The first person I interviewed had to be Paula: she's my cacao teacher, the one who taught me pretty much everything I know about cacao and with whom I went on an 8-week transformational journey.
The day I decided to learn more about the plant and how to better connect with her, Paula's cacao facilitator training popped up in my Instagram feed. Call it synchronicity or outstanding algorithm, signing up for her training ended up being a life-changing decision for me.
Paula has been working with cacao for over 10 years, lives in Ireland and has an encyclopaedia knowledge of cacao. In this interview, you'll find a lot of amazing tips to get your practice with cacao started and connect deeper with the plant. If you're in Wicklow, make sure to attend one of her offerings!
How do you usually introduce yourself?
My name is Paula Gibson, I am based in Ireland and run cacao ceremonies trainings, group work and one-to-one sessions. I work with cacao, meditation, dance, yoga, healing work and… everything else in life!
I also practice a beautiful technique called Psych-K, helping to uncover the underlying contributors to illnesses or any kind of repetitive pattern in your life.
How and when did you meet cacao and how was your first ceremony?
I met cacao in October 2011… 10 years ago!
I was backpacking in Guatemala and ended up in this beautiful tiny village by this magical lake surrounded by volcanoes [San Marcos La Laguna]. I asked around what was there to see and every single person’s first answer was to see the“Chocolate Shaman”. At the time cacao wasn’t known at all, I had never heard of the word before.
I went and met Keith, who would become my beloved teacher. He showed us the pods and beans, told us about the different stages to prepare cacao. As I drank cacao for the first time, I had this really deep and beautiful experience and was just really blown away by how powerful cacao is.
How do you describe cacao to someone who's never heard of it?
That's getting rarer and rarer ;)
It really depends on who the person is and what their focus is:
For some I might them all about the health benefits of cacao and how it can support their health.
For others, who want to go deeper, I might share that cacao helps you drop inward and connect deeper to whatever it is that you want to partner her with: if that's yoga, you will start to really feel what's happening in the asana on a deeper level, if it’s sound healing, she helps to open up the energetic system so beautifully that the sound can reach even deeper, if that's just going for a beautiful walk in nature, she'll help you experience that even more.
For the ones who want to go really deep, I might share that cacao is a beautiful ancient heart medicine that has been used for 5,000 years by ancient cultures of Central and South America. She will help you understand the symbolic nature of why your body is doing this, why your life is this way. She will help you heal in a very deep way, come into partnership with all of the inconvenient issues you have in life and take control of your life.
We can meet her on many different levels, depending on how deep we want to go.
What do you think are the most common misconceptions about cacao?
There are many, especially as cacao gets more popular.
On the physical level, one huge misconception is that "cacao is raw”. I often see it on packaging. With cacao, raw is not better because it needs a certain amount of heat to activate, to peel the beans, etc.
Another one: “As soon as you start to meet her in depth, it always has to be in depth.” I've gone through that process myself, where I connected deeply and then I thought “Okay, this is the only way you should connect with cacao”. Whereas even in the first findings of cacao vessels, over 5,000 years ago, cacao was found in ceremonial caves but also in normal everyday homes, it always had this dual use. This misconception might come from other plant medicine traditions that have a long lineage of a lot of rules. I just think cacao is a little bit more relaxed: if that means you just want to have coffee and drink something that's more healthy for you, that's a beautiful intention. There is no right way to do it.
Probably the most important one: “Cacao always makes you feel good”. It's become common for cacao to be used to feel love/joy/expansion and is at risk of becoming a tool for spiritual bypassing. Whereas sometimes what is most needed is a good cry, or to face something difficult in life and many people get surprised when something unpleasant comes up because "cacao is supposed to make you feel good". As we meet her as a medicine we come into relationship with her and remain open to being guided to what's most needed for our healing, rather than drinking cacao just to feel good.
What advice, do you have for people who want to connect with cacao at home?
It is nice to create a little bit of space if you want to go deep with it. Switching off the TV, sitting with a cup of cacao and observing what you’re drawn to. Or having a playlist ready (you can find tons of beautiful playlists online like“healing/journey/Reiki music”) and dropping really deep into relaxation.
If you have a yoga practice, taking the time to sit with cacao and setting an intention into your cup for what you need in that moment. I would start simple, not “healing everything into your life” at once, maybe asking for some guidance on“how to be more in the heart”.
If you're someone who really connects with meditation, there are tons of guided meditations you can find online. Journaling is beautiful way of connecting. Going for a walk in nature is one of the most beautiful practices that you can do.
Which cacaos are you drinking and working with?
I only work with Keith’s cacao, I have a few different reasons for that:
First and foremost that's my lineage: I learned about cacao from Keith, I sat with him for three years, he's become a very dear friend and mentor to me. I deeply connect with his cacao. It may be because of my deep connection with Keith but every other cacao that I found doesn't bring me as deep.
