Today’s Cacao: Glowing Guatemala

Congratulations, you are just one day away from completing Ora’s 21 Day Cacao Wellness Challenge!

We know it isn’t easy to commit to such a practice, but the rewards are beautiful, and we hope you’ve been enjoying the benefits of committing to a daily ceremonial cacao ritual.

The definition of ritual comes down to a “repetitive action”, and to some this might sound like a habit, but there is a difference between the two.

What you have been doing is partaking in ritual, the repetitive action being you sitting down at the altar of cacao and making the time to commune with yourself and this plant spirit. It is charged with intention, emotion, and action. A habit is more like, brushing your teeth daily. It’s something you do mindlessly.

Rituals are a key part of our fulfillment as humans, and we believe this is why many have been feeling the call to learn more about these practices of connection.

According to some Indigenous elders, ritual and ceremony are the way to put our lives into order and, in turn, bring the cosmos into order.

The benefits of including ritual in your life are many, from easing anxiety to calling in the courage needed to take action, and so we invite you to continue with your cacao ritual even after we finish this challenge.

Today, beyond a meditation, your assignment is to design your very own cacao ritual so you can feel prepared to continue with your personal journey after you complete the 21 Day Cacao Wellness Challenge.

Before diving in, prepare your space as you normally would, prepare your cacao, and play some music that helps you shift into a relaxed state of mind.

Take yourself on a journey today of connection, remembering everything you’ve learned over the past 2 weeks. This is your chance to be your own guide!

Here are some things you can implement before diving into creating your daily ritual so that you may also allow cacao to guide you:

- Begin with grounding into your body through breath

- Before you take your first sip, exchange energy with cacao and invite it into the space through the visualization of your connection to the sun and to the earth

- Open up the space in gratitude, and call in the 4 elements that you are now connecting to.

Design Your Daily Ritual

After you’ve grounded and taken your first sip, continue to drink your cacao as you design your daily ritual.

Grab your pen and journal, and heartstorm when, where, and how you will feel with a continued daily cacao ritual.

You may use the following questions as your guide:

1. What does your ideal day look like?

2. Look at your daily schedule as it is now, when is a good time that you can consistently set aside for your cacao ritual? Have you noticed a time that specifically works for you in these past 20 days?

3. 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.

4. You don't want to be digesting food while drinking cacao, so give yourself an hour buffer after eating a big meal.

5. When do you feel your motivation ebb? Perhaps a micro-dose 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.

6. Create the space by adding a cushion, journal pen, or any other items that you desire so that they are ready for you each day it is time for your ritual.

7. What are your current intentions with cacao? By knowing this, you can know which cacao will be best for your intentions:

- Glowing Guatemala: Ancestral healing, inner child work, going inward, release

- Thriving Tanzania: Rituals for prosperity, new beginnings, future self visualization

- Tantric Rose Blossom: Rituals for self-love & reconnection, activating sensuality & creativity

- Vibrant Vitality: Strengthening the body and the connection to the physical, balancing, activating inner-power

- Mystical Mushroom: Grounding, strengthening immune system, creating new neural connections, shifting perspectives

- Oaxacan Spice: Practicing manifestation, stoking the inner fire of creativity and passion, activating expression

“More than a pleasurable rhythm for everyday life, rituals cast an anchor of stability during turbulent times”