An Excerpt from “Regenerate Your Reality: Your Guide to Sovereignty”
Special Guest Post Written by Jean Pullen
Cacao is my favorite plant medicine! Most of my family would say, “You mean chocolate?” No, I mean cacao, a sacred fruit that grows on trees. Its scientific name is Theobroma cacao, which means “food of the gods.”
Originating in the Americas, growing all the way from the Amazon to the south of Mexico, cacao thrives in diverse ecosystems with many different companion plants (including ginger, cardamon, cinnamon, bananas, and breadfruit). Cacao can play an important role in regenerating our planet at the level of environment, society, economy, culture, and community. Many indigenous cultures in the Americas used cacao for thousands of years as currency, food, drink, and many other sacred functions.
When we come together and share cacao, we open our hearts to the deeper potential of cultivating harmony within ourselves, with each other, and in the relationships we have with everything. Personally, I like to sip cacao for extra inspiration in art, writing, or singing in ceremonies.
The real cacao ceremony includes all aspects of the value chain—from growing and harvesting to processing. The celebration occurs when we consume the cacao, connect to its source, and get to know the hands that make our cacao dreams possible. The cacao ceremony begins with growing and caring for the trees until it is time to harvest the fruits.
How To Make Cacao
After breaking the cacao shell open, nibble off the sweet fruit that surrounds the seeds, imprinting your natural bacteria to start the fermentation process. Traditionally, the seeds are then wrapped in banana leaves to ferment for five days. Next, dry the cacao in the sun for three to five days, depending on the climate. Then lightly toast the beans over a fire, moving them slowly until the skins begin to crack. Remove the skins by hand and fan away the remaining shells and debris. Once the cacao beans are deshelled, they are traditionally hand-ground with stones. Then the pure cacao is poured into molds to set, or turned into chocolate with sugar or other ingredients.
We co-created with Mystical Yoga Farm and the Women’s Cooperative:
Cacao is used as medicine in various spiritual and healing-oriented ceremonies. When we consume it with the intention of healing or opening the heart, cacao has tremendous potential for doing some profound work. From a scientific standpoint, cacao is a food that is naturally high in magnesium, “the relaxer mineral,” which softens tissues, relaxes muscles, and eases tension. When we ingest a medicinal dose of cacao (around forty grams), the magnesium goes to the heart first, physically helping to release tension and constriction. These physical effects can also have a softening, energetic effect on what is known in yogic philosophy as the “heart chakra.”
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4/16/2017 Mystical Yoga Farm, Guatemala
Yoga teacher training, cacao ceremony, journaling on intentions.
When we set our intentions, mine was to continue to be reborn and embrace change—
to be my authentic self, full of love and abundance,
stripping away everything that doesn’t serve me,
to trust,
to flow,
and to feel the oneness of all.
To follow my heart’s path.
To be.
I feel like I have unlocked and unleashed my hummingbird spirit and sweetness, rapid thoughts of possibilities that are becoming my reality.
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I love cacao as a source of magical inspiration. As I write this chapter, I am sipping cacao and looking out at our perennial garden. I feel inspired and full of love and hope. I highly recommend creating your own cacao ceremony and discovering your own inspiration.
I am so happy to share with you all this excerpt from my new book, Regenerate Your Reality: Your Guide to Regenerative Living, Happiness, Love & Sovereignty, including many mentions of Mystical Yoga Farm.
Regenerate Your Reality will plant a seed of restoration in your path and remind you that we are all forces of nature. The book is already available! If what you read here resonates with you, consider buying your copy now at: https://www.regenerateyourreality.com/bookpayment
(A portion of proceeds will support the planting of three trees for each book purchased.)
Thank you so much for reading! If you don’t know the project, Regenerate Your Reality uses permaculture, agroforestry, and education to bring sovereignty and happiness to our communities. It is our mission to restore the relationship between humans and the earth and build a regenerative future. Share the mission and learn more at www.regenerateyourreality.com.
Author: Jean Pullen
Bio: Jean Pullen is a multi-talented artist, gardener, cook, musician, writer, and entrepreneur. Jean is founder of Regenerate Your Reality, partner & director at Jungle Project, and a Soil Advocate at Kiss the Ground. Jean believes we can be part of the solution to the climate crisis, and that we all can play our part by living regeneration and coming back to our essence of love.
Be sure to follow Regenerate Your Reality on Instagram and Facebook to stay tuned about all our upcoming webinars, workshops, farm tours, and book release.