How to create a peaceful world

In these challenging times, it is more important than ever that we find our inner peace in order to project outer peace. Peaceful minds lead to peaceful speech and peaceful action. Everything is interconnected in the web of life and so are the minds of all living beings. Each being has a transmitting as well as receiving station. Even the most insignificant thoughts in our own mind have an effect on other beings.

Peace in our times requires that we move from a world of separation and disconnection to one of inclusiveness, healing and forgiveness - a world of justice.

The restoration of sacred relationships within ourselves, with others and the web of life will move us from fear and revenge to love and compassion.

Lets concentrate on putting our minds at peace so that we can broadcast peace mentally and generate peace through actions. Peace can be brought to the world one thought at the time in the minds of each one of us. And remember: All life is sacred! 

The interconnectedness of the web of life is so much more tangible when we spend time in nature than in our man-made environments. Unconsciously we imprison ourselves by disconnecting from spirit. The Shamans would call this soul loss. We fail to see the bigger picture or divine order whilst feeling separated and finite, which leads to a fear based life of loss and scarcity.

In order to expand in love and live an abundant and happy life, we have to connect with ourselves and others in a compassionate way, have patience and the courage to try new things without fearing failure. We have to forgive ourselves for what we think we have done wrong and forgive others for what we think they have done to us. Find a daily spiritual practice, that suits you and keep it up. According to the Dalai Lama, the main purpose in life is to seek happiness and that's that!

"Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself." Chief Seattle

Shamanic Cacao Ceremonies to give you the Heart of a Spiritual Warrior

What is a Shamanic Cacao Ceremony?

I have facilitated cacao ceremonies since 2015 and so more I work with this sacred plant medicine from the rain forest in Guatemala and Colombia, so more I respect the healing power of it. I learned from Rebekah Shaman in London, Keith Wilson and Isaiaz Sajvin in Guatemala and Regina Cardenas in Mexico, who have all done an incredible job in spreading the use of ceremonial cacao all over the world.

At the moment I use cacao from Guatemala grown by local farmers, which is unprocessed, unsweetened, just whole cacao beans that are carefully fermented, lightly roasted, conched and moulded into easy to use 10 gram cubes. That means that it still has all the goodies (cacao liqueur) in it, that we don't usually find in chocolate, that is available in health food stores.  As a ceremonial dose I use 40 grams of cacao with 250 ml of water. Chillie can be added individually.

Many of you have experienced Cacao Ceremonies held by a number of different facilitators, but just in case you haven't, please see below more info. If you don't have cacao at home, then please let me know and I am sure we can get some to you somehow...

Ceremonial cacao is raw chocolate and contains Theobromine (the food of the Gods), a number of vitamins, minerals and 40 times more antioxidants than blueberries. It is especially high in iron, magnesium and calcium and leads to a release of endorphins. High quality cacao contains only a small amount of caffeine, but will still give you a burst of energy, that will help you to focus and improve your memory.

Cacao is considered to be the best creativity enhancer as well as facilitator of deep inner work and is used by authors, artists, yoga and meditation teachers, dance therapists, tantric practitioners and the list goes on. It is also becoming more popular in corporate environments.

It is recommended to drink cacao on a daily basis (as a hot chocolate or in a smoothie), especially if you suffer from depression, high blood pressure or skin problems. 
It is also a great and much healthier alternative to coffee.

On a more spiritual level cacao opens our heart, help us re-connect with nature, teaches us how to live in harmony with Mother Earth, see the bigger picture and not to get caught up in dramas and fear based thinking. 

I use cacao in ceremonies in combination with sound (sacred gong, drums, singing bowls) and song to help participants open their hearts and look at situations in their lives with more compassion and forgiveness. Working with cacao can help to release feelings of guilt, shame, fear, not being good enough and more.

You decide if you are ready to let go and the Cacao Goddess will take you where you need to go. And if you are not ready yet to let go of old belief systems and emotional patterns then that is also ok. Maybe just listening to other peoples' stories will help you to make changes in your lives.

