Luscious Life

and I couldn't be happier! Here is a supper easy, super decadent Chocolate Body Scrub. You most likely have everything in your kitchen already, so mix away and enjoy a bit of chocolate therapy!

Amounts are estimates, you just want a good consistency for spreading and rubbing.

* 1 T. cocoa powder
* 2-3 T sugar
* 1 T honey
*enough oil (your choice- oil, vegetable, almond- what ever you have on hand) to create an easily spreadable, but not liquid scrub.
Mix well.

Use in the shower. Get wet, apply generously to any place you want smooth wonderful skin. Rinse. Enjoy being your own chocolate truffle! (Cautions- the oil in this scrub will make your shower floor slippery, so please be careful. Also, do not use on the face, it is a bit rough. Avoid any sensitive areas.)

Happy V-day!

Over the weekend I watched the movie Chocolat, with Juliette Binoche. If you are looking for a  wonderful, smart, grown up story of love, the transformative power of desire and the beauty of our sensual nature, this is the perfect movie for you. Indulge in this treat as a Valentine to yourself. 

I had not seen the movie in years, so watching again of course reminded me of what I loved the first time, but  because I knew the basic story I got to just relax into the beauty of the  cinematography, the symbolism of color and the metaphor of chocolate. I also got to rediscover characters I had forgotten.  Of course my inner wanna be French Girl was just in heaven!

There has been a theme of wildness in some of my posts, and in my life. I have been trying to put my finger on just what this means. This movie captures it. There is a wildness to the our desire and our sensual selves, and yet also such a deep beauty, wisdom and gentleness. The character of Vianne captures not only the strength and magic of the divine feminine, but also the trap of isolation that we can get stuck in when we take on the expression of an archetype with out including our own human need for love and belonging. Finding the way the archetypal energy of the goddess blends and gets tempered into the very human life of each of us is the musing I've been left with from watching this movie.  Well, that and of course a deep need of some fantastic chocolate and some hot Johnny Depp fantasies! (Is there anyone who plays a better rogue than Johnny Depp?)

My question for you:

How do you feel the pull of the divine feminine or the sensual in your life right now? 

It's been awhile since I've posted hasn't it? Let's just say I'm not sorry to see 2007 fade into the past. Now that we are firmly into 2008 I am feeling like it's time to dust the old blog off and see what it wants to become now.

I am remembering my post of a year ago were I wanted to embrace wildness (another on in which I start by acknowedging the space between posts, hmmm...). Well, in just the way transformation works sometimes, the wild I wanted was not the wild my Soul guided me though. It was, however, the wild I needed. I'm not sure it is done with me, but I'm ready to start looking around to see what is here now.

How do you find your orientation again after the fierce winds of change have wrecked havoc with the you you once were?

For me, there are two places I go. To my heart and my creativity. I let myself feel the jumble of emotions and I let myself deeply connect with the Divine. Here I find my intuition and my inner guidance I know I can always trust. Then, my creative center comes alive and just wants to make and express something. It doesn't matter what, it is just interesting and fun to see where the energy of chance want to flow. I knit, I quilt, I take pictures, I bake, I write or collage. Sometimes I just walk and walk and explore new places. It doesn't matter what I do, just that I let the flow move out and into my life.

The one thing I try my best not to do is try and figure it all out mid stream!  Boy does that just get me trapped in intellectual circles leaving me frustrated. Accepting that sometimes I just don't know the meaning of life's twists is not always easy. Who am I kidding? I flat out hate it in the moment! But, learning to find the deeper rhythm, sinking into the quite place under the storm and following the energy where it wants to flow rather than were I want to push it, these are the bread crumbs that always lead me out to greater wisdom and knowing.

This is what I do. What  are your ways of handling the winds of change? Even if life is mellow, there are always new and subtle changes that want to happen. If you don't know, let yourself take a moment right now and ask your heart what guidance it has for you. Notice any shifts in energy or sensation and keep noticing until a whisper of truth comes through. What would shift, in a small or large way, if you followed this guidance?

Take a chance, listen to your heart. It is not going to be wrong!

