OCTOBER · RETURN TO WHAT MATTERS

For this ritual, you will need a cup of cacao (add some: milk, water, or both) I LOVE TO PUT SOME HERBS (LAVANDER)

For me, cacao also feels like a way of remembering where I come from.

A plant. A seed. A cup held between the hands.

A reminder that we are always part of something that began before us and will continue after us.

And perhaps this is why cacao feels so beautiful at a threshold.

Because it asks us to slow down enough to receive.

To remember. To listen. To begin again.

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PREPARE YOUR CACAO

Prepare your cacao slowly.

Let the process itself become part of the ritual.

Choose a cup that feels special to you.

Sit somewhere quiet.

You can light a candle, play music that makes you feel present, or simply sit in silence.

1. Hold the cup between your hands.
2. Before drinking, take a moment to notice its warmth, its smell, its texture.
3. Bring an intention and blow like a candle the warm of cacao

REMINDER

You do not need to believe anything specific.

You do not need to perform a ritual perfectly.

You are simply creating a little space to be with yourself.

1. Place your left hand over your heart.
2. Place your right hand over your belly.
3. Take three slow breaths.

And silently ask: What am I ready to welcome?

Pause.

Listen.

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Before moving into October, take a moment to acknowledge the space around you.

Turn gently toward the East. Then South. Then West. Then North.

You can simply say:

East · I welcome new beginnings.

South · I welcome warmth, movement and life.

West · I welcome reflection, release and rest.

North · I welcome clarity, wisdom and grounding.

Return to the center.

Bring your hands to your heart.

Take a breath.

You are here.

You have arrived.

Before we ask the mind what it wants from October, let the body speak first.

Move slowly. There is no perfect pace. Begin on all fours or table top.

CAT · COW

Move through a few slow rounds of Cat and Cow.

Let your spine move with your breath.

Notice where you feel open. Notice where you create space.

CIRCLES

Stay on all fours. Begin making slow circles with your head and neck.

Change direction.

Let the movement become smaller. Then larger.

Let your shoulders soften.

DOWNWARD DOG

Move into Downward Facing Dog.

Pedal through the feet.

Bend one knee.

Then the other.

Let your hips sway gently from side to side.

There is nowhere to get to.

You are simply arriving in your body.

HIP MOVEMENT

From Downward Dog, continue moving your hips slowly from right to left.

Make circles.

Let your pelvis become soft.

Let your breath guide the movement.

Then come to stillness.

Pause.

Notice.

What does my body need from me right now?

Return to your cup.

Hold it with both hands. Look at it for a moment.

Think about the hands that have grown, harvested, prepared and shared cacao across generations. Think about the land. The rain. The tree. The seed. The people who carried this knowledge forward.

Cacao has traveled through centuries of human history, and its relationship with Mesoamerican cultures is deeply connected to ceremony, nourishment, exchange and community.

For me, drinking cacao can become a small act of remembering my roots. Not because we literally carry cacao in our DNA, but because culture, memory and relationship can live through generations.

Take your first sip slowly.

Pause before the next. Feel the warmth move through you. You can place one hand over your heart again.

And ask: What do I want to remember about myself?

The Maya understood time through cycles. The movement of the Sun.

The phases of the Moon. The growth of corn. The cycles of human life.

Their calendars reflected an understanding of time as something recurring rather than simply moving forward.

We can remember this too. Nothing stays exactly the same. The season changes.

Our bodies change. Our relationships change. Our priorities change.

We change.

And perhaps we do not need to resist this. Perhaps October can be a reminder that returning does not mean going backward.

It means coming back to what remains meaningful as everything else moves.

Take another sip.

Breathe.

Ask yourself:

What cycle am I in right now?

What is ending?

What is beginning?

What is asking for my attention?

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SVĀDHYĀYA · SELF-STUDY

Before choosing where to go, look at where you have been.

Not to judge yourself.

To understand yourself.

Journal:

What have the past few months taught me about myself?

What challenged me?

What surprised me?

What version of myself appeared during difficult moments?

What am I proud of that I have not fully acknowledged?

Then write:

I SEE WHAT HAS GROWN.

Name three things that have quietly grown in your life.
1.

Maybe you became more honest.

Maybe you rested more.

Maybe you learned something.

Maybe you stayed.

Maybe you left.

Maybe you began again.

Let it count.

APARIGRAHA · NON-GRASPING

Sometimes returning to what matters requires putting something down.

What am I carrying that no longer belongs to me?

What expectation can I soften?

What comparison am I ready to release?

What old version of myself am I still trying to live up to?

What would become possible if I stopped holding so tightly?

Now choose one thing. Write it down. Hold the paper for a moment. Take a breath.

Exhale slowly. Imagine creating space around it. You do not have to force it away. You can simply stop carrying it for a moment.

This is the center of the ritual.

Not: What do I need to achieve?

But:

• What actually matters to me?
• What makes me feel most like myself?
• What do I want to make more space for this month?
• What brings me back into my body?
• Where do I feel most alive?
• What deserves my attention?
• What would I choose if I was not trying to prove anything?

Then ask:

IF OCTOBER HAD ONE FEELING, WHAT WOULD YOU WANT IT TO BE?

Present. | Grounded. | Free. | Creative. | Soft. | Brave. | Connected. | Clear.

Or choose your own.

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Take another sip of cacao.

Let your intention come from everything you have just noticed.

MY WORD FOR OCTOBER

_________________________

I WANT TO MAKE MORE SPACE FOR

_________________________

I AM READY TO RELEASE

________________________

I WANT TO REMEMBER

_________________________

ONE SMALL PROMISE I CAN MAKE TO MYSELF

__________________________

And if you work with Sankalpa, let this be simple.

A Sankalpa (intention) is not a demand. It is a quiet inner intention.

Something you choose to remember as you move through the month.

Write yours:

I choose to ______________________________.

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When you are ready, finish your cacao. Then come into stillness.

Place your right hand over your belly. Place your left hand over your heart.

Feel the connection between the two. | Your body. | Your breath. | Your center. | Your intention. | Take three slow breaths.

And silently repeat:

I am here.

I am present.

I begin again.

Stay here for a few moments.

There is nothing else you need to solve.

October does not need a new version of you.

You can simply return.

Return to your body.

Return to your breath.

Return to your values.

Return to the people, places, practices and moments that matter.

The seasons will continue to change.

So will you.

And you can meet that change slowly.

With presence.

With curiosity.

With softness.

With both hands around the cup.

With your feet on the earth.

With your heart open to what comes next.

OCTOBER · RETURN TO WHAT MATTERS

You do not have to become someone new.

You only have to remember what matters.

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