Sunday, December 28, 2008
Friday, December 26, 2008
Mehmet Oz, M.D. - Oprah - Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor
Mehmet Oz, M.D., Oprah, Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor
and Three Brains on the Table
I do not watch a lot of TV, yet I do watch the Oprah Show whenever I can, especially her shows with the worldwide famous Turkish doctor Mehmet Öz, or Oz-Man as Oprah calls him. His last name Öz becomes Oz in the English spelling and reminds many people of the story of “The Wizard of Oz”.
Well in the last show that I watched, the Oz-man and Oprah had an interesting guest. I had heard about her and had watched another program about her. I am talking about Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, who wrote about her amazing experiences of a stroke and her recovery in her best selling book “My Stroke of Insight”. Dr. Taylor is a brain scientist and she lived through a stroke and over a period of about eight years was able to recover to tell us her story.
I definitely recommend reading about her and to watch her story through one of her speeches, you can check out http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html. However, I will not write about her story here. I would like to share what she shared as to what she experienced as a patient while she was in the hospital.
When a patient is not able to speak, is not able to respond in the way we expect him or her to, when a person is mentally impaired, we tend to forget that there is a person living in that body.
One of the things that really touched me from what she shared was how people treat the mentally impaired as if they do not exist. Dr. Taylor talked about how people would not talk to her, because they assumed that she was not aware. But she was.
It is long story, but she made a few requests to people to are taking take of patients who have been through a stroke or are taking care of patients for any other ailment.
She requests that:
- Treat them like they will recover completely. (Make them know this is your intention and that you are not giving up on them)
- Talk to them directly (regardless of what you assume or believe they can and cannot understand)
- Allow them to sleep (to let them gather their energies)
- Make eye contact, touch them (and let the patients know that they are seen and that you are aware that they are alive. Dr. Taylor remembers the nurses who would touch her feet and talk to her while doing their medical work in her room. She heard, and saw and felt, even though she could not convey it at the time.)
Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor shared that although she could not understand what most of the nurses were talking about, she could tell from the energy of the person coming into the room what would be taking place and how. She could feel the energy; her right brain which was not hurt could sense that energy.
Dr. Mehmet Oz hearing Dr. Taylor’s comments admitted that many doctor and nurses know the importance of making a connection with a patient and the need to make a patient feel safe, but also told about how easy it is to forget because doctors and nurses need to take care of many such patients in a day, in a month, and over the years. I personally felt that Dr. Jill Taylor’s experience was a big reminder for many people in the health sector. And I would say even for myself. I did not have many experiences with people who have been through strokes. However, I have seen many people in Intensive Care Units, in ERs who are not able to give any information about the condition they are in, apart from their blood tests, their MR results, their blood pressure and pulse, and the level of oxygen in their blood. What is going in their mind? What are they feeling? Most of the time we have no idea. I will make a short note here that sometimes it is possible to feel, to sense, or even to hear what a person says even when they are unconscious. It does happen, but no one can really guarantee if and how.
*
How to know if you are having a stroke?
During a part of the show they brought three real human brains into the room and showed the audience how a healthy brain looks and how brains from different intensity strokes. You might also want to check out oprah.com if you are interested. I will share some of the important points.
Dr. Oz gave a simple, but important tool to check if someone is having a stroke. You might want to keep this simple check in mind:
If you feel that someone might be having a stroke, do this check:
1- Make them smile. Are they able to?
2- Make them put their hands up in the air. Can they?
3- Make them repeat a simple sentence over and over again. Such as “(Make the person use their own name) is beautiful” (Zeynep is beautiful. Zeynep is beautiful. Zeynep is beautiful. Zeynep is beautiful. )
If there is a problem with any one or all of these exercises, it means that it is best to rush immediately to a hospital and let the personnel in the Emergency Room know what might be happening.
Please make sure that you always contact your doctor or a hospital when you feel that you are in need to medical advice, or in an emergency.
*-*-*
For a Prosperous New Year
I receive a lot of questions about prosperity topics. A lot of people are concerned about their financial well-being as well as their health and happiness. Especially during these interesting and difficult times. Concentrating on lack and on the gloomy news do not really help us out. Therefore, this week I would like to share a few affirmations on Prosperity from Louise Hay that you might benefit for you well-being. Repeat them as often as you can, and every day.
Here is for prosperity. Cheers. … :
The more grateful I am for the wealth and abundance in my life, the more reasons I find to be grateful.
