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Inspiring Leadership The Spirit of Love by Dr - Inspiration Journal ...

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Food is a giFt.<br />

it’s a gift from the earth; it’s a gift from a mother to<br />

a child; it’s a gift to those we love and are getting to<br />

know, and from those wanting to show gratitude<br />

and reverence.<br />

Most <strong>of</strong> us have forgotten food’s significance<br />

beyond physical health. But food has always held<br />

a hidden spiritual function, providing a way for<br />

people to experience and honor the essence <strong>of</strong><br />

life, which threads through our bodies and the<br />

body <strong>of</strong> the earth.<br />

a remarkable little company called intentional<br />

Chocolate has found a way to not only remind<br />

us <strong>of</strong> food’s deeper purpose, but to enhance<br />

it through a scientifically proven process that<br />

infuses chocolate products with good intentions.<br />

advanced meditators – some trained <strong>by</strong> the dalai<br />

Lama – are the heart behind the chocolate. their<br />

positive intentions for well-being are transferred<br />

into the products, creating a perfect vehicle for<br />

giving and receiving health, joy and love.<br />

the folks at intentional Chocolate understand that<br />

in a culture where so many long for connection<br />

and search for meaning, food can provide a great<br />

way to bring us together and share the deepest<br />

forms <strong>of</strong> nourishment, like love and care. We<br />

instinctively do this during the holidays and other<br />

times <strong>of</strong> celebration, and the company asks, Why<br />

not every day?<br />

“Remember how our mother’s chicken soup<br />

helped us feel better when we were sick?” asks<br />

Jim Walsh, founder <strong>of</strong> intentional Chocolate. “it<br />

was the power <strong>of</strong> love she put into it. and love<br />

can be put into everything!”<br />

Walsh, himself, turned to chocolate for<br />

nourishment after a near-fatal white-water<br />

accident, which made him realize life was too<br />

precious to spend seven days a week at the <strong>of</strong>fice<br />

focused on the bottom line while his young<br />

children were growing up without him.<br />

Body<br />

HOLY CACAO!<br />

Science Adds <strong>Love</strong> to Chocolate<br />

<strong>by</strong> Hilary Hart<br />

Committing to a more conscious lifestyle that<br />

would bring joy to others, he and his family<br />

moved to Hawaii to begin growing the first varietal<br />

chocolate ever in the United states – Hawaiian<br />

Vintage Chocolate.<br />

tHE PoWER oF iNtENtioN<br />

the cacao plant has long been revered for its<br />

healing energies. Beloved <strong>by</strong> the Maya for its<br />

mystical properties, and understood to be a gift<br />

from Quetzalcoatl the god <strong>of</strong> air, light, and life,<br />

<strong>by</strong> the aztecs, its botanical name – theobramba<br />

cacao – literally means “food <strong>of</strong> the gods.”<br />

“Just look at the face <strong>of</strong> a child eating chocolate,<br />

and you can see some <strong>of</strong> its power,” says Walsh,<br />

with a modern illustration we can all relate to.<br />

on his chocolate farm in Hawai`i, Walsh had been<br />

watching the emerging trend in organics, and<br />

recognized the deep need for people to feel good<br />

about growing and consuming food. He had an<br />

epiphany. describing it as ‘mother’s chicken soup<br />

syndrome’ Walsh saw that, “Lovingly prepared<br />

foods <strong>by</strong> someone who really cares have curative<br />

effects.” Even chocolate – already a delicious and<br />

even spiritual food – could be better, if it was<br />

made with care.<br />

He applied this fundamental reasoning to a<br />

whole new industry – using technology to<br />

transfer meditators’ intentions for optimal<br />

health and functioning at physical, emotional,<br />

and mental levels into his chocolate, which had<br />

already become “the best chocolate in the world”<br />

according to the New York times.<br />

Years <strong>of</strong> study followed, resulting in the<br />

revolutionary technique <strong>of</strong> food enhancement<br />

tested <strong>by</strong> dr. dean Radin from the institute <strong>of</strong><br />