I have a few different samples of cacao in my house, some days I'll feel like “Okay, it's not the day to go deep so I'll have one of the other cacaos” and have a dance. But I would always come back to Keith’s because I just find that it has that little extra wizard magic.
On a physical level, it's way lower in caffeine.
I would always encourage everyone to try every kind of cacao you can, and as you do, tuning into how it feels rather than how it tastes, the story behind it, or who it supports. How does it feel? Where does it bring you inside?
Do you want to share a special memory with cacao?
I was in Colombia a few years ago, going through this really intense heartbreak as I had just broken up with my love.
I was alone on the beach for a month afterwards, just drinking cacao every day and really processing that. One day where I was drinking cacao, crying a lot, really feeling my way through it and giving myself that care and space, I just realized how differently I respond to challenge now. In previous heartbreaks I would have been in blame or anger, think “This isn't supposed to be this way” or a lot of victim stuff, and it would hurt so much.
Through my work with cacao, I’m now able to meet those challenges with a lot of softness and care, getting out of blame and anything that stops me from actually feeling the heartbreak.
It was a beautiful confirmation for me of how much had changed in my work with cacao. I think the way I approach life has totally transformed.
Do you have a daily routine? Do you drink cacao every day?
It changes daily, but I start every day with a practice to bring me into presence. Some days it might be meditation, some other days a walk in nature, yoga, Psych-K, dance, or really deep relaxation.
I did drink cacao daily for three or four years, but my practice with cacao has changed a lot over the years. I used to drink cacao and do deep healing work, that was my way of processing what was going on for me. Now I drink it less often: some days it might be with depth, others I drink cacao before doing some writing, to think of a new offering, or in connection to friends, as a communication practice. Over the years it's become less of an inward and more of an outward practice.
Some weeks I have it every day, like for my pre- and menstrual weeks. The magnesium eases the cramps. It’s a beautiful womb medicine, as well as heart medicine.
What are your creative outlets and where do you draw your inspiration from?
I love to make physical things with my hands, I do macrame, candles, I used to make jewelry. I love creating natural cosmetics, I make beautiful balms and creams. Coming up to Christmas, everyone gets a personalized basket of goodies.
I also love creating offerings: the creative process of really tuning into what kind of offerings I want to bring, and creating beautiful spaces for people.
What is the story behind Heart Tribe Cacao?
Heart Tribe Cacao is in honour of my mother. She used to host beautiful groups of friends at home, she called them her “Heart tribe”. They would have parties and gatherings here, it was always filled with love and so much support, a beautiful conscious community.
Personally I didn’t really feel that deep connection, she used to call our generation the “lost tribe”. I was searching for it for a long time, until cacao: I then connected to my own heart tribe and found relationships that were both a celebration also a deep supportive connection.
What are your offerings at the moment?
I kicked off a facilitator training a few weeks ago and I am starting to plan my ceremonies for next year: I have a beautiful new space in Wicklow town. I have one ceremony on the 5th of December, I’m hoping to make that a monthly offering.
I will host cacao deep dives where we have a longer and deeper container for those who want to really go down and into the depth, that will be a three-month container online.
I also have one-to-one work for people who had something coming up in ceremony, or in life, and are ready to really understand the meaning of it, and how it's a benefit to their evolution. It’s like a healing cocoon where I bring cacao, Psych-K, Reiki and meditation journeying.
What does a ceremony with you look like?
It’s gonna look the same and be different every time. It’s really about journeying deeply with cacao.
We gather in the space and set our intentions. I do some some guided meditations to get people into the the deepest vibration possible. It can be inner child work, masculine and feminine, manifestation, or a drum journey to connect with the spirit of cacao.
There is space for people to really see what messages are ready to come through the body, memories, visions. You need the space to really meet cacao at the deepest level. I guide through all that: how to meet those messages, how to work with them, I also do Reiki with people.
It’s different every time, I don’t plan my practices, I feed into what’s needed in the group and guide the ceremony from that.
Where can we find more information and connect with you?
On my website: https://paulagibson.ie
On my Instagram and Facebook: @hearttribecacao
Is there anything (song, podcast, book, etc.) you’d like to share with us?
I'm reading a book at the moment that is beautiful to connect with the spirit of all plants: Plant Spirit Medicine by Eliot Cowan.
I would recommend it if you want to work with the deeper elements of cacao.
Do you have a cacao recipe you’d like to share with us?
When I’m seeking comfort and deliciousness:
A few spoons of cacao
Warm hazelnut milk
A little bit of honey (but the hazelnut is already bringing some sweetness)
A little bit of chili
I’ve also been adding some maca (a root really good for hormone balancing) and lion’s mane.
For the ceremonies, I love to add a few drops of Vervain flower essence, it helps you connect to your higher center and receive more guidance.
Who should I interview next?
Keith from @keithscacao and Laura Durban from @kakaozauber
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