I pay my bills with love, and I rejoice as I make each payment. Abundance flows freely through me.
My good comes from everywhere and everyone.
I release all resistance to money, and I now allow it to flow joyously into my life.
I deserve the best, and I accept the best now.
Life supplies all my needs in great abundance. I trust life.
*-*-*
With love and light to you all. I wish you a wonderful new year.
Zeynep.
_____________________________________________________________
Angel of the Week: Creativity
Affirmation of the Week:
“The greatest gift I can give myself is unconditional love.”
By Louise L. Hay
Quote of the Week:
“The most potent muse of all is our own inner child.”
Stephen Nachmanovitch
Zeynep’s Book Recommendation of the Week:
“Healing from the Heart” By Mehmet Oz, M.D. with Ron Arias and Lisa Oz.
and Three Brains on the Table
I do not watch a lot of TV, yet I do watch the Oprah Show whenever I can, especially her shows with the worldwide famous Turkish doctor Mehmet Öz, or Oz-Man as Oprah calls him. His last name Öz becomes Oz in the English spelling and reminds many people of the story of “The Wizard of Oz”.
Well in the last show that I watched, the Oz-man and Oprah had an interesting guest. I had heard about her and had watched another program about her. I am talking about Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, who wrote about her amazing experiences of a stroke and her recovery in her best selling book “My Stroke of Insight”. Dr. Taylor is a brain scientist and she lived through a stroke and over a period of about eight years was able to recover to tell us her story.
I definitely recommend reading about her and to watch her story through one of her speeches, you can check out http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html. However, I will not write about her story here. I would like to share what she shared as to what she experienced as a patient while she was in the hospital.
When a patient is not able to speak, is not able to respond in the way we expect him or her to, when a person is mentally impaired, we tend to forget that there is a person living in that body.
One of the things that really touched me from what she shared was how people treat the mentally impaired as if they do not exist. Dr. Taylor talked about how people would not talk to her, because they assumed that she was not aware. But she was.
It is long story, but she made a few requests to people to are taking take of patients who have been through a stroke or are taking care of patients for any other ailment.
She requests that:
- Treat them like they will recover completely. (Make them know this is your intention and that you are not giving up on them)
- Talk to them directly (regardless of what you assume or believe they can and cannot understand)
- Allow them to sleep (to let them gather their energies)
- Make eye contact, touch them (and let the patients know that they are seen and that you are aware that they are alive. Dr. Taylor remembers the nurses who would touch her feet and talk to her while doing their medical work in her room. She heard, and saw and felt, even though she could not convey it at the time.)
Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor shared that although she could not understand what most of the nurses were talking about, she could tell from the energy of the person coming into the room what would be taking place and how. She could feel the energy; her right brain which was not hurt could sense that energy.
Dr. Mehmet Oz hearing Dr. Taylor’s comments admitted that many doctor and nurses know the importance of making a connection with a patient and the need to make a patient feel safe, but also told about how easy it is to forget because doctors and nurses need to take care of many such patients in a day, in a month, and over the years. I personally felt that Dr. Jill Taylor’s experience was a big reminder for many people in the health sector. And I would say even for myself. I did not have many experiences with people who have been through strokes. However, I have seen many people in Intensive Care Units, in ERs who are not able to give any information about the condition they are in, apart from their blood tests, their MR results, their blood pressure and pulse, and the level of oxygen in their blood. What is going in their mind? What are they feeling? Most of the time we have no idea. I will make a short note here that sometimes it is possible to feel, to sense, or even to hear what a person says even when they are unconscious. It does happen, but no one can really guarantee if and how.
*
How to know if you are having a stroke?
During a part of the show they brought three real human brains into the room and showed the audience how a healthy brain looks and how brains from different intensity strokes. You might also want to check out oprah.com if you are interested. I will share some of the important points.
Dr. Oz gave a simple, but important tool to check if someone is having a stroke. You might want to keep this simple check in mind:
If you feel that someone might be having a stroke, do this check:
1- Make them smile. Are they able to?
2- Make them put their hands up in the air. Can they?
3- Make them repeat a simple sentence over and over again. Such as “(Make the person use their own name) is beautiful” (Zeynep is beautiful. Zeynep is beautiful. Zeynep is beautiful. Zeynep is beautiful. )
If there is a problem with any one or all of these exercises, it means that it is best to rush immediately to a hospital and let the personnel in the Emergency Room know what might be happening.
Please make sure that you always contact your doctor or a hospital when you feel that you are in need to medical advice, or in an emergency.
