The dark season has begun and nature is preparing for winter. The trees are shedding their leaves, everything is retreating. We can see just how old things are dying in nature to make room for new things in the next cycle. During this time, we can also consciously take time to let go, look within and deal with issues that consciously or unconsciously have no place in our hectic everyday lives. And so this month we would like to consciously deal with the topic of "letting go and death" and invite you to do the same. Helpful ideas, journaling questions and a suitable cacao ritual await you.
In our opinion, the subject of death still has a very negative connotation in our culture. Either we don't talk about it at all, or if we do, it's only with fear and a kind of denial. But it's a subject that affects us all. So it's not a question of whether we want to address this subject, but rather how we learn to deal with it for ourselves and to truly use our lives. It's often nice and healing to question familiar ideas and look at how other people or cultures deal with this subject.
The Heart as the Seat of the Soul: Wisdom of Ancient Cultures about Death and Immortality
In many ancient cultures, such as the Maya and ancient Egypt, death was not just an end, but a transition into a deeper dimension of existence. The heart in particular played a special role for them as the seat of the soul. The Maya saw the heart as a gateway to the inner world and for them, cacao was a ritual drink that opened this gate like a bridge between the human and the divine or spiritual level. The Egyptians also considered the heart to be the central seat of the soul, in which all of our experiences and actions are stored. They believed that the heart carries the weight of all of our human deeds. This image is represented in the Hall of Maat - the ancient Egyptian court of the dead. It was believed that after death the heart was weighed on a scale with a feather. If the heart was as light as the feather, the heart could move on. If it was heavier than the feather, however, the soul returned to earth.
Since my youth, Felix, I have been fascinated by the Maya and ancient Egypt, especially the importance they attributed to the heart as the seat of the soul. For a long time, I had wanted to visit the Great Pyramid of Cheops - the cradle of this ancient knowledge. Recently, I finally fulfilled this wish. When I stood in front of the ancient pyramids of the Giza Plateau, I felt the timelessness that emanates from these overwhelming pyramids, as if it were the center of the cosmos. It felt like a memory of something that time cannot harm - the memory of my immortal soul that lives in my heart. This experience touched me deep inside and opened my heart in a way that I only know from profound cacao rituals.
I am aware that there is a physical death of the body and at the same time I have this deep trust that my soul and my heart are immortal and the essential part of me remains.
When I was on my flight home from Egypt, there was some turbulence on the plane. A woman sitting next to me was visibly frightened and I tried to calm her down with the perhaps somewhat clumsy words: "We're all going to die at some point anyway, nobody knows when that will happen."
She replied, "Yes, that's true. BUT NOT TODAY."
I think that many people think like this, that they logically know that they will die one day, but it can't be today. But why not today?
From pure existence to a fulfilled life: Live as if it were your last day on earth
I, Leni, have met people who were OK with today being the day they left this world. I was one of those people myself until I became a mother. But now when I think about death, I think: NO, not today. I still want to experience so much with my child. I want to accompany his development and find out which paths he will take in his life. There is still so much here that wants to be experienced on this earth.
The people who are OK with dying today are those who feel like they have lived what they are here for. Of course, they are happy to take all the years that come with them, but there is no nagging feeling that their heart still wants to experience this or that.
Being aware of death and our own mortality helps us to live what we really want. When we are confronted with death, we set different priorities. We rethink things and see what is really important to us. That is why it is so useful to become aware of this truth every day, not in order to live in constant fear, but in order to be alive. Away from mere existence and towards life.
A Light Heart at the End: How Death Helps You to Really Live in the Here and Now
You can also train yourself to die. We don't want to go into this in detail, but we can give you a tip: every letting go is a small death. The better we get at letting go, the easier it will be for us to let go in a big way. The art of letting go also makes our life here on earth easier. We have our Cacao ritual " Letting go in gratitude " for you, which is perfect for consciously reflecting on what you are ready to let go of in your life.
You can be afraid of death, you can have things that you still want to do and at the same time you can make sure that you do more of what makes your heart light. I don't know what comes after death. But I know that it can help me to really live here and now.
This is exactly what we would like to invite you to do this month: to get closer to your own values and desires and to embody them by dealing with this topic. So that when you finally get to that point and your heart is on the scales with a feather, your heart is light and you know for yourself: I have lived the way my heart and soul wanted me to. So take time this month to find silence and delve into your inner self. For this we have four journaling questions that fit the topic.
Journaling questions to live the desires and values of your heart and soul
To get even closer to your own values and desires, take your journal and answer the following journaling questions:
✦ What are my most important values and how strongly do I live them?
✦ If today were my last day on earth, how would I spend it?
✦ What do I want people to say about me after I die?
✦ What memories have I left with them?
As already described, cacao has always had a very special value as a gateway when it comes to the topic of death. That's why we naturally have a suitable cacao ritual for you.
Cacao Ritual to Connect with Your 90-Year-Old Self
Feel free to use the powerful Cacao Ritual to connect with your 90-year-old self - a part of you that has already experienced life in all its diversity. Encountering your wise, older self will help you gain more clarity about what your heart and soul really want for you - knowing that every day is a step in life that you will one day look back on.
Prepare yourself a cup of Ritual Cacao* and make yourself comfortable with a journal in your favorite place.
Sit upright, close your eyes and first observe your natural flow of breath. Feel how you become more and more at peace with yourself with each breath and allow your breath to flow deep into your lower abdomen.
Imagine how the energy of your breath spreads through your abdomen and rises from there to your heart. Fill your entire body with the life energy of your breath and feel your vitality.
Take your cacao cup in your hands and hold it in front of your heart. Feel free to use the following intention for your ritual and whisper it into your cacao: "I am open and ready to connect with my 90-year-old self in order to receive valuable messages and insights for my life."
Now start drinking your cacao sip by sip and feel how the cacao medicine spreads into every cell of your body and supports you on your journey.
Imagine a time machine appearing in your mind's eye at the place where you are now. You stand up and walk step by step towards this time machine and then look at the display inside the machine. There you see all the years from your birth onwards, as individual buttons light up. You look at the button that says "90 years" and press it.
You notice how the time machine starts moving and not a breath later you have already arrived. The door opens and you get out of the time machine, at the place where your 90-year-old self is waiting for you. First of all, look around and notice where you are. Your 90-year-old self is already sitting on a bench waiting for you. You slowly approach this version of yourself and are warmly welcomed. What does your 90-year-old self look like? What effect does it have on you? Take as much time as you need to observe.
If you like, you can now ask your 90-year-old self the following questions:
✦ What are you proud of?
✦ What have you experienced that filled your heart?
✦ Who are and were the people closest to your heart?
✦ How do you feel?
✦ What advice or messages do you have for me?
Slowly say goodbye to your older version and thank it once again. Go back to the time machine step by step and press the button that shows your current age. The time machine will now take you safely back to your body in your room.
Slowly return to the here and now through your breath and gentle movements of your body. When you are ready, open your eyes again. Finally, take your journal again and write down your journey. Write down all the valuable insights that your 90-year-old self shared with you and think about what your next steps could be for a fulfilled life.
We wish you enriching insights this November. May your heart become a little lighter every day and the treasure of your heart's experiences grow ever greater.
*Here you will find a recipe & tips for preparing your cacao.
