Plant Speak #2: Tea

How many cups does it take?

"The first bowl cleanly moistens my lips and throat;
The second banishes my loneliness;
the third chases through all dullness
To clarify every word I've ever read.
The fourth brings on a light sweat
That cleanses away life's troubles.
The fifth purifies my soul
The sixth beckons me to the Immortals.
The seventh is my limit,
A light breeze breaks from my sleeves."
Lu T'ung, the "Teas Doter."

Tea. Oh, what a gift. Such an underestimated plant. Well, maybe not. The Chinese protected it for hundreds of years; No Share!. The Japanese made art and ceremony out of it. Europeans were fiends for it and went to war for it. They dissolved millions of pounds of sugar into it at the expense of African's lives. So, lets not say underestimated, but maybe today it is. Seems to me coffee has a greater hold on our society than this enlightening little plant. A moment of veneration.......ahhhhh.
Tea, you are like a monk with a stick with lessons ever subtle, I thank you. First, for helping me come to terms with our powerhouse friend coffee. Second, I am at your command for all you have taught me about attention to the details. Art. Pose. Quality. You seem to pull attention towards the greater beauty in the world. You are fast. I love you. Not as fast as the black water thankfully.
Anti-oxidants, polyphenols, vitamins, and minerals. You offer all for the upkeep of our bodies and minds and spirits. I will carefully serve your purpose. Share your insights. Bodhidharma sacrificed his eyelids for you. I sacrifice my beverage preference for you. May you help heal our constitutions. Fermented or not, from China or Japan or India, it seems your lot is similar: composed! Spiritual. Elegant. Regal. May I be an initiate. I bow down before your nature. The drink of a thousand and one Buddhas please enlighten me...and my friends.

Correspondence List:

Color: Mountain Green
Shape: circle
Planet: Saturn
God: Pan Gu
Activity: Meditation
Time of Day: Anytime
Music: Oriental
State of Mind: Serenity
Enemy: Coffee
Ally: Monks
Meridian: Lung
Element: Ether
Religion: Taoism
Sport: Mountain Climbing
Tuning: Drop D
Story: Bodhidharma's
Medicine: Qi Gong
Sport: Golf

Tea anyone?

Plant Speak #1: Coffee....

"When the black spirits pour inside us,
Then the spirit of God and air
And all that is wonderous within
Moves us through the night, never-ending"
Rumi, (ranting and twirling and singing and praying)

Coffee. Kahwey. java. Crank. Bean. Joe. Go Juice. Ambition. Are you good for me (for us), or do you have a different agenda? You make it easy for so many to slide out of bed in the morning with your alluring aroma which dances from your sneaky shrine. Its true! You are one of the most revered plants in the world. Every office has a shrine for you. Most houses do too! What is it about you? Kalidi and his laughing goats can offer us an answer: Excitation. Curious goats, sensuas little cherries with a whammy of a punch. You are ubiqitous too. Who is willing to admit your addictive spirit? Your effects are so elusive also. And how well you go with all of the other New World goodies: Tobacco, Sugar, and Chocolate. Blessing or a curse. The verdict is still out. I do find it interesting how you and all of your New World buddies have taken such control of your explioters. Way to go. No, honestly, I respect your path. For all those who do not respect your "real" gifts, like our friend Rumi, you offer emotional imbalance, addiction, speediness, stomach cancer, urinary tract infection, and, of course, insomnia. I hope for you to loosen your grip on me. I bow down with an offering. A truce: I will post this on my blog. I will always talk highly of you, and caution those who come in contact with me about your pro's and con's. Coffee, I love you, but I must leave for now. Here is a list of correspondences Dale Pendell has come up with for you...do you agree?

Activity: Commerce
Animal: Camel
Archetype: Soldier
Art: Fiction
Body function: Locomotion
Body part: Heart
Buddha Realm: Karma
Chord: Tonic
Color: Ivory
Cosmic Entity: Main sequence? Blue/white
Crutch for: Inattention
Dimension: Time
Discipline: Taxonomy
Element: Metal
Form of Ignorance: Speculation
God: Hermes
Goddess: Fortuna
Grammar: Context free
Age: Kali Yuga
Humor: Melancholic
Image: Clock
Landscape: Cities

mmm....interesting. If interested in the effects of coffee on your precious organism check out this link: http://www.cosic.org/