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Spilling the Beans on Cacao Ceremonies with Christina Lanae
91 Plays6 months ago
Guess who is BACK?! Christina Lanae @TheBlondPriestess is!
They delve into Christina's spiritual training in Guatemala, the importance of personal boundaries, and the emotional empowerment these rituals offer. Christina shares her journey of healing and authenticity after personal adversity, along with her cultural engagements during her travels. The discussion also touches on the impact of cacao circles on teenagers and the community, emphasizing the need for connection in today’s world.
The episode concludes with plans for a live podcast event and Christina’s aspirations to mentor others in cacao ceremonies, celebrating the transformative power of their work together.
In this episode, you will:
- Discover how cacao can offer you the ability to navigate and direct your emotional experiences with ease.
- Master the art of incorporating cacao into any practice, making it accessible and relatable for all interested learners.
- Learn the significant role boundaries play in relationships and when it's time to step up or step out.
Follow Christina
- on the web at: www.theblondepriestess.com
- On Instagram at: www.instagram.com/theblondepriestess
Follow Renee!
- On the web at: www.reneenovello.com
- On Instagram at: www.instagram.com/vibewithintuition
We've got some big news!
Join us for "An Evening with Fox, Animal Soul Intuitive" at Elevate Coworking in Wilmington, NC on May 16th at 6 PM. For tickets and more information, click here:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening-with-fox-animal-soul-intuitive-tickets-875920801697
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Transcript
Introduction to Shine on You Podcast
00:00:05
Speaker
Welcome beautiful souls to Shine on You, the podcast that dives deep into the realms of modern spirituality, the metaphysical, and the mystical. I'm your guide on this journey, Renee Novello. This is not just a podcast, it's a sanctuary for the open-minded, the curious, and those called to topics that may be, at times, a little out there.
00:00:29
Speaker
Through grounded, heart-centered conversations, we are here to support your next breakthrough into higher alignment and help illuminate the path, highlighting the threads of wisdom that connect us all. We are a community of kindred spirits, a space for belonging, connection, and shared wisdom. This is Shine on You, a podcast where the coastal breezes of Wilmington, North Carolina
00:00:55
Speaker
meet cosmic mysteries, jump in and join us for conversations that will feel like sunshine for your soul.
Following Renee's Journey
00:01:03
Speaker
To follow me along on this journey, head over to my website at renee novello.com or on Instagram at vibe with intuition. Now let's dive into the interview.
00:01:18
Speaker
Hello, lovely listener. I wanted to record a separate introduction, but I wanted to come on and express, first of all, a sincere gratitude for the excitement that you have been sharing around this show, around the episodes, and the guests that have been bravely sitting down with me in person
00:01:42
Speaker
to share their story and their hard earned wisdom from their own experiences and creating really a beautiful human point of connection. Some of the talks so far have been really vulnerable and I don't take that lately and I'm very grateful that we are all getting a little something from each other as we are all so connected. So I wanted to first of all say thank you and I'm so grateful that you are here.
Announcing Live Podcast Event with Animal Soul Intuitive
00:02:11
Speaker
Before we get into today's episode, I did want to share that we are having our very first live podcast event. It is coming up in May on May 16th at the podcast studio location, which is Elevate Coworking.
00:02:30
Speaker
It's a really nice vibey aesthetic in there and we will be hosting an evening in person with Fox. As you probably know of her or have listened to the previous episode, she has, I would say, unprecedented gift as an animal soul intuitive. Not only that, she is also a
00:02:52
Speaker
animal species expert, I would say. She has a vast understanding of not only species, but ecosystems and animal traits and qualities, and her gift is how she relates that to us as humans. As she sees within us our very specific animal species energetic
00:03:14
Speaker
course signature. So this night will be not only a lot of fun, it will be informative and educational. You'll get a chance to connect in person with me and her and everyone else that is in the audience. And it'll be also a live recording which I think is going to be a lot of fun to share and to put out into the world.
00:03:34
Speaker
We do have a surprise in store as one audience member will be chosen for a live mini reading at that recording with Fox. So this is your chance if you have been telling your family members or your friends about her and her gifts. Maybe you've had a reading, but they haven't. There will be a chance.
00:03:53
Speaker
and a good one for them to get a reading as tickets are selling, as I mentioned, and there's only 20 spots. So this is going to be an intimate gathering. I would love for you to join us there. You can get the ticket over on Eventbrite. The link is in my bio on Instagram at Vibe with Intuition and also linked in this episode. Get your tickets. They are going. I'm really excited to see everyone there that
Personal Transitions with The Blonde Priestess
00:04:16
Speaker
night.
00:04:16
Speaker
Now for today's episode, we have a repeat guest back to the show. Our very first guest, Christina Lanay, aka The Blonde Priestess, you all know her, you love her. She is back this time with
00:04:31
Speaker
not only announcing a new offering that you're going to want to hear about, but also sharing very vulnerably about the completion of her marriage, what that has been like navigating that abrupt change and how she is doing at this point in her journey with that. It's only been a few short months since she was on last, but it really feels like we have lived lifetimes. I feel like I have. I know she and I shared and stressed a little bit of that on the recording.
