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