I was checking the stats on my website this weekend. Web stats are whole new world for me and it lead me to yet another whole new world.

While I check my blog stats regularly, I just never thought about my website. Well, curiosity got to me and I looked them up. There is a ton of stuff that gets tracked. Very interesting stuff. My favorite is the chart that shows the countries that people come from who visit the site. As expected the majority of people come from the US and Canada, with some from the UK and Australia.

But Seychelles?

I had not ever heard of Seychelles. Times like this I SO love Google! And Wikipedia! I found the most amazing place I never new existed! Check out the official tourist site. Download the the little video and go on a mini exotic vacation. Seychelles is a group of 158 islands in the Indian Ocean, 1000 miles off the east coast of Africa and north east of Madagascar. It has the smallest population of any sovereign state of Africa and is known for its pristine natural environment and amazing beaches, rock formations and wildlife. I fell in love and want to go! Of course it is about a 20 hour plane trip and on the other side of the world, but I've become entranced. The beauty is staggering! Talk about luscious! Do you ever find something that seems so far out of reach, yet grabs hold of you anyway and you are transported and happier just by the possibility of it? I've found myself in the past couple of days happier just because I now know this place exists. Maybe silly, but that is the truth. In my last post I talked about following a thread and finding treasure, well it has happened again! I want to explore more of this new treasure I've found.

Who out there is from or has been to Seychelles? Please, leave a comment or send me an e-mail. If you are from the Seychelles Islands and you have found yourself here, please let me know. I'd love find out more about your home and how you've found your way to this blog.

Loving the connection of the Web right now!!

I saw a book on the clearance table at the bookstore a couple of weeks ago called A String & a Prayer, How to Make and Use Prayer Beads. It's a small book, with simple line drawings, but for some reason it intrigued me. Growing up Catholic I, of course, know of prayer beads in the form of the rosary. I still remember my childhood fascination with a deep red and black one of my mother's that came from a grandmother or great aunt or something. I was ever so disappointed when I learned that a rosary is for prayer and not to wear.

I flipped through the book, but did not buy. Fast forward to last week. I found out that my local yarn store was having a class on adding beads to your knitting. I signed up and learned many nifty tricks to add a bit of sparkle to my next project. Getting to play with the beads had me remember how fun they are. It is like being able to organize little pieces of light and joy. I had also still been thinking about the prayer bead book, so after my class I headed down the street to the bookstore picked it up. It is a simple book with some history of prayer beads, ideas of how to use them and then some simple beading and stringing information. Although it did not contain any new information to me, it stirred something.

I had dabbled in beading years ago. Nothing too elaborate, just some earrings and bracelets (a ton of those beaded ones on the elastic stuff that was such the rage a few years ago). I also made lots of sun catcher type things. I made a long strand of seed beads with a large facetted crystal at the bottom. You know, the ones that look like they came from a chandelier. I hung them all in a window and the afternoon sun would hit them and scatter rainbows everywhere. For about 20 minutes every afternoon, especially in the spring and summer, my bedroom was like being inside an iridescent, magical, rainbow snowglobe. I have since moved from that house and sadly, have not been able to find another perfect sun spot to equal that one.

Well, the beads were packed away years ago. I don't remember why I stopped exactly but I am suspicious life got busy, or I hit a creative dry spell and then one day it just seemed more trouble to pull everything out and create than to watch TV. That one day turned into a week, month, year and so on. I moved on the other creative pursuits and the beads became something I did once. But, something about the combination of this book and the class had me pull out my stash of beads.

I have been having so much fun going though what I have, remembering what I had made with certain beads, what I had planed for others and getting reacquainted with the ones I didn't remember. It's like discovering a treasure chest. I've become intrigued with the idea of creating some type of beaded something to use as a vision or creation tool. I don't want to make a set of prayer beads exactly, but I love the idea of stringing together bits of color and texture with intention and ritual. But fun, not stuffy and too significant. Something I can hold and wear whose colors and feel become a touchstone of remembering my intention. I love having my creative juices stirred up in a new way.

