TEA AND ZEN - THREADS

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

Do not be attached to the messenger out of your judgments and preferences. Listen to the message! 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

1788 –1824 I. She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies;And all that’s best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes:Thus mellowed to that tender light Which heaven to gaudy day denies. II. One shade the more, one ray the less, Had half impaired the nameless graceWhich waves in every raven tress, Or softly lightens o’er her face;Where thoughts serenely sweet express How pure, how dear their dwelling place. III. And on that cheek, and o’er that brow, So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,The smiles that win, the tints that glow, But tell of days in goodness spent,A mind at peace with all below, A heart whose love is innocent! 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

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

Every moment is precious, and every breath we take is a testament to the divine presence that surrounds us. Love is the universal force that permeates all matter, transcending the confines of form and space. It holds the power to heal the deepest wounds and bring forth transformation. It is the conduit through which truth flows, transforming suffering into liberation. Nigel Lott ‘Deconstructing the Empire’, Christian Andersen 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

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

I'd like to share a brief reflection this morning, something we can delve into further later if you're interested. Lately, I've been increasingly conscious, especially in recent times, of the repercussions when I react from my own pain and project it onto others. When I harm another sentient being, I'm inadvertently causing myself greater harm, magnified tenfold. It's a reciprocal cycle; when others inflict pain upon me, they're also inflicting it upon themselves, albeit amplified. This truth remains, irrespective of attempts to rationalize or distance ourselves from the experience. The act of hurting others invariably rebounds on ourselves, because ultimately we are ONE love, not two but ONE! there is no other. So, I offer you this to ponder—not to dwell excessively, but to deeply reflect within your own hearts. We cannot expect to get free therefore of our pain by dumping it on another…no matter what., no matter what they have done to us. Every time any one of us acts in a hurtful manner towards another being, we inflict tenfold harm upon ourselves in the process. 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

“Every child has known God,Not the God of names,Not the God of don'ts,Not the God who ever doesAnything weird,But the God who knows only 4 wordsAnd keeps repeating them, saying:"Come Dance with Me."Come Dance.” Hafez 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 the light of morning comes, may your heart be open and free. 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

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

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

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

In the infinite consciousness, in every atom of it, universes come and go like particles of dust in a beam of sunlight that shines through a hole in the roof. These come and go like ripples on the ocean. Vasistha’s Yoga III:27 ‘Weightless Moments’ Mathilda Skonare Karlsson 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

