Cacao Medicine Immersion
A 10-day community-based & self-paced deep dive with the spirit, medicine and songs of cacao
What is the Cacao Medicine Immersion?
This 10-day Cacao Medicine Immersion is a hybrid self-paced and community-based space to build a deep relationship with the spirit, medicine, songs and healing of cacao.
Cacao is a known “master plant” in the spirit world, meaning it has quite potent curative and medicinal properties, and has been ingested for millennia by the Mayans, Aztecs, Olmecs and indigenous tribes within the Amazon region.
Through our studies and work with cacao over nearly a decade, we have found it to be a medicine for opening the heart, relaxing the mind, ancestral healing, and connecting deeply to the heart and blood of the Earth, among many other benefits.
This container combines community-based cacao ceremonies with self-paced content, a restricted diet, limited social interactions, preparation and integration tools as well as transmissions and teachings we’ve received from our teachers and elders and the lands where cacao comes from.
Why we created this immersion
The intentions seeded in this immersion are first and foremost, to help you deeply connect to the spirit of cacao, on a more intimate, profound level.
Another intention is to assist you in your “getting out of the way” for cacao to work with you and open your channels for creativity, song, your medicine.
One thing to know about cacao, is that compared to other master plants such as ayahuasca, cacao can be a gentle medicine and teacher. Her power can only penetrate you as much as you can allow her inside of your being.
Because of this, we are providing you with self-paced content that is designed to assist you in opening and allowing, two of the deepest processes we as humans can go through in a world that encourages us to close and to force.
The self-paced content of this immersion is also here to support you in your journey of attuning with the plant and spirit worlds, inner-work, shadow work, and opening your heart.
Lastly, a major intention of this immersion is to teach and offer space to find our “firmeza” or firmness in our lives through disciplining and restricting ourselves into our deepest sensitivities, our true selves, and our power.
So it’s important to know that in addition to the self-paced content you are invited to do each day (around 30 minutes each day), we highly recommend that everyone enters into a restricted diet which can help minimize distractions and create focus and clarity for this journey.
We have been holding this container as a part of our Becoming the Bridge training for almost two years now, and it became very clear to us how helpful it is for others to have a space to connect to cacao within community as well, so we’re excited to open this container up to the public!
The main pillars of this immersion
Daily ingestion of cacao
You will be given a Daily Dosing guide to help you ease into the Immersion and build up to a full ceremonial dose of cacao. You are encouraged to only drink the cacao with hot water, and if necessary or supportive, chili, cinnamon or cardamom to enhance the cacao’s effects. We ask that you do not add any milk, sweeteners, or other ingredients to your cacao drink at this time.
Restricted diet & social interactions
During the 10 days of the immersion, you will be asked to shift your diet to a very simple one free of alcohol, sugar, caffeine (including tea), dairy, red meat, pork, herbs with strong properties, as well as all processed and packaged foods. It is also recommended, but not required, to reduce your salt intake. You will also be requested to dramatically reduce your workload, social interactions, media usage and intake. This creates a space of commitment, sensitivity and clarity for the cacao to work with you on a deeper level. You’ll learn more about this when you sign-up in your preparation materials and in our preparation call.
Self-paced content to support your process
During the 7 main days of the immersion where you’ll be drinking cacao daily, we will provide you with self-paced content that helps guide you deeper into this immersion to allow the cacao to penetrate you. This will include a mix of meditations, transmissions, exercises & inner journeys. You are highly encouraged, but not required to incorporate this content into your immersion. Although we find it very helpful to guide the medicine and your process.
Community-based virtual ceremonies
During the immersion, we will get together for 3 cacao ceremonies to open, process and close our immersion. This is a chance to be seen and witnessed by a community of folks with similar missions as you all over the world. We find these ceremonies to be the gold of the immersion, so its imperative that you can make it on the dates we are having them.
Preparation & Integration
To make sure everyone feels safe and able to enter deeply into this immersion, we provide plenty of space for preparation and integration. We will begin with a preparation call and end our immersion with a cacao ceremony and space to share your reflections and expressions that were birthed through you throughout the immersion. There is also space to receive 1-on-1 support from the facilitator as well, if needed.
Daily schedule of the immersion
Days 1 & 2 Preparation
We’ll gather on January 18th to discuss preparation details, introduce ourselves & share intentions
Day 3: Opening Ceremony
We’ll open on January 21st with a cacao ceremony, and the self-paced content will begin to be released daily
Day 4: Earth
You’ll begin to work through the elements in the self paced content, beginning with Earth inner journey
Day 5: Fire
On this day you’ll receive a meditation learned from our teachers and shared all over the world
Days 8 & 9: Expression
The self paced content will guide you from a place of process to expression in your own unique way
Day 6: Water
You’ll be guided through an emotional release exercise to help you create more space in your being
Day 10: Closing Ceremony
On January 28th, we’ll close with a Cacao Ceremony & integration sharing of our expressions of the immersion
Day 7: Ceremony
On January 24th, we’ll do an Ancestral Healing Cacao Ceremony to support the processes you’re moving through
Important dates to know
For all of our ceremonies during the Immersion, please plan to set aside around 1.5 hours.
