Be Grateful this Holiday Season

Hi lovely,

 

This time of year can prove to be quite stressful for the majority of people, from shopping for presents to stocking up on food. We sometimes get lost in the real meaning of Thanksgiving. Thus, we end up taking things for granted. We even get greedy at times, when in reality, we might have everything we need right in front of us. There is a lot more to celebrating the Holidays than what is perceived. While the major things to be happy and thankful for are our health and ability to work, we can expand beyond that and delve deeper into the true meaning of the Holiday Season. Let us all take a step back this year and for many years to come during the Holiday season to really get back into the authentic holiday spirit that encourages unity and peace for us and our loved ones.

 

1) If you have family and friends who love you, be thankful.

Love is something so dear it should be a privilege for all. The simple pleasures can actually bring us closer together during the holidays. We get caught up during the year as we go to work, school, take care of our family, spend time with friends, and pay the bills. This cycle of busy work makes us forget the real meaning of family: spending quality time together. Sitting around the table with your loved ones is a perfect start to create that unity with each family member. We can go around the table to express what gives us meaning in life, while relishing the aroma of the scrumptious holiday pumpkin pie baking in the oven. There are many lovely stories or poems to read during the Holidays including singing hymns that are lyrically joyful that will put a smile on everyone’s face from your baby sister to your grandma. These intimate conversations will generate affirmative interminable memories that can easily be preserved and treasured for future generations to come.  

2) If you live under a roof, take a moment to be thankful for that.

Having somewhere to live means the world to people who do not. On this holiday season remember the meaning of your home, your sanctuary: a form of shelter to which you can go to at anytime. Having a home is your protection; it is something to appreciate on this holiday season, let alone on a daily basis.  This fortification can supply you with a refrigerator to store food, a faucet for clean water, and a bathroom so that you can take care of your hygiene and take showers. The next time you finish taking a shower, say thank you for the ability to be able to shower in clean water. Having a roof over your head means that you have some place to sleep, and this is another privilege to be honored by. Being grateful is as simple as it seems. It is the opportunity for all of us to truly appreciate and value all that we have, at this present moment in time.  

3) If you use any form of technology, be thankful as this genius invention helps us stay in closer contact with our loved ones.

Technology is precisely at our fingertips where we can conveniently scoop out information by “googling” any question imaginable. 50 years ago that was only a dream. Let us take a step back to fully appreciate the fact that the Internet invariably offers us solutions to which we would be lost without. We are often on the Internet, either on Facebook or some other social network. In reality the Internet provides us with so much more than viewing someone’s updated status; we find quick tips on healthy eating, how to fix things, etc. We use it to our disposal, so the next time you send an email to your friend or Skype chat with your grandmother, say thank you for this astounding capability.

4) If you are celebrating Thanksgiving as well as the whole holiday season, be grateful for the American history that has endowed us with the freedom that we continue to have to this day.

Our forefathers brilliantly demonstrate that by having almost nothing, we can actually realize that we have everything we need. There is a fine line between the two. Our progressive forefathers commenced a new tradition of sharing food and time with all people. So on a day like today, it is only the beginning the holiday season, which exemplifies Thanksgiving in a new light. The liberation of women and slaves as well as the enhancement of civil rights continues to flourish. Let us be thankful for the progress for peace, the ultimate goal. Happy Thanksgiving <3

XOXO Lusciously Levi

Click here for more self-love tips*

 

4 Apps to Help Maintain a Healthier Lifestyle

Hi Lovely!

Today's post is all about Apps! There are some great apps out there to help keep you motivated, organized, and ready for a healthy balanced lifestyle. Look on below for some unique Apps.

Daily Arm Workout- Personal Trainer for the Upper Body

Your virtual personal trainer is present! You can bring him/her everywhere! Working out is great to keep up your health and energy on a daily basis but sometimes it gets overwhelming and you just get lazy to go to the gym. This superb app has many unique features including videos developed by certified personal trainers that assist you with 5 to 10 minute upper body workouts. If you literally have only 5 minutes each morning before work, there is no more excuse, so try this app for the arm, chest, and shoulder routine. There is no Internet required for this particular app so feel free to do all the workouts in the comfort of your own home! The workout series is essentially a guide to improve your muscle strength and overall energy levels.  

Find Me Gluten Free

The Find Me Gluten Free app fundamentally assists your healthy lifestyle by providing you with directions to restaurants that serve gluten-free food! Whether you love gluten-free baked goods or even fast food, this app will be your best bet to uncover that suitable gluten-free menu in your given area. Especially if you travel for work or are always on the go, this app will benefit your preservation of a healthy daily life as more and more people are being diagnosed with a gluten allergy these days. If you are near your home or in between states, this app will be your friend of choice when deciding to eat your next gluten-free meal!  

