Each portal of the cycle is preceded by a period of preparation.
This preparation is not optional, nor symbolic.
It is an integral part of the work.

Before entering a threshold, the system must be simplified, clarified, and stabilized.
For this reason, the cycle uses two precise disciplines:
Oshawa No. 7 diet and Mauna.

They are not meant to produce special states.
They are meant to remove interference, so what needs to be seen can appear.

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Oshawa No. 7 — Dietary Simplification

Oshawa No. 7 is a traditional dietary discipline rooted on Macrobiotics principle, inventend by George Ohsawa and it is based on whole grains only
(typically brown rice or buckwheat), lightly seasoned with gomasio.

For the duration of the preparation period, meals are simple, repetitive, and sufficient.
Nothing is added. Nothing is stimulated. Nothing is optimized.

The purpose of this diet is not detoxification in the modern sense,
but energetic stabilization. By reducing variety and excess, the body calms down.
Digestion becomes steady.
Cravings lose their grip.
Attention returns to the center.

From an energetic perspective, Oshawa No. 7 strengthens YANG qualities:
grounding, containment, clarity, and inner structure.
This is essential work for men, especially when approaching thresholds
that involve power, sexuality, expression, or responsibility.

The diet is practiced for a defined period and is always closed together,
through a shared ritual moment (often a cacao ceremony),
marking the transition from preparation to collective work.

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Mauna — Ritual Silence

Mauna is the discipline of ritual silence, practiced daily during the preparation period. For a fixed amount of time each day, speech is suspended.
But Mauna is more than not speaking.

It also includes the absence of external stimulation:
no phone, no media, no information intake, no distraction.

Mauna creates a deliberate interruption of habitual input. When noise stops, perception deepens. Thought slows down. Subtle movements of emotion, impulse, and intuition become visible.

This silence is not forced inwardness.
It is an art of listening.

Practiced consistently, Mauna refines attention and strengthens presence.
It prepares the mind to remain steady, and the nervous system to tolerate intensity without reaction.

Mauna is always broken together,
in a ritual moment at the beginning of the gathering,
so that speech returns consciously,
as an instrument rather than a reflex.

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Why Preparation Matters

These preparatory disciplines are not techniques to improve performance.
They are ways to meet the work honestly.

They ensure that what happens during the gatherings
is not driven by excess, projection, or compensation,
but emerges from a clarified and grounded state.

Preparation is where responsibility begins.
It is the first threshold of each portal.