Have You Tried Cacao?
Plant medicine has been around since time immemorial. It’s a broad topic and ranges from natural supplements to cacao to ayahuasca and magic mushrooms. Food is also part of that category. Ayurveda uses food as medicine and nourishment not just as a way to satisfy our taste buds. This is not only a powerful choice by also a mindset. Simply eating a diet that properly fuels the body without using the lion’s share of our energy on digestion or choosing foods that don’t ultimately congest the body can change things dramatically. Excess weight is congestion. What is fat but congestion and potential toxicity or waste products? Modern medicine confirms that excess weight around the mid section is the worst kind. Think about it. That’s the area of your vital organs and having congestion or weight around them is not going to allow them to function optimally. Not to mention the stress it places on your spine and your structure in general to carry additional weight.
I have found cacao to be a tremendous teacher in understanding how and why we use food or other things we use compulsively, as we do. She, as cacao is referred to, brings her gentle wisdom into whatever you would like to explore. She will lead you to the door and you may then walk inside if you like. This includes your interiority, what’s going on inside which is where every single thing in your life has happened. Cacao is not a psychedelic and there are no hallucinations or anything like that. If good quality cacao is consumed in a ceremonial dose, you will definitely feel its effects.
A cup of cacao create an openness that allows you to explore difficult areas like inner child work. Most of us have inner child work to do. We learned things as a child from our environment and family. And some of what we learned from others was not taught consciously in other words there was no intention to teach us. As children we learn by observing others and unfortunately some may not have the skills we or they need to make different choices. This can result in patterns taking root within families and at times being erroneously called genetics. Dr. Bruce Lipton has some great info out there on epigenetics. Check it out here.
I’ve facilitated many cacao sessions with clients that have shifted long term painful stories into a more conscious and kind place without changing what happened because we can’t do that can we? No. But I promise, if you are willing to look, you will have many insights into why things are the way they are or always have been, if you’re willing to look more closely at your childhood. Not to blame anyone, just to see the opportunity to transcend the memory or pattern.
The insights and information I have gained, sitting quietly present with myself, in a reflective open place about some aspect of my life, after a cup of cacao have been very worthwhile. I am consistently rewarded with clarity and the ability to release that which has served its purpose that I may still be holding on to unconsciously.
Cacao has been around for a long time and was used in spiritual ceremonies and traded by the Mayans and Aztecs. It is a well known superfood in addition to being a loving, kind facilitator that opens the heart energy. It is also a cardiovascular stimulant and very good for the heart in general. In its natural form it is quite bitter and a ceremonial dose is 42 grams which is a lot of chocolate! Due to the naturally occurring mood elevators in a yummy cup of cacao, it is very pleasant and relaxing and really gets your creative juices flowing.
Cacao provides a connection to a channel of information and guidance, to loving compassionate support. I was initiated during a cacao session with my teacher and Shaman Keith Wilson and can connect with the consciousness of cacao whether I consume it or not. The same is true of any plant medicine. This is a very useful skill to have in supporting those who come to me seeking understanding or collaboration.
In the last yoga certification class I taught, we joined my teacher for a cacao ceremony. Keith, Wilson, Shaman and my teacher, led a meditation connecting us with our inner child. It was profound and deep. As I looked at my students I could see that two of them were having powerful experiences of cleansing and recognition. Even though one of them had done some inner child work in therapy she had not accessed what we did in this ceremony and it sent her into a deep experience that brought back repressed memories and great understanding and healing that had not been found previously despite her therapy. It was a beautiful thing to watch! The other student jumped into aspects of her childhood that needed to be reframed and saw how these energies were still expressing in her life today. She slowly but surely began to make the necessary adjustments to her thinking and behavior. Seeing these students make these huge strides in their soul growth is why I love supporting people on their journey!
All cacao is not created equally and a ceremonial dose is a lot of chocolate so if you’ve tried cacao and didn’t really feel anything I would suggest you give it another chance with a trained facilitator like myself.