This little bead rediscovery reminds me that our creative path is never finished even when it looks like we've hit a dead end. All the pieces, all the ways we play and express ourselves are there to be tapped into again in the right time. I am also reminded that life can be a treasure hunt if we are willing to follow the clues. I had no idea a discount book would start me on the journey to find a past joy ready to give newly. I still don't know where this path will end up. Maybe I will make my small intention touchstone and the beads will get packed away again. Maybe it will lead to some other creative adventure. I'll just keep following the clues and see what happens.

What is the treasure hunt your world is inviting you into?

Spring into Bloom

It's Spring! and things are blooming and bursting out all over! I have been taking my early evening walks again after months of cold. It feels so good to get outside and simply walk. Not exercise, but simply walk, stroll, wander, meander the neighborhood. I notice how the birds quiet when a hawk lands near by and then erupt into song as soon as it flies away. I notice an early rose on the brink of blooming in the yard of the yellow house a few blocks over. I notice the subtle, fresh smell of the hundreds of plants, trees and bushes in bloom. And the colors of the blossoms are amazing. Everything is fresh and clean and new. It is relaxing and grounding, and energizing and exciting a the same time. The bright, rich color, the new growth, such promise of wonderful things to come.

Being able to see the changes of winter into spring, witness the glorious renewal nurtured by the long and dark months of rain and cold brings such a burst of energy and inspiration! I want to bring some of this energy to my coaching practice. So, I am offering a special spring coaching package I'm calling Bloom Luscious. The particulars follow, or you can go to my website and read more. If it is something that sparks you, I'd love to hear from you! Also, feel free to pass this on to anyone you know who is wanting to let more lusciousness bloom in their life! .

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Are you ready to Spring into Bloom?

Whether or not it looks like it outside, Spring is here! With it come thoughts of growth, change, new beginnings.

What is the growth, change or new beginning you are ready to claim for yourself?

Perhaps you are:
* antsy to move beyond stagnating beliefs and habits that keep you from enjoying life and creating success (That saboteur really does not have to control you)
* eager to have fun with a part of you that has been on hold for far too long (Your inner child, creative muse, or wild women have gifts to share with you)
* hungry for more pleasure in your life (Enjoying yourself really is the point of it all)
* ready for more but don't know quite what it looks like (Or maybe you do know but are shy or afraid to move towards it)
* wanting more Magic in your life (The intangible and unexpected miracles of life can be cultivated)

As a part of my own Spring Blooming, I am expanding my life coaching practice to make room to work with even more fantastic women. Women who are willing to claim more of themselves and their dreams now and not have to look back wishing they had started sooner.

As an incentive to start now, I am offering a special coaching package during the months of April and May I'm calling Bloom Luscious that includes:
* 1 60 minute Create Your Luscious LIfe session which includes a visualization to met your inner Luscious woman, discovery of the ways this part of you can guide, inspire and motivate you, and the actions and structures to keep her alive in your life.
* 2 follow up coaching sessions designed to create the foundation to integrate a more nurturing, creative and powerful way of being in your life. ( all coaching sessions must be complete by June 15)
* e-mail and short phone check-ins as desired
Cost: $375. This is a savings of $100!


Who am I, this person going on about blooming and wanting and hunger and all?

I am Sandi Davis, CPCC, life coach and owner of Luscious LIfe, alumni CTI faculty, creative soul and passionate bloomer. I am dedicated to inspiring and empowering women to live authentic, successful, pleasure filled lives.

I specialize in helping women
* express their unique power and beauty
* create authentic and nurturing self care
* have deeper spiritual connection
* honor their creativity and its expression
* live the adventure of their own passions

Are you intrigued? Excited? Have questions? Maybe ready to start? Fantastic. I would love to talk to you were ever you find yourself. Please contact me and we can have a conversation about the best way for you to move forward on your luscious life journey.

Where to Find Me
send me an e-mail: sandi@lusciouslife.com
call me: 707-763-5675
visit my website: www.lusciouslife.com

How every you choose to spend this Spring, ENJOY!