In one famous song there are words that: “summer is a small life.” By analogy, we can say that the Chinese tea ceremony or, more precisely, the Chinese Tea Activity is a large, eventful and meaningful life in a special “tea” time and space... A journey through the fragrant streams of tea states leads both into one’s “I” ”, and beyond, opens new horizons to consciousness, allows you to see the whole world in a life-giving drop and arrange it in a masterly manner among the four corners of the shepherd - the tea board. The model of the world, verified by thousands of years of tradition, and, consequently, the model of the human psyche serves to heal the body and spirit. A place where free creativity and strict rituals do not oppose each other, but, on the contrary, cooperate, interact like Yin and Yang, like water and a tea leaf, like the unconscious and consciousness... First, the tea is taken out and an acquaintance occurs. A person admires the beauty of a leaf, inhales its aroma, exchanging energy - breathing Qi. At the same time, a silent dialogue takes place on the topic: what does a person want and what tea can give. This corresponds to the phase of self-analysis, observation of one’s own thoughts and aspirations, goal-setting as awareness and precise formulation of goals. In parallel, boiling water is prepared, all stages of boiling are carefully monitored from the first smallest bubbles - “crab eyes” to “strings of pearls” from large ones. “The sound of the wind in the pines” will whisper that it’s time to take it off the heat... This process involves activating the unconscious, saturating it with libido energy, and the activation is carefully controlled either by the individual himself or his guru/analyst/personal don Juan. If the boiling water is not heated enough, the tea will not will be able to open up, show all his taste and other qualities, i.e. Without the active participation of the energy of the unconscious in the process of achieving the goal, true complete success is impossible. On the other hand, if you boil water, it will become “dead”, destructive to the delicate properties of tea. In other words, the power of the contents of the unconscious can flood and suppress consciousness... When boiling water is prepared, it is used to warm up all the dishes that will participate in the Action. This is done so that the energy of the tea infusion is not wasted. And examples immediately come to mind when a person, wanting to achieve something, change his life, begins by organizing a special sacred thing, i.e. sacred external space, as if projecting part of the energy of the unconscious into the surrounding world. Special clothes, home decoration before the holiday, goals written down with a pen on ancient parchment in the light of candles with beautiful festive music, etc. After warming up the dishes, the tea is poured into a teapot, poured with boiling water and almost immediately drained. People don’t drink this first brew. It is intended for good spirits and deities. There is even a belief that if you drink the first infusion, you can die of happiness... Such a ritual suggests the importance of paying attention, first of all, to the deep archetypal, often unconscious parts of the personality. Before proceeding directly to solving the task at hand, it is extremely necessary to establish warm relationships and appease the archetypal structures of the unconscious. Next, the tea is again filled with boiling water. After some time (depending on the variety) the infusion is poured into a special vessel called the “Cup of Justice” or “Sea of ​​Tea”. Thus, the drink acquires a uniform strength and reveals its advantages more fully. This stage can be correlated with some features of the functioning of personal growth groups (or therapeutic groups), the preservation of group energy... And then, the tea is poured into cups and finally connects with the person, which reflects the process of internalizing the experience gained, bringing it into everyday life. The Chinese Tea Act inherently does not tolerate any haste, fuss, or crumpledness. If you are going to drink tea within the framework of this tradition, then you should do it with full (both external and.