What we’re about
Chocolate Groove is a Weekly Social, Dance Celebration featuring Toronto’s best DJ’s in some of the most Visionary Alternative venues in Canada!
We strive to foster a safe, family-friendly space, open for all people regardless of ability, age, cultural background, ethnic origin, gender expression, gender identity, sexual orientation. LGBTQ Positive, to come together, have fun and Celebrate Life. This is an environment conducive to meaningful Transformation and Authentic Connection!
Currently, we are running our events ONLINE EVERY WEDNESDAY!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What to expect...
- Leave no trace
- Cacao Elixir
- Sunset Cacao Ceremony
- 3 hour DJ set
- Face painting
- Drums / Instruments Welcome
- Crystal Therapy by Kevin Back
- Closing Soundbath with Jesse Buck
- Live Community Art Project by Yana Kolesnikova
- PLEASE Bring your own water / Food
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>> Schedule ::
-- 7:30 - Arrive
-- 8:00 - Opening Sunset Cacao Ceremony
-- 8:30 - DJ set
-- 12:00 - Closing Crystal Bowl Soundbath / OM Circle
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>> CACAO :: Chocolate Elixir "The Soul of Chocolate"
Cacao is known as a heart opening medicine that has been used by indigenous cultures since ancient times. Cacao beans constituted both a ritual beverage and a major currency system in pre-Columbian Meso- american civilizations.
The plant name "Theobroma" or Cacao (translating from the greek: theo = god and broma = food It is the perfect elixir for Movement, Play & Connection.
It is known to increase circulation, Energy, Elevate your mood, Boost Libido and is a natural aphrodisiac. It is known to induce a Euphoric state of Higher Consciousness & Bliss, bringing you into connection with your body and heart centre.
Though there is not much if any caffeine in Cacao, it does have Theobromine which has a similar effect on the body but does not cause the same harmful effects on the nervous system as caffeine.
With an array of organic spices and sweetener, we drink this food of the Gods in cups of roughly 25 - 30 grams of Raw Cacao Paste together in an opening circle to set our intentions for the evening.
>>>> Other Benefits of Cacao::
- Heart Opener
- Reduces Stress / Anti-Depressant
- 40 Times the Antioxidants of Blueberries
- Loaded with Magnesium & Iron
- Improve Brain Function
- Contains "Anandamide" ( A neurotransmitter which fills dopamine receptors in the brain, filling us with feeling of euphoria and bliss)
More about the Cacao here::
http://ceremonialcacao.blogspot.ca/
“An Indigenous myth tells us whenever the balance between humans and nature becomes threatened, cacao comes from the rain-forest to open people's hearts and return the planet to harmony. In one of my early communications with the Cacao Spirit, she referred to cacao as "The Food for the Shift. Cacao is a multidimensional partner and facilitator for creative, spiritual, ceremonial purpose, artistic, new age or shamanic. Chocolate brings one to the door but doesn’t push you through it.”
- Keith Wilson Cacao Shaman
CACAO CONSUMPTION BEYOND CHOCOLATE ::
With over 1200 chemical constituents, the beans from Theobroma Cacao (translating from the greek: theo = god and broma = food and cacao = the mayan name for the chocolate beans) – or the chocolate tree, appear to be the most pharmacologically complex food in nature. Cacao has been used for millennia as a food and antidote to a vast array of health issues. It has also been used ceremonially by the ancient Meso-americans in conjunction with other plants and rituals.
The alkaloids, neurotransmitters, neuromodulators, vitamins and minerals specific to cacao have a particularly nourishing effect on the human body. The effects of these properties are amplified when using unroasted and unprocessed cacao and consuming it in the context of a ceremony. All the properties found in cacao (discussed below) are already produced naturally in the body and perform essential functions, but appear to be less and less available when living busy lives in cities and following a “western” diet and lifestyle.
When you consume cacao prepared for ceremony using high quality raw cacao beans, all the mood enhancing neurochemicals in cacao become particularly active. There is increased blood flow and nutrition to the brain, heart and skin, the whole body is nourished, awareness and focus is heightened and sensations are intensified.
The context of the ceremony is a safe and beautiful space that supports meditation (reflection and connection to the “larger aspects of yourself”). This creates a rare opportunity to explore and sit with the stories of the heart and to identify areas that are causing you restriction, limitation and pain. You have the chance to relax deeply and receive insights, inspiration and creative ideas that can give you a clarity on the “next steps” of your life and where you can support your overall health.
Many people report a deep sense of joy and peace, a connection to something bigger than themselves as well as insights of limiting behaviors, thoughts and feelings that are able to be understood and released within the safe environment of the ceremony.
Some also find that as their focus holding ability improves, their overall success in life increases and a greater sense of contentment and satisfaction follows.
HISTORY OF CACAO ::
The story of chocolate begins with a tree, a small tree of the tropical understory. In 1735 Linnaeus designated this tree Theobroma cacao, a scientific name that handily links two ancient cultures a world apart.
Theobroma, the genus name, is from the Greek and translates to “food of the gods,” a designation that chocolate-lovers would agree is befitting. Although Linnaeus was reputedly fond of chocolate, he would have been familiar with early Spanish writings describing the Mayan and Aztec beliefs that cacao was a gift from the gods.
Cacao is the Mayan root word retained by the Spanish colonizers of Mesoamerica to describe the tree and its products.
According to both archeologists and Mayan spiritual elders, the Cacao Spirit was one of the most powerful deities in ancient Mayan cosmology. While the ancient Mayans and Aztecs of Southern Mexico and Guatemala are best known, there are contemporary Indigenous cultures in Central and South America who continue cacao use in shamanic ceremony, preferring it to locally available psychedelics. With today’s psychedelic buzz, you may not have heard much of them. Although one of this world’s finest spiritual or shamanic partners, cacao was ignored in the ‘60’s resurgence of medicine plants because it does not act like a psychedelic – it does not take you on its trip, but facilitates your own.
