A woman stirring chocolate slowly while sensuous strains of Spanish music play in the background…A couple feeding each strawberries dipped in chocolate fondue….Ahhhh, it’s enough to raise your blood pressure and cause your face to flush….Chocolate has been used in films and romance novels, as well as anyone involved in the candy business, as the romantic, sensuous tool that brings couples together for that magical first kiss to a night of passion. And why not? Chocolate has been used as an aphrodisiac since the time of Montezuma!
BUT, DeAnna, you say….where does Feng Shui come into the picture? Well, one of the Life Areas of Feng Shui is the RELATIONSHIP area (hello…ROMANCE!). We will look at what “activates” this area and how chocolate fits into this. So, when you are planning your romantic evening, or just want to bring more romance into your life, you can rationalize (although who needs to rationalize chocolate?) the chocolate indulgence, or at the very least, impress your friends with this interesting tidbit while you wax poetic of your great first date!
First, let’s look at a brief history of Chocolate and how it was perceived to be an aphrodisiac. The earliest record of chocolate was over 1500 years ago in the Central American rainforests. The Cacao Tree, where chocolate derives from, was worshipped by the Mayan civilization who believed it to be of divine origin. Cacao is actually a Mayan word meaning “God Food”. It was the European explorers who changed Cacao into its more familiar “cocoa”. The Maya brewed a spicy, bittersweet drink by roasting and pounding the seeds of the Cacao Tree w/maize and Capsicum or “Chili” peppers, and letting the mixture ferment. This drink was reserved for use in ceremonies as well as for drinking by the wealthy and religious elite.
The Aztecs of Central Mexico prized the beans so highly they actually used them as currency. They also enjoyed Cacao as a beverage and called this drink Xocolati, which was deemed impossible to say by the Spanish conquistadors who used the easier to say “Chocolat” (which is where the title of the movie came from!).
It was the Aztecs who regarded chocolate as an aphrodisiac and their Emperor, Montezuma, reputedly drank it 50x a day from a golden goblet. He is quoted as saying:
“The divine drink, which builds up resistance and fights fatigue. A cup of the precious drink permits a man to walk for a whole day without food.” (I don’t know about the walking a whole day without food, but I DO know that chocolate can certainly cure whatever the day can throw your way!).
Now, Montezuma not withstanding, there is actual medical data that can back up the “romantic and passionate” stirrings that can occur when you eat chocolate. Cocoa beans have 200% of the antioxidant content of red wine (hmmmm, imagine all the antioxidants if consumed with a glass of merlot!). Cocoa beans have also been proven to have 3x the antioxidants of green tea. So much for chocolate being deemed unhealthy. Take that Surgeon General! The high antioxidant content of cocoa beans is extremely effective at eliminating free radicals in the body, which can help reduce the effects of cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Other health aspects of chocolate include:
> Lowering both systolic and diastolic blood pressure
> Increasing endorphin levels-which can reduce stress and increase an overall feeling of well-being… (there you go!)
> Cocoa also contains an extremely high level of flavonoids which are good for the cardiovascular system.
> Improved blood flow which can have a positive affect on learning and memory.
***To achieve maximum health benefits of chocolate, you must consume the DARK chocolate, and chocolate that is 60% or HIGHER of cocoa content. This means no MILK or WHITE chocolate as they have a higher sugar and saturated fat content-which is counterproductive to the actual health benefits of chocolate.***
OK-so chocolate is considered an aphrodisiac AND is healthy…but what’s this Feng Shui stuff and where does chocolate come into play? Literally translated, Feng Shui means “wind and water.” Feng Shui was actually started as a way to identify or select auspicious gravesites in China over 5,000 years ago. It was thought that the better the position of the gravesite, the better the fortunes of the remaining family members. Many schools of thought regarding Feng Shui principles have surfaced over the years, and it is because of this that there is so much confusion. What direction should the door face? Where is the relationship area? Where do I put a crystal? No mirrors in the bedroom? Ahhhhhhh!
The schools are: Form, Compass and the Black Hat Sect School. I have studied the latter, and it’s this one we will be focusing on. The Black Hat Sect school of thought or Bagua School. Bagua is translated to “eight-sided figure” or octagon shaped. This figure is then divided into segments, like a pie, with a center piece-giving you nine areas. These nine areas are assigned different life areas. They are: Career/Life Path, Knowledge/Spirituality, Family, Wealth/Abundance, Success/Fame/Luck, Relationships, Creativity/Kids, Helpful People/Travel, and Health/Well-Being.
The bottom tier (Knowledge/Spirituality, Career/Life Path, and Helpful People/Travel) should always be lined up with the entryway wall of your building floor plan or the individual room you are working on. Then you can super-impose the Bagua over the floor plan and see what “areas” need to be worked on, or what areas you’d like to work on. Once you get the concept of the Bagua and how to properly line up the grid, you will be able to work on any space and be able to identify the corresponding life area.
