Cacao medicine is a path to your heart. The wise elders tell us that whenever the balance between humans and nature become threatened, cacao spirit comes from the rainforest to open our heart and establish harmony again. 

Unlike many plants used in shamanic journeying, cacao won’t skyrocket you out of your body or create hallucinogenic experiences. It will awaken you, enliven you, and guide you deeper into the emotional and energetic center of your being.

Since ancient times cacao has been used ceremonially to connect with the infinite presence of love. Cacao increases blood flow to the brain and releases feel-good endorphins and bliss chemicals into the body.

Mama Cacao is a Master Plant Teacher. She is gentle and nurturing, yet very powerful. When we use sacred cacao we are invited to dance with acceptance, and to promote a deep love for ourselves and for others.

I call upon Mama Cacao to assist me in the mentoring I do with clients as part of my Love Yourself Now practice. Unconditional love, especially self-love, is at the heart of my work, and I support my clients to create deeper connections to their radical self-worth and confidence.

And… I am blessed to live on and steward 16 acres of tropical farmland where I cultivate a sustainable and diverse cacao forest. From the fruit of these harvests I hand craft the 100% pure cacao that I use in ceremony.

Cacao is a delicate, sensitive plant and growing her is no simple task.

She requires high rainfall and humid temperatures, and needs lots of love and care to harvest the high vibe fruit that are used to create ceremonial cacao.

During, and even after a cacao ceremony you may experience any of the following:

• A heart opening journey
  Cacao can open the heart and allow you to connect with yourself and others in a deeper, more loving way.
• Connect to your highest self, your truth and your power
  Cacao enables you to connect with your inner wisdom, allowing for more profound meditation. It provides an ability to travel into your inner landscape to find your own intuitive knowing.
• Release blocks, limiting beliefs and outdated patterns
  Cacao brings an awareness of things that have been keeping you from living the life you love and gives you the strength to let them go. 
• More energy and mental clarity
  Cacao gives you an energy boost which can help you find mental clarity and balance. You can be reminded of your talents, skills, creative ability and life purpose.
• Open to greater creativity
  Cacao can create a bridge to inspiration, creativity and new ideas. You’ll find new meaning and purpose begin to flow with ease. 

You’re invited to celebrate yourself with this sacred shamanic journey and to open your heart to your radical self love and well-being. We join together in sacred circle every month to work with Mama Cacao.

Come hang out in the bliss and feel the cacao vibes from my chocolate farm in Panama. You’ll find all the details at lynbishop.com/cacaoceremony. See you in Ceremony!

Infinite ∞ Love,

If you’ve been reading me for a while now, you know that I’ve been on a multi-year journey using Cacao as Medicine. 

In my daily meditation this past weekend, I found myself looking back at how my connection with cacao has impacted my life in steady, subtle ways. In my personal experience, working with cacao is not a one and done kind of interaction, rather, it’s a slow and deep awakening to what’s been hidden, dormant, and unseen within me. 

This weekend I was gifted the vision of how my heart has re-awakened, specifically, to a life long passion for creativity, experimentation, and exploration. What I mean is that through the medicine of cacao, I’ve been returning to a life of creative investigation that had felt dormant for several years. 

After leaving my life as a professional artist in Silicon Valley, I moved to Central America and lost touch with that part of me that is an art maker. Sure, I was still creating through building, constructing and planting, but that was a different path to what I had known as an “artist”.

Since I had that first initiation where Cacao Spirit came to me in my dreams and then by connecting with her energy every month through sacred practice, I’m finding my passion for creating is returning organically and intuitively in ways that I’m only now understanding.

As I look back at the timeline of this reconnection with my innate inner artist, it’s clear that it has been fueled by Mama Cacao and her connection to my heart, mind and spirit. It’s as if a lever has been turned, and the (cacao) juice of inspiration is flowing again. 

So, what is it about cacao that’s causing this to happen and why might you consider attending Cacao Ceremony? 

1. Heart Opening
   One of the active ingredients in cacao is theobromine. It’s been proven to widen the blood vessels and stimulate the heart. Because of this, cacao opens the heart chakra, the emotional center of the body. 
   
2. Mind Enhancing
   Cacao has shown to increase overall brain health, focus, and concentration. The flavonoids contained in cacao boost memory, increase attention span, and heighten problem-solving skills.
   
3. Bliss Connection
   Cacao contains anandamide, its name comes from ananda which is the Sanskrit word for bliss. Anandamide is a neurotransmitter that binds to cannabinoid receptors in the brain and body, stimulating a sense of happiness and mental wellness.

Within the context of ceremony, cacao medicine allows us to see from a different perspective. It can show the limiting beliefs, past traumas, or outdated habits that no longer are needed to live the life most desired. Cacao enables the connection with inner wisdom, and, at least for me, has become the bridge to inspiration, creativity and new ideas.

Sometimes a cacao ceremony can lead to profound changes in the way you live your life. You may become aware of things that have been keeping you from living the life you love and receive strength in letting some things go. Cacao helps you tune into your positive side, and allows you to connect with yourself and others in a deeper, more loving way.

If you haven’t experienced a ceremony with me yet, I invite you to join us in sacred circle as we drink cacao and journey into the shamanic realm of your inner knowing. You can find all the details at lynbishop.com/cacaoceremony.

