Thank you for being here.
I'm going to invite you to close your eyes,
Place your hands over your heart,
Start to take some nice beautiful deep nourishing breaths as we come into this moment.
Settling in,
Arriving here in your body,
Relaxing your shoulders,
Loosening your jaw,
Breathing into your heart.
And as you breathe in,
I'm going to call upon the Goddess to surround us in light strong and true,
A shield of power for all we do.
No harm shall pass,
No ill shall stay,
Only love and peace to light our way.
With every breath we stand secure,
Protected,
Grounded,
Calm and pure.
May this space be soft and bright,
Held in warmth and quiet light,
Hearts connected far and near,
Gathered gently together here.
I invite you to breathe in that light,
That beautiful white light from the universe,
Feeling it surrounding you,
Wrapping you up like a warm blanket,
Breathing it into your heart,
Feeling that energy,
That love,
That protection,
Feeling that light connecting us all here in this space tonight.
Taking one more nice deep nourishing breath in and a slow gentle breath out.
And when you're ready I invite you to hold your cacao,
So that you feel the warmth in your hands,
Feel the warmth in your fingers,
Maybe placing it against your chest,
So that you feel the warmth in your heart.
As we take a moment to pay gratitude to this beautiful plant medicine.
Mama Cacao,
Your gift we receive with grace.
Thank you for holding this sacred space.
We honour the ancestors,
The lands,
The histories,
And we thank the farmers and families who tend to your trees.
With gratitude,
Respect and deep care,
We also give thanks to the earth,
The fire,
The water and the air.
May this cup be warm in our hands,
A quiet bridge across distant lands.
Together,
Sipping,
Breathing slow,
Held in cacao's heart,
We groan.
Just breathing in that beautiful aroma of your cacao,
Feeling its energy starting to connect with you.
With this cup of cacao,
We gather together for support,
As we recognise our overwhelm and know that we don't need to have it all figured out.
We don't need to feel motivated,
We just need to be here.
Here tonight,
With Mama Cacao,
As our guide.
We're going to take our first three sips together.
With our first sip,
We acknowledge what feels heavy,
Not to fix it,
Just to see it.
We sip to meeting our overwhelm.
Breathing into that first sip as it enters your body.
Just say to yourself,
I see what feels heavy and allow it to be here.
I see what feels heavy and allow it to be here.
Breathing into that energy,
As we sit with that overwhelm,
That feeling,
Its heaviness,
And just meeting it.
You're just holding it.
With our second sip together,
We release the need to do it all,
To do it perfectly,
And to do it all at once.
We sip to softening the pressure that we put on ourselves.
Breathing into the energy of that sip.
Just say to yourself,
I let go of pressure and return to my own pace.
I let go of pressure and return to my own pace.
Breathing into that energy,
Feeling the release,
Letting yourself be okay with not doing it all at once.
With our third sip together,
We open to the possibility that one small step is enough.
We sip to small steps.
As you breathe into the energy of that sip,
Just say to yourself,
One small step is enough.
I gently begin.
Breathing into that energy,
Breath by breath,
Step by step,
Day by day.
I let go of pressure and return to my own pace.
I invite you now to continue sipping your cacao and connect in with tonight's song.
Sitting frozen.
So much to do,
Where do I begin?
A tangled list of who,
What,
When.
Take a breath,
Come back down.
Don't let this moment steal your crown.
It feels heavy,
That's okay.
It won't always feel this way.
Break the spell,
Soften the pressure.
Gently now it comes together.
Take your time,
It's not about speed.
Be done,
It doesn't have to be the perfect.
Breathing into that energy,
It's okay to feel that overwhelm and acknowledge its heaviness.
When we break it down to one step at a time,
We break through.
With cacao running through you,
Opening your heart,
Softening your energy.
Invite you to make yourself comfortable for a little journey.
If you are still sipping your cacao,
That is okay.
It's okay to imagine yourself standing at the beginning of a pathway.
It's quiet,
Safe,
There's no rush.
As you begin to walk slowly along this path,
You see something ahead.
A presence,
A shape,
A feeling,
Something waiting for you.
This is your overwhelm.
And it's not something to fix.
It's not something to fight.
Just something to meet.
Take a moment to stand in front of it and notice how it feels.
Heavy,
Busy,
Tangled,
Unclear.
Now gently ask,
Ask your overwhelm,
What are you trying to show me?
What are you trying to protect me from?
There's no need to force an answer.
It may just be a word,
A feeling,
Or nothing at all and that's okay.
Breathe into this moment.
What is your overwhelm trying to show you?
What is it trying to protect you from?
Now without needing to solve anything,
Recognize that you don't have to carry this in the same way.
If it feels right,
Imagine placing some of that weight down,
Like putting down a heavy bag right there on the path.
Just drop that bag,
Release some of its heaviness.
Take a moment and see that there is space now.
Just a little more room to breathe.
As you continue walking,
The path starts to feel a little clearer.
It's not completely clear,
But enough.
Ahead of you,
Something small catches your attention.
Inspiration flickers.
A simple step,
An easy next move.
Not the whole plan,
Just the next step.
Take a moment to notice what that is for you.
Something gentle,
Something doable.
It might be opening something,
Starting something small,
Or simply showing up.
Trust whatever comes.
Now take a nice deep breath.
And imagine yourself taking that one small step that you imagined.
Feel it in your body.
No rush,
No pressure.
Just notice how it feels to begin,
Even slightly.
Even imperfectly.
Breathe into that energy as you stand here.
Notice the path beneath your feet once more.
It's the same path that you began on,
But something feels different now.
Maybe you're a little lighter,
A little clearer.
A little more spacious.
Taking another moment to notice what has shifted,
Even in the smallest way.
And when you're ready,
Begin to walk gently back along the path.
Not carrying everything you had before,
Just what feels right.
Feels right for now.
Leaving behind the pressure,
The urgency,
The need to do it all at once.
With each step back,
Feel a little more grounded,
A little more steady,
A little more like yourself.
And as you arrive back where you began,
Notice this version of you,
Still here,
But softer,
Clearer and ready.
Because you now know that you don't need the whole path ahead of you planned,
You just need to see the next step.
Anytime you are feeling overwhelmed,
I want you to remember this quote,
Done is better than perfect,
Because perfect never gets done.
Sometimes our overwhelm is because we're worried about everything being perfect.
And it's okay to just make something exist first,
And then you can make it better later.
Taking a nice gentle breath.
And when you're ready,
Begin to bring your awareness back to your body,
To your breath,
To the space around you.
And softly opening your eyes.
Thank you,
And blessed be.
