Chocolate: A Search for the Food of the Gods – Part 1
Caspar ist a digestive therapist and holds retreats around the world to teach people about the secrets of food and life. At the beginning of November, the Green Pearls ambassador held a chocolate retreat in green pearl Macaw Lodge in Costa Rica. He shares his impressions and thoughts with us here.
Chocolate, or chocolātl as it was known by the ancient Aztecs, means something special to each of us. It makes us think of the holidays, of Valentine’s Day, of falling in love and of comforting ourselves after a break-up. It’s a treat for personal times and it’s part of shared memories.
We all have a relationship with this divine food and it’s no surprise that “theobromine”, the name of the most notable compound in chocolate, means “food of the gods”.
I am back in Costa Rica to lead another one of my Digestive Therapy retreats at the amazing Macaw Lodge.
What is Digestive Therapy?
Digestive Therapy deals with weight problems, acid reflux, food allergies etc., but not in the way most people are used to. We don’t work on diet and nutrition but instead focus on emotional and spiritual healing so the Autonomic Nervous System returns to its proper, healthy functioning. Also, when emotions are regulated, healthy eating behaviors follow.
This true, long term healing affects the whole person and there are many therapies that can contribute to this process. To broaden the experience on a retreat I like to invite other healers to each teach a component of my therapeutic model.
Knowing how to relate to ourselves and how to find nourishment in life is the true key. This helps us learn how to eat. Learning what food is, where it comes from and how to prepare it is also helpful so I construct these retreats around a food theme.
Sacred Cacao
For this Costa Rica retreat I have chosen the theme of “Sacred Cacao”.
It’s November 8th and I have been in the country for a few days to acclimatize. Yesterday I met with the team of healers and therapists I’ve hired and everything feels good. I am very excited.
It’s a balmy morning and I am at the airport to pick up my guests. People have flown in from Canada, Chicago, California etc. Some of them I have known for a while, some I will meet today. By the end of the week we will be like family.
After an hour ride from San Jose airport in our private van we get to the small mountain town of Bijagual on the edge of the Cerros de Turrubares nature preserve. This is rainforest country and today it’s raining! Coming from the historic drought in California that’s killing the trees in my backyard, I am loving this; I can feel the jungle, its potency, its fertility, its life!
The forest road from Bijagual to Macaw Lodge is earthy. It’s a dirt road. A Costa Rican red-clay road. The rains have turned it into red mud. This is the artery that leads us to the heart of our journey.
In life, some people’s blood pumps with passion for adventure, that of others flows fast with fear and for some it’s life-less and anemic.
These last few kilometers in these unexpected conditions affect everyone differently. For some it’s unpleasant, for others this is why they came to the jungle in the first place. Our adventure has begun, the journey into our hearts, minds and souls has started.
We all experience the same moment and we are all affected in our own unique way. The dilated pupils, the abated breaths, the cheers and the quiet all tell stories.
Over the next few days we will look at this ride as the start of our teachings: our perspective results in emotions and our body reflects those emotions. Breath, blood pressure, immune system as well as patience and clarity of thought are all affected.
What if we master our minds and consciously choose perspective?
Then we are at the head of the chain reaction, then we are taking charge of our health!
Read next week, what Caspar and his retreat participants experienced during the retreat.
