked.     He sifts you to free you from your husks.     He grinds you to whiteness.     He kneads you until you are pliant;     And then he assigns you to his sacredfire, that you may become sacred bread forGod’s sacred feast.     All these things shall love do unto youthat you may know the secrets of yourheart, and in that knowledge become afragment of Life’s heart.     But if in your fear you would seek onlylove’s peace and love’s pleasure,     Then it is better for you that you coveryour nakedness and pass out of love’sthreshing-floor,     Into the seasonless world where youshall laugh, but not all of your laughter,and weep, but not all of your tears.                                           Love gives naught but itself and takesnaught but from itself.     Love possesses not nor would it bepossessed;     For love is sufficient unto love.     When you love you should not say,“God is in my heart,” but rather, “I amin the heart of God.”     And think not you can direct the courseof love, for love, if it finds you worthy,directs your course.     Love has no other desire but to fulfilitself.     But if you love and must needs havedesires, let these be your desires:     To melt and be like a running brookthat sings its melody to the night.     To know the pain of too much tenderness.     To be wounded by your own under-standing of love;     And to bleed willingly and joyfully.     To wake at dawn with a winged heartand give thanks for another day of loving;     To rest at the noon hour and meditatelove’s ecstasy;     To return home at eventide with grati-tude;     And then to sleep with a prayer for thebeloved in your heart and a song of praiseupon your lips. 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

SOUL SPARK

You have heard perhaps that which you resist persists? So let all experience in life go through you like Chinese food, hold to nothing and nothing will hold to you-save 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

HOLDING SACRED SPACE

Do this for the rest of your life, oh won’t you please?Create a sacred space for one another, share moments over tea, intertwine hands, and, for the divine essence that transcends everything, love each other deeply. Regardless of the name you ascribe to it, embrace a love so profound that distinctions blur, leaving only the unified love that binds us together and liberates us, setting us all free.In every human heart, there exists no love other than the one, a shared divinity woven from the same fabric. All souls yearn to rediscover their true nature, to be reunited. I invite you to contribute to this profound ongoing creative process by embodying kindness and love.When faced with challenges, recognize them as opportunities for personal growth, acknowledging that they are your unique journey in this lifetime—your karma, your destiny intricately woven into the cosmic tapestry. Own these experiences, and, if you choose to accept them, hold them close to your heart, for therein lies the alchemy, the magic, always in the heart… in turning darkness to light. 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

THE MORNING POEM

Laughter?What is laughter?What is laughter?It is God waking up.Oh, it is God waking up.It is the sun poking its sweet head out from behind a cloud you have been carrying too long.Veiling your eyes and heart, it is light breaking ground for a great structure that is your real body.called truth.It is happiness applauding itself and then taking flight to embrace everyone andeverything in this world.Laughter is the pole star held in the sky by our beloved who eternally says,yes,dear ones,come this way.Come this way toward me and love. 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

ONE

One earth, one mother, One sky, one beginning, One future, one destiny, One broken heart, one LOVE. We pray to You.Grant us a vision of unity. May we see the many in the one And the one in the many. Life of all the worlds, Source of all amazing differences, Help us to see clearly. Guide us gently and firmly toward each other, Toward peace. Rabbi S. WeinbergSo Mote It Be. Music: Now we Gather by Joseph Beg 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

MEDITATION ON LOVING ONESELF

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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

SOUL SPARK - Sharing the Light

Let us with ever increasing acts of love, of kindness and compassion share our light from within, outward to all forms of life, to all sentient beings everywhere, both seen and unseen, in the sure and certain hope that all beings may become free of their suffering and find peace. Nigel LottFrom what is not, lead me to what is....from darkness, lead me to light….from death, lead me to what is undying. (Brhadaranyaka Upanisad I.3.28) 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

SOUL SPARK

The wise old man said language by its nature deceives, cloaks the truth in darkness, rather than illuminate it. Truth said the wise old man is only to be found in silence, only in silence. Unknown.Stop thinking and talking and there is nothing you will not come to know.-Ram Dass[If you want to know the truth, embrace love and let it become your anchor, drawing you ever deeper into its embrace, infinity in motionIt is the silence within, meeting the silence without, in that space out of time, that all truth is found beyond even a whisperLove is the essence of creation, the driving force behind all existence] 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

SOUL SPARK

The greatest gift we can give one another is the unwavering presence of our hearts, leaning ever closer into each other’s souls. Nigel Lott teaandzen.orgMusic ‘Grasping’ Hanna Lindgren 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