Valentine’s Day everyday
Self Love (flowers and chocolates are welcome, too). Give more flowers even if picked from nature – but, remember the rules – for everyone you pick plant one! I don’t know if this is a rule – My dad would say if you cheekily pick from a public space, you only take one.
Love of self is not conceit. It is true Love. Love means acceptance, kindness, encouragement and care.
Conceit is none of those things. With love; doubt disappears, fears fade and a comfort develops. A place of Solace!
You will help to heal and inspire others, by being yourself.
You will help those around you discover, it is possible for them to do, too. It is a beautiful gift!
Find a time to reflect on what you want in your life. For many of us who have full lives, this might be the most difficult step.
Time is a precious thing. Take time out for you and remember …
• regeneration • rest • sleep • relaxation.
• Peace of mind • Laughter • Deep breathing • Massage • Exercise and movement
• Meditation and quiet moments, visualization and stretching
• Sunlight, clean water, clean air • Healthy relationships • Social activities
Intention setting is the tool when it comes to the cacao ceremony.
Set aside at least 30 minutes (alone or with friends). Most importantly, remember to make this ceremony fun and exciting!
Set up a space that feels sacred. This can be as simple as lighting a candle. Our “busy-ness” of what we think we have to do can soak up our life. We need to slow-down. Setting aside the time for cacao ceremony is a critical step in manifesting what we want in our lives. Often it is helpful to do the cacao ceremony in a supportive circle of friends.
More Ideas …
Try incense or sage to clear the space. Diffuse a pure essential oil blend into the air using a diffuser or put a few drops on a tissue and, holding the tissue below your nose, take several deep, cleansing breaths. Specific plant essential oils can support in setting clear intentions and creating clarity of consciousness. They help to quiet our minds and focus. Also, as we diffuse the aroma over time, they remind of our intentions and help hold in our awareness.
Having a journal and pen ready and maybe even getting a collection of art supplies.
Often we use a quite room, inspiring music allowing us to centre, siting in a relaxed position, or other similar techniques.
My fave one …
Dress up to make me feel beautiful, empowered and comfortable.
It is important to drop-in to presence, to slow down, check in, and gain clarity on your intentions. Treat the cacao ceremony as sacred. Do not allow the normal interruptions of life like phones, social media or emails.
Meditate or just do some deep breathing for 5-10 minutes. Slow down your heart rate. Feel your body and all the present sensations.
If you are gathering with friends, best to have someone guiding everyone.
You may begin by asking yourself, “What do I desire to experience by sitting in cacao ceremony today?”
•Love? • Peace? • Harmony? • Happiness? • Joy? • Acceptance? • Success? • Abundance?
Set one or one hundred. Neither is better than the other. The goal is to focus, be present, positive, and really connect with your purpose for ceremony.
You may be unsure of what your intentions are. An intention is a course of action we intend to follow. It is about the journey towards a more positive version of us, reflected in our actions.
To set an intention means to invite and embody a more positive aspect of ourselves into our lives. There is a difference between making a resolution and setting an intention. Resolutions are mostly set in the negative. We tell ourselves what we won’t do, eat, think or say, and in this way we are actually still subconsciously focusing on the aspects of our lives we wanted to let go of.
If it is weight, set an intention to eat smaller meals and to reduce in size – not to lose as anything lost must be replaced – think if you lose your wallet you will buy another but if you reduce in size, you will buy a smaller size wallet. Invite in healthy eating habits, and see you eating that way.
If you want to stop over spending, set an intention to save money. Invite in savings, and see you living in abundance. When we focus on the positive, we can conceptualize ourselves there. We can see it, feel it and believe it. When an intention is properly set, it becomes not about the end result, but about the path towards bringing out more of what is already there for us. And that is the beauty of setting intentions. We invite something in clearly and definitively and here is the key: we let go of the outcome.
On the path towards a more positive you, there is no ultimate destination. With each small step forward along the way are an opportunity and a blessing.
Examples of possible intentions:
• My intention is to manifest happiness naturally
• My intention is to connect with my Soul
• My intention is to feel peaceful, connected, and calm
• My intention is to pay attention to what my heart is telling me
• My intention is to tap into my creativity and let it flow
• My intention is to be open to abundance
• My intention is to forgive others, and myself
• My intention is to make someone smile every day
• My intention is to witness Divinity in everyone
• My intention is to lead by example
• My intention is to stop taking things personally
• My intention is to love unconditionally
• My intention is to reconnect with me
Make sure your intention has a positive tone. If your intention is to de-stress, “My intention is to invite peace and calm within myself during cacao ceremony today”
It is best to avoid saying something like, “My intention is to fight this stupid stress”
Invite in the Cacao Spirit
All food has a character. Chocolate takes your taste buds on a journey to the medicinal bitter and sour food camp.