Noetic sciences. “Focused human intention is<br />

one <strong>of</strong> the most powerful forces on earth,” says<br />

dr. Radin, who has spent a lifetime studying the<br />

effects <strong>of</strong> consciousness on external physical and<br />

energetic systems at places like Princeton and<br />

stanford Research institute international.<br />

and science shows that it works. a double-blind<br />

study published in Explore: <strong>The</strong> <strong>Journal</strong> <strong>of</strong> Science<br />

and Healing (october, 2007) demonstrates that<br />

one ounce <strong>of</strong> intentional Chocolate a day for<br />

three days increases subjects’ well being, vigor,<br />

and energy <strong>by</strong> an average <strong>of</strong> 67%, and in some<br />

cases as much as 1000%.<br />

INTENTIONAL tRENds<br />

More and more it seems people are becoming<br />

aware <strong>of</strong> – and interested in – the power <strong>of</strong><br />

thought, intentions and even prayer.<br />

dr. Radin estimates there are at least 1,000<br />

published studies on some form <strong>of</strong> intention –<br />

including those done <strong>by</strong> the U.s. military, the Max<br />

Planck institute, Princeton, Harvard and duke<br />

Universities and the University <strong>of</strong> Edinburgh.<br />

and the topic has gained popular interest. Lynne<br />

Mctaggart’s “the intention Experiment” has sold<br />

over 300,000 copies, and dr. Wayne dyer’s “the<br />

Power <strong>of</strong> intention” has sold over 750,000.<br />

Market research shows that consumers’<br />

commitment to fair-trade and organic products<br />

continues to grow. More and more <strong>of</strong> us are<br />

intending that our nourishment be part <strong>of</strong> a<br />

system that doesn’t harm others or the earth, and<br />

provides fair compensation to those who work for<br />

our benefit.<br />

Like other businesses in the growing trend <strong>of</strong><br />

“conscious capitalism,” intentional Chocolate<br />

doesn’t just want to make money; it wants to<br />

make a difference. along with helping customers<br />

feel good through chocolate, and <strong>of</strong>fering gift<br />

packages that help transfer those good feelings to<br />

others, the company donates more than 50% <strong>of</strong><br />

pr<strong>of</strong>its to people and programs researching and<br />

applying the power <strong>of</strong> positive intentions to world<br />

issues. they also assist non-pr<strong>of</strong>it organizations’<br />

fundraising efforts through creating specialty<br />

chocolate and packaging.<br />

the company even <strong>of</strong>fers guidance for those who<br />

wish to develop their own power <strong>of</strong> intention.<br />

included in their gift boxes (and for sale from<br />

their website), is a “Little scroll <strong>of</strong> intention.” the<br />

9-step list begins with, “Make clear your intention”<br />

then leads into “Do no harm, benefit others.”<br />

Eventually, the scroll guides the reader through a<br />

process <strong>of</strong> aligning with “Offerings, not outcomes”<br />

and the needs <strong>of</strong> the “We” not “Me.”<br />

“With our thoughts, with our wishes, we can both<br />

help and harm each other,” Jim Walsh explains.<br />

“Why not use it to help? and not just the ones we<br />

love – but the whole world?”<br />

in a world starving for sacredness, longing to find<br />

a way to be nourished and in turn nourish others,<br />

intentional Chocolate <strong>of</strong>fers a sweet and powerful<br />

contribution.<br />

For more information visit www.intentionalchocolate.com.<br />

Hilary Hart is author <strong>of</strong> two books about mysticism <strong>The</strong> Unknown<br />

She, Pearlie <strong>of</strong> Great Price. Her work has appeared in Ode,<br />

Parabola, Caduceus, and <strong>Spirit</strong>uality and Health (Spring, 2009)<br />

magazines. She teaches at Antioch University in Seattle. For more<br />

info, please visit hilaryhart.org.<br />

w w w . i n s p i r a t i o n j o u r n a l . c o m<br />

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