00:04:58
Speaker
I'd love to have you all just get cozy, welcome her back, and really give her some love. Share some support over on Instagram with the episodes or share this episode if you know someone else who has been going through
00:05:14
Speaker
a change. We all are in a state of some sort of transition, it feels like. The energy has been very fast paced, especially during this eclipse season. A lot of abrupt change has come up, and my personal motto has been, accept the unexpected.
00:05:33
Speaker
So I am so grateful that you are getting to hear from Christina. She has a lot of wisdom in this episode that she is sharing and you'll want to hear about her new offering. You might have noticed if you follow her on social that she's been traveling. She had a very special one of a kind experience that we talk about in Guatemala.
00:05:54
Speaker
And she's going to be announcing in this episode a new offering that might be something you want to get in on. She's going to get into the details of that, but I will just say that if you have ever had a profound experience in one of her cacao circles, this is for you. Thank you for being here and listening and all of your support. If you have anything that you'd like to share with me, please reach out. You can find me over on Instagram at vibe with intuition and I'll see you all on the other side.
00:06:24
Speaker
All right. Hello, Christina. Thank you for being here today. Again, a regular, I'm going to say. So, so happy. I want to see you again next week. I know. Oh, please don't do that because I literally will put your name in the show. Is this going to be our podcast? It should be.
00:06:40
Speaker
I actually would love that. I would too. I would too. You look so beautiful. I love your hair up high like that. Thank you so much. You're giving me like the best sunny vibes. Aw, thank you. Yes, I've been winging the eyeliner a little bit. I'm in the middle of my life figuring out how to do makeup.
00:06:57
Speaker
Exciting time. My mom asked me to teach her. She's like, will you teach me what I paid you to learn when we got you lessons? I'm like, yes. I will. Yeah. You'll get some too. Help us out. Yeah. I used to be a pageant girl, so we can go as glam as you want. I'll have extensions on your eyebrows, girl.
00:07:15
Speaker
I could use that. I was like the skater girl that kind of, you know, and I am still that girl if you see me out in like everyday life or in my house. Yeah. I see that in your daughter. Yeah. I see a little bit of like cool girl. Oh yeah. Like wearing a big hoodie. Uh-huh. But super cute. That's how I love to be actually at my core.
00:07:36
Speaker
I didn't get the girly, girly downloads. So thank you for noticing that I tried. I'll bring it in tenfold here. Yeah. You balance. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, so we talked. It was right at the beginning of the new year. Yeah. And honestly, it feels like we both have lived a few lives since then.
00:07:56
Speaker
Everybody listening, just take a deep breath. Honestly, let's just like, we made it y'all. That first quarter kicked my ass in a lot of ways. Yes. Living multiple lives within that time is a great way to put it. I do think honestly anyone that's listening should just be like, good job. So rough. Yeah.
00:08:14
Speaker
I don't know if what we're in store, you know, we're right at the time of recording going into the solar eclipse in a few days. I don't know what we're in for here, but honestly, the first quarter, I was kind of like, well, that didn't go like I thought it would at all. I think everyone got to April and they're like, so those New Year's resolutions. What was that?
00:08:34
Speaker
And we had a huge astrological shift that we lived through. We have all lived through, which is huge because it only happens every 21 years. So we are living in very pivotal times. It feels special, I'll tell you.
00:08:48
Speaker
I'm reminding myself daily, my soul chose this. My soul chose this, the timing, all of it, all divine. I'm supposed to be here, so are we. We have so much to catch up on because you've had a lot of fun adventures. You've had some major life transitions. You've been in a relationship breakup portal, I will call it. Yeah, that's a good way to put it.
00:09:08
Speaker
is an initiation in of itself that I have witnessed with watching you go through that with grace has been like something really profound. I'm very proud of you. Thank you. But where do you want to start? You want to talk about Guatemala? Oh, you're like international priestess. Like you're like out and about. I haven't even seen you.
00:09:26
Speaker
I feel like since I last spoke to you, there was such a portal, such a gateway I was stepping into. And even that specific day when we recorded, it was such a effort to show up in my purpose, which was all such good red flags that if you can't show up for what your purpose is because of the relationships you've surrounded yourself with, they're not correct for you.
Travel, Growth, and Cacao Training
00:09:51
Speaker
So since the breakup and the separation, which has been a very publicly documented relationship. So I've shared very publicly the separation. And I believe being a true role model is being authentic. I think it's not about being perfect. And it's not about saying I coach people daily. So sometimes we're coaching on love. Sometimes I'm guiding on success in business. So a lot of
00:10:17
Speaker
Role models, I feel, have fear around sharing a failure and not showing this perfect, pretty image. But to me, that's not relatable. So I've shared a lot about it. You can go down an Instagram wormhole if you want to kind of dig into it. And I can talk a little bit more about it, but I feel
00:10:38
Speaker
Since the separation and him moving away and reclaiming my home and my energy of my soul, my body, it's been just so pivotal and then all of the travel happened.
