Saint Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day started in the time of the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honour Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage.

In my belief, Valentine's Day really means showing love and ut most gratitude to all the people who mean a lot to me. I don't just think it's a day for couples, I think its a day for everyone but mostly to me it's really that day to remember love again. Most of us are so caught up with work and busy lifestyles that we forget to appreciate Love. We forget to appreciate people and things around us. 14th Feb marks a day where we get to fully embrace love in many ways, to show compassion towards people and things. Sure, we all love gifts and roses but I think its really about giving and NOT expecting anything in return. The more we expect, the more dissapointed we feel as we may not get all that we expect, right? So it's better to give and keep giving without expecting to recieve. Some people feel this day is over-rated, that it sucks, I think that those people who feel this way, just expect too much and when they don't get all that they expect, they tend to HATE this day. That's not a true meaning on LOVE. That is simply a selfish act.

"You must Love yourself before you shed Love" :-)

 

Valentine Traditions

Hundreds of years ago in England, many children dressed up as adults on Valentine's Day. They went singing from home to home. One verse they sang was:
Good morning to you, valentine;
Curl your locks as I do mine ---
Two before and three behind.
Good morning to you, valentine.
 
In Wales wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on February 14th. Hearts, keys and keyholes were favourite decorations on the spoons. The decoration meant, "You unlock my heart!"
 
In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling.
 
In some countries, a young woman may receive a gift of clothing from a young man. If she keeps the gift, it means she will marry him.
 
Some people used to believe that if a woman saw a robin flying overhead on Valentine's Day, it meant she would marry a sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a millionaire.
 
A love seat is a wide chair. It was first made to seat one woman and her wide dress. Later, the love seat or courting seat had two sections, often in an S-shape. In this way, a couple could sit together -- but not too closely!
 
Think of five or six names of boys or girls you might marry, As you twist the stem of an apple, recite the names until the stem comes off. You will marry the person whose name you were saying when the stem fell off.
 
Pick a dandelion that has gone to seed. Take a deep breath and blow the seeds into the wind. Count the seeds that remain on the stem. That is the number of children you will have.


If you cut an apple in half and count how many seeds are inside, you will also know how many children you will have.


(just superstitions nothing more.... LOL :-D)

~Sheena,

Cooking is truly fun! =)

I am very passionate about food and herbs. I love trying out new dishes, different aroma and herbs.

I have been cooking lately and it's really fun!  It's also quite theapeutic? :-).

~Mainting Health in Proportion~

I am totally hooked to the food channel and trying to find a few great healthier choice of recipes. I love eating and trying out different dishes, who doesn't? But the reason I mention Healthier choice of recipes is because I have constantly been thinking about how we are living and mainly how we are benefiting from it. There are lots of people who eat un-healthy and also over-eat. It frustrates me so I wanted to share some of the facts that I have reading on and listening to. As much as I love to help people, I also love to empower people.

I truly don't believe in dieting. Dieting generally leads to self-hatred making you feel crazy about yourself. There has also been a study that most people don't actually follow their diet scheme. Why I also don't quite believe in diet is mainly because after the diet, people go back to their un-healthy life-style. What's the point then? Its better to just keep eating healthy but in moderate proportion and not over-eat.

It is not that food is a struggle but it's your weight that is really the invitation to Your Best Life. This is absolutely true. At many times, when we feel low, depressed, lonely, over-whelmed and bored, we often reach out to food when really the problem is not the food but with what we are going through. This entirely points out that obsession is a way that most of us break our own hearts over and over again. It is better to deal with whatever needs to be dealt with in that moment than to eat and fall apart further than what we're feeling. Even when you are eating. you constantly feel miserable, right? :-). FOOD JUST DOUBLES THE PAIN.

The relationship with food and the relationship with whatever is going on in one's life, the goodness that one feels and the alignment that one feels when things are working well with thyself is on the direct proportion to how close one is to that which we call "God". The issue isn't about the food but the disconnection one feels from which we call "God". 

"We turn to food when we are not hungry because we are hungry for something we cannot name. A connection to what is beyond the concern of daily life; something sacred but replacing the hunger  for divine connection with "doubled stuffed oreos" is like giving a glass of sand to a person whose dying of thirst and that is what everyone is continuously doing. We are trying to feed ourselves with which we cannot fill us. Obsession gives a plane ticket out of a particular kind of heart-break one has encountered" - Geneen Roth.

