Life breathes in two directions: expansion and contraction.
- James Brett
- Aug 12
- 8 min read
Updated: Aug 13
“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them, that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” - Lao Tzu
Am a little late with this months newsletter. We have been personally feeling these rhythms deeply over July and into the start of August.
Expansion feels like openness, creativity, and connection. Contraction feels like tightness, heaviness, and the mind looping on its favourite worries.
Both are necessary. The tide can’t always be coming in. The moon waxes and wanes. Even the heart alternates between squeeze and release.
Life Breathes in two directions: Expansion and Contraction.
When contraction comes, it often pulls thought, body, and breath into its gravity. Breath speeds up. Shoulders hunch. Awareness narrows to a tunnel.
So it is interesting to dance with these rhythms and we have been playing with different approaches and modalities to move as gracefully as we can through life. Being grateful for the highs and graceful with the lows.
The Inward Path and the Tantric Path
There are many ways to meet life’s rhythm of expansion and contraction.
One is the inward path, the so called “direct path”, turning away from the foreground of experience to rest in the stillness within. Here, the wave falls back into the ocean, the mind’s stories dissolve, and what remains is our unchanging nature, the peace, spaciousness and happiness that we are before any thought.
The other is the Tantric path, the path of going into experience so deeply and without resistance that its true nature is revealed. As one of our teachers Rupert Spira describes it:
“The tantric approach does not reject the world. It traces every experience back to its source, and in doing so, discovers the world and the self are made of the same substance, awareness.”
Through this path, we do not avoid sensation, perception, or feeling, we enter them completely, letting them lead us home. Not stopping in experience, but flowing through, to rest in and rest as the peace, spaciousness and happiness that we are.
One of our favourite practices is found in Gong Fu Cha, Cha Dao, the Way of Tea. Holding the cup at my heart, I remember and know the tea desires to be drunk with all of its being. As I sip, I feel the warmth travelling down, uniting with me, becoming inseparable. The tea and I are one. It is a simple but powerful tantric micro practice to play with, fully opening your senses, deepening into presence, meeting what you are tasting with union.
In Taoist terms, this is the union of Heaven, Earth, and Human, a living moment where awareness meets form without separation. The senses are not distractions here, but gateways. The warmth on my lips, the aroma in my nose, the earthiness on my tongue, each one leads not away from stillness, but deeper into it, until there is only being, resting as being.
Tea Ceremony at Oasis Within
Why have a tea ceremony experience with us?
Gong Fu Cha / Cha Dao (The Way of Tea) is much more than a method of brewing tea, it’s a living art and meditation. When approached as a conscious practice, it offers benefits across physical, mental, emotional, and even spiritual dimensions.
“The person brewing is not leading. We are just one part. We are serving the tea and those around us. We are not the master; the master is tea." - Li Xiangxi
Cha Dao is not simply about tea, it is about being with tea, with life, with yourself. Each session is an opportunity to:
Slow down without disengaging from life
See the sacred in the ordinary
Taste the inseparability of awareness and experience
The Pur Erh tea we drink at Oasis Within, from the heart of Yunnan, has special qualities to support the flow of energy, the movement of energy, and in James's case, his recovery and healing from Stage 3 cancer. He understands the importance of ensuring his energy 'chi' does not become stagnant. In Lisa's case it also supports navigating peri-menopause and life's contractions and expansions. The tea opens our central energy channel, our meridians, supports the digestive system, and helps bring clarity in the mind. Combining it with an energy practice, such as Calligraphy Health QiGong or another energy practice like Lisa's Resonant Body, deepens our connection to the peace that we are.
Daoist Alchemy is all about becoming conscious of your energy mastery. We can experience energy in many ways. We can see it, we can hear it but, the most important way of all, is to cultivate our capacity to feel it. This fusion, supports us to go deeper, so we feel more, our feeling of energy becomes tactile and palpable as we deepen our practice.
Cultivating a conscious capacity to direct and move the energy to where you need it, has been one of the foundations for James's healing, strengthening his organs and remaining kidney as well as the healing of his scar tissue.
We currently serve tea at least three times a month with Qi Gong and Resonant Body fusions as well as the option to book a private session.
James will also be starting a new monthly community session in September which will be by donation, so if you are curious, please come. We can move together on our journey to become conscious masters of energy.
A workshop in heart centered leadership
Last weekend, our sanctuary came alive over the Lions Gate portal, with an immersive workshop to explore heart centered leadership. We used the wisdom of the I-Ching/Gene Keys as a framework for an intuitive movement experience, to somatically immerse in the collective energy of the week.
There are 64 archetypes in this ancient wisdom and each one, explores our choice in every moment, either consciously or unconsciously, to show up in a lower energetic frequency (contraction) or a higher frequency (expansion).
Last Sunday we worked with I Ching/Gene Key 7, where we moved from Division to Virtue through the path of Guidance. Through movement and play, we explored what happens in our bodies when we become separate and attempt to guide and lead without invitation, by pushing to be seen or by trying to disempower others to get ahead. We then played with the higher expressions in the similar way, finding our natural leadership that ultimately comes from your essence, learning that the magnetism of your presence is the transmission.
