TEA AND ZEN

THRESHOLD

CHARTER FOR COMPASSION

UNDER  RE-CONSTRUCTION

ETHOS

This sanctuary exists for the in-between places: the quiet moments after loss, the deep breaths before change, the longing that stirs before words form.

It is a space for the tired heart, the awakening soul, the one who yearns to belong. It is for the mystic in exile, the caregiver with an aching back, the artist who weeps without knowing why. What lives here is not doctrine, but devotion. Not performance, but presence. Through writings, meditations, spoken blessings, and ancient practices of the heart, we return—again and again—to what the noise of the world cannot touch. Love.

This sanctuary is a weaving of tenderness and truth, silence and story, devotion and dust. It offers no promises but this: you are not alone. You were never alone. You belong—not in spite of your wounds, but because of them. May this place meet you gently, and remind you of what you’ve always known. Nigel Lott

BENEFACTIONS

  • TEA CEREMONY

    A one-on-one or small group session where tea becomes the gateway into presence. Rooted in contemplative silence, breath, and subtle gesture, this ceremony offers an embodied experience of reverence, belonging, and peace.

  • BREATH AS THRESHOLD

    Gentle, trauma-informed breathwork to support emotional release, spiritual opening, and nervous system regulation. A sacred space to remember your body as a sanctuary.

  • MEDITATION

    Guided meditation amidst the trees, stones, and natural light. Includes walking meditation, breath awareness, and rest in stillness. This is more than a session—it’s a remembering of how to belong to the Earth and to yourself – Option to include poetry or teaching at the close

PODCAST

PSALM OF THE CAVE

“We often speak of the dark night of the soul as if it comes once, passes through us, and then gives way to light. But for those on the deeper path, it is not a singular event. It is a rhythm. A return. A sacred unraveling that comes in waves—each one more honest, more demanding, more luminous than the last.

In this reflection, I share what it feels like to stand in one of those deeper nights, where even the old sacreds—books, music, practices—no longer hold. It is not a place of failure, but of becoming. And in its silence, something vaster than belief begins to stir.”

I am in the cave. The light has gone out behind me, and the way ahead is veiled. I do not trust the voices outside. Even the kind ones feel far.

Even the sacred texts ring hollow here. I am alone with the echo of my own breath. And yet— even here, especially here, something in me refuses to die.

There is a flicker. Not enough to see by, but enough to keep breathing. I do not know where I am. But I know this is not the end. I know that Love has not left, even if it no longer wears a face I recognize.

I will not pretend. I will not dress this up in spiritual language. I will not claim to see when I do not. But I will stay. I will sit in this unknowing. I will feel the tremble, the grief. And I will not run.

Because somewhere beneath the pain, beneath the silence, beneath the ruin of what once held me—Love still is. And if Love still is, then I am becoming. Even in this. Especially in this.

So I offer no benediction. Only this breath. This tear. This sacred refusal to give up. Love is the only way.

And even here—

especially here—

I walk it. Nigel Lott