You may be wondering how Zen equates with coffee. It may not
be clear to you and your mind may be puzzling over the connection. If you are,
you’re in a Zen-like state, pondering this paradox of how caffeine combined
with Zen meditation wakes up your mind while calming it at the same time. This
mindful quandary you’ve found yourself in is similar to a Zen koan, which is an
enigma and seems to be an oxymoron.
A koan is a Zen Buddhist riddle that is used to focus the
mind during meditation; it is something that has no easy answer and may be
totally illogical in nature. It’s something you can’t easily wrap your mind
around. A koan is a question that must be experienced in order to be
understood. A koan reveals itself in a moment of satori, a state of enlightenment
or spiritual insight where an intuitive, instant understanding comes to you
without words or thought processes. This is where Zen comes into your coffee.
You may still be thinking that Zen and coffee don’t really
mix. Or do they? Caffeine and calm, poured into the same coffee cup, seem to be
totally contradictory to one another. That’s the koan, the seemingly unsolvable
mystery or riddle. Perhaps if you meditate on it a bit while sipping your
coffee, the answer will come to you. Zen and coffee are opposites that would
appear to be never in balance or harmony. Zen is powerful and peaceful, gentle
and strong at the same time. Coffee is strong and soothing, relaxing and
invigorating at the same time.
Can you be Zen-like and meditate as you’re zipping through
your daily life on a caffeine high? Can you be fully here now in the present
moment when your mind is scattered in several different places at once, going
in various directions? Can coffee help you gather your thoughts and clear your
mind as you calm and center yourself? I say yes. Yes, because your mind is
always connected to the essence of your inner nature. You can center your
awareness within the peaceful essence of your inner nature as you embrace the
Zen of coffee.
Zen meditation is pure and simple; it’s accomplished by
sitting quietly, clearing and stilling your conscious mind by not allowing your
thoughts to wander or intrude while letting your mind empty itself. If a
conscious thought enters your awareness, you acknowledge it as merely a thought
and gently let it go, without attaching any feelings to it, giving it any
importance, or thinking about it.
You simply allow your mind to be quiet. The objective is to
reach a state of nirvana [the attainment of enlightenment and the freeing of
yourself from attachment to worldly things] nothingness where you transcend the
physical and you’re aware of everything, understanding it completely within
your mind as you achieve a state of divine awareness of your inner nature.
A more active form of Zen meditation embraces
mindfulness—your thoughts are completely in the present moment, you’re totally
aware of where you are, what you’re doing, how you’re feeling, and you’re accepting
what you experience without judgment. This keeps you centered and connected
with your current emotions and experiences.
Mindfulness is first accomplished by simply breathing and being
aware that you’re breathing. Your breath brings your awareness into the present
moment, centering you completely into right here, right now. The objective is
to again reach a level of nirvana [the attainment of a completely enjoyable
moment that provides the embracing of an ultimate experience of harmony or joy]
which allows you to tune into the calm, peaceful essence of your inner nature.
You can incorporate both forms of mindful meditation into a
Zen coffee. How often, while drinking a cup of coffee, have you spaced out,
letting your thoughts go completely, emptying your mind and simply enjoying
your coffee and a peaceful feeling of just being? You were mindfully
meditating, filling your mind completely in the present moment, letting go of
all other thoughts except what you were experiencing with your coffee.
Perhaps you focused on the warmth of the cup in your hand
and tuned into the aroma and steam rising from the coffee. Perhaps the warmth
of the coffee soothed your spirit. Perhaps you perceived the steam as an
ethereal wisp of your inner nature, letting the aroma of the coffee and the
peacefulness of your inner essence completely engulf you.
Or perhaps you drank it down without a second thought. Even
quickly slurping a cup of coffee provides you with an opportunity to transcend
your physical nature and the everyday world for a time, if you will take a
mindful moment to be aware of and enjoy your coffee. Drinking coffee in a Zen
moment transports you into a meditative frame of mind where you are completely
in the present moment. Just like the steam rising from your hot coffee, you can
rise into the ethereal essence of your inner nature.
Quietly sipping your coffee offers you time for yourself, a
nurturing respite from your busy lifestyle. The quiet time you spend for
reflection and introspection brings relaxation and refreshment to your mind; it
offers you a nice and much-needed breather to get into the calm, peaceful
essence of you. You can sit in solitude in a Zen-like state of meditation with
your coffee to ease and erase the stresses and strains of your everyday
experiences with the warmth, taste, and aroma of your coffee as you nurture the
inner essence of you.
The quiet, meditative moments you spend in this manner bring
you peace and serenity. It is here, in this quiet time and meditative place of
peace and harmony within yourself, that you become in tune with your inner
essence, with the true nature of you. This works wonderfully well if you can
find a few moments for yourself to sit in silence and just be with yourself. If
you can’t, you can still tune into yourself with a cup of coffee in any
situation you find yourself in.
This is how the Zen of coffee works. You can achieve many
peaceful moments of harmony while you’re on the go and racing around, running
through life. Coffee gives you a quiet time, a moment or two every now and
then, scattered here and there, to de-stress and drink in the mindfulness of
Zen; to relax and reflect; to go within your inner essence to replenish
yourself and refresh your mind.
Zen Coffee is for people on the go; it offers an active
approach to mindfully meditating in every moment of your busy life. It offers
you many ways to bring peace and a sense of serenity into all your experiences
and activities, to be in harmony with them. As you race through life with your
coffee cup in hand, you’ll find many mindful moments to meditate.
This book uses coffee as a metaphor for meditating and
tuning into your inner nature as you zip through the Zen of daily life to tune
into and embrace the peaceful essence of your inner self. It offers you ways to
find a few moments every now and then to relax, whether you’re alone or with
other people, whether you’re feeling calm or are in a stressful situation.
There are meditations you can engage in with your eyes open and a cup of coffee
in your hand.
Zen Coffee shows you how to tune into and be in touch with
your inner nature as it invites you to drink in the Zen of your spirit. Tuning
into the essence of your calm, peaceful inner nature is as quick and easy as
drinking your coffee and being mindful as you race through the ups and downs of
your experiences. A few moments of mindfulness scattered here and there puts
the caffeine calm of Zen coffee into your life.
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