Shadows On The Wall painting by E.J. Gold

The Invocational Tea Ceremony

You are invited to "The Virtual Tea Ceremony"

You are invited to participate in an invocational experiment: an on-line version of "Feasting in the Real World" that we are calling "The Virtual Tea Ceremony."

We are separated--even if it is an illusion--by time and space, living in many different spots on the globe each with its own "time zone." While we may not be able to gather on a Sunday evening for our much-celebrated "Invocational Dinner"--we can gather virtually and create our invocation in a new medium.

What you need for the Ceremony:

You'll need just a few material objects to join us in this experiment. The main thing you'll need is your intention to be present, to be aware, to be awake, and to cultivate the group invocational circle as a special exception from your everyday life.

You will need the following items:

A candle (wax or LED)
Tea to brew (your choice--but make this a special tea, something you do not drink every day, to set this event apart)
Prasad (a cake, cookie, or pastry) to eat with your tea--again, something of high quality or out of the ordinary for you.
Small placemat (optional)
Flowers (optional)
Incense or essential oil (optional)

You will also need the following downloads from IDHHB:

The Tea Ceremony Bundle

Instant (zip) download $(.99)

A specific Zoom background graphic to use during the meeting so that all of us will be in a similar chamber (if you can do this)
Music mp3 (to be used while you prepare the space and brew the tea)
Three exercises from Every Day a Holy Day "Attitude of Gratitude" (page 2 of EDHD), "Guests" (page 3 of EDHD), and "Living Food" (page 71 of EDHD).

The Day Before the Ceremony

It is best to do the major cleaning the day before our Zoom get-together. Clean the space in which you will work during the Tea Ceremony. Clean up the papers, sweep the floor, vacuum, wipe down the computer and the screen.

Assemble the items you have gathered for the ceremony -- making sure that you have everything that you'll need and that it is close at hand for the next day's ceremony.

The Day of the Ceremony: Before we gather on Zoom

According to the recommendations of E.J. Gold, you prepare for this special event by making your entire day "special," different from the ordinary. It is recommended that you begin your day with one of the mantras offered by E.J. in his recent blog postings. We recommend a mantra from one of the following categories: Love, Peace, Positive Energy.

(Reference this link for the Gratitude Blogs)

Invoke your presence as often as possible during this day.

As it gets closer to the Virtual Tea Ceremony, prepare the desk area for the ceremony.

Refer to the "What you need for the Ceremony" section above for recommended items. Feel free to add any festive elements and/or items special to you. This will be a good time to make sure the music is playing.

Remaining Preparation

After the ceremony space has been set, there are two tasks left for our preparation:

First: banish and open the space with incense or essential oil.

Second: prepare the tea and Prasad you have selected, pour the water to be used into the tea kettle. Make sure to allow enough time for the tea to steep before the Zoom gathering.

Note: while doing the food prep, work with any (or all) of these exercises from Every Day a Holy Day

"Attitude of Gratitude" (page 2 of EDHD),
"Guests" (page 3 of EDHD),
and "Living Food" (page 71 of EDHD).

As the tea Ceremony time approaches, bring your tea pot, tea cup, and Prasad to your tea ceremony area. This would be a good time to light the candle or turn on your LED candle.

Participating in the Tea Ceremony

Collect your attention and presence for this event; adjust your computer or other device to the Zoom room for the gathering; sit down and join the invocational circle with your sound muted at the outset.

Do your best to be attentive, open to instruction, sensitive to the energetic of the space, and relaxed in your body manifestations. This is as stated at the outset an experiment, a séance for all who participate, so we will (virtually) join hands and enter in a space adjacent, or above our ordinary places, a place that we can support with our efforts together and sustain with our joined energy and attention. And in this special place, we can together transubstantiate our tea and Prasad and our impressions, and we can Feast in the Real World together.

The facilitator will call the ceremony to begin.

The mood should be light-hearted and vibrant.

There will be a reading -- this will be announced by the guide.

We encourage all participants to read -- by taking turns. When it is your turn to read, do it with presence and attention, so the reading becomes alive.

Once the reading is complete, open the space for comments and/or questions.

As remaining time permits, invite participants to share, and/or suggest an activity such as sing a song or tell jokes, or play a simple game.

These kinds of activities are a wonderful opportunity for bonding and harmonizing.

The ceremony should have a formal closing. We find the recitation of The Four Lines and/or "May this effort be used for the benefit of all beings everywhere."

For the host:

If you are hosting this ceremony for folks that resonate with the Work, but are unfamiliar with work ideas, feel free to adjust the ceremony so that it is simpatico with your guests. It is the essential nature of the event that matters -- not the superficial details.

As a host you are responsible for the flow of the event. Don't be afraid to jump in if the proceedings need a little kickstart.

You can do this by inviting others to contribute if they feel like, or by having some options at hand like songs, an interesting reading, jokes, comments, questions that can help in sustaining an uplifted, elevated mood.

After the Tea Ceremony

Following the Tea Ceremony event it's a good idea to close the space.

Here are a few suggestions:

Exit the Zoom meeting
Verbally express the phrase: "May the results of these small efforts be used for the benefit of all Beings everywhere.
Turn off the LED candle or extinguish the candle flame.
Return the items used in your setup for the Tea Ceremony to their usual storage location
Wash your cup, plate, and any cutlery from the ceremony.
Ease into the rest of your day.

The Four Lines

All phenomena is illusion,
Neither attracted nor repelled,
Not making any sudden moves,
My habits will carry me through.