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

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

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

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

This is a meditation on world peace. Simple meditation that will help you focus on peace within and the projection of peace without. of the light amongst the darkness. Find a quiet space and hopefully it's a sacred place and certainly a safe place. It's important that it's safe. I suppose any place that we feel safe in It could be called a sacred space, a sacred place. You can sit down or lie down in a relaxed position. And I want you to set an intention. And in this case, the intention is for world peace. May all beings be free from suffering. May all beings be at peace. This will be our mantra for this meditation. But I want you to set that for yourself within. silently saying, May all beings be free from suffering. May all beings be at peace. I want you to pay attention to your breath. And in this meditation, you will only be breathing in and out through your nose. I want you to pay attention, bring your attention to your breath as it flows in and out of your nose and to feel, literally feel the sensation of the breath entering and leaving your body by focusing on the tip of the nose and feeling that air as it passes over the tip, literally feeling that as you breathe in and out and breathe naturally, softly, in a rhythm that's comfortable for you without trying to control your breath. And on that point, I think it's worth mentioning that we can have an intention as we do in this meditation, an intention for all beings to be free of suffering and to be at peace. But we do not have any control of the outcome. And we let go of that. that we let go of control over the outcome. And I want you to start at the top of your head, continuing to breathe slowly in and out. Gradually scan your body, releasing any tension or discomfort you may be holding. Relax your forehead, jaw, shoulders and so on. Working your way down to your toes. I want you to imagine this world as a serene and tranquil place. Perhaps not easy to do. amongst such suffering and travail as is on this planet right now. Perhaps visualize a peaceful meadow, a quiet forest. Picture all of us living in a place like this. Feel the peace and serenity it exudes. Let go of your thoughts. Literally let go of them. Hold to nothing. We let go of our thoughts as they arise, acknowledging them without judgment and gently guiding your focus back to your peaceful scene and your breath. And repeat three times with me. May all beings be free from suffering. May all beings be happy. May all beings be free. May all beings be free from suffering. May all beings be happy. May all beings be at peace. One more time. May all beings be free of suffering. May all beings be happy. May all beings be at peace. And that includes you. May you be at peace. And then with each breath coming back to the breath. Feel. A sense of peace spreading throughout your body. A sense of love spreading throughout your body. And allow this peace and this love to permeate every cell and every part of your being. As we follow the breath As you pay attention to the breath passing over the tip of the nose and feeling that air as it passes over the tip of the nose. Stay in the moment. Stay in this peaceful, loving state. Somebody once said, It was an invitation. They said fall in love and stay there. So fall in love and stay there. May you stay there. May you know the peace of that love. May all beings know the peace of their true nature beyond all suffering. And if your mind starts to wander, as it's wont to do, gently return to your breath and that peaceful scene that you thought about earlier on. The forest, the beach, someplace that's safe. Someplace that's safe. May all beings be free of suffering. May all beings be happy. May all beings be at peace. The practice of breathing through the nose, of feeling that sensation of the air as it passes over the tip of the nose and bringing your attention ever increasingly so to that experience will quieten your thoughts. And I will tell you if you can do that practice, that simple practice, 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes in the evening, the difference within you in a couple of weeks will be enormous. The world needs your light. Do whatever you can to transcend the suffering within yourself that you've accumulated. Make the rest of your life a journey of healing, of coming to know your true nature of a love beyond measure, deeper and deeper, and keep offering that out. To this world we all share. The world needs your 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

WeAre notIn pursuit of formalitiesOr fake religiousLaws, For through the stairway of existenceWe have come to God’sDoor. We arePeople who need to love, becauseLove is the soul’s life, Love is simply creation’s greatest joy. ThroughThe stairway of existence,O, through the stairway of existence, Hafiz HaveYou now come,Have we all now come toThe Beloved’sDoor. What holds significance for me, based on my personal beliefs, is that the journey towards connecting with a higher power is incredibly close, just a fleeting moment away at any given time, a blink of any eye. The path is inherent within each of us, much like the door that leads to this connection, one with what is. The notion of a stairway and a door is, in essence, a construct of our own minds, influenced by our egocentric selves. However, in ultimate reality, we have always been united with whatever lies beyond that door. In all truth, there is no literal stairway or door; it's a realization that can emerge in a singular moment, transcending such physical representations, whenever you are ready to do so, to surrender and transcend into the arms of the beloved. 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

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

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 Music ‘Cry’ by Johannes Bornloff. 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

Being that our atoms in our body were created at the start of our universe during the Big Bang. So if you look at it this way, then you’re about 13.7 billion years old. But your body also has heavier elements like copper and zinc. These atoms were created in the dying stage of an exploding star called a supernova. These elements were flung into space as dust and gas (stardust). Eventually, they coalesced to become part of a new forming solar system and our planet Earth. Because you are made from matter from the Earth, you are made of stardust from old supernovas. So turns out, you are bits and pieces of star and cosmic dust. E.H. SPRINKLE IT ALL AROUND THEN IN THE NAME OF 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

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

Do what you do with another human being but you never put them out of your heart, for to do so puts you out of your own heart equal measure. 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

My favorite poem, that I read and share with myself and others when I am in a place of forgetting., when I am thinking myself separate from Love. It sought of wraps its arms around me and invites me in from the cold, keeps me warm. Nigel 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