00:10:51
Speaker
I love that. I can say we all process grief differently, of course, and take that into consideration. But I've noticed with you that you were never interested in wearing that suffering as a badge. You were alchemizing it from the beginning. And I wrote down, actually, you were reclaiming and retrieving more of yourself in that process and just willing to trust the unfolding that was happening, even though it was painful.
00:11:20
Speaker
And yeah, I mean really with a lot of authenticity and bravery, that's how it felt. A lot of people have been like, are you okay?
00:11:28
Speaker
Like really, are you okay? Like they're waiting for the drama. Yeah. And boy, I could go there. I could go there for sure. And with maybe my intimate, trusted spaces, I do. I'm very honest about the details that are less important to, I think, the collective. It has been about trying to face every single aspect of this.
00:11:51
Speaker
with a knowing of what I said when we opened of, this is happening for me. It really is. And it has to be. That's how I'm going to see it and that's how I'm going to make it. And I have had a lot of people reach out to me saying, you have inspired me so much with the way you're authentically expressing. I've been in a relationship like this that you're describing for 30 plus years.
00:12:14
Speaker
and I don't see a way out. Part of me that breaks my heart because in the physical the relationship was only about five months longer term than it had been. It had been a six year relationship but it was very one month at a time and it was in some ways in hindsight a very honeymoon phase for those six years.
00:12:34
Speaker
So I was traveling a lot and could only stay one or two months before I needed to get back and run my business and my life. So it was interesting to see that when we were together for a longer period of time, there was a really big disconnect completely and the effect on my body.
00:12:50
Speaker
And as I said, my purpose, which is when it got really personal was tremendous. So these women, specifically women are reaching out to me saying 30 years plus. I'm sure they have ailments. I'm sure they have diseases because of those emotions and
00:13:09
Speaker
inflammation that has to be occurring with the turbulence. Well, you look so much lighter today. Being in your space, you feel lighter. I was going through it, not that, but I was going through something different on a physical
00:13:23
Speaker
And I feel like we both were kind of wrecked that day and we're like, here we are world, we're showing up and this is it. Now I'm grateful to say, I feel lighter, you feel lighter being here. When did you realize that it was no longer a vibrational match? Because I think you had to come together to be in each other's physical space in lives, to be immersed, to understand that. That's my feeling on it. But when did you realize it was complete, no longer a vibrational match? It was pretty soon, right? It was.
00:13:50
Speaker
Yeah, it was. I believe that there's a note and this is something I've been hacking into. So it's such a great question. I'm still processing. When do you know? When is it when your intuition has a feeling of I'm not safe in this person's presence while I was traveling, there was many of those moments in hindsight. I can see them crystal clear, of course. So you have to be very kind to yourself when you're doing this reflection, but
00:14:15
Speaker
There was several moments in the months leading to the end where I had a very overwhelming strength and fierceness come over me. Now, whether that was because I had more security being on my land and my home and my car and a lot of things that made me feel safe because they were mine. You're very sistered here. There's a sistering that happens here.
00:14:44
Speaker
that too. The tribe, you and all of our beautiful friends and the community that are behind me here also gives an energetic support, web of support. But this fierceness came over me where I put down some really firm boundaries.
00:14:59
Speaker
What I believe and I still believe was with the level of love that says, I love you and I love us and I love me a lot. And this is the boundary so that we can proceed. If this boundary is crossed, we cannot proceed. And I believe that when you're presented with this boundary, it's challenging as the person who's being presented with it. And you have two options. You either.
00:15:23
Speaker
Summon all the willingness you have and level the fuck up or you leave and you're like no This is not what I'm here for don't try to change me and you go into this victim narrative So that was what started happening and it became obvious pretty soon
00:15:39
Speaker
Look, you had a lot on the line and you were willing to say, no, this is the bottom line here and I choose me and I choose both of our health. It sounds like totally. And it's the most loving thing that we can do is to make this really hard choice that comes with.
00:15:57
Speaker
all sorts of projections and all sorts of processing and all of that. And yeah, to be the, you know, to be the one that says this is not healthy for anybody in the room. Right. And we have to acknowledge that. And there were many revelations he came to as well that I deeply respect him for even the awareness of I can't be here, I can't be here and grow and I can't
00:16:21
Speaker
do what is being requested in this environment and in this ecosystem and by you and of this relationship. So knowing when to quit was something he was very aware of. And I deeply respect that because we don't like our time being wasted. Right. Exactly. We got a lot to do. It's go time. I mean, I think a lot of us feel that right now, like, yes, are being called. Yeah. Called forth.
00:16:44
Speaker
What has surprised you most about you now in that healing phase or that Phoenix moment you are having as you put it, which I love so much? I love it too. In human design, my incarnation cross is called the Sleeping Phoenix.