Fit Brains Trainer

Brain trainer is an indispensable part of brain exercising. As we get older, we do not always take persistent care of our brain in an intelligently motivating way. There are so many shortcuts that we end up thinking slower and concentrating less on a daily basis. However, with this unique app, which is free to download, it can boost specific areas of the brain including memory, concentration, problem solving, and more! These customized brain-training games include puzzles and games, which challenge your ability to think, grow, and learn. In addition, you will come out of these enjoyable and valuable exercises with improved cognitive performances as well as overall brain health.

Relax Melodies to improve your sleep schedule 

If you are the type of person who does not fall asleep at the snap of a finger, consider the Relax Melodies app: Sleep Zen sounds & white noise for meditation, yoga and baby relaxation. In this app, it will aid you in your falling asleep process all the while relaxing you through the combination of sounds and melodies, all chosen by your preferences! You get to produce the mix you prefer and adjust the volume and timer, so you can effortlessly lean back to relax, listen, and sleep! This app is quite diverse as it fits almost any group of people, whether you are a parent who needs help to put your baby to sleep soundly, or if you work at a stressful night shift and you need something to help you unwind and improve your mood. Even if you are into meditation or yoga, this can contribute to your lifestyle as it provides a customization for an exclusive and individualized experience.

There you have it folks! The 4 previously mentioned Apps will uniquely provide you with positive health benefits if you take the time to commit to them individually. Your health is ultimately based on your actions, so with that be sure to sleep deeper, eat better, and relax in between! Click here to visit my health and wellness website for more healthy tips, free recipes, and more!

XOXO, Lusciously Levi 

January Favorites

Hey lovely,

January is here and many new things are happening (hence, the NEW YEAR) so I thought I'd share some of my favorite things this month!

Favorite quote: 

"Tears are words the heart can't say"

Ever have one of those days where you just don't get anything around you? Either you feel  misunderstood, confused, overworked, or you may feel a bit lost inside. It happens, as we are all individual souls on very unique journeys that take us to different places and affect our heart on different levels. I love this quote for many reasons, one of them being it has been raining here today on Sunday all day, and it gives me a sense of understanding about water, tears, and rain. That whole process is really releasing. People think crying is for babies or as adults, typically "allowed" for girls. Not true. Sometimes, some days, you just have to cry and relieve all that built up stress, because let's face it, life can be stressful. There is some kind of peace within all the rain, don't you think? Once you let it out, you don't feel as angry anymore, you just feel like you got more in touch with your soul, so then you are able to grow more as a human being. The saying: And rain will make the flowers grow, totally makes sense. Break down those walls and accept all that you are, with your tears helping to guide you when your words are not able to come out.


Favorite tea: 

On a lighter note, tea is soothingly amazing! Tea is such a great kind of thing to drink. I like my teas either in the morning or before I go to bed, the latter is more likely, as it calms me down. This month I have tried this amazing combination of red tea and lemon juice. Delicious! Seriously, it is tangy fresh and also decaffeinated in case you don't feel like drinking a lot of caffeine especially at night.  

Favorite smoothie:

Smoothies are becoming so popular and I am learning more and more about them all the time. You can mix and match so many different foods to create a deliciously satisfying drink that has many nutrients as well. This month I would have to say my favorite smoothie is the Bubblegum colored one. The ingredients are: apples, carrots or beets, celery, ginger, and lemon juice. You can play around with the quantity until if fits your taste buds.


Favorite habit:

Since the New Year usually calls for a renewed kind of feeling and attitude, it is a great idea to take that concept and make a reality out of it. Look into yourself and feel what you can change to make yourself more content with yourself and your life. For me, going to bed early is an important habit to actively put to good use. It is all based on your self-discipline. Knowing you must do it makes you want to follow through it. Make it a mental thing and just get ready to go to bed at a specific time, like 11pm. Turn of all your distractions (iphone, ipad, tv, music). It gives you a chance to really and fully unwind and get better acquainted with yourself. So go ahead and recharge your body properly!

 Favorite moment:

While there are many moments that are simply beautiful and utterly magnificent, the first official snow day is pretty awesome! It happened sometime in January and that day just seemed magical. The air is crisp clear and you could literally smell the airiness scent of the pure white glistening snow. Waking up to snow that has already fallen on the ground is just one of those things you have to be grateful for to just take it all in and enjoy-and maybe have a snowball fight :) 

 Favorite meal:

January is a fairly cold month, depending on where you live of course, but still, many people get colds this time of the year so I thought I would add one of my favorite meals for January. Especially if you have a sensitive stomach either during or after a cold, try this delicious concoction consisting of: cooked oatmeal with chia seeds and a banana. If you want you can add some dried plums to the oatmeal to make it a bit sweeter!