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

May all sentient beings awaken to their own sense of equanimity born out of their hearts longing for peace and re-discover the one true nature that is inherent within them, within us all,…..in the transcendence of all suffering and travail. There are infinite possibilities that are born of knowing that all love surrounds us, lives within us and that all life is so very precious, there is not a moment to lose. Know that in the beginning, as in the end, it is....all that is or ever was or ever will be” …..Nigel Lott….. teaandzen.org Music ‘Transcendence’ ….Johannes Bornlöf 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

“Every moment is precious, and every breath we take is a testament to the divine presence that surrounds us. Love is the universal force that permeates all matter, and yet transcends the confines of form and matter. It holds the power to heal the deepest wounds and bring forth transformation. It is the conduit through which truth flows, transforming suffering into liberation”. Nigel Lott (These vignettes are best read, assimilated given a little time and space. Please make tea and sit in a comfortable, safe place and allow the music and the words to resonate, as they are recited straight into the heart space just below the sternum. See it as a gentle mist flowing deep within, reaching places we know not where, no matter they are always of 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

All the Hemispheres Leave the familiar for a while. Let your senses and bodies stretch out Like a welcomed season Onto the meadows and shores and hills. Open up to the Roof. Make a new water-mark on your excitement And love. Like a blooming night flower, Bestow your vital fragrance of happiness And giving Upon our intimate assembly. Change rooms in your mind for a day. All the hemispheres in existence Lie beside an equator In your heart. Greet Yourself In your thousand other forms As you mount the hidden tide and travel Back home. All the hemispheres in heaven Are sitting around a fire Chatting While stitching themselves together Into the Great Circle inside of You. 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

“Long may your awareness of love and its power abide within you, its undying beauty always to remain. If you should forget its presence in you however, in times of trial and tribulation do not worry, for it will never forget you, its truth forever your guide and friend.” 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

Stay close to anything that makes you glad you are alive - Hafez Though life’s journey always begins and ends within our own infinite heart space and the LOVE always found there, it is important to be connected with people, places and things that, by their very presence in our lives, bear witness to our authenticity. To remind us of that LOVE within, particularly in those moments of sadness and fear, lest we forget our own LIVING TRUTH, as we are want to do from time to time. Nigel Lott May all love become you. Nigel 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

“If It Is Not Too Dark Go for a walk, if it is not too dark. Get some fresh air, try to smile. Say something kind To a safe-looking stranger, if one happens by. Always exercise your heart’s knowing. You might as well attempt something real Along this path: Take your spouse or lover into your arms The way you did when you first met. Let tenderness pour from your eyes The way the Sun gazes warmly on the earth. Play a game with some children. Extend yourself to a friend. Sing a few ribald songs to your pets and plants—Why not let them get drunk and wild! Let’s toast Every rung we’ve climbed on Evolution’s ladder. Whisper, “I love you! I love you!” To the whole mad world. Let’s stop reading about God—We will never understand Him. Jump to your feet, wave your fists, Threaten and warn the whole Universe That your heart can no longer live Without real love!” - Hafez 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

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

Sit in silence, let this mantra permeate every cell in your body as it enters the spiritual heart space below the sternum, and infuses itself throughout your entire system……..let it go deep. Nigel 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

You don’t have to act crazy anymore—We all know you were good at that,Now retire, my dear,From all that hard work you doOf bringing pain to your sweet eyes and heart. Look in a clear mountain mirrorSee the beautiful ancient warriorAnd the divine elements You always carry inside That infused this universe with sacred lifeSo long ago -Hafiz May all sentient beings awaken to their own sense of equanimity born out of their hearts longing for peace and re-discover the one true nature that is inherent within them, within us all…..beyond all suffering and travail. Teaching the infinite possibilities that are born of knowing that all love surrounds us, lives within us and that all life is so very precious, there is not a moment to lose. Knowing that in the beginning, as in the end, it is....all that is or ever was or ever will be. -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

