As spring has sprung, I've found that I'm having more cacao "dates" with friends, during which we meet up to share gratitude and prayers verbally as we sip cacao. I find that being witness to each other amplifies and clarifies my intentions, and the beautiful words shared nourish my being and give me hope.
Recently I joined a gathering right as a group of forty close friends was taking turns sharing what they appreciated about the birthday man, all holding cups of cacao and taking a sip after each share. He then, sufficiently blessed, took about half an hour to share authentically from his heart the full spectrum of his grief and prayers, in front of all of us. His humility, vulnerability, and courage, mixed with cacao, set the tone for a celebratory and connected rest of the night.
Cacao ceremony looks different every day. Sometimes it's with a friend, a large group, or more often than not, solo. Sometimes I only have a short pause of ten minutes to enjoy my cup of cacao before jumping back into my to do list. Other times I have a luxurious morning of self care with yoga, cacao, meditating and journaling.
Regardless of the time committed and if I'm with other people or not, I know that showing up for myself in this way every day is an anchor that helps me stay connected to the greater vision of why I'm doing what I do. I know that my continuous commitment to showing up for my daily practice is what provides me with the richness and depth that I experience in my life now. This is how I allow cacao to be my ally, and how over seven years it has evolved with me as I grow and change.
Read on for tips about how to create your own daily cacao ritual and deepen your intention for your life.
Behind The Scenes
The Story Behind Our Mushroom Blend
The summer after I had my first cacao experience in Oaxaca Mexico, I spent two months in the forests of North Carolina. I was newly immersed in a nature connection practice, learning about the ecosystem around me, and became particularly fascinated by mushrooms. I learned to identify and harvest both edibles and medicinals, a few of which are:
- Pleurotus ostreatus (oyster mushroom)
- Laetiporus sulphureus (chicken of the woods)
- Ganoderma lucidum (reishi)
I was in awe that I could walk into the forest and gather both delicious food and superb medicine! For the tougher, woodier mushrooms like reishi, I learned to make a tea to extract the medicinal components. Naturally, I began making cacao drinks with these mushroom teas - and so the inspiration for our Medicinal Mushroom super cacao was born.
Ceremony Tips
How To Create A Daily Ritual
Developing a new habit can be challenging, yet we believe from personal experience that having a daily cacao ritual can greatly improve your well-being and maintain a positive state of mind.
To build a nourishing habit that you can count on, it's important to set yourself up for success. We've written a list of things to consider as you design your daily cacao ritual below. These are for inspiration and encouragement and are meant to be experimented with. As you weave cacao into your day, you will naturally find what works best for you!
Designing Your Daily Cacao Ritual
Before diving into the questions below, we invite you to grab a journal and pen, and start heartstorming about when and where you envision your daily cacao ritual taking place.
- What does your ideal day look like?
- Look at your daily schedule as it is now, when is a good time that you can consistently set aside for your cacao ritual?
- It is common to drink cacao in the morning as it can uplift your mood and boost your energy first thing in the day. This is a good time to set your daily intentions and get clear on your priorities. Yet, you may want to examine your daily flow and see if there is a natural space other than the morning to pause and set your intention for the day. You may find that your energy is best suited to this in the mid-afternoon, for example.
- You don't want to be digesting food while drinking cacao, so give yourself an hour buffer after eating a big meal.
- When do you feel your motivation ebb? Perhaps a microdose in the morning and then mid-afternoon is the ritual flow you need. You can also combine your cacao with a short walk outside, or to help you transition back into work mode after a nap, which are both helpful to help you shift your state of mind.
- Is there a specific space, or mug that you can dedicate to your cacao practice? If so, we invite you to create the space by adding a cushion, journal pen, or any other items that you desire so that they are ready for you to start using tomorrow.
- If you're new to our cacao, or looking for the perfect blend for spring, we suggest trying our sampler kit which gives you 10 servings of 5 different types of cacao. Having new cacao to look forward to can bring excitement into your new ritual!
Resources
The Difference Between Routine and Ritual
Maria Popova addresses a topic we think about often; why is ritual important? And how can we keep it feeling fun and magical rather than it turning into a boring routine? In The Difference Between Routine and Ritual: How to Master the Balancing Act of Controlling Chaos and Finding Magic in the Mundane,
she explores the paradox between structure and ritual, and how discipline can be an act of liberation rather than constriction.
