The Making of Herbal Blends
Life is amazing! I have had many tests and trials lately. Bring It!! I am fortunate to have many beautiful supportive souls in my life to help me with some piece of wisdom here and there that I hadn't come across previously. The other thing that has held me steadily throughout this time has been to follow my passion..... Energetically there are major shifts occurring. I know I'm not alone in this! I can't shake the feeling that I am on a very steep learning curve. If I'm going to trust in the process then I need to sit in this feeling, be still and allow this concoction of energy to do it's thing and integrate! Once this started happening, it enabled space for my creative juices to flow. Let's just say that it has been a wild time mixing and tasting my latest creations.
Lately there has been a new depth to my blends. I wanted to share with you the processes I go through to come up with the brews. This has been an amazing journey to fuse together all of my passions into creating these brews. It starts with my love for ancient history, and the many mysteries which still exist of ancient cultures and societies, despite our development in the scientific world. To me, this reveals the need to use both scientiffic principles as well as esoteric or spiritual methods to explore these ancient mysteries. We couldn't possibly know these ancient cultures by looking through the eyes of our time, our modern world. We need to learn the art of being timeless.... the art of being spacious and open to the truly timeless Self, with a depth inconceivable by the mind. Our brain can only get us so far...this has taken me deeper, much deeper, and thanks to meditation, regular yoga practice and my own tea meditation, I am more open to exploring areas of the ancient world which are untouched by the scientific thought process. So the merging of different herbs and learning about different ancient cultures through more esoteric and spiritual practice has helped me to gain a new respect for the ancient cultures, to make seemingly complex things seem so simple. You see, the one thing that came back resoundingly was the importance of balance. Simple. Whatever ingredient we use there must be the opposite to balance it out. Whether it be hot with cold, powerful with subtle, sweet with savoury, physical reactions with spiritual feel, emotional reactions with taste and smell.... ALL need to balance. A deep respect is held for the subtle system of the interconnected bodies- put simply the physical, spiritual, and emotional when creating these brews.
Researching and diving into the different ancient cultures, I was able to reflect on how my passions are merging with this. For twenty of my thirty four years, I have had a love affair with discovering the common threads these many ancient cultures have, connecting them all intricately. Esoteric, spiritual practices is one example, and how they connected through the ancient silk trade route.....It is said that the route was operated before the Han Dynasty ((500-330 BCE) by the Persians (The Ancient History Encyclopaedia)- for more info on Silk Road go to www.ancient.eu/Silk_Road/. This was an opportunity for the many cultures on the route to share and merge their practices to heal, to enlighten, and to deeply connect......So, when I related this to my passion for tea, I became fascinated. Each culture had their own tea ceremony, each placing so much importance and honour upon the tea gathering that even enemies could sit in peace enjoying a cup for that moment......
The practice of Zen is to be IN the moment, and central to this is the role tea plays. It can be a tough teacher- unconscious movemnent can cause burns and discomfort. To be one with that which your focus is on is an absolutely beautiful practice. Have you noticed how your mannerisms slow dramatically when holding a cup of hot liquid?- how you simply drop into stillness at least physically?- most will at least for a moment drop into stillness where even thought no longer exists.... It is such an easy tool to still the mind....
Diving into these worlds has been incredible. Practicing certain techniques for deep relaxation, ancient cyclical breathing to immediately slow breathing and heart rate, and becoming one with the tea by applying the spiritual law 'as within so without' and following the warm liquid from the lips down to the stomach, and then the warm air up from the stomach, through the throat and out of the nose, are just a few ways to enter into a deep, timeless and divine experience with tea. So, when I create my brews my intention is to make them timeless.....breathing life back into ancient herbs, bringing it to everyday modern life. Respectfully using the wisdom and energy of the plants as they join with the ancient energy of reiki is a moving, powerful and beautiful experience. It is now time to share what I am absolutely in love with. The result of combining all of my passions together is the essence of the Timeless Tea blends.
The process of creation is different with each brew. Some occur whilst in a meditative state... others in an energetic mixing fury- with spine burning hot with my body dancing..... Some I get beautiful images which help me with choosing which ingredients to use. But, during this time there has been a common thread coming through of what blends are required most for now:- Relaxing, grounding / centering, comforting. Wow is there some energy out there. These teas have been supporting me on my journey of life and I wish to share them with you:-
Introducing the recent blends:-
Wild Woman's Comfort- To comfort women who need to stop, regenerate and refresh. See blog post 'Wild Woman's Comfort' for more information.
Positivity- Based on Ayrvedic medicine to balance the bodies. See blog post 'Positivity' for more information.
Soothe Me- A gentle brew to soothe a weary mind and relax the body. See blog post 'Soothe Me' for more information.
Tranquility- A powerful concoction of ancient herbs to assist with grounding and deep relaxation. See blog post 'Tranquility' for more information.