Now is the time to know That all that you do is sacred. Now, why not consider A lasting truce with yourself and God. Now is the time to understand That all your ideas of right and wrong Were just a child's training wheels To be laid aside When you finally live With veracity And love. YOU are a divine envoy Whom the Beloved Has written a holy message upon. My dear, please tell me, Why do you still Throw sticks at your heart And God? What is it in that sweet voice inside That incites you to fear? Now is the time for the world to know That every thought and action is sacred. This is the time For you to compute the impossibility That there is anything But Grace. Now is the season to know That everything you do Is sacred. -Hafiz Consider that EVERYTHING in existence is sacred and act accordingly…with all your heart. 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

“Make of yourself a light,”said the Buddha,before he died.I think of this every morningas the east beginsto tear off its many cloudsof darkness, to send up the firstsignal — a white fanstreaked with pink and violet,even green.An old man, he lay downbetween two sala trees,and he might have said anything,knowing it was his final hour.The light burns upward,it thickens and settles over the fields.Around him, the villagers gatheredand stretched forward to listen.Even before the sun itselfhangs, disattached, in the blue air,I am touched everywhereby its ocean of yellow waves.No doubt he thought of everythingthat had happened in his difficult life.And then I feel the sun itselfas it blazes over the hills,like a million flowers on fire —clearly I’m not needed,yet I feel myself turninginto something of inexplicable value.Slowly, beneath the branches,he raised his head.He looked into the faces of that frightened crowd. Mary Oliver Nigel Lott Tea And Zen 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

I think I just want to be sad today, the way manyare in this world. True, God rides in my pocket,as He does in yours. Yes, I could lift Him out and look upon variousrealms of light and know great happiness. MaybeI will do that tomorrow. The ocean has moods. Have you not seen how itscolor can change, and the waves force and heightscan differ? - 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

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

From ‘Love and Sleep’ by John Crowley Read by 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

Love is the bridge between you and everything, and the truth, the ever loving truth can often be seen just beyond the shadows - Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī. and you are it! can you fathom that, can you understand that you are, as you are right here in this moment, that you are creation itself, all Love manifesting to the contrary of anything else! - Nigel Lott meditationsansfrontieres.com 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

Breathe in through the nose for 4 seconds, hold at the top for four seconds, breathe down your nose four seconds, hold four seconds….repeat the cycle 10 times…gently…so very gently. Let all worldly experience dissolve in the well of the spiritual heart, just below the sternum. Be at Peace. 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

“Be grateful for your life, every detail of it, and your face will come to shine like a sun, and everyone who sees it will be made glad and peaceful. Persist in gratitude, and you will slowly become one with the Sun of Love, and Love will shine through you its all-healing joy. The path of gratitude is not for children; it is path of tender heroes, of the heroes of tenderness who, whatever happens, keep burning on the altar of their hearts the flame of adoration.” Rumi 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

This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes As an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out for some new delight. The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond. - Rumi 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

MAY ALL LOVE BECOME YOU…………………………………………………..MAY YOU BE AT PEACE 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

“It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain! I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it. I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human. It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy. I want to know if you can see beauty even when it's not pretty, every day, and if you can source your own life from its presence.I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, “Yes!” It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children.It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away.I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.” 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

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

‘Tayata Om Bekanze Bekanze Maha Bekanze Radza Samudgate Soha’ Speak this softly, silently within the spiritual heart space in that soft center below the sternum three times. In doing so releasing all darkness and suffering that dwells in you, that you might then see the light and love within….of your true nature. 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

There’s not us or them, or me and you. There is ultimately only ONE of us, ONE LOVE that unites the two seemingly separate entities, binding us together, yet simultaneously setting us free in the PEACE that passes all understanding, that all hearts desire. Stop still in silent wonder and consider this please., seeing other as a reflection of self, of that ONE LOVE, nothing more, nothing less, and treat accordingly. Make each thought, word and action, with all forms of life an ever increasing interaction of such kindness and compassion that your whole life becomes an act of service to this end in everything you do. 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

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