We also gathered for sacred tea ceremony, conscious breathwork and a shared lunch to nourish ourselves and deeply connect in community. Participants left with a clearer felt sense of their own direction, with words in their journals and holding a deep inner knowing.
For those seeking more purpose, clarity, or a way to reconnect with themselves, this workshop was a living reminder that wisdom often arrives when we drop out of the head and into the heart.
We'll be also sending out a survey with our newsletter for further feedback on times for future retreats.
Somatic movement workshop - an opening of hearts on 10th August
Heart Coherence Masterclass - The Rhythm of Inner Harmony - coming soon.
Heart coherence is a physiological and energetic state where your heart, brain, and nervous system move in a smooth, harmonious rhythm. It’s not just about slowing your breathing, it’s about syncing the breath with the heart and cultivating a felt sense of appreciation, gratitude, or love.
When you breathe in for about five and a half seconds and out for the same length, while focusing on a heartfelt emotion building this sense of appreciation, something remarkable happens. Your heart rate variability (HRV), the subtle beat-to-beat changes in heart rhythm, becomes more ordered and wave-like. This sends a signal to the brain that says: All is well. You are safe.
The Benefits
Reduces stress hormones like cortisol, while boosting feel-good hormones such as oxytocin and DHEA.
Enhances mental clarity and focus, allowing decisions to arise from calm awareness, heart centered wisdom instead of reactivity.
Strengthens the immune system and supports cardiovascular health.
Improves emotional resilience, making it easier to recover from challenges and setbacks.
Deepens intuition, as the heart’s electromagnetic field which extends several feet beyond the body comes into greater alignment.
Why It Matters
When we live from the head alone, we can become trapped in loops of thought, planning, and analysis. In heart coherence, the mind is still active, but it takes its cues from the intelligence of the heart. This is the sweet spot for authentic leadership, creativity, and connection.
It is also a bridge to the Tantric path experiencing the world fully, but from a stable, loving awareness. As the HeartMath Institute teaches, coherence isn’t just a self-regulation tool; it’s a way of broadcasting steadiness and compassion into the relational field, subtly influencing those around you.
“When the heart is at peace, the mind rests, and the world aligns with our true nature.” - Inspired by Lao Tzu
We've been doing so much work on softening and opening the heart. So in October we will be running a Heart Coherence Masterclass, weaving ancient wisdom with modern technology to enable this to be embodied into your life. More details to come!
Flow State - A Full Day Retreat. Join Us on a Journey
As we move forward, we will also be offering a range of extended experiences to create containers for growth and transformation. Have you ever felt the allure of an extended day filled with pure connection and profound tranquility?
Step into Flow, this September, we invite you to pause, breathe deeply, and return to what matters. With a sacred tea ceremonies, embodied movement to fire-and-water rituals in our Finnish sauna and plunge, this gathering is crafted to restore clarity, energy, and connection. Explore your unique brilliance in our Discovering Your Genius session - a space to slow down, feel deeply, and begin again.
"Lisa’s depth of knowledge and capacity to translate the wisdom of the Integrated Human Design and Gene Keys model has helped deepen both my self compassion and delight in the unique nuances, the why and how, of my own life journey. It’s been particularly helpful to receive her detailed notes from the reading, as a way to reflect upon the in-depth information. If you’re searching for more meaning and understanding for your natural expression and belonging in the human family, I recommend Lisa as a guide and compassionate support to shed some light and encouragement for your direction." - Coral Jones, Somatic Experiencing® Trauma Resolution Body Based Psychotherapy
A special community offer - 2 for 1 - bring a friend for free to one of our experiences or our next day retreat in September.
As we nestle into August, a season of renewal and reflection beckons us with a refreshing offer that's hard to resist: enjoy 2 for 1, on all off all our experiences throughout this rest of the month and to our Flow State - Day retreat. It's a perfect opportunity to start to dive into transformative moments.
"What an absolute delight to enter a timeless and sacred excursion into Silence, sip by sip. James’ presence and devotional heart, along with his love of tea ceremony, is an art form that soothes the soul and invites you to drop the outer busyness, to arrive into a relaxed state of Being, surrounded by the natural beauty of their property and gentle waterfall, James and Lisa provide a serene oasis on their beautiful lands, near Nambucca Heads. Highly recommended as a pitstop on your road trip, or as a weekend retreat to immerse in their many offerings to support self-alignment and well being." - Coral Jones, Path of Love Leader/Facilitator
Let us know your preferences to help us refine our spring calendar......
As we move towards the spring, we have an offer for you. We would like to gift you a chance to win a free experience. Simply complete our survey, to help us refine our upcoming spring calendar with new dates, times and offerings that interest you. Click here to complete the survey to enter the draw that will be held on 20th August.
Final Reflection
Notice today when you are in expansion and when you are in contraction. See if you can welcome both, not as problems to fix, but as tides to move with. Try the tantric micro practice, or simply hold a moment in your senses until it opens into full presence and stillness.