From tea to cacao
In the beginning (35 years ago) there was the first spiritual connection, a few years later the Red Lion Teahouse was born. Months later, love arrived in this welcoming environment. My wife and I's shared spiritual journey that continues to this day is one of the greatest treasures of my life.
Then, after 10 unforgettable years, I said goodbye to the teahouse, followed by 14 years of a very uplifting and very different quality of existence in New Zealand. This is when a close-to-nature, sustainable and organic way of life developed, in the last four years of which, in addition to other plant journeys, we experienced a beautiful connection with cacao.
We arrived home in 2022 and the construction of everything that was important to us from this began. The spiritual connection to this wonderful plant remained, which gave space to cacao ceremonies and the cacao trade of ceremonial quality. https://cacaojourney.com/en
After nearly 1,000 connections, we deeply experience that this plant reminds us and everyone - who turns to it from the heart - of what is important to them in their life's journey.
The guardians of the ceremony are helpers on the path to remembrance
There are times when we feel that there is more to us than what we are experiencing right now, but we don't know how to connect with it. For many, cacao is just a tasty drink, for others it is a deeper encounter with themselves. You don't have to know where the path leads, you just need to feel like you are going. You don't have to believe in anything, just be present. The ceremony with cacao is a ceremony with yourself, and it doesn't give answers, but lovingly and gently reminds and makes space for what has always lived within you . There is a plant that doesn't give, but accompanies. Those who feel a calling will find it.
If you feel a calling, you can find current events here:
Many people lead this in many ways and connect techniques with cacao. Anthropologists say that there is no real written evidence that ancient cultures had an elevated form of consumption associated with cacao, so we cannot speak of a tradition. Yet we live and maintain this in a way that I would rather call classical. Our respect, our humble turn, our expression of gratitude towards cacao clearly set a direction. It is simple, clean and the focus is on the sacredness of the plant itself, on the possibilities of its transformative effect.
We have had nearly 1000 individual and group connections with this wonderful master plant, which also supports this path, this way of ceremony. Everything else only connects, fits, and can deepen the effect, which is already transformative in itself. This includes other master plant drops, attunements that support a specific individual and shared intention, which our own inner journey has shown and made possible. We would like to help everyone find their own connection with the plant and the spirit of the plant. We have found that it helps if it is kept clean, and thereby amplifying what it is able to show in its naturalness. This is what we have experienced, this is what we feel is true for us, and only in this can we be authentic. This can create a safe space in which others can also connect through the plant to themselves, to everything and to the unnameable. In this many years of progress with the plant, we have experienced that it is not the cacao that gives us a realization, an experience. Cacao is a ferryman that takes us from our current state of consciousness to an expanded, fuller manifestation of ourselves. So the gift comes to us from ourselves. Cacao is a loving, sacred companion.
It is no coincidence that the Mayans called cocoa the food of the gods, because it helps change consciousness and rise. It enables us to connect to higher spheres, to the fullness of ourselves. It offers a much broader context and gives a different quality of understanding, in which previously invisible doors of possibilities can open. It helps creativity, learning, immersion and productive work. It increases energy levels, helps focus and maintain concentration, while at the same time opening the loving space of our hearts. Because of this, it provides wonderful support on a relationship level. Consuming cocoa is actually an intimate partnership. Like a wise teacher, it gives us exactly what we need, far beyond our expectations and desires. So the saying is true: “If you don’t accept the teaching, don’t drink the teacher.”
You can read about cocoa and its effects at the end of the description. For the ceremony, we select the one that resonates most with the ceremony at hand from twelve different types of cocoa. Which one is chosen is determined by the common intention and the quality of the moment. All cocoas can be purchased on the day of the event or online. We dissolve the cocoa with plant-based milk and do not flavor it with anything to preserve its original character. The historical and cultural characteristics of that area carry something that can be experienced purely, which is diminished if it is mixed with a desire to shape it to your own taste. Of course, this is also just a point of view based on experience and nothing more. On the day of the ceremony, we should eat carefully. Vegan food is the best choice and we should eat our last meal five to six hours before consumption. If someone wants to experience a deeper experience, they can do a juice fast that day. Avoid coffee, alcohol, and animal products that day, and make sure to drink enough water. Since cocoa is a diuretic, don't be dehydrated before the ceremony, but to avoid disturbing the experience by going to the bathroom too much, replenish your body with enough water afterward.
In ancient South American cultures, it was believed that these plants have a natural connection with higher spiritual spheres. Anyone who has participated in plant ceremonies has experienced the authenticity of this. That is why it happens that a kind of attuned connection spontaneously occurs the day or even days before the ceremony. As in many ceremonies, pure intention plays an important role here. Before drinking this special juice, it is worth declaring and breathing into the cup the clear intention of why we are here and what we want to gain deeper insight into. In connecting with plants, we can very often experience the wise teaching that we receive what we need, not what we desire.
With love: Zoltán Balázs and Hajnalka Kunerth
