Do you love chocolate? Well chocolate
loves YOU! We discover how in ceremonial doses, raw cacao is a
powerful heart opener that paves the way to transformation through
self-love.
A while back, we had an intern working at The Numinous who
celebrated turning 21 at a raw cacao ceremony. “Most of my friends
would have been downing shots of tequila…but I was getting high on
chocolate!” she joked. But it turns out raw, ceremonial grade cacao
has been used for centuries to unlock euphoric states, release
negative emotions, and connect to pure heart energy.
Chocolate + ecstatic healing and transformation. Seriously, is
anybody NOT down for some of that?
Guinevere Short has been working with cacao in ceremony since she
founded Heart
Beats Raw Cacao and Dance Ceremonies in 2013. We got her to give
us the lowdown on why chocolate is essentially a catalyst to radical
self-love…
WHERE
AND WHEN DID CACAO CEREMONIES ORIGINATE?
It’s thought cacao was first used as a
health elixir and ceremonial medicine as far back as 1900 BC by the
ancestors of Central America, the Olmec people, before becoming a
ritualistic medicine used by the Aztec and Mayan cultures.
Signifying both life and fertility, it was ingested by Royalty in
ceremonial God worship and in sacrificial ritual.
CACAO
IS ASSOCIATED WITH UNIVERSAL LOVE – WHY IS THIS?
Due to certain active ingredients that
help release ‘feel good’ emotions, cacao is considered a heart
opener. Creating feelings of emotional intimacy and pleasure, it has
long been considered a luxurious delicacy, especially with the
addition of sugar and spices to suit modern palates. Without
realizing, we still get to enjoy a small fraction of it’s potential
when we eat cacao in a regular chocolate bar. And yes, this is
why it has become associated with romantic gestures and pleasurable
indulgence!
WHAT
IS A CACAO CEREMONY, WHEN DO PEOPLE SEEK THIS MEDICINE OUT?
A cacao ceremony is an opportunity to
connect to yourself and open your heart. Because of cacao’s ability
to increase your connection to your inner self and your heart
chakra, it aids in any transformational shift you are working
towards, whether you are looking to deepen your understanding of who
you are, release old patterns and traumas, or move into a more
self-confident space. Whatever your path, the intention is yours to
set, and the cacao allows you to the insight and awareness to move
towards that goal.
HOW
DOES A CEREMONY GO – WHAT’S THE RUN OF PLAY?
I have attended many different ceremonies,
and they vary in their approach. I was introduced to cacao initially
by my mentor, Daisy
Kaye, who brings in a powerful five elements dance journey, and
I have also worked with a shaman in Guatemala who honors the cacao
with meditation and inner reflection. In the ceremonies that I hold
space for, we begin by sitting in sacred circle, honoring the cacao
spirit with shamanic prayer, and humbly asking for our intentions to
be heard. We serve the cacao in liquid form, and drink together.
Depending on what’s being called for, I intuitively offer sound
healing or meditation. We then enter into a sharing with each other,
of what we want to let go of and what we are calling in, which
creates an intention for our journey. This is a very safe and
intimate space, and the people that attend always surprise
themselves at how they are able to open up to strangers, especially
when they start to realize they we are all a mirror for each other,
all just human beings with the same fears and sufferings, the same
hopes and dreams. We end with dance, during which the cacao
activates within the body and the heart, allowing a truly
transformative and ecstatic process to unfold.
HOW IS
THE CACAO SOURCED AND PREPARED? WHAT IS A CEREMONIAL DOSE?
I have used cacao from Bali, Equador and
Mexico, but I discovered a ceremonial grade cacao sourced in
Guatemala by a man now internationally known as the Cacao
Shaman, who has been working with the medicine and connecting it
to the Western world for many years. Keith and his Guatemalan
compadre Tat Isaias (Tat meaning Shaman) work alongside the local
indigenous community to provide the highest grade cacao possible,
grown in the purest conditions and harvested and prepared with love.
A ceremonial dose is around 1 – 2 oz of cacao, mixed with water into
a drink. Traditionally cacao was served with chilli and honey, but I
have sometimes combined it with other herbs or super foods to assist
a particular journey.
WHAT IS
THE IMMEDIATE PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECT?
One of the main active ingredients that we
experience in our physiology during ceremony is Theobromine. Theo-broma
literally translates as God-Food, and potentiates the release of
dopamine, the ‘pleasure’ hormone. This, alongside
phenethylamine, which is known to help relieve stress and depression
and which is released in the body during emotional euphoria, create
heightened sensation and empathy. Alongside these, the high amount
of nutrients in the cacao support and nourish the body, whilst also
inducing a detoxifying effect on the liver and kidneys.
AND THE
EMOTIONAL IMPACT?
Due to the euphoria inducing ingredients,
the emotional impact can be profound. Everything feels heightened
within the physical and emotional body, including your awareness to
your deepest sense of self and to your heart. The experience of love
and empathy, particularly for yourself, can literally feel as if
your heart is opening like a flower. With this, the body can become
flooded with the many emotions stored in the heart, some of which
can be painful. It is not always an easy experience, and I have seen
many tears shed as people peel away old layers of hurt. But as
the cacao facilitates a deep sense of self-love, tears are always
followed by smiles of deep gratitude. In other moments, the
sheer ecstasy felt from the cacao can be described as nothing other
than a divine experience.
WHY IS
THIS SUCH A PERSONAL PASSION OF YOURS?
Because I believe in love! In the heart.
In opening wide to our potential to follow that heart and be guided
into the most alive and joyous expression of our selves possible.
Acting on the momentum this creates, people can transform their
lives to be living in their highest potential, creating positive
experiences for themselves and everyone around them. This for me is
a story of evolution; the more that people connect to self-love
and awareness of themselves and their behaviors, the more that they
can make loving and conscious choices for the greater good of all.
My personal story is that cacao has been part of a journey to heal
myself from a chronic illness that left me bed ridden for most of a
year. I had lost any sense of who I was or why I was here. Cacao
came into my life at a time of transformation, and revealed insights
to me that I had waited years for. It was a big part of restoring me
to feeling fully alive in myself, totally connected, and fully
empowered. Now I am truly blessed to be able to share that medicine
with others.
HOW
HAVE YOU SEEN LIVES CHANGE AS A RESULT OF WORKING WITH CACAO?
I am continually amazed by the
transformational aspect of working with cacao, and there have been
many emails and phone calls to tell me that since the cacao
ceremony, ‘everything has changed’. I think cacao gives you the
space to enter into a place of deep reflection and self communion.
It allows you access to the subconscious to reveal and heal the
deepest aspects of yourself. Especially when used in a
ceremonial and intentional way, cacao gives you an opportunity to
move towards the fullest expression of who you truly are…and
this can be catalytic in removing barriers in all areas of your
life; relationships, career, personal growth, creativity, or
wherever your focus is. Ultimately, cacao can help deepen your
connection to your heart, and expand your capacity to love and be
loved. In a world where we’re realizing that everything is love,
that’s a pretty potent medicine. And everyone deserves a taste.