My ceremonies typically involve bonding exercises for the members of the group, intention setting, a seated meditation, a guided meditation lying down, sound healing as well as a group sharing at the end.

Although this sounds like quite an intense process, and it can be, I find that cacao ceremonies are a great introduction into shamanic healing work due to the gentle energy of the plant itself.

The aim of a cacao ceremony is to support you to release that what doesn't serve you any longer and help you see and re-connect with what is truly important in your life. 

Cacao compared to other plant medicines is easy to integrate. With cacao we can laugh, sing, dance, be creative, think, do yoga and most importantly be joyful and connected.

What I have learned... Relationship Insights

I have recently moved permanently to Auckland, NZ with my husband Kris.

If you are a regular reader of this blog (thank you for that (-:) you may have gathered that my husband and I separated in April last year and following that I went through quite a difficult time whilst travelling in South – and Central America.

After a lot of soul searching on both sides we decided in December last year to re-unite. With me being in Sri Lanka and London and him in NZ and then LA, we managed to spend some time together. I visited him in NZ and fell in love with the country and more importantly I fell in love with my husband again. We decided to move to this magical land of wonders.
My visa has now been approved and I will join Kris tomorrow in NZ for our new beginning.

Being in Bali on my own has been a beautiful opportunity to reflect, rejuvenate and “plot” for the new beginning that lays ahead of me.

What I have learned from the breakup is the following. Obviously everyone’s experience is different, but if this is in any way helpful to some of you, then Wahe Guru (-:

– if there is love between you, then you can make it work!
– Focus on all the things that go well, that you appreciate about each other, that make you happy in the relationship
– Remind yourself why you fell in love with this person in the first place
– You will never 100 % understand them and neither will they understand you and that’s absolutely fine
– Accept and start loving their little quirks, rather than letting them annoy you
– Always be grateful for their presence, their actions, for them challenging you. They might just turn out to be your greatest teacher
– We tend to project our insecurities, doubts and fears onto our partners – they are mirrors to us
– Be your own person. Don’t expect them to be your Happiness Delivery Man or Woman
– Be patient
– Be kind and compassionate (especially to yourself)

And you can never go wrong with the four agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

1. Be impeccable with your word
2. Don’t take anything personally
3. Don’t make assumptions
4. Always do your Best

Source (Totlec Spirit)

If you are on a spiritual path (like we all are anyway….), but let’s say you started a Yoga Teacher Training, got involved in Plant Medicine etc and feel like your partner doesn’t understand you at all anymore, they are not “spiritual” enough, they hold you back and so on, then try to give them time.

Suddenly you are making those massive changes in your life and expect your partner to move at the the same speed. It is not going to happen!

So, my advice is, don’t make any quick decisions, but rather ask them to be patient with you and explain to them, what you are experiencing. Also, don’t bully them into joining your practice. They are on their own journey and moving at their own pace.
Just focus on yourself and your learning. Remember that we tend to project our fears and insecurities!

Be grateful that they are in your life. After all you have attracted them into it for a reason. Be grateful for them helping you to stay grounded, as otherwise you might just float of somewhere, lose yourself completely …..

Obviously if you really don’t get on anymore, you find yourself sabotaging each other and find yourself being resentful, then it might be time for a little break in order to re-evaluate your relationship and to see things from a different perspective.

We want a relationship to last forever, but who can promise that in 5 years time we still feel the same about each other. And that’s ok as well. Everything changes – always!

So rather than blaming, shaming and guilt- tripping find a way to separate amicably and express your gratitude for the time you had together. If the other person doesn’t respond well to that, then try not to react, but send them love. They are hurt and can’t see beyond their pain.

Keep doing your work, but don’t become fanatic about it. Otherwise you might just have gotten yourself a new attachment. And always remember the first rule of Spirituality: Don’t take yourself too seriously, please!!!!!

Be authentic and honest with yourself and the people around you. You will find your own happiness and if there is someone to share it with, then that’s wonderful.

You are beautiful, bountiful and blissful and you are loved beyond your imagination. AHO ❤️