00:17:00
Speaker
You're like, this makes so much sense. It does. It is the most, yeah, it is the most literal example in my life that I can see thus far that has been awake until something, an initiation, a pain, a trauma just wakes you up. And it's like, I feel I'm flying so high and I want to go higher and I'm riding it. I just want to go and expand and explore. And I feel like it's also such a great energy to break down some of the conditioning.
00:17:30
Speaker
Even changing my hair has been- Yeah, you are the blonde-ish strawberry blonde. Strawberry blonde-ish priest. Copper cowboy baby. That's what I heard all the cool kids are calling it. I like it. Copper cowboy. I love it. So yeah, it's been a really funny kind of
00:17:48
Speaker
I'm also a Pisces rising and I love to express myself through beauty and through fashion and through accessories. So my hair has always been an extension of that. When I can change my physical, I literally will feel better. If I'm having an off day, I change my outfit and I swear it's a little thing, but it's an impactful thing.
00:18:06
Speaker
So changing the hair has felt like a reset, a fresh start. It feels like my color as well. It's not one that I got from my mother. It's not one that I got through my genetics. It feels like a choice that I'm making and it's uniquely and distinctly me and it feels really fun. From this really
00:18:28
Speaker
Pivotal moment, and now you have decided to, you've been traveling, you've been embracing experiences that I've been literally following along with and living through, vicariously through you. I wish you could come with me. Yeah, I'm such a homebody. I'm like, look at her go. Like, she's on that crazy boat ride in South America. And I'm like literally at home thinking like, I would be so fricking motion sick, even stepping foot in the airplane in a long boat.
00:18:58
Speaker
So take us with you. So you went to Guatemala? Yes. So it was shortly after my whole life began to just pile up with blessings. It still is. I'll be in the Bahamas end of the month. So I'm witnessing magic. And this is also such a good lesson for anyone that has a big giant ass no in their life. I promise you.
00:19:23
Speaker
quickly after you remove it, you will be rained down upon with blessing. My trip to Guatemala was one of the most impactful trips I think I've had yet in my life. It was for a master cacao training with Keith's cacao.
00:19:39
Speaker
And we know and love. We adore. If we have been in your space at any point, we have likely experienced it and I have some at home from you and I love it. It's the best. It's fueled me today and most days and it is, it truly is the best. It's a great super fruit. This was a very intentional trip. Yeah. And you went there to learn.
00:20:02
Speaker
Tell us about that. To learn to be with the plants, to meet the people that touch our cacao, that we often in our prayers, in our circle when we're working with cacao or with a client, I'll say, you know, thank you to all the hands that went by making this cup possible, not knowing the hands, but of course we can have gratitude, but to actually go to Guatemala and to go through some crazy adventures, to get to... You were in the jungle all day, right?
00:20:27
Speaker
Yeah, to get to the jungle, you have to take several boats and these guys... I love that you foamed your boat ride. I think it's in a Guatemala highlight on my Instagram if anyone is very curious. I couldn't have been more foreign. One of my friends was joking with me and he was like, you are literally straight off the boat.
00:20:48
Speaker
There never before has there been a more dramatic boat ride. So all the boys in Guatemala were playing a prank on me, apparently. I don't speak much Spanish, but just enough to know when I'm being laughed at. So that's what was happening. And we sat up front. Do not sit up front if you go to Guatemala.
00:21:05
Speaker
Honestly, this is a standard boat tip. If you sit at the bow, it's gonna be bouncy. I'm imagining you with all your luggage. Like, was your luggage in this boat? Almost gone. It's like, bouncy.
00:21:19
Speaker
Girl, I was watching my luggage, which was borrowed from a friend. I was like, how am I going to get that? Am I just going to go overboard and be like, my stuff! So I'm bouncing. And then at first it's kind of cute and fun. I'm like, oh my god! And then it quickly got very painful and aggressive.
00:21:40
Speaker
I would came off like a wet cat. My claws were out. The bag made it. Thank God.
Cacao's Cultural and Spiritual Significance
00:21:46
Speaker
And then I get on the dock and I'm like paying the guy and the conversion rates insane. So it's like, well, it's, it's very in our favor with American dollars. I'm trying to figure out this new money. I'm trying to pay him and he's like, you underpaid me. And I'm like, only have a big bill.
00:22:03
Speaker
I'm trying to collect my stuff. I'm windblown. My soul is windblown. And then I'm like, now I got to figure out where my hotel is. And everything's walking once you're in San Marcos. So in Guatemala, and then I went to Lake Itlan, and it's gorgeous. And there's many different towns that you can take a boat to get to. You can also take a car, but it's apparently a very hairy ride down the volcanoes. So take your chances with the boat.
00:22:29
Speaker
And boy did I take them, I rolled those dice, man. But I learned, I got whys real quick. So I get there and anyway, long story short, I get into the hotel. I kind of feel like this could be a rom-com, by the way. I truly see you as the role. No, I'm with you, everyone's with you. I love it. Okay, so you get to the hotel. I get there, everything's gorgeous, stunning. There's a beautiful hotel, El Dragon in San Marcos. If anyone goes, you must go.