Some people feel if s/he doesn't do what pleases the other person then somehow the other person has the power to alienate you. It's not just punishment but it makes you feel utterly destroyed.

Some of the profound ways to best keep healthy is to really: exercise regularly, meditate, find inspiration in good books, go for retreats, and really just stay focused on eating healthy and maintain a well balanced diet with no restrains but enjoyment in proportion.

- Eat when you're Hungry

- Eat sitting in a calm environment

- Eat without distraction.

- Eat what your body can allow.

- Eat until you're satisfied.

- Eat with the intention of being in full view of others.

-Eat with enjoyment and pleasure.

Lets start from now!

- over and out....

~Sheena.

"The Feel Good Factor"

So today I attended a seminar held by Psychologist and Nutrition expert, Patrick Holford. He basically talked about how to improve your mood, motivation and memory. He also described the link between Nutrition and mental health. I think it was really an awakening for the way we live. I think most of us are going through an Internal Global warming in our bodies, how he described it. It made real sense because I dont think that we are taking care of ourselves as we are really supposed to. We have the wrong eating patterns, we don't excercise much and we dont have the correct lifestyle. He made each one of us aware of what we are consuming and how much it is affecting us in the long-run and I gotta say it, but its NOT good news! He is absolutely Right!

If we start taking care of ourselves from a younger age then we are most likely to develop a healthier lifestyle. It was so much of a wake-up call for me because some of the symtoms he talked about is what I am going through already at such a young age. I need to really focus on my health and change my diet. I need to start working out again aswell.

We ought to change our lifestlye or we are in serious trouble once we get older. 

His book is a must read "The Feel Good Factor" (- Patrick Holford.)

Good night :-)

PEACE

At times you feel you want to cry
And life seems such a trial
Above the clouds there's a bright blue sky
So make your tears a smile.

As you travel on life's way
With its many ups and downs
Remember its quite true to say
One smile is worth a dozen frowns.

{",} Keeeeep Smiling....Have the best days of your life with rainbows streaming through your heart and your soul expressing itself in all you say and do.

LOVE

Tonight we drink to youth
And holding fast to truth
(I don't want to lose what I had)
My heart still has a beat
(But love is now a feat as common as a cold day in L.A.)
Sometimes when I'm alone I wonder
Is there a spell that I am under
Keeping me from seeing the real thing?

Love hurts
But sometimes it's a good hurt and it feels like I'm alive
Love sings
When it transcends the bad things
Have a heart and try me
'Cause without love I won't survive

I'm fettered and abused
I stand naked and accused
Should I surface this one man submarine?
I only want the truth
So tonight we drink to youth
(I'll never lose what I had)
Sometimes when I'm alone I wonder
Is there a spell that I am under
Keeping me from seeing the real thing?

Love hurts
But sometimes it's a good hurt and it feels like I'm alive
Love sings
When it transcends the bad things
Have a heart and try me
'Cause without love I won't survive

CHANGE.....

Hmm... I think I have been sitting back way too long to realize that I have the potential to do better. I have let people speak for me and allowed to be run-over for a long time now. BUT now I feel a lot stronger and more empowered to work on things that have held me back for a long long time!
It's important to make your own choices and not let other people around make them for you. Its also importnat to realize the difference between critisizm and helpful cirisizm.

Feeling the need to fix what's not right and closing that chapter of my life. I want to feel free and happy again!!

This year is probably going to be the most important year yet, mainly because I have to make some pretty heavy decisions regarding my job and of course, the BIG move. Yes, the big move to NY later this year. As much it sounds exciting, its also quite stressful making all thesechoices, but I guess when you know you're doing it for the right reasons, it all falls in to place. & for some strange reason after going through a pretty emotional period of my life off late, things are slowly falling in to place. I guess my Prayers are really being heard and answered :). Diffilcult times are always going to be a part of life; its just the way we go about it. I would put it this way, if it werent for those difficult times, we wouldn't be able to grow from it!

After I got my acceptance letter for the Language centre I applied for in NY last year, it was a moment I can't quite forget. I was in awe! I often think of the Big Move to NY, well even though it will be for 6months at the time, it's still a Big move for me. I can't help but feel that once I get there and begin a complete new, I will feel a whole lot balanced and may be a whole lot more happier. I want to be at peace and contentment. A life like this might appear to be a little loony to some people but I guess its the way I'd like to proceed. Most of this year will be truly finding myself, cultivating new frienships/relationships, letting go & finding happineds and work even hardrer.

& I'm out.

Peace & <3.