*-*-*
For a Prosperous New Year
I receive a lot of questions about prosperity topics. A lot of people are concerned about their financial well-being as well as their health and happiness. Especially during these interesting and difficult times. Concentrating on lack and on the gloomy news do not really help us out. Therefore, this week I would like to share a few affirmations on Prosperity from Louise Hay that you might benefit for you well-being. Repeat them as often as you can, and every day.
Here is for prosperity. Cheers. … :
The more grateful I am for the wealth and abundance in my life, the more reasons I find to be grateful.
I pay my bills with love, and I rejoice as I make each payment. Abundance flows freely through me.
My good comes from everywhere and everyone.
I release all resistance to money, and I now allow it to flow joyously into my life.
I deserve the best, and I accept the best now.
Life supplies all my needs in great abundance. I trust life.
*-*-*
With love and light to you all. I wish you a wonderful new year.
Zeynep.
_____________________________________________________________
Angel of the Week: Creativity
Affirmation of the Week:
“The greatest gift I can give myself is unconditional love.”
By Louise L. Hay
Quote of the Week:
“The most potent muse of all is our own inner child.”
Stephen Nachmanovitch
Zeynep’s Book Recommendation of the Week:
“Healing from the Heart” By Mehmet Oz, M.D. with Ron Arias and Lisa Oz.
From Neal Donald Walsch
"God is in the sadness and in laughter. In the bitter and the sweet.
True Masters are those who have chosen to make a life, rather than a living.
The more you are, the more you can become, and the more you can become, the more you can yet be.
If you want to know what's true for you about something, look at how you're feeling about it. Feelings are sometimes difficult to discover - and often even more difficult to acknowledge. Yet hidden in your deepest feelings is your highest truth."
Happy Holidays and wish all of you lots of love in the year to come.
Z.
True Masters are those who have chosen to make a life, rather than a living.
The more you are, the more you can become, and the more you can become, the more you can yet be.
If you want to know what's true for you about something, look at how you're feeling about it. Feelings are sometimes difficult to discover - and often even more difficult to acknowledge. Yet hidden in your deepest feelings is your highest truth."
Happy Holidays and wish all of you lots of love in the year to come.
Z.
Affirmation of the Day:
"I love myself exactly as I am. I no longer wait to be perfect in order to love myself."
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Angel of the Week: Kindness
Kindness
Joy Drake and Kathy Tyler say these for the Angel of Kindness:
"Be great-hearted, warm, and generous in your attitude and actions. Approach life softly. Sprinkle goodwill liberally and give gentle consideration to others."
With love,
Z.
Joy Drake and Kathy Tyler say these for the Angel of Kindness:
"Be great-hearted, warm, and generous in your attitude and actions. Approach life softly. Sprinkle goodwill liberally and give gentle consideration to others."
With love,
Z.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
From the Great Master RUMI
A Light Within His Light
I circled awhile with each of the intelligences,
the nine fathers that control the levels of spirit growth.
I revolved for years with the stars
through each astrological sign.
I disappeared into the kingdom of nearness.
I saw what I have seen, receiving nourishment
as a child lives in the womb.
Personalities are born once.
A mystic many times.
Wearing the body-robe, I have been busy
in the market, weighing and arguing prices.
Sometimes I have torn the robe off
with my own hands and thrown it away.
I have spent long nights in monasteries,
and I have slept with those who claim
to believe nothing on the porches of pagodas,
just traveling through.
When someone feels jealous,
I am inside the hurt and the need to possess.
When anyone is sick,
I feel feverish and dizzy.
I am cloud and rain being released,
then the meadow as it soaks in.
I wash the grains of mortality
from the cloth around a dervish.
I am the rose of eternity,
not made of water or fire,
not of the wandering wind
or even earth. I play with those.
I am not Shams of Tabriz,
but a light within his light.
If you see me, be careful.
Tell no one what you have seen.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Pure Silence
December 17th. Today is tbe death anniversary of Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi.
It feels right to share a poem of his, through Coleman Barks' translations.
Pure Silence
I have come this time
to burn my thorns,
to purıfy my life,
to take up service again
in the garden.
I come weeping to these waters
to rise free of passion and belief.
Look at my face. These tears
are traces of you.
I will shorten this poem,
because the rest of it
is being said in the world
within our eyes.
Do you know this silence?
It is not the same as in your room
when you have no one to talk to.
This is pure silence,
not the kind that happens
when living dogs are eating a dead one.