00:22:59
Speaker
Stunning. Felt like I was in Malibu. So it was like, okay, I can get my little mocktail and just brush my hair and relax. Anyway, so long story short, I'm there for about 10 days. So I really got to become a local and well, I felt like a local. I'm walking around, I'm picking up some of my Spanish I learned back in school and we're communicating, we're vibing and everyone there is so gorgeous and so beautiful.
00:23:24
Speaker
During the retreat, we get to meet the women. Specifically, there's a huge team of women, Mayan women, and they're so stunning, Renee. The outfits that they wear and the embroidery in their clothing, you can actually look at the certain stitches and you can tell what town they originate from, their lineage is from. So there's such a richness of culture that I don't think we really, we have such an individual culture. It's like me.
00:23:50
Speaker
You know, um, there it's, it's very much so honoring your lineage. And so seeing these women who have such loyalty to that and also such a reverence for mother nature, it was so gorgeous to feel the team and to see how much hand working they do with the cacao from the harvest, from the fermentation process.
00:24:14
Speaker
to the roasting. It's all roasted by the Guatemalan sun. It doesn't go under this super high heat, which a lot of chocolate we're used to consuming does, which as we know, high heat strips the nutrients. We know this. So that's why really nice ceremonial grade cacao is a little bit more expensive.
00:24:33
Speaker
seeing the blessings, seeing the love going into the cacao. Now when I pray over my cup of cacao, I have such a deeper... I have a visual of the faces. Yeah. And a felt sense of their hearts, I'm sure. And Keith's has done such a good job for providing for their families. Like beyond the workers, if their children have a sickness or something like that, they pay for it. Just these women are delighted and honored to have this job.
00:25:01
Speaker
You know, you just move differently when you're provided for, so they're touching our medicine. Taking pride in it. Yeah. How many people were at the retreat with you? Oh my gosh, I think 50 or 60. Okay. Physically, people there. International, everybody from everywhere. Everywhere. Denmark, Sweden, Mexico, Australia. It was incredible.
00:25:21
Speaker
How did you find this brand to begin with? I found it a couple of years ago, and it was very popular in Ireland, so through all of my travels. Yeah, full circle moment, huh? Big time. So much gratitude to be able to discover. And you were in ceremony. Daily. Twice a day. We were doing some deep work on ourselves. I had a lot of breakthroughs around the relationship ending, but then around, I'm in a one year.
00:25:47
Speaker
personally. And so I remember last year in my nine, having full awareness, I'm about to start a new cycle. Let's get into this. And for anyone that wants to know their number, add your month of birth, day of birth, and 2024. Keep adding, and you'll get a number between one and nine. And you'll find out where you're at in your cycle. So a one year is big. My last one year I was in LA and went out by myself, went for fashion, and totally had a completely different trajectory change mid nine year cycle.
00:26:15
Speaker
I remember in my nine year, I was like, I don't know what's happening. I don't know where I'm going. I don't have my clear intuition site that I usually do. And it was so interesting when that relationship fell away. My eyes were so wide open to, oh, we're going to do this. We're going to do this. We're going to do this. So all of the travel is very intentional. It's not this whimsical thing, although it is very fun.
00:26:41
Speaker
It's very intentional. It's very much so in accordance to my devotion to my priest's path. I love that so much. Yeah. Can you talk a little bit about the plant medicine of cacao and the essence of it? Like what is cacao showing us?
00:26:58
Speaker
Yeah, I'm sure with most plant medicines, it's hard to just, I'll just say what's on my heart right now because it's like speaking about a person. It's a whole living, breathing entity. She's helped me so much through serious pain, through finding myself, through developing my business, to being able to hold better space for my clients.
00:27:19
Speaker
We call her a heart medicine. I was going to say it's very heart opening. Yeah. Yeah. She's a heart medicine and a feminine medicine. When we compare it to even like marijuana or psychedelics, there is a, what we label as a masculine frequency, but all it means is that it's a psychedelic. So it's going to take a part of your brain and turn it off. And then it's going to grab you and take you on a journey. Could be enjoyable.
00:27:41
Speaker
It's totally depends. Yeah, but that's the thing. It depends. It's a dice roll. Whereas with Kakao, she may show me something and say, hey, this is here. Are we going to look at it today? And I have a choice. So for all you control freaks out there.
00:27:59
Speaker
You mean for me? Yeah. Wink, wink. It's wonderful because she lets you stay in the driver's seat. Yeah, and there's no hallucinogenic and there's no drug test failure. It's legal. Totally legal. Totally legal. Which is a nice side benefit. Yes, you maintain your sobriety.
00:28:17
Speaker
But the option is present there if you want to go into the emotion. And because it's very high in theobromine, that increases your blood flow. That's mainly what theobromine is here to do. And that allows you to have more potent visuals because you're getting more blood to the brain, but you're not hallucinating. You're just more things are firing. So if you've got some heavy stuff, you may see more visuals around that. It's a very nourishing
00:28:44
Speaker
Support, I feel like, to have an everyday life. And it's more powerful than I think people realize initially. Or does it have a cumulative effect where the more you consume it and the more you work with it, the more it shows you?
