Listening Lounge & Tea

Around the foothills of Sleeper Mountain, dark clouds gather to signal a long night of rain. And a small village turns their lights on early to help guide bike riders and pedestrians home. Ralphie, the owner of Nostalgia Listening Bar, turns on the blue neon light above the round wooden door to signal he's open for business. The word nostalgia glows in the damp night, welcoming all who pass by. And it's here we find ourselves escaping the weather for a sonic experience curated especially for us. Before we settle in, let's begin our evening with a short wind down exercise. Tonight's wind down is a visualization. So when you are ready, let's begin. So no matter what's been going on today, whether it's been a busy day or a calm one, this is an opportunity to put everything down. To let go of any inner chatter, and find a place of rest in both the body and the mind. So first, get yourself comfortable in bed, just taking a moment to pause and be still. And when you are ready, taking a big, deep breath. Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. And as you breathe out, allowing the body to sink down into your bed. Feeling the weight of the body, allowing thoughts to come and go. Now imagining a steady flow of warm sunlight flowing down through the body, dissolving any tension, any discomfort as it begins to fill the body. Starting with the toes, moving up through the feet, and the legs being filled with sunlight. The qualities of warmth, space, and ease as it continues to travel up through the body. Up past the waist, through the back, and the stomach. It's as though it washes away any discomfort. It continues up through the chest and the upper back into the shoulders and down the arms, all the way down to the hands and fingers. A sense of relief in the body and stillness in the mind as it continues to travel up through the neck and the throat, into the head and face, all the way to the very top of the body, until there's nothing other than that sense of stillness remaining. And now just gently bringing the attention back to the body. The warm, clear sound isn't the only thing making the patrons feel cared for. There is a kind of intimacy in brewing tea for another, and Ralphie knows this well. He tends a neat bar. On a busy night, he keeps two cast iron teapots boiling at a time, but only one is starting to warm on the stove tonight. And as the water churns and bubbles, Ralphie reaches for a ceramic jar of herbs and leaves, which remind him of the days his father used to prepare tea for him, and his father for him. There are four sets of porcelain teacups, and every regular has their favorite, but none are more special to Ralphie than...