Give Your Partner a Healthy and Heavenly Valentine's Day

Give Your Partner a Healthy and Heavenly Valentine's Day
by Heather Havey, M.A. © 2009

Valentine's Day is the perfect opportunity to shower your partner with affection, attention, joy, and fun. Couples who play together stay together. Everytime you give your partner positive and joyful experiences, you improve your intimacy and deepen your connection. Valentine's Day is a great day to practice. For this article, I will reference your partner as a "she" regardless of gender. This is simply for ease of explanation.

Step One: Make her a fresh juice.

Fresh organic juice made by hand will energize you both. She will appreciate the gesture. Make her whatever juices she most loves and enjoys. Some examples include:

* A tall glass of orange or apple juice
* Green juice (ex: spinach, parsley, lettuce, apple, carrot, beet; spinach adds a chocolate-like flavor)
* Pineapple, parsley, granny smith apple, and romaine lettuce
* A tall glass of coconut water

Step Two: Blindfold her and take her to her favorite place.

Fill her day with delight. Take her to her favorite places. What does she love to do? Read poetry by a lake. Kayak down a river. Walk along the beach. Go surfing. Plant trees. Build a garden. Attend a planetarium show. Have a fun-filled afternoon doing things that she really loves. If a bathing suit or certain equipment is required, provide it for her.

Step Three: Pack refreshing treats that she will enjoy.

Prepare her healthy snacks that will give her energy and make her feel refreshed. Do not choose things that will make her sleepy, unless you would like for her to take a nap. Ideas include orange and grapefruit slices, cherries, strawberries, and blueberries. You can also choose tropical fruits such as kiwi or papaya. She may also enjoy heart-shaped slices of mango, pineapple, and coconut. Bring water to drink. You can slice starfruits and hand her star-shaped, rose-scented, delicious bites.

Step Four: Attend a partner yoga class together.

Yoga will refresh your mind and body. Partner yoga is fun. It also allows two people to gently touch each other in a healing and appreciative way. If you have good teachers, it will be a true adventure! Sharing an activity like yoga will help you both to feel energized, relaxed, and close.

Step Five: Draw her a warm bath with herbs and bath oils

She may be ready to relax after a yoga workout, so draw her a bath. Light candles. Choose soy-based candles that are made with essential oils. Do not choose artificially-scented candles. For her bath, pour in flower petals and her favorite essential oils. Excellent choices include lavender, ginger, citrus, or rose oil. Pick her favorite pajamas (or buy her some) and place them out for her to wear.

Step Six: Make her a healthy dessert.

Choose a dessert that is healthy, delicious, and very easy to prepare. One example is a raw, organic strawberry "pie" (softer than most pies). You will need a heart-shaped container, dates, walnuts, honey, strawberries, a kiwi, psyllium powder, and a bunch of basil. To make the crust, simply blend a few dates with a cup of walnuts and two tablespoons of honey. You can add water if it is too thick. To make the filling, blend the strawberries with a few tablespoons of psyllium powder. If you desire, you can add a banana or dates also. Spread the pie crust into your container. Pour the filling on the "crust." Cover the top of the pie with thinly-sliced strawberries, kiwi, and basil. The combination is delicious. You may want to eat it together right out of the heart-shaped container.

Step Seven: Chocolate Heaven.

If she loves chocolate, pull out a champagne glass. Blend the water and meat of two young coconuts, 4 tablespoons of cacao powder, and four or so tablespoons of cold water. Simply pour this mixture into two champagne glasses. If desired, you can add some vanilla as well.

Enjoy your chocolate heaven drinks. Sit back in pajamas, enjoy your chocolate heaven drinks, curl up, and watch her favorite movies.

Step Eight: Love.

Scientists and many couples throughout time have proven that playfulness and thoughtfulness really improve a couple's happiness. Give her joy. Give her delight. Enjoy each other. Practice this on Valentine's Day and also everyday. The couple who plays together stays together. Happy Valentine's Day.