00:28:58
Speaker
I would say so. It's like a relationship. The more you speak to the person, the deeper you're going to be able to get to know them. You also build a trust because I see it a lot in circles. I'll have someone really just, they're there in bright eyed bushy tail ready to have some fun. And the echocows in the room is set for healing and the intention is for that.
00:29:20
Speaker
And you'll see them be like, I have no idea why I'm crying when I'm sharing this. And I always encourage them, like, if you want to go there, we can go there because it can surprise you how much she'll just soften you. Yes. And I know obviously you're a fixture in the consistency of having cacao ceremony and circle here. And you know, a lot of people know you through that and you know, a lot of people through that. And I know that you are getting ready to step into your next evolution of
00:29:48
Speaker
leadership and teaching. Yes, I'm so excited. I've been very clearly called, and this is a part of the one year cycle, to start to teach other practitioners and facilitators to hold their own ceremony, whether that be for their family, for their children, for themselves or for the community, whatever their community is.
00:30:10
Speaker
And this is where you and I align so much because you and I both really love to give what we have to empower others to step up and show up.
Community, Connection, and Cacao Ceremonies
00:30:19
Speaker
And whether that's information or tools or cacao in this case. So I'm going to be doing a in-person training in Wilmington, specifically Carolina Beach, the end of May on my birthday. It's going to be a birthday present to myself.
00:30:34
Speaker
very much so in line with my purpose to teach and guide on a bigger scale. And this is something the community is very much so ready for. I was going to say you probably, I believe you get asked about this a lot. I do. It's definitely me responding to a need. I will also be doing an online training in June.
00:30:52
Speaker
For this particular retreat, they'll get to understand the working of, you know, deeper levels of working with the medicine and be able to feel confident and empowered to lead others. Is that really nice? Yes. We're going to be taking a journey with the cacao spirit.
00:31:09
Speaker
to allow her to initiate us. So there's a huge spiritual element to it. But then there's also the practical of this is what you need to say when you're sharing cacao. This is the science behind it. This is how we get the cacao that we have. This is the differences in cacao because there's many different beings. So there's going to be a very like left and right minded approach to it. And then within the retreat, I really want
00:31:34
Speaker
everyone that's attending to have their own experiences of healing with the medicine, with sound. I'm also gonna do some human design and just let them know based on your type, based on your design, this is the best way for you to share. They're getting a lot out of this. Yeah. They're getting all of you. This is incredible. Happy birthday to me. It is though. This is my joy. This is my joy to share this. And I want it to be where someone could say, great, in June, I'm gonna start my circles.
00:32:02
Speaker
or sooner, whatever it is. And I think what I really admire in you and have always felt from you is that you don't believe in competition. You don't believe in that being a thing. It's all about abundance for you as opposed to that old school. There's not enough to go around. You're like, no, there is. And I'm here to empower you, in fact.
00:32:23
Speaker
to do this for yourself. Yes. Thank you for acknowledging that. I get very passionate about seeing people with something on their hearts and when they're not doing it. And I think that people see the episode with Fox. She speaks about my animals, about expansion. So I really feel that myself and in others too.
00:32:43
Speaker
It's really beautiful that when people are going to come to the retreat, whether it's online or the in-person, there is the medicine of you can do this, keep going, expand, just by being in our presence that we create together.
00:32:55
Speaker
That's beautiful. And it'll be a weekend or a day? What did you say? It'll be a two day. Yeah. You can stay the night on the beach. Oh, I love that spot. Please come. I know, right? I'm like, maybe I can. I literally have such a hard time saying no to educational, like expansive opportunities. I'm like, I love it all. I want to know it all. That sounds amazing. It will. I mean, I want the training to,
00:33:22
Speaker
feel digestible as well for the mom who just wants to bring more presence to her family or to her extended family or wants to include it in whatever practice you currently have. So there's a yoga teacher who wants to start to bring cacao in at the end of her classes and then a physical therapist who's wanting more so the nutritional approach.
00:33:45
Speaker
they'll also be starting to bring their clients into that spiritual approach to tenderness. I was going to ask like who it's for, but you've covered that clearly. And speaking of being a mom to someone who's been to cacao circles, my daughter, I love it. She has been, she went on her own to the last circle. Well, she had her boyfriend with her, but I wasn't there.
00:34:05
Speaker
And I was like, I love this so much that we live in such a supportive town and I trust you implicitly with my own. And she gets so much out of it. She came home and she said, I think, and she wouldn't mind me sharing this. She said, she was like, I think I'd rather go to the circles. I feel more support from the circles than like a therapy session.
00:34:26
Speaker
Oh, my God. She's like, I just want to meet. I'm like, well, you can meet with Christina on your own, honey, because I don't know the whole room. I don't necessarily know the inner workings of what's going on, although they're supportive and sweet.
00:34:41
Speaker
Yeah, so she'll probably be coming in to see you soon because she gets so much out of it. That means the world to me. I get really passionate about our teenagers too because they are going to be ushering in this new wave. And they're going through it, I think. I feel like...
