6 Cacao Ceremony Tips
Looking for ways to deepen your practice with cacao? Try out these simple tips to connect more with the medicine of cacao and allow it to support your growth & healing.
1. Gratitude
Working with plant medicines has a lot to do with cultivating a relationship. And like any healthy relationship, it flows more smoothly when we approach it with gratitude. This puts us in an open & receptive attitude, so the cacao can work its magic.
Try beginning your ceremony with gratitude for the cacao. This can be a simple "cheers" as you drink your cacao, or a more elaborate process starting with how you make the drink, prepare your space and begin to consume it.
The important part is taking the time to acknowledge the cacao and open your heart to its medicine.
2. Go with the flow
Cacao teaches us about finding flow in our life. It helps us see where our ideas about how things "should be" don't line up with how things are. Flow is the state of being where self & universe aren't separate, but one unified movement.
In your cacao ceremony, trust your intuition and what your body naturally gravitates towards. Practice letting go of the ideas you had about what should happen, and allow what is most nourishing to unfold.
Begin your ceremonies by setting the intention to go with the flow. Notice when your body feels tight and listen to its wisdom.
Have different tools at your disposal so you can optimize your experience. Options will allow you to more fluidly navigate how to spend your time.
3. Subtle Energies
Cacao is a psychoactive plant medicin so it has a more subtle effect on consciousness than psychedelics. If we come to cacao expecting major shifts in one dose, we are likely to feel disappointed. Cacao works in subtle ways over time, much like a yoga or meditation practice.
It's helpful in deepening this practice to notice the subtle energies and adjustments that we are feeling and how they add up to significant change over time. Be open to how cacao is supporting you by paying attention to what's actually happening, instead of your expectations.
While some ceremonies can have a "bigger" impact, the real beauty of cacao is in it's subtlety. It can gently shift us into a space of abundant, loving flow, but this also just feels like "how it should be" when working with cacao. It all feels so natural that it's easy to overlook.
4. Move your body
Cacao contains theobromine, a grounded energy booster that increases blood flow. It's common during a cacao ceremony to want to move your body. Going along with #2, leave space for dancing, stretching, sounding and generally getting your blood pumping!
Do a gentle yoga flow, put on some ecstatic dance music or let your body vibrate. Movement breaks up emotional blocks and helps free stored energy. It is an embodied way to express what's inside and not feel stuck.
If you're not sure where to start, forget about looking pretty and just start shaking, moving, swaying or stomping until you find a rhythm that expresses where you're at in this moment!
5. Get Creative
Cacao is an inspiration generator! Whether it's artistic, professional or visionary, cacao will bring on the clarity! When we're in touch with our creative energies, our life force is flowing and we feel a greater sense of purpose.
Put aside any ideas about a particular outcome, and give yourself space to express your creative energy. Draw, vision-board, journal, problem-solve or even get out that set of paints you haven't touched since you were a kid! Enjoy the process and you'll be amazed by the product.
6. Get Outside
Sometimes we forget that there's a whole world out there waiting to greet us with its magic, synchronicity, and wisdom! The natural world is one of the greatest teachers there is, and it's always available to us. Even in the midst of a bustling city, nature is always within and around us.
With cacao, our senses are heightened and more tuned in to the world around us. We have a fuller inner experience of the world around us. The illusion of being separate is less strong and we find the soft animal body within.
Find a ray of sunshine, a park, a sandy beach or the deep woods. Let yourself wander, sit quietly or climb a tree. Talk to the trees and plants and don't be afraid to get muddy and wet!
Got tips of your own for cacao ceremony???
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