Saturday, January 27, 2024

A Chocolate Meditation before Valentine's

Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Dhr. Seven, Jen B., Crystal Q., Wisdom Quarterly

WHAT HAPPENED?
What's an urban shaman to say to Americans?
We all gathered in the Valley (1/27/24) in a spacious home with wood floors. Cacao was brewing on the stove as vegan dishes were brought in and spread all across a large table. Lisa opened the event with a circle of introductions by each person, city traveled from, and the nature of the dish brought for the potluck. Then we ate, socialized, got cozy and, finishing up, prepared for a meditative experience. This was no lecture but a sensual, in-the-body experience of profound relaxation, staying with the present moment, and trying not to anticipate the wonderful chocolate (xocolatl, Theobroma cacao) about to be served. Using deep breathing and complete letting go, staying awake and alert of all that was going on right here right now, we opened up, became vulnerable, felt our feelings, experienced our sensations with what the Buddha taught was mindfulness: dispassionate awareness of all that was going on. It is not enough to be aware. It is awareness, watching the experience. Seeing sights, hearing sounds, feeling tactile sensations, perceiving scents and tastes and mind object and letting them be. Radical acceptance of what is without fixing it, altering it, distorting it, or resisting it. In that moment, everything was okay. Everything was acceptable. Everything was impersonal and passing away, repeating or not as alluring as it previously seemed to be. Smiles sprouted on faces all around.


This is the plant helper Theobroma cacao
Everyone sat in a circle, on soft sofas, chairs, the wooden floor, with Stephanie on a yoga mat as the demonstration, Seven led us through letting go and consciousness-expansion. Then came the creamy vegan chocolate and an intention setting exercise, as we placed our intentions into the drink by some shamanic alchemical Dr. Emoto alteration of water by consciousness, as Indian genius Jagadish Chandra Bose (who discovered The Secret Life of Plants) taught was happening all the time as we interact with our environment.

Then we mindfully drank, experiencing the cacao with all six of our senses. Then solid pieces of chocolate were distributed, rich in the alkaloid theobromine, and savored in a way that brought out all its richness -- aware of craving, desire, or grasping arising for flavor and comfort -- so as to make it both delicious, opening to our lives (because this is not a rehearsal for some future time when we'll be alive) and a lesson that mindfulness is possible every waking moment. Meditation is one thing, sitting in a stillness approaching samadhi, and mindfulness is possible once an attitude adjustment makes us aware what we are doing, what we have been doing, and what is possible to do. Rather than abandoning ourselves and the present moment, we can be fully in the moment like a peak experience. We can enjoy all that human life has to offer and not mindlessly cling to it, making ourselves susceptible to misery when it alters, as it certainly will. We can see things as incapable of fulfilling and satisfying us and behave accordingly. We may even glimpse how impersonal it all is. Then we met ourselves with a partner, standing face to face, practicing being present for our experience and being present for another person. Everyone met, embraced, shook hands, introduced themselves to one another. There was a memorial for great vegan Buddhist Alan, who recently passed away, as his caretaker Christina was present. Then more socializing and storytelling took place, having gone up a few levels, as everyone was suddenly on very intimate terms and open with everyone else. It was a meditative, mindful, and gastronomical success.

Event details

It's a New Year [approaching Chinese lunisolar New Year after the full Wolf Moon] and we want to become
  • enlightened,
  • mindful,
  • blissful,
  • happy,
  • healthy,
  • abundant,
  • energetic,
  • coupled
  • or contented (Valentine's Day)
Theobroma cacao is the "Food of the Gods"
and enjoy ALL of the potential benefits of meditation. But HOW?!

We start this year with a Cacao Ceremony (xocolatl, FREE CHOCOLATE) and Intention Setting.

It includes Ecstatic Breathwork, Bodywork (to melt into the mat), and understanding what "Mindfulness" really means.


Could we be mindful of eating delicious things?
Is greed good? How about craving for chocolate (Theobroma cacao, the "Food of the Gods")? We'll find out.

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