Favorite show: 

This month I think the best show would have to be King of Queens. This hilariously entertaining show really makes me laugh as it always has a message about the unity of family life, or specifically in their case, marriage. You have a married couple that fights like cats and dogs but loves one another just as crazily. I generally enjoy shows that have a clear moral message of doing the right thing, caring for others, and just having fun along the way!

Well, there you have it folks! Hope you enjoyed some of my January favorites and the message or theme that seemed to repetitively show up: RENEWAL. Whatever you enjoy doing or eating or listening to or watching, find a way to renew yourself while doing it. It makes your life experiences that much more satisfying and you will feel lighter and brighter as a human being.


Love ya'll!
Lusciously Levi

Welcome 2015!

Welcome 2015! It's a new year, a new light and sense of love that we can all feel. However, in society, that typically means that there is a lot that people seem to desire to change about themselves at the drop of a coin. There are recurrent resolutions circulating throughout and that seems to uncover an uncanny idea that people are just not satisfied with themselves.

The whole point of this crazy and beautiful journey called life is to live in the present moment and savor each scent, each soul, and each experience. Sure we can actively grow to be better people and choose better habits, but this should already be happening on a daily basis, as it is a lifestyle choice. Although, if we so desperately choose to focus on that material aspect (chasing after money, working out 24/7 to fit a desirable size, obsessing over competing or comparing any aspect of our lives with others), we eventually loose sight of the real meaning of life.

Therefore, the glorious New Year is not about sole resolutions but about living life presently, fully, with joy and gratitude. This kind of living is done from your heart. At the root of it all, a quote that clearly resonates with that idea is as follows:

"You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body"  - C. S. Lewis

This may be a daunting thought at first, after we have tried for so long to fit in and follow society blindly, and adapt to certain traditions that may not define us at all. We have a tendency to complain, to argue, to prove our points, to be upset that nothing seems perfect. If we were to stop doing that and to learn to be grounded, caring, supportive, and kind, we would turn around our unhappiness and enjoy our lives more fully. We would be able to love and share that love with people around us, spreading that positive energy. We would be able to honestly express our hearts, free our souls, and accept all that we are --> Divine Love

La Vida Es Amor

Life is love. This is a fact. Yet sometimes, you must go through an experience or two to make yourself realize this simple fact. Maybe you just don't understand people around you. Sometimes people around you don't seem to understand you. Maybe this is a time of transition in humanity. As humans, we begin to feel certain things and reemerge as beings that are desperately searching for that universal sense of love.

Love is the higher intelligence 

I have come to some understandings about love, over time, as it is not something that is taboo or egotistically based. It is not a romantic obsession or a desiring illusion. On the contrary, if you really know who you are, you will figure out that you are love. You are all that is pure. It might sound silly, but hey, love was never made to be complicated. We just made it like that with all these rules and formulas to what is preferred within society. But really, love is all around us, if we can slow down enough to see it, feel it, live it, and breathe it.

Love is not materialistic and does not feel like a competition or make you feel like a victim or hero. It just is..

Each time you remember the truth of who you are, you truly bring more light into the world.

Know the difference between those who feed your ego and those who feed your soul -- examples--If a person wants to be your friend to gain something from you, they are not feeding your soul. If people around you only want to be popular and do things that might not resonate with you, they are not interested in feeding your soul. That is ok, but that does not mean you have to continue to actively spend your time with them. Let them find their way. Life is a voyage that is homeward bound and home is where the heart is. So the journey is getting in touch with what the heart needs to feel opened, loved, connected, and supported

Sometimes I still have no understanding of anything or anyone. Sometimes I get lost around people. But then I think of what gives me meaning, my family, my true friends, and positive energy. We all tend to forget what truly matters in this beautiful world, which is loving your life and family each and every day. So on this lovely holiday season, let's get back to remembering that true meaning of life, by fully expressing our hearts.