I’m curious if you’ve had any experiences with cacao? I love finding your comments below, so if you feel like sharing how cacao has touched you, I’d love to hear. 

Infinite Love,
Lyn

There’s a certain alchemy that happens when I embrace S L O W — and when I cultivate the patience necessary to achieve the things that matter to me. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. The things that really matter to me are often the things that take time to cultivate, to care for, to invest in. 

I know it’s a hard balance between setting the intention to manifest something, and then having the faith, patience and the inspired action to make it real. 
In the slowness of the unfolding, I’ve found that more often than not, the original intention morphs into something different — often better than I could have imagined. 

I’m learning that within this process is deep trust. A deep trust in myself and something greater than myself, call it God, Spirit, The Universe. It’s a trust in knowing that with each seed of intention planted, with each inspired action forward, that I am taking steps towards the life I want to live.

When I trust myself and my higher power to guide me in taking the best, inspired actions in each moment, I manifest beyond my wildest imagination. Sometimes these actions take years, sometimes months, but the best results always come after a time of cultivation and care. 

When I take the time to connect with my inner landscape and clarify my personal truth, I am always guided in the direction that leads me closer to manifesting my big, juicy intentions. I look at all the small inspired actions as stepping stones that move me along this journey called life. And then one day I find myself in full view of my manifested dream and I am in awe of my ability to make my dreams come true. 

Here are 5 inspired steps I use to manifest the life I want to live.
1. Trust yourself and the intentions you set.

2. Release any fear that keeps you playing small.

3. The small steps move your forward everyday.

4. Celebrate even the small wins.

5. Stay focused on the feelings of having it. 

May you, too, embrace the S L O W, and cultivate your deepest dreams in ways that manifest in divine timing. If you want to harness this month’s lunar energy for setting intentions and cultivating them into manifestation, join our New Moon Cacao Ceremony on Sunday October 18th. It’s an intimate and interactive LIVE 90-minute ritual that’s fueled by the introspection of Mama Cacao. Registration is open at lynbishop.com/cacaoceremony.

Do you have other ways to manifest your big intentions? I’d love to know about your experience. I always love reading your thoughts and comments, so go ahead and share them. 

Infinite ∞ Love,Lyn

A very real, yet unexpected, consequence of the uncertainty surrounding 2020 is a sense of freedom I feel from finding that illusive sense of contentment. 

Over the summer this contentment took me by surprise. I’ve slowed down, I’ve gone within, I’ve gone without. And the most important take away from this disorienting time has been a quickening of coming home to myself. 

In the beginning of March, life felt restricted, controlled, and full of unknowns. Now, September has arrived, and the restrictions, control and unknowns still exist, yet, I’ve learned how to navigate them with more grace and ease that I would have otherwise imagined. 

The clarity that has emerged is enlightening, for the joy I feel is not found only in things, experiences or even other people. Joy comes from within, from the simple act of feeling and being okay with my current status and situation. I’ve found a easy happiness in the simple freedom of being who I am, enjoying who I am, and living the life I am destined to live. 

In our society, we’re encouraged to strive for ever more. Material accumulation and instant gratification are promoted paths to happiness, making the simple act of contentment difficult. 

“Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty.” —Socrates

Although everyone’s path to contentment will be different, here are five ways to become more intentional as you create a more content life. 

• Practice gratitude. Gratitude is a foundational pillar of contentment. When you have feelings of gratitude, there is no possible space for lack to push in. Developing an “attitude of gratitude” is one of the simplest ways to improve your satisfaction and contentment with life.
• Live in the moment. When you go down the rabbit hole of “I’ll be happy when…” you’re delaying your sense of contentment, happiness and joy. Instead, stay in the moment, and remember your happiness is not reliant on achieving a future outcome. 
• Resist comparing yourself to others. There will always be people who “appear” to have it all, but the truth is, you don’t know the full story. You have your life, they have theirs… period. When you know that you are enough, that you are special, and that you are unique, you automatically stop comparing yourself to others. 
• Be of service to others. Helping others by sharing your gifts and talents, your time and resources will help you refine your appreciation for what you have to offer. Knowing who you are and what you have to give to the world strengthens your feelings of contentment. 
• Keep growing. Stay curious. Never stop learning, exploring, investigating that which sparks wonder within you. There is always room for new discoveries and growth. 

Contentment allows you to be grateful and happy for what you have right now. It’s proven to reduce your stress levels, improve your mood and outlook for life, it relaxes your body and brings more happiness and joy to the present moment. 

But just to be clear, contentment isn’t the same thing as being complacent. The difference is that when you are content, you are happy with what you have and find satisfaction with your present circumstances. In contrast, when you feel complacent, you feel unsatisfied with your life, yet are unwilling to make changes to improve your situation. I hope that helps. 

At the end of the day, finding the joy in contentment is a choice you get to make. When you create the intentional mindset shifts, change the habits that make you feel less than, and become aware of your thoughts and actions on the regular, then, over time, these new behaviors shift into feelings of contentment. 

I’ll be honest, the tending of my inner garden over the past few years has given me the greatest gift during these uncertain times, and that is an inner sense of contentment I didn’t know I’d ever find. 

How about you? I always love hearing your thoughts and comments, so if you feel like sharing how this Mindful Moment touched you, I’d love to hear. 

Infinite ∞ Love, Lyn