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Ideas to Invite Stillness into Your Life

I’m sharing some ideas to invite stillness into your life. These tips are for anyone who finds it challenging to meditate or “be still.” Maybe that’s you most of the time. Maybe only sometimes.

Difficulty with being still in meditation is something I have had to tackle in my own practice. My body and mind have often (and continue to, at times) struggle to remain still. For me, part of this challenge is nervous energy and part is physical stiffness.

lotus shaped candle with a still flame in the foreground, tiny lights and white ceramic heart in the background

Two ways of thinking about the challenge really helped me. First, reframe the issue of stillness. Recognize that stillness can be “absolute” or relative.

Secondly, conceptually and physically separating forms of stillness can also be helpful. You can be (relatively) still in body and/or mind. Either and both can be healthy and are worth cultivating. 

Here are some ways to invite stillness into your life.

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Lessons from My Tea Pet

In honor of the second birthday of a tiny clay turtle generously gifted to me, I am sharing a few lessons from my tea pet.

My Tea Pet’s Backstory

A small clay turtle teapet with a white shell next to a piece of paper that says: "Name: Bonsai. Birthday: July 23, 2022. Birth place: Snohomish, WA."

Bonsai is my tiny turtle tea pet. She’s slightly smaller than a quarter. If you aren’t familiar with tea pets–which are used by some people who drink tea in a style where they pour out the first rinse of some teas–my previous post on tea pets could be helpful.

Michell Hovey made Bonsai (and other clay tea turtles). She is a tea lover brimming with kindness and affection for small things. Many of us first learned about the sweet clay tea pets she made through the Instagram tea community by following Herb the Traveling Tea Turtle. (Find out more about Michell and Herb in this earlier post.) You can also follow Herb on Instagram.

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Portable Electric Kettle Review: Traveling with Tea

This post reviews a balbali portable electric kettle (AKA mini kettle) and shares some different approaches to traveling with tea.

Balbali portable electric kettle with a measuring tape on one side and the detachable electrical cord on the other
The personal-size balbali portable electric kettle is compact,
roughly the size of a commuter mug or thermos.
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Complicating “You Can’t Pour from an Empty Cup”

Reading Tricia Hersey’s critique of the maxim “you can’t pour from an empty cup” got me thinking.

Are you ready to get poliTEAcal, Tea Friends?

Teacup with a few drops of tea in it, poised as if ready to pour.
You can’t pour from an empty cup.
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How to Enjoy Tea When You Can’t Taste

After losing my sense of taste while having COVID, I’ve pulled together some tips on how to enjoy tea when you can’t taste anything.

I read about people who lost their sense of smell and taste while they had COVID-19. For me, however, it was hard to fully appreciate what that would be like until I also temporarily lost these senses. Tea is an important part of my life. So, I was determined to find a way to continue to enjoy tea when I couldn’t taste or smell it.

Colorful gold and blue teacup and saucer on vibrant red cloth
Colorful teaware and accessories can brighten
tea time and the mood.
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What Can a Tea Pet Add to Your Practice?

What can a tea pet add to your practice? So many things! I’ll focus on three here, and then share about a special tea pet, Herb the Traveling Tea Turtle, that visited me.

clay tea pet in shape of a ram
Rocco, my first, and so far only, tea pet.