This week, our practice turns toward attuning with the season and noticing the patterns that shape how we move through the world. As spring quietly begins to stir, it brings a gentle invitation to slow down and reconnect with the subtle rhythms around us. Our tea ritual can be a simple yet profound way to do this. Choosing something new, savoring it, and observing how it lands in the body allows us to explore not just flavor, but awareness itself. Each sip becomes a tiny experiment, revealing more about energy, mood, and presence than we might expect.
At the same time, the Golden Mirror Reset is drawing to a close. This is an opportunity to integrate all five elements, not as abstract concepts but as living patterns that show up in ourselves and our relationships. Noticing these patterns invites reflection, compassion, and curiosity. Taken together, seasonal tea and the Five Elements remind us that self-awareness and practice are most meaningful when approached slowly, openly, and with attention.
This Week in Practice
A Fresh Approach to Seasonal Tea
Drinking tea in alignment with the seasons is at the heart of what we do at Living Tea. Through the Seasonal Tea Club and Monthly Puerh Club, we often invite you to explore teas in rhythm with the season, and this week we’re taking that invitation a step further, encouraging a slightly different perspective.
Seasonal tea drinking is not about following strict rules. It is about noticing subtle changes in yourself and your environment and responding with curiosity. One way to engage in this practice is to choose a tea you might not normally drink and observe how it feels in your body. Does it energize you or calm you? Does it shift your mood or focus? These small observations are the essence of seasonal practice.
As we move into early spring, this is a particularly beautiful time to let your tea reflect the changing season. You might notice how your body responds to teas that support the liver and the Wood element:
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Oolong teas – If oolong isn’t usually part of your rotation, now is a wonderful moment to begin exploring it. Gentle, supportive options like Golden Lily are especially suited to this season. Their floral, subtle lift can mirror the budding energy of spring.
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Roasted oolongs – For those still feeling a chill in the air, teas like Water Fairy or other roasted oolongs offer grounding warmth while carrying the gentle lift of early spring. The subtle toasty notes can feel comforting while still connecting you to the season’s energy.
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Younger sheng puerhs – Slightly bitter teas can gently support liver function and the Wood element. Bitterness is less familiar in a typical American flavor palette, so this might feel intense at first. Notice how your body responds and observe any shifts in energy or mood.
As you drink, you might pause and ask yourself:
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How does this tea feel in my body today?
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How does it meet the qualities of this moment, including climate, mood, and energy?
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What shifts when I choose tea based on the season rather than habit?
Above all, let this week be an experiment in curiosity. Notice what emerges when your tea practice moves with the season instead of against it. Whether you’re drawing from the Seasonal Tea Club or simply exploring what you already have, tune in to how each tea supports you in this early spring energy. Over time, observing how your teas support you—and how that evolves throughout the year—becomes a rich, living practice that deepens with attention and care.
Five Element Insights
Seeing the Elements in Yourself and Others
We’re nearing the close of the Golden Mirror Reset, with the final class this weekend dedicated to integrating all five elements. Over these past weeks, many people have discovered that the Five Elements framework is surprisingly practical. It is not just a set of concepts to study; it is a lens for noticing patterns in your own behavior and in your relationships, helping you respond with awareness rather than reaction.
Rather than leaving the elements abstract or "out in nature," this work brings them into everyday life. Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water reveal patterns in how you attach, protect, pursue, withdraw, soften, and love. Recognizing these patterns in yourself—or seeing them in someone close—can make interactions clearer and more compassionate.
Why This Works:
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Seeing elements in nature is beautiful but can feel abstract.
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This approach helps you recognize the elements in yourself and others.
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It provides a lens for personal growth and relationships, offering simple, practical ways to observe and reflect.
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Many people understand themselves more clearly and gain new perspective on connection.
Getting started is simple. You do not need to attend every class or move through all the material at once. A gentle approach allows you to integrate the elements gradually.
Step One – Take the Elemental Quiz
This is a gentle way to see which elements are most present for you and where your patterns tend to live.
Step Two – Explore the Golden Mirror Reset Resource Hub
Inside this comprehensive blog post, you will find:
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All class recordings
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Guided meditations
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Elemental write-ups and reflections
Everything is gathered in one place so you can move at your own pace and return whenever it feels useful.
The goal is not mastery. It is a new lens for understanding yourself, recognizing patterns, and relating with more awareness. These are living tools that you can return to alongside your tea practice, letting insight unfold slowly and naturally over time.
Friends of Living Tea
Meet Rae Leslie
Rae Leslie (IG: @seeuatnoon) is a life guide, writer, poet, artist, mother, and speaker based in New York City. Through her books, workshops, events, and mentorship, she helps people at every stage of life awaken their inner hero and heroine and reach their highest potential through creativity and consciousness. Her work has appeared in Goop, Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper, and The Good Trade. She has spoken on consciousness and lucid dreaming at Loyola Marymount University. Rae also shares essays and reflections on her Substack, @seeuatnoon.