It is what we add that takes those taste buds to the sweet family! Its flavor takes you to all the wild and wondrous places, and it goes on and on — like a river. Like all plants, animals and beings, theobroma cacao has a spirit. It reaches in and touches a person’s soul. Few foods do that, and none I’m aware of do so completely. We kindly refer to Her as the Spirit of Cacao, or Cacao Spirit. She’s gentle, loving, kind, and tends to work very subtly with whomever she’s partnering with.
There is nothing to be afraid. She’s not going to take you anywhere you don’t want to go. But if you allow her, if you invite her into your ceremony/heart, she will guide your process. She will help you heal the parts of yourself that are still unresolved. She will help you see yourself, others, and the world through the eyes of love. She will help you reconnect to your roots, and understand your place/purpose in the world. Ultimately, she will partner with you in going as far as you desire to go. But she will never push you beyond your limits.
Invite her in as if you were talking to someone sitting directly in front of you. Talk with her as you would an old friend. It could sound something like this; “Spirit of Cacao, I invite you to join me in the centre of my heart. Please guide me in… Let her in on what you’re thinking, feeling, experiencing. You can absolutely trust her with anything that is on your heart.
Follow your guidance
If “guidance” is a new term for you, another way of saying this is, follow your intuition – your gut feeling. There are many things that partner well with cacao ceremony; things like meditation, breath work, a walk in nature, journaling, self-reflection, channeling, creating (writings/paintings/other works of art), yoga etc. The point here is whatever you are “guided” to, do it. And if you feel like you’re unsure of what you’re being guided to, just ask the Spirit of Cacao for clarity. She has your back.
You may want to write in your journal:
What are the main things you want in your life right now? (For example: better health, time with my children, success in my business, paying outstanding debt, a fulfilling relationship, etc.).
What inside yourself is blocking you from receiving these things in life?
This is quite variable and often you have to look very deeply and truthfully to find the answer. We often cannot change the things outside of ourselves and sometimes we cannot change what is inside either, but we can shed the light of our awareness on these things, which helps open us. For example; if we are afraid of failure. We may be blocking success, by becoming aware of this fear; it often allows us to move forward with our fear.
If you were living these priorities of what you want in life, what would a day, week, month, and year look like, feel like, smell like, sound like and taste like? What would you be doing?
Now, set a clear intention to live into these priorities. Make a statement or a number of statements of these intentions. For example, you might say, “My intention is to nourish my body by eating healthy food.”
Now, look at what your first step is to set you on a path toward your intentions. For example, create the vision of quality food + quality preparation. You may need to seek a healthy living workshop, or you may need to make a trip to the local organic store or markets. Do not try to set or plan all the steps, just start down the path. If you try to plan all the steps, you are hanging onto a specific outcome. Set your intention in motion and then allow the world around you to support and guide you.
Finally, trust completely your intentions will manifest and you do not know the form they will manifest. Once again, set your intention in motion and then let go of the outcomes. Pay attention to what the world is teaching you at every step. Enjoy and appreciate each step along the path. Find compassion for yourself at every step.
It is recommended our request and intention be said aloud three times in cacao ceremony. The ritual creates the memory that we can recall to energize us through the entire creative process.
Why three times? It appears the first time is for us to really hear if the words are correct. If so, the second time is to set the mental switches in place to channel the energy into our new creation. To hear it twice is to really hear it. The third time is to turn the switches on to allow the energy to flow.
It is recommended “Why?” questions are not used until we have learnt to discern our intuition for our normal thinking processes. Rather it is recommended we build on asking “What?” and “How?” questions. These types of questions build around looking for images or feelings can better provide us what we seek.
And above all, do yourself the favor of really allowing yourself to bask in the bliss of your ceremony. Daily cacao ceremony can be a powerful opportunity to connect with you, your guidance system and spirit guides, the Spirit of Cacao, Mother Earth and any other beings desiring to assist us. But, as with anything, it will only be for you to allow it.
Remember you cannot fix or create intentions for anyone else, but you are being invited to set clear intentions for yourself. Don’t be afraid to dream big.
We are the music makers and we are the dreams of the dreams so said Willy Wonka.
I believe we all have an incredible ability to manifest what we want in our lives by setting clear intentions.
So drink up and allow it to be the pure, earthly, celestial, and magic that it is!
Love, Lynnie xxoo
