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What is Ceremonial Cacao?
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The Heart-Medicine You Didn’t Know You Needed
If you’ve been searching for a gentle yet profound way to open your heart, release stored emotions and reconnect with your true essence, the plant-ally known as ceremonial cacao might be the key you’ve been missing. In this article I share what it is, how it’s used, what benefits it brings — and how we integrate it here at Master Plan.
What is Ceremonial Cacao?
Ceremonial Cacao is pure, unprocessed cacao — made from whole beans that are fermented, ground, and prepared with intention.
It’s the original form of chocolate, the way it was honored thousands of years ago by ancestral cultures who used it as plant medicine to open the heart, connect with intuition, and harmonize body and spirit.
At Master Plan Retreat, we work exclusively with Ceremonial Cacao from Putumayo, Colombia — a region known for its lush rainforest, fertile lands, and ancestral communities that cultivate cacao with deep reverence for the Earth.
Each bean carries the vibration of the jungle and the wisdom of indigenous hands that grow, ferment, and dry the cacao with sacred intention.
This origin gives our cacao a unique energetic signature — rich, grounding, and heart-expanding — perfectly aligned with the healing purpose of our retreats.
Unlike industrial chocolate, ceremonial cacao contains no sugar, dairy, or additives. It’s full of magnesium, antioxidants, and natural compounds like theobromine and anandamide, which enhance mood, energy, and emotional balance.
the benefits of Cacao
Why Ceremonial Cacao Opens the Heart
A Cacao Ceremony is a heart-centered ritual where the plant is used intentionally to open emotional pathways and deepen awareness. Participants drink a warm cup of cacao in a meditative setting — often accompanied by music, breathwork, or movement — while setting personal intentions for healing, release, or clarity. It’s not about the beverage itself; it’s about the energy you bring. Cacao acts as a gentle guide, helping you soften your defenses, reconnect with gratitude, and listen to what your heart already knows.
Physical Benefits
Enhances energy and focus through natural theobromine — a gentle, heart-centered stimulant.
Supports cardiovascular health and releases muscular tension thanks to its high magnesium content.
Boosts vitality and blood circulation, improving overall wellbeing.
Emotional Benefits
Encourages emotional release and self-compassion.
Promotes a sense of calm, warmth, and connection with others.
Helps process deep feelings in a safe, nurturing way.
Mental Benefits
Increases clarity and mental focus by enhancing oxygen flow to the brain.
Balances mood, reduces stress, and supports a positive mental state.
Spiritual Benefits
Opens the heart chakra, deepening connection to self, others, and the Earth.
Facilitates meditation, intuition, and inner guidance.
Reminds you of the sweetness of life and the presence of love in every breath.
How to Experience Ceremonial Cacao
The Art of Drinking Cacao with Intention
The Cacao Ritual at Master Plan Retreat takes place near the end of the journey — when hearts are open, masks are down, and each person has already walked through their process of release and transformation.
We begin by gathering in circle, surrounded by nature.
A cup of warm cacao — thick, earthy, and aromatic — is served to each participant.
Before drinking, we take a few deep breaths and set an intention: something we want to invite, forgive, release, or honor.
The cacao, prepared slowly with water and love, carries that vibration.
As it enters the body, its warmth spreads through the chest — softening resistance, quieting the mind, and bringing the attention back to the heart.
Music flows, sometimes silence.
There may be tears, smiles, or long exhales.
Cacao creates emotional coherence — aligning mind and heart so that what you’ve learned during the retreat can now be felt and embodied.
This is not a ceremony of euphoria, but of presence.
Each sip becomes a prayer; each heartbeat, a reminder that you are alive, connected, and whole.
Cacao is the bridge that closes the circle.
After the deep work with Ayahuasca and the other therapies — breathwork, holistic massage, systemic constellations — cacao arrives to remind us that healing is not just about releasing pain, but also about reclaiming joy.
The ceremony is followed by group meditation and sharing.
Everyone has a chance to speak from the heart — to express gratitude, honor their process, and celebrate their courage.
This moment of openness and connection brings the group together in a profound field of love and mutual recognition.
It’s a gentle landing after a transformative flight, a way to anchor insights into daily life and leave with a sense of peace and clarity.
After the ceremony, participants are invited to share reflections and insights in an open circle.
There is laughter, stillness, and often, tears of gratitude.
Cacao helps you integrate everything you’ve experienced — the revelations, the emotions, the transformations — so that they can live in your everyday life with gentleness and awareness.
It’s a moment of deep presence, where the retreat closes not with a goodbye, but with a heart full of love.
To continue the process, we also offer access to an online integration group, where participants can stay connected, share reflections, and receive guidance as they bring their new awareness into daily life.
Cacao teaches through softness.
It doesn’t need to be loud or intense to transform you — it simply reminds you that love has always been the medicine.
In every ceremony, every cup, every shared silence, cacao whispers the same truth:
you were never disconnected, you were only asleep.