These life areas can be “activated” by using the element, color, shape, item or direction that is associated with that life area (i.e. relationship-hearts.) See below:
Wealth/Abundance Success/Fame Relationships
Purple/Metallic Red Red/Pink/Peach
Water Element Fire Element Earth Element
Wavy lines Triangle Squares
SE S SW
Family Health/Well-Being Creativity/Kids
Green Yellow/Earth-tones White/Metallic
Wood Element Earth Element Metal Element
Rectangle Squares Circles
E Center W
Knowledge/Spirituality Career/Life Path Helpful People/Travel
Blue Black Gray
Earth Element Water Element Metal Element
Squares Wavy Lines Circles
NE N NW
OK- so now we now a bit about the Black Hat School of Feng Shui and how to “activate” the 9 Life Areas. Activate means that you want to “work on” or “bring that energy” into your home and life. Life Areas can also be activated with personal symbols or times. Examples: Career can be activated with business cards, Wealth can be activated by a coin dish, jewelry or anything else that makes you “feel” wealthy…Be CREATIVE, there is no wrong answer-it’s about what resonates with you!
Now…where does the CHOCOLATE come in? Stay with me…Each element corresponds with a different scent and taste. (In the type of design philosophy I practice, Integrative Lifestyle Design, all 5 senses are engaged whenever possible). It is through the ELEMENTS and the sense of TASTE that the chocolate comes in!
FIRE=Bitter/spicy
WOOD=Sour
EARTH=Sweet
METAL=Pungent/citrus
WATER=Salty
Ready for the good stuff?....Working on love, passion, romance and sex…by utilizing Feng Shui and Chocolate! Yes.
***The Relationship Area is for working on SOCIAL, BUSINESS and ROMANTIC relationships. For the purpose of this article we will only be focusing on the ROMANTIC aspect. ***
The Relationship area is the FAR RIGHT corner of any room. This area also corresponds with the bedroom of any home. If you want to work on this area, whether by bringing more into your life, improving an existing relationship or even getting rid of one (just do the opposite of what I suggest in this article). Think of what represents ROMANCE/PASSION/SEX to you. It is this that you should display in this area-not photos of your kids, your in-laws, an ex (!), exercise equipment, TVs…you get the hint. If it doesn’t represent ROMANCE then it needs to go.
This area is activated by the EARTH element. You can also go more in-depth by using the element that PRECEDES it to add an extra “oomph”. In this case, it would be FIRE. These are the elements and their corresponding flavors that we will now focus on. You can also use the colors of the flavor (i.e. strawberry is RED AND SWEET…hmmmm, could chocolate & strawberry be a choice?....) and/or the shape of the chocolate (triangle or square).
When picking our flavors of chocolate for a romantic evening or gift, or you want to bring “romance” into your life, think of these flavors:
Pepper Strawberry Honey
Chili Cherry Champagne
Wasabi Apple Any liqueur ganache
Salt Cinnamon
***You can also think DARK chocolate fondue using the above-mentioned fruits and feeding each other!!***
Pair the chocolate with red wine, champagne, port/sherry. For a non-alcoholic option try a sparkling cider! Add some music to set the mood (romantic, passion, fun & flirty or some sappy love songs that neither of you will acknowledge you listen to, but are staples of any romantic evening-remember Brad Pitt in Mr. & Mrs. Smith singing Air Supply?).
***To really get in the mood, add 3E Products RELATIONSHIP Ylang Ylang Environment Spray and/or the Ylang Ylang CLEANSE Body Wash for a (shared?) bath…***
If you are unattached, but want to bring more romance into your life-what about a chocolate fondue party with your friends, or your fave chocolate to enjoy, while watching the movie Chocolat (or some other passionate movie-Don Juan DeMarco, Sleepless in Seattle…you get the picture). All movies that invoke love, romance, passion and/or lust so you can almost feel or “vibe” with the energy you want to bring into your life.
The most important thing to remember when you are trying to bring romance/love/passion into your life is to feel that you deserve it! A simple affirmation to say/think, when you are eating your chocolate, or any time you want to think “ROMANCE” is to say “Thank you for all the love (passion, sex, romance…) I have in my life. I am blessed by the abundance of love I feel right now.”
Beauty affirmation: “My inner & outer selves are radiantly attractive right now…I love my beautiful self.”
Romance affirmation: “I am a romantic person. I release any fears I may have about giving or receiving love.”
Sexuality affirmation: “My sexual self is attractive, healthy and able to experience great pleasure.”
***Beauty, Romance & Sexuality affirmations are all from Doreen Virtue oracle cards***
I hope you got some great ideas, or rationalizations, on how you can enjoy chocolate even more! Romance, sex, love, passion & chocolate go together! History backs us up-Thank you Montezuma! Adding Feng Shui principles, which can show you how to eat chocolate with a specific intention (sex, love, romance, passion) can only add to your romantic experience!
Enjoy, and remember, unleash the inner Feng Shui-Chocolate-Love-Goddess within……
DeAnna Radaj is the owner of Bante Design LLC, an integrative lifestyle design company, which fuses Eastern and Western design/lifestyle philosophies. She is a nationally recognized speaker on healthy home design, color therapy/theory, psychology of clutter for adults and children, and a variety of business topics for the individual, small business owner and entrepreneur. Visit the Bante Design Web site for a list of all workshops and appearances at www.bantedesign.com. Make sure to listen to her weekly radio shows: Feng Shui Fabulous and CasaVerda on blogtalk radio. She is the author of “Designing the Life of Your Dreams from the Outside In” and “Feng Shui for Teens.”
User Comments
blog comments powered by Disqus