Send a Love Ecard to Someone you Care About

Click a photo and it will take you to an ecard:

Greatest Gift that you can Give those you Love

© 2009 Peace Through Kindness * Text by Lalita
Send this as an ecard: http://www.ourbelovedearth.com/…s/ily.html

PLEASE CHOOSE THIS FOR YOURSELF

AS THE PRESENT CARETAKERS OF THIS SANCTUARY, WE DESIRE TO KEEP THE LARGER PARCELS OF THE PROPERTY UNDEVELOPED. IT IS A REFUGE FOR WILDLIFE, AND FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT TO EXPERIENCE THE BEAUTY OF A PRISTINE WILDERNESS, WHERE ONE CAN TRULY COMMUNE WITH GOD THROUGH NATURE.
-Norman Paulsen, p.473, The Christ Consciousness

PLEASE CHOOSE TO FILL YOUR YARD WITH LIFE - ORGANIC (NO CHEMICALS, EVER) - TREES, PLANTS, SHRUBS, FLOWERS THAT DRAW IN BEES & BUTTERFLIES, FRUITS, VEGETABLES, NUTS, SEEDS.
FEED THE BIRDS ORGANIC BIRDSEED -
PUT IN A BAT HOUSE -
RAISE HONEYBEES -
MAKE YOUR YARD A SANCTUARY FOR LIFE, NOT A CHEMICAL- AND MOWER-MAINTAINED STRIPPED-SOIL WASTELAND THAT WILL NOT BEAR LIFE WITHOUT THE USE OF CHEMICAL ADDITIVES.
THE ANIMALS ARE DYING AND THEY NEED YOUR HELP.
-Heather Havey

Listen to Love - "We live in Heaven"

"We live in Heaven but we treat it like Hell" -Lalita
© 2009 Peace Through Kindness
http://www.peacethroughkindness.com/

Listen to Love: The world is your mirror...you are awesome.

© 2009 Peace Through Kindness
http://www.peacethroughkindness.com/

Listen to Love: You deserve happiness and peace.

© 2009 Peace Through Kindness * text by Heather Havey

http://www.peacethroughkindness.com/

We can help, by our relaxation & caring action

© 2009 Peace Through Kindness * text by Heather Havey

http://www.yourlifeisadream.com/

Native Americans view all life as sacred.

© 2009 Peace Through Kindness * text Heather Havey
May your life be filled with joy...
http://www.peacethroughkindness.com/

John Francis - a wonderful hero & example for our new year

"As we walk upon the road we meet ourselves. And at the end, perhaps we'll find that there are no sides to take, no ememies of state, no arguments against the other. There's only death that waits. But on this tiny planet, and in this precious moment, we have the chance to live in peace together. If only we could take a walk." ~John Francis

an interview with john francis about his years of walking and silence, in honor of the earth:
http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2005/05/10/hertsgaard-francis/

His nonprofit organization: PlanetWalk

Wendell Berry

"It is better to sustain a small population indefinitely than to build up a large artificial population on an agricultural system of which the basic principle is its willingness to destroy itself."

-Wendell Berry

"10 Ways to Eat Healthy on a Budget" by Heather Havey, M.A.

"10 Ways to Eat Healthy on a Budget" by Heather Havey, M.A.

1. Grow your own organic food. Seeds are very affordable. Simply takes a bit of prep, water, sunlight, and TLC. The joy of harvesting food that you grew yourself is priceless, will bring you great joy, and can change your life. Watching these plants grow can bring you peace, gratitude, and awe. Feeding yourself, friends, and loved ones will also bring you great joy.

2. Buy organic from local farmers. Food that has been shipped around the country or world is more expensive than food grown in your own town. Also, by supporting local organic farmers, you are supporting a healthier world (no poisons), and you are not supporting the destructive corporatization of the bigger farms. Huge companies typically care about profit and growth; consideration of your health is an afterthought, if a thought at all.

3. Buy seasonal produce. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and grains that are in season, are cheaper to buy.

4. Drink more water. People spend a LOT of money on sodas, alcohol, coffee, tea, and so on. Drink more water. Also, do not buy bottled water. Drink water purified from your own faucet or well. Also, you can easily grow camomile, peppermint, lavender, and other herbs to make your own tea with.