00:34:57
Speaker
It's a different world. Like it was, I mean, not to say every generation can say this. Yeah, exactly. But I mean, there's just so much, I think self-imposed pressure on them and they're just having to figure out things quicker. I agree. I agree. I think they need to be quicker. They need to be smarter. They need to be more aware, more intuitive. There's a lot being asked of them, but there's a lot of capabilities they have that might just be untapped.
00:35:22
Speaker
I don't even know she is aware of how much of an impact she had on everyone there that you know afterwards just mentioned that just how touching someone her age being there was but then beyond that her shares and how wise she is when she speaks it was really moving I mean she taught people that she
00:35:42
Speaker
Yeah, she does that. She shocks me all the time with how profound she understands and processes things and how she strings words together. She's pretty amazing. I was giving her the floor all night. I was like, what else? Well, she'll take it. She did. I love it. I love it. I told her. I was like, OK.
00:36:01
Speaker
Just remember, you're not the only one. She had a good awareness. Oh, good. And funny enough, her cancer moon, same as me, even though you weren't there, there were several nods to you. I just love, yeah, I love doing that. Her and I, we have such a bond.
00:36:16
Speaker
And totally my cancer rising is such a compliment I think to her because I get her and she gets me and sensitivity. Yeah, sensitivity. I love that. I love it when I go to the circles and I see young people there and they're so, yeah, nourished by the experience. Yes. Yes. They feel so seen, which I think this generation and my generation and probably your generation, all generations in some certain way, they want to be seen.
00:36:43
Speaker
We want to be acknowledged, recognized. So the circle does that. That's always my intention, is that it's safe, that it's soothing, and we can just be present, but also that we can just genuinely hold another, even if it's just with a look.
00:37:01
Speaker
You know, and that is the medicine and cacao is the medicine, but that ceremony itself is the medicine. Yeah. Yeah. And I know for me, it's like that sense of it's so relieving to be in the presence of other people.
00:37:18
Speaker
And sometimes that can be a little scary. You know, you don't know, you feel like all these nerves about being judged or whatever are all our human stuff. But I think we have such opportunities for people to be in community because there is, look, and sometimes in this bubble that we live in here, we don't even realize how much isolation there is in the world.
00:37:42
Speaker
So many people are very, very lonely and very, very isolated. And this is like one of the researched things is as we age and as we grow, belonging and community is one of the most important factors in our health and our well-being.
00:38:02
Speaker
connection and friendship. Right. I mean, that's a lot of dying words of people is about, you know, did I love enough? Did I connect enough? Did I do enough? Did I serve enough? It's not about things we are so conditioned to think it's about.
00:38:18
Speaker
Keith used to say that. He was a really wonderful... Cacao Keith. Cacao Keith. He just passed, right? He did. So it was very sweet to see them mourning together. And we got to do that on the retreat, which doesn't sound fun probably to anybody, but it was extremely eye-opening and healing.
00:38:38
Speaker
It was so cool to show up and say, I might not know this person physically, but I am here to help hold the sisters and brothers who cherished his presence. It was so gorgeous. But he used to say, it's not about what it's about. So it's the thing we think it's about. It's the thing beyond that. It's not the relationship you have to be in.
00:38:59
Speaker
It's the love and acceptance you're craving underneath of that.
Impactful Experiences at Gaia Event
00:39:02
Speaker
So he had all these little oddities that he would throw out and I got really schooled on them and just in his very- Little catch phrases. Yeah. I love that. The ones that puzzle you where you're like, what? I think about that in the shower later.
00:39:15
Speaker
It's not about what it's about. Oh, wait a minute. I get it. I get it. You can call me. Yeah. Well, I know that you also, as we wrap up, I want to get into your trip to Gaia and because I wasn't there and I haven't watched the replay sadly yet, but I will of the most recent. So you're an ambassador to Gaia TV network, which means that you go to the live events, right? And you invite people like me.
00:39:45
Speaker
My best friend. I love it. So you just went to one. But tell me what was your most impactful speaker? The main person I actually went there to see was Blue, B-L-U. She's a beautiful younger woman who's holding medicine ceremonies, who's an artist, who is a wonderful, powerful voice that speaks from a place of such authenticity. She inspires me as a speaker. She inspires me as a woman. She's a very well-known podcast. Deja Blue.
00:40:12
Speaker
Good name. Great name. She's taking a little mini break on it while she designs this tarot deck. I don't know Blue personally, but we did get to meet her parents there. Oh my God. I was so fangirling. I've been fangirled so hard, but this last guy I conference really got me. And then so we got to meet Blue's family and to see her origins and her talk was on play and prayer.
00:40:37
Speaker
So that just gives you an essence of who this human is. She is so wise and so old sold with the prayer piece and the devotion and the concern with humanity and being a part of it, not just being a mouthpiece of the concern, but actually playing a role in the lightning of it and then play.
