Wait, what? You're encouraging me to make drinking chocolate part of my daily spiritual practice?
Chocolate...seriously? Yes, seriously!
And here's why:
Cacao, aside from its many physical health benefits (a topic for another discussion) is a powerful plant medicine. When used to assist daily, spiritual practices (meditation, journaling, breath work, etc.), you can expect to experience a number of delightful benefits:
1. A heart-opening experience:
I feel obligated to leave this one pretty open ended. Ceremonial cacao works almost magically at opening up the heart chakra. For most people this will mean FEELING, and that's partly why this experience is so unique for each individual. For some, this will mean feeling your deep and intimate connection to Mother Earth, Spirit, your Spirit Guides, the entities your channeling, your Soul, the Spirit of Cacao, and all beings in the Universe. For others, it may mean connecting with your inner-child and feeling emotions that have been suppressed, avoided, and/or misunderstood for years. And still for others, this may mean tapping into a level of gratitude & abundance beyond that which you have ever experience before.
Whatever comes up for you to feel during your cacao ceremony, it's important to remember that the Spirit of Cacao is your personal partner on this journey, and being your partner, she will assist you in processing your emotions when and where you invite her to (but she WON'T do the work for you). So invite her into your heart and trust that she's got you (because she does).
2. Intentionality:
Drinking cacao for ceremonial purposes invites us to SLOW DOWN and to intentionally set time aside for ourselves. This means stepping OUT of the daily hustle and stepping IN to our higher/inner-self. So often we rush from one experience to the next without even understanding why we're doing what we're doing. Cacao ceremony invites us to tune in to our inner-knowing, our inner-self, our inner-guidance system, and to take action from a place of inspiration ("in spirit") rather than habit and/or our "to do" list.
Set your intentions, whether for the ceremony, the day, a specific event, or your entire life, and watch the magic unfold!
3. Feel-Good Feelings
Cacao contains a whole host of natural "feel good" chemicals known to influence the body and brain in subtle ways, so don't be surprised if you start to feel the effects of these guys shortly after drinking your cacao. You may notice feelings of warmth, calm, tranquility, peace, bliss, and others of the sort. Relax, you don't need to fully understand how these chemicals work in the body in order bask in their benefits. Enjoy! Cacao wasn't coined the name "food of the gods" for nothing.
Remember, cacao ceremony is a practice that, as with many things that involve practice, only gets better with time. So enjoy your daily cacao ceremony while keeping an open heart and open mind. Your experience of cacao ceremony will likely evolve over time as you do. Don't worry, that's a natural and integral part of the process. The important thing is to make sure you set enough time aside to really allow yourself to dive in. I suggest anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. But only you will know what time frame works best for you.
Above all, trust your guidance, and be sure to fully dive in and enjoy the generous benefits of this delicious magical elixir!