Thursday, January 18th: Preparation Call (time TBD, will be in the early evening)
Sunday, January 21st: Opening Ceremony (time TBD, will be in the morning/early afternoon)
Wednesday, January 24th: Ancestral Cacao Ceremony (time TBD, will be in the early evening)
Sunday, January 28th: Closing Ceremony (time TBD, will be in the morning/early afternoon)
“This love that flows so deep inside, within there lies a seed. [This] seed has been planted inside your heart, and love is the water that feeds. With love, eternally it will grow, my mother she makes it so.”
What’s included in the Cacao Medicine Immersion?
Preparation call to answer all of your questions and set intentions
3 virtual cacao ceremonies to open, support and close the immersion (1.5 hours each)
7 days of self paced content to assist and guide you
Guidance on a “self retreat” to support your journey through a restricted diet, etc.
A 333g bag of our Go to Glow, 100% ceremonial cacao to ingest during the immersion
Traditional Mayan tobacco for ceremonies & offerings
Immersion Workbook with a daily cacao dosing guide, journaling prompts & contemplations for each day
Telegram group for community communication
Who is the cacao immersion for?
This cacao immersion is for anyone who desires to explore their relationship with cacao in a deeply intimate way, whether you’re new to cacao or have been journeying with it for years.
This space does require a great deal of commitment, maturity, discipline and firmeza (firmness), and should be taken seriously and with care. So, we recommend this immersion for those who have the ability to make a deep commitment that will plant a seed in their heart that will continue to grow for many years.
We are also looking to dive in with folks are committed to the harvest and merits of this immersion. Those who are courageous enough to allow this immersion to be expressed through them through their songs, writings, art, dance, creations of all kinds.
Our hope is this immersion touches the hearts of the community surrounding those who participate. In that way, this immersion is one for community leaders as well.
Pricing
Below we offer a tiered pricing to make this accessible for all income and financial situations.
Level 1 pricing
My finances are ok, but I trust this container supports my highest intentions and I’m willing to pay the minimum price.
**ONLY AVAILABLE UNTIL 12/15**
$250
Level 2 pricing
My finances are in good shape and I’d like to pay full price for this container to support the efforts that go into creating it.
$333
Level 3 pricing
Abundance flows in my life & I wish to donate to the Scholarship fund for those who can’t afford to pay full price but want to attend.
$400
BIPOC, LGBTQ & Single Parents Scholarships available
To support the inclusivity, diversity and affordability of our offerings, we are offering two 30% scholarships for BIPOC folks, LGBTQ & Single Parents who are financially challenged but would like to attend.
To apply for this scholarship, please indicate in the sign-up form your situation and why this scholarship could be supportive for you now.
Reserve your space for this immersion
To reserve your spot for this immersion, we ask that you complete a registration form. If it feels resonant for you to join us, you will be asked to pay a 50% deposit. The remaining balance will be due by the day before we begin, January 17th.
About the facilitator
Krystal Penrose
Krystal Penrose is the Co-Founder of Kokoleka Collective, where she serves her mission of the re-emergence and re-membering of the ancestral and matriarchal, Earth and heart based ways of living and serving. She is dedicated to protecting and upholding the ancestral wisdom of cacao and other medicines, and pilgrimages regularly to Central & South America to continue building bridges between this wisdom and the modern world.
In addition, she has created Earth & Spirit Medicine, where she weaves Transpersonal Psychology, Ancestral teachings, Plant & Mycelial Wisdom, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Trauma Recovery work as well as Preparation & Integration into her 1-on-1, group, ceremony and retreat containers.
She was born in Detroit and is currently based on Kaua'i, Hawaii, and has been traveling extensively internationally for the last 15 years.
Disclaimers
Although elements of this immersion are inspired by the traditions of “Dietas” and spiritual or religious fasts that come from around the world, this is NOT a traditional “Dieta” or religious fast. Such work should be taken very seriously and with great caution and care. If you feel such a call, we recommend only working with highly trained masters for such work, most of which are elders who are holders of traditions and lineages. At this time, we do not offer this kind of work, nor can we suggest anywhere you can do such work. We invite you to study and deeply understand the traditions or lineages which you choose for a long while before you become initiated into them through fasts and Dietas.
If you are taking any kind of SSRI, MAO-I or epileptic medication, it is contraindicative for you to take part in this immersion. We recommend you work with your Physician, Psychologist, Therapist or Psychiatrist who prescribed you with these medications before you partake in any experience of this nature.
If you have experienced recent episodes of mania, manic depressiveness, suicidal thoughts or attempts, we do not have the medical or psychological expertise to host you for this experience. Again, we recommend checking in with your Physician, Psychologist, Therapist or Psychiatrist before doing any kind of work of this nature.