00:40:55
Speaker
She's so silly, she's so goofy, she's so vibrant. She inspires me so much. She's definitely someone I would say is like someone I look up to and look across to. I don't think we should look up to anybody because when you put them on a pedestal, they'll fall. But same as me. I'll have to check her out. I don't really know her personally. I know what you've shared with me and you're adoring of her. I'll have to look it out.
00:41:17
Speaker
And then Zach Bush. I mean, collective swoon. Seriously. I fangirled hard. We had a very nice hug at the end. If Zach ever hears this, I hope he keeps hugging people because that changed my life.
00:41:32
Speaker
changed my life to be also in this part of my life to be held and hugged by a very grounded aligned masculine like that with no nothing but love was present in that hug he was doing a little meet and greet after his talk and I came over and I was like mom will you take a video
00:41:50
Speaker
I wanted the whole moment. I just was like, and I do not do this. If anyone, no one, if anyone doesn't know me, it's not my thing to really fan girl over. I admire people and I appreciate them and regurgitate things that really impact me, but I don't need to like get a picture with them. Yeah. Zach in blue. I really, so as I walked over to him and I was like just so humbled to see how he was with everyone in line in front of me, I was almost in tears, just witnessing his presence and his humanity.
00:42:20
Speaker
After a very moving talk, he was the headliner of day two. And as I walked over, he was like, light bulb, look at you. Like you wouldn't miss you. Oh my gosh. I feel so seen in this moment. God, you can take me. It was so beautiful. Brilliant and heart centered to the core. He was so honest in his talk. He spoke about our food. He spoke about there is no mistake. We are having the medical conditions.
00:42:49
Speaker
that we are having right now, the ADHD, the cancer, the autism, the anxiety. But he spoke about a connection to our environment.
00:42:59
Speaker
100%. That's it. And that's where he went really from a medical approach because he's a doctor. And he spoke about one of the most powerful stories he had his crying five minutes in and he was like, I feel and he cried on stage. He said, I feel so much forgiveness and compassion for myself, but I still feel shame of the way that I was able to manipulate people beyond their intuition into getting chemotherapy and into getting these treatments that I knew
00:43:29
Speaker
they knew wasn't right for them. And he's like the level of conditioning that I was put under to then put these people under and everyone's on their own journey obviously and you have to follow again what you feel and what you're being advised of. I think that's his point. That was his point. Who am I to override? With shame and guilt and you're going to leave your family and
00:43:49
Speaker
What if this right tactic, he really wrapped it up with a beautiful hope message of just with our awareness start to be the shift. We can start to come home to ourselves. We can start to eat better food. We can start to nourish our children better. But it was all about when they took the cancer cell and he put it in the lab. This is after he started breaking away from the system. And they looked at it, not just an isolated cancer cell, but a cancer cell within the ecosystem, which is what we are, brilliant.
00:44:17
Speaker
and studied it and when they nourish the cancer cell with a particular type of vitamin A, it either allowed itself to be no longer, which is what our cells do all the time, or it regenerated and it healed. And so his whole point was through nourishment, we can create healing, not through this mentality of we have to kill it and destroy it and move on, it's nourishment.
00:44:44
Speaker
light is amazing. I listened to a portion of the Almost 30 podcast that he was he's been a guest on there several times and this is a sermon and he brought me to tears about beauty and looking at how we've missed the mark in certain ways.
00:45:03
Speaker
And I mean I can't even I've listened to it. Yeah a few times and it moves my soul it is just like About every line on your face and the wisdom and the appreciation of that and where did we get off? So on the wrong track Wow with thinking that there's something wrong with beauty that we have as humans and the human experience it is moving it's
00:45:26
Speaker
Moving if anybody wants it I will I have it and I share it it is like I need this reminder every single day We all do and just recognizing the beauty in nature and the beauty how we are nature I could go down a whole I love a whole episode just on my love for that. Yeah, like he is Yes, thank God for him. He's brilliant. He started his talk with we know but we have forgotten and
00:45:50
Speaker
And that's exactly what you just said there. I love it. Gorgeous. Well, well, well. So, cacao training coming up. Is there anything else you'd like to share right now? Because you'll be back and we can talk again because life happens fast. And I'm sure there'll be a lot more updates.
00:46:08
Speaker
Yeah, there will be. I think this is really what I'm focused on. I'm devoting and pouring my heart into this training and to facilitating the growth of other practitioners within our community so that it's not just Christina's cacao circles. I want cacao specifically. I want it in more hands. I want to help
00:46:28
Speaker
to give whatever I can give so that others feel empowered to do it in their own authentic way. So this is my primary devotion right now. I love that. And by you pouring into others, they will go out and they will pour into others and we all need that. And it's beautiful. I love you my beautiful friend. I love you darling. You can come back and be with me every single time. I'm not kidding. There's room on the couch and I will just
00:46:52
Speaker
I'll just be there watching the conversation. No, I want you to leave. But thank you for being here. My pleasure. Thank you for having me. I'm so grateful for the work you do, Renee. It means a lot to this world and to me. Love you. Love you.