**Instead of making more resolutions, let's all try to focus more on the inner you and then you will be balanced. Just learn to be here, now, in the present moment, as a true gift to us. Eat less processed foods, stay away from alcohol, don't smoke, eat nutritious foods (greens, veggies, fruits), respect your body in a way that makes you feel like you deserve all that you are.**

**Love life every day physically and spiritually. What does this mean? Basically, don't force things on you. Either that be a certain career, certain people, etc. Go with the flow more, and simply love people for who they are. We are all trying to be our best selves, but we are on different levels., so we need to accept all as is, and this is OK. How do you physically love life: Enjoy taking your walk or working out, enjoy eating your meals, enjoy spending time with loved ones; the basis is priority. Now spiritually: We all desperately want to find meaning in life at some point or another. Meaning equals pure joy, happiness, contentment, and utter satisfaction. That requires going on an inward journey to the Self. Uncover the true depths of your soul and find what makes you feel free, what makes your soul burst with light and energy. It's all about your true expression of your divine authenticity. So go on and find yourself, for you will then understand the meaning of life. 

Love ya'll!
Lusciously Levi

Yogurt parfait with a twist

Hi lovely,

Yogurt is delicious and aids in digestion if it is plain and contains live active cultures. Heres a delicious recipe that you can enjoy as a snack or lunch meal: 

Plain yogurt 

a handful of sunflower seeds 

2-3 dried apricots or applesauce 

Prepare about one cup of plain yogurt, sprinkle a handful of sunflower seeds on the yogurt, and top it off with a few dried fruits! This is a great 3-in-1 combination recipe and to complete it, drink it down with some pure coconut water. Enjoy!

Happy Holidays to all!

Hi lovely!

As we are wrapping up 2013, let's do so with humility and honesty. Your emotions may be a bit sad or happy now, depending on where you currently are in your life. Whatever the reason, remember that you are here to become your true self, spiritually. A new year brings new opportunity, new potentials, and new heights. One of the best things to do before the year comes to a close, is to reflect on where you are right now. Write down all the things that you have accomplished this year. What are you proud of? Did you organize your room, help a friend, spend time with your loved ones, learn something new about yourself? Every step that you make in your life should be acknowledged. Accept it and be true to yourself!

Once you have fully reconnected with yourself, write down some potential ideas for goals for the new year. They shouldn't be something like "lose weight" or "buy a house", that's too much pressure! Something simple like "I will change something about myself to make me a better person", or whatever you feel has to change within you. Baby steps is key. Once you have it written down, put it somewhere where you can see it on a daily basis, possibly on a mirror or your refrigerator. Let this be a motivator for a renewed YOU. Happy Holidays to all! xo

Verse of the Week!

Hey everyone! I will be starting something new and exciting, reading and discussing Bible verses! I hope you will all join me on this fun way of learning and growing as people and as spiritual beings. I invite all the curious souls to take this journey as well to find about more about yourself, your life, and your potentiality.






Proverbs 28:6 
 "Better is the poor that walketh in the uprightness,
than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich."


This week let us learn about the message of goodness and honesty. Money and material possessions sometimes take priority in our lives. While money is an important asset as we need it to survive, constantly putting emphasis on that and not family is not the right thing to do. An  honest soul is much more worthy than a dishonest soul but one who has lots of money. We must try to do good on a daily basis, and through this goodness we get the love and spiritual satisfaction of life. Money is not a means to an end. Focus on one another and the love that can be shared!

So in the comment section of the blog post, let me know what is your favorite verse and why! Or just comment on the verse I chose and let me know if you agree and why or why not.

Have a great week and be kind to the people you come in contact with*







                       New Verse of the week! 9/5/13

"As water reflects a face so a man's heart reflects the man". Proverbs 27:19

This verse seems to say that your heart is reflected in how you live your life. Although your heart is inside, if you are kind in your life and help one another this will be seem on the outward. I think this verse is beautifully written and sounds eloquent and peaceful. 

This verse simply reminds us that to be clean and pure and individuals, we must think about our actions. Since our actions are conducted by the heart initially, we can make decisions based on that aspect. A good heart determines character. So, let us all think a bit harder and help a bit longer. Call your grandparents or parents and ask them what you can do to help them. Be a kind soul.

What do you guys think? Do you have a favorite verse of the week? Comment bellow! 

Verse of the week is the following for 11/24/13

 "Do not hate your kinsfolk in your heart"

Lev 19:17

In this verse, how can you relate? I believe that we sometimes get angry with some people. Either they do not understand us, do not respect us, or do not make us feel good. We can pray for these people and pray for the feeling to subside. Through this process we must adopt a method of forgiveness. This part takes more practice but in time, we would get hurt less and feel more happy with ourselves and the people who do not match with our spiritual needs. By doing this we take that emotional baggage of negativity and transform our minds and spirits to only be in a positive state. This is the ultimate goal: to accept life, pray for clarity, hate less, and love yourself!