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Cacao, Consciousness & The Pain Body: Wisdom from the Chocolate Shaman
Before his passing in 2024, Keith the Chocolate Shaman left us with a map: a heart-led way to heal the pain body, shift our relationships, and return to love — with cacao as our ally.
Stephen James
September 13, 2021
Before his passing in 2024, Keith the Chocolate Shaman left us with a map: a heart-led way to heal the pain body, shift our relationships, and return to love — with cacao as our ally.
A Legacy of Love, in Liquid Form
In a world churning with fear, division, and digital distractions, it’s easy to forget what really matters.
It’s easy to forget who we are.
But some humans — rare humans — come here to remind us.
Keith Wilson, known worldwide as The Chocolate Shaman, was one of them.
Before his passing in early 2024, I sat down with Keith at Lake Atitlán, Guatemala. The air was thick with spirit.
We talked about cacao, shadow work, the pain body, and how humanity might just make it through this mess.
This is his message, in his words and essence.
May it live on through Keith’s Cacao and the hearts it continues to open.
Cacao Isn’t a Superfood. It’s a Spirit.
When most people think of chocolate, they think of sugar, cravings, and emotional band-aids.
But when Keith spoke of cacao, it was different. Sacred. Alive.
“I didn’t just discover cacao. The cacao spirit found me. She asked if I wanted to help her work with humanity again.”
For Keith, cacao wasn’t a trend or a supplement.
It was a partner. A facilitator. A humble yet powerful spirit returning to guide us through the shift.
The Food of the Shift
Keith was clear: we’re in the midst of a planetary bifurcation — a split.
You either walk the path of fear, or you walk the path of love.
There’s no more in-between.
“Each soul is choosing now. You don’t need to convince anyone. Everyone will choose for themselves. Love or fear. That’s it.”
And cacao? She’s here to assist the lovers.
Not as a drug. Not as a buzz. But as a gentle mirror — to help us feel, see, and release what’s been buried.
The Pain Body Must Go
Keith’s work centred around what many call the pain body — the stored trauma, conditioning, shame, and unprocessed energy we carry from childhood, society, past lives, and ancestral lines.
“These pain body patterns play out in relationships, illness, wealth, creativity. Everything,” he said.
“And they won’t go away by thinking about them. They must be felt, faced, and released.”
And here’s the hard truth:
You either do the work consciously… or life will keep smacking you with the same lessons until you bleed transformation.
Why Most Chocolate is Dead
Keith spent years trekking through Mexico to Panama, sampling cacao and testing its spirit.
His discovery?
Most chocolate on the market — even the organic kind — is missing the active ingredients.
“North American brands are missing 99% of the good stuff, European bars — 80%. It’s mostly processed filler.”
“”
What’s left is a ghost of the medicine.
Keith’s cacao, however, retains its biochemical soul. That’s why it works.
Cacao Doesn’t Heal You. You Do.
Here’s the paradox:
Cacao is not a psychedelic.
It doesn’t take you somewhere.
Instead, it opens the door — softly.
It helps you hear what you’ve been ignoring.
Feel what you’ve been avoiding.
Sit with what your ego has tried to “fix” for years.
“Fixing, is just more self-hate in disguise. Healing is about acceptance. Deep, radical self-acceptance.”
How Relationships Mirror Our Inner War
One of Keith’s greatest gifts was explaining how our intimate relationships are spiritual classrooms.
Every fight. Every frustration. Every trigger.
All of it is a mirror of the inner split between you and… you.
Here are Keith’s four relationship rules:
It’s never about them.
They’re just playing the role you asked for.
It’s not about what it’s about.
The dishes are never about the dishes.
Nothing changes until you do.
The mirror only shifts when the source does.
Pain is resistance.
If it hurts, you’re fighting the process.
Simple. Brutal. True.
Healing the Shadow is Not a Mental Game
We’ve all tried the “fix it” model. Read all the books.
Tried all the hacks. Still unhappy.
Why?
Because the shadow isn’t a project. It’s a process.
It doesn’t need more judgement. It needs your presence.
“Your pain body is not your enemy, it’s sacred material you planted for your awakening.”
So stop trying to fix yourself.
Start listening to what your pain is really asking.
For Empaths: You’re Not Broken
Keith worked extensively with empaths — people who feel everything.
They’re not weak. They’re not “too sensitive.”
They’re here to help digest the collective pain.
Many of them mistake other people’s emotions as their own.
Keith’s wisdom?
“Empaths are not here to protect themselves. They’re here to transmute density — not eat it.”
If that resonates, cacao can help.
Not to protect. But to partner with you in becoming the healer you already are.
So Why Cacao?
Because it helps you listen.
Because it opens your heart.
Because it doesn’t bypass — it invites.
Because it’s an ancient ally that’s returned when humanity needed her most.
“Cacao is the food for the shift,” Keith told me.
“She’s here to help us remember. Who we are. What we came to do. And how to love again.”
Keith The Chocolate Shaman
Final Word: Thank You, Keith
Keith’s human body left this earth in 2024.
But his work lives on in every cup, every ceremony, every heart cracked open by the sacred medicine of cacao.
If you feel called to work with cacao — real cacao — start with his legacy:
May his wisdom echo in your heart.
And may we honour him not just with words, but with how we live, love, and heal.
Buy Keith’s amazing ceremonial cacao at kiethscacao.com
It’s the best in the world in Steve’s opinion.
Keith sadly passed away on January 14, 2024. Steve is grateful and thankful for time spent drinking cacao with Keith in his home and thankful for this podcast (which Keith kindly recorded twice as the first time it didn't record!) Thank you, Keith!
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