(Before we begin today’s newsletter I just want to let you know that we have dropped a new YouTube Video. Check out the Link at bottom of page to learn how to make Ceremonial Cacao….Enjoy!)
After reading the book ‘Sastun’ by Rosita Arvigo, that covers her relationship with Mayan healer Don Elijio Panti, Joseph and I traveled to Belize to visit her six-thousand acre Terra Nova Medicinal Plant Reserve. It was my first introduction to Mayan traditional medicine and Mayan healing. (Next trip for us: Guatemala in the Fall!)
It was a thrill to learn the depth of knowledge that the Maya have for the plant world as we walked the jungle paths of Terra Nova. It is Mayan cacao that I have gravitated toward. In our Food As Medicine trainings we spend one full week diving deep into the powerful healing properties of medicinal cacao.
Like all superfoods, it straddles the line between a food and a potent, beneficial medicine. This is because:
> It contains the highest concentration of antioxidants in the plant kingdom, helping the body fight free radical damage from cancer. Slowing down free radical damage allows cells to rebuild again.
> It’s packed with vitamins and minerals that re-load the depleted immune system.
> It contains plant-based iron known to improve chronic fatigue and anemia.
> It improves brain function by increasing blood flow, helping with foggy brain and memory.
> It contains high levels of magnesium that help with heart health.
MAYAN CEREMONIAL CACAO: A HEALING ALLY
But cacao also supports the heart, not in just a literal way, but also in a metaphysical and spiritual sense. I would like to share my on-going self-discovery work with Mayan Ceremonial Cacao and Ancestral Healing.
For us cancer survivors and educators of cancer survivors I suggest setting aside time to drink what is called Mayan Ceremonial Cacao daily. While we think with our minds, we feel with our heart. The heart is tough and resilient, but also easily overwhelmed and fragile. This makes drinking ceremonial cacao the perfect mediation food for the emotional overload many of us feel while on our own unique healing journey.
Mayan legend tells us that whenever there is an imbalance between humans and nature, grandmother cacao comes from the rain forest to open peoples hearts and restore harmony to the planet. Now is one of those times…..
The ceremonial cacao I recommend using is a special food. The process of preparing the cacao for use today is as it has always been. It involves toasting cacao beans lightly over an open fire, then fermenting them to increase flavor. They are ground by hand into a paste, using a grinding stone called a metate, before being formed into a disk and put in the warm sun to dry. From there the cacao can be made into a deliciously rich, earthy drink. What a gift in these modern times to have contact with this beautiful ancient custom.
When I prepare my own cup of ceremonial cacao and take my time to drink it I like to think of the women’s community of single moms who made it. Working their craft together, talking and laughing, on the shores of Lake Atitalan, Guatemala, the way they have done for thousands of years. These women are the keepers of the old ways, their ancestral ways.
USING CEREMONIAL CACAO TO GET IN TOUCH WITH OUR OWN ANCESTORS
To truly appreciate cacao is to understand that it has been on Earth for a very, very long time. Cacao trees evolved around 10 million years ago. This connection to time makes cacao the perfect conduit when getting in touch with our own ancestral heritage.
Setting time aside to make and drink ceremonial cacao allows us all to get in touch with our own ancestral wisdom. The one commonality we all share is that we all come from old cultures. Our DNA is made up of all our people that came before us. Ancestral work can help you get in touch with your own ancestors.
Studying and reflecting on the past can help heal that part of us that feels separate, rootless and sometimes disoriented, from the onslaught of modern living that demands we live life in our linear left brain. Reclaiming our past reconnects each of us to land, language and tradition that defines who we really are as a wholism. For some of us, this will require we dig a bit, and not stop till we find what were looking for. (ancestory.com can be a start)
I claim my roots as Celtic. My clan are the McInerney’s from County Clare on the Shannon River, a boggy place that is more water than land. So far I know the McInerney’s had been in Clare since the sixteen hundreds. But I have since learned that we began our migration from Northern India. That’s a long line of ancestors. When I was young the last of the old ones where still alive. So I was lucky enough to have them in my life for a short time. Today I am the last one….I feel it is my work to keep them vital as I hunt and retrieve their wisdom, helping me heal from my own feelings of loss and isolation.
GREAT HOPE AND HEALING
Although our entire bodies are affected by our thoughts and emotions, and their various parts talk to each other, each individual’s body language is unique. No matter what has happened in our life, we have the power to change what that experience means to us and thus change our experience, both emotionally and physically, explains the brilliant Dr. Christiane Northrup.
When doing your own work, only bring forward what you feel is relevant. The goal is taking time to get to know yourself better, to recognize the path you have been traveling over time, and its long connection to the support of your ancestors. And, being thankful for the wisdom of the plants and the part they can play in our healing journey.
LEARN HOW TO MAKE CEREMONIAL CACAO AND WHERE TO FIND IT
Check out my new Youtube video on my fave way to create a cup of Ceremonial Cacao and where I order this special cacao:
https://youtu.be/puO-BQZgHGA?si=kri7goysXcarZpOu
Sending You Love and Support As We Evolve and Grow
Paula Diana, Founder Of Diet For Living School
#cancerfree #ceremonialcacao #cancersurvivor #superfoods