5. Buy bulk. You will save money by not buying quantities of foods with no need for packaging materials.

6. Prepare your own food rather than eating our or buying prepackaged meals. This always saves money. Also, typically your own homemade meals will be significantly healthier than any canned, jarred, packaged, processed, altered, or restaurant foods (though some restaurants can be very healthy).

7. Be a grazer. Rather than prepare elaborate and expensive meals, eat simply. Make a simple salad. Eat a cucumber, sliced. Eat a piece of fruit. Make a simple fruit salad. Make a simple soup. If you have fruit trees in your yard, you can eat those fruits for a snack. Be a grazer, of natural foods.

8. Eat less: when you feel hungry, sometimes all you need is a big glass of water. Americans eat far too much food!!! Eat smaller quantities of more nutritious food.

9. Organize potluck dinners or picnics with friends...and enjoy them out in nature.

10. If you see a particular sale on an item, eat that for the day or week.

Heather Havey, M.A., is a naturalist, veganic farmer, and author. She teaches yoga/meditation as well as organic farming techniques. She supports the "food not lawns" philosophy of filling your life with natural organic beauty, wildlife, and nature - rather than overly-manicured, poison-filled "lawns." To reach her: www.peacethroughkindness.com

Click here to read more articles by Heather Havey.
Click here to see books published by Heather Havey.

Wendell Berry

"I dream of a quiet man who explains nothing and defends nothing, but only knows where the rarest wildflowers are blooming, and who goes, and finds that he is smiling not by his own will."

-Wendell Berry, from II, Sabbaths 1999, in "Given"


Some of his most awesome books:
A Timbered Choir: The Sabbath Poems 1979-1997
The Selected Poems of Wendell Berry
A Timbered Choir: The Sabbath Poems 1979-1997
Wendell Berry and the Cultivation of Life: A Reader's Guide
The Mad Farmer Poems
The Unsettling of America: Culture & Agriculture

Wendell Berry

"What I stand for is what I stand on."

~ Wendell Berry

Some of his most awesome books:
The Selected Poems of Wendell Berry
A Timbered Choir: The Sabbath Poems 1979-1997
Wendell Berry and the Cultivation of Life: A Reader's Guide
The Mad Farmer Poems
The Unsettling of America: Culture & Agriculture

Listen to Love - "Love lights up your heart like the sun..."

© 2008 Peace Through Kindness * audio text by Symeon the Theologian
Ecards: http://www.ourbelovedearth.com/…cards.html
This ecard: http://www.ourbelovedearth.com/…/fire.html

To read more Symeon the Theologian:
Symeon, the New Theologian: The Discourses (Classics of Western Spirituality)

Listen to Love - "Love, Peace, & Joy to you Always..."

© 2008 Peace Through Kindness * text by Heather Havey
The newest book is $3.99 - http://www.ourbelovedearth.com/gifts.html

Listen to Love - "Please Bless Us To Share Your Love"

© 2008 Peace Through Kindness
http://www.peacethroughkindness.com/
(this prayer is an adaption of Paramahansa Yogananda)

"As a poet, I hold the most ancient values on earth. They go back to the late Paleolithic: the fertility of the soil, the magic of animals, the power-vision in solitude, the terrifying initiation and rebirth, the love and ecstasy of the dance, the common work of the tribe. I try to hold both history and wilderness in mind, that my poems may approach the true measure of things and stand against the unbalance and ignorance of our times."

-Gary Snyder, A Controversy of Pets

"The man who does not know nature, who does not walk under the leaves as under his own roof, is partial and wounded. I say this even as wilderness and our indifference, Nature there will always be, but it will not be what we have now, much less the deeper fields and woodlands many of us remember from our childhood. The worlds of van Gogh and Turner and Winslow Homer, and Wordsworth too, and Frost and Jeffers and Whitman, are gone, and will not return. We can come to our senses yet, and rescue the world, but we will never return it to anything like its original form."

--Mary Oliver, Winter Hours: Prose, Prose Poems, and Poems

without love the world would be frozen stiff...

© 2008 Heather Havey

Please enjoy http://www.peacethroughkindness.com/