...
with love,
Z.
It feels right to share a poem of his, through Coleman Barks' translations.
Pure Silence
I have come this time
to burn my thorns,
to purıfy my life,
to take up service again
in the garden.
I come weeping to these waters
to rise free of passion and belief.
Look at my face. These tears
are traces of you.
I will shorten this poem,
because the rest of it
is being said in the world
within our eyes.
Do you know this silence?
It is not the same as in your room
when you have no one to talk to.
This is pure silence,
not the kind that happens
when living dogs are eating a dead one.
...
with love,
Z.
To Be Back...
It has been quite a number of weeks since I was able to write for Land of Lights. I have been travelling extensively and I did miss the opportunity to be able to share. I realize that it is really important for me to be able to…
Since September I have been in London about 4 times. I do love London. It is the first city I have been to when I was a kid. I do feel at home in London, I guess London has that quality of making foreigners feel at home. I always did. And after spending 3-4 weeks on different occasions I feel much more so these days.
I had to chance to meet a lot of friends who works with various complementary therapies. It is good to know that we are quite up to date in Turkey as to what is happening in the world. London is a centre in many ways. I was happy to be with like minded friends and new acquaintances, but also happy to confirm –especially to myself – that we are, that I am on track.
*
Things to share did pile up, and I feel a little unsure as to where to start.
In the last few months, I had the chance to do training with Joy Drake. She is one of the creators of “The Transformation Game” developed in Findhorn. As some of you might know, I was in Scotland this summer, and became a facilitator for the Game. It is an amazing tool for self discovery. This fall I did a training on Frameworks Coaching Process, which is a coaching training derived from The Game. It is a much shorter application, but quite effective none the less.
What do I want to say…
I really find it hard to start. I remember the times when I had returned to Turkey from college almost 16 years ago. And summer vacations… I would be away for 8-9 months for the college school year, and then I would be in Istanbul for the summers. And the first few weeks at home and with friends used to be quite awkward. Of course, there was no internet then. And phone calls were quite expensive. That used to mean that we would be keeping in touch through letters. I remember writing letters to my parents as well as my friends. It is amazing to receive an envelope and wondering what might be written there – to go for the envelope and to look at the handwriting to figure out who might have sent it. To check the back or the left top corner for the sender. I realize that I have not written a proper letter in a very long time. … I do have such a feeling today. It is as if I have missed Fethiye and my friends in Fethiye, and I do not know where to start to share what has been happening with my life in the last few months.
*
I had an amazing time attending many trainings, especially for life coaching. I did attend various life coaching workshops and trainings in the last year. Some were more spiritually oriented, and some were more on the analytical side approved by the ICF, International Coaching Federation. Coaching is a different approach than consulting or the healing work that I do. Coaching does complement personal growth and is an amazing supportive tool. Empowerment is the key element. I am happy to discover that my personal approach to personal growth and development to match with the underlying principles of coaching, especially of the approach of Erickson College of Vancouver, that people are complete, that everyone internally knows what is best for him or her. The important thing is to allow or rather support the person to reach to that inner knowledge.
You will hear a lot about coaching from me in the coming weeks. You do not have to be a trained coach, but the approach is something you can personally use to support your family, kids, friends and business associates.
*
I am not physically back in Fethiye yet; but I am happy to be in touch again. I will admit that there are times when we go through a lot of personal change, or during times of excessive work or training, it is tough to keep the connection. I realize that when I am going through times of intense learning, intense experiences, on some levels I turn inside. During these last few months I had amazing experiences in the classes that I attended as well as the classes I had the chance to give. I met many colleagues and many new students and clients. I have quite a number of stories that I would like to share over the winter.
This is as deep as I seem to be able to go into the iceberg tonight. It is as if I needed to detach myself from a lot of things or people that I love for a while, not consciously, but to be able to move forward, to be able to spend the time with work and with the new learnings and the experiences. Life still and always amazes me.
*
December 17th is the death anniversary of one of the most famous poets in the world. Well, he is known more as a poet around the world. Yet, I would rather call him a sage, a wise-one, or even an enlightened being. He is Mevlana Celaleddin-I Rumi, known as just Rumi in the western world.
I would like to close with some lines from Rumi, with love and gratitude for all the writings, the work and the love he left behind for us all.
From the book titled “RUMI Bridge to the Soul” by Coleman Barks:
And the lines are mainly about silence…
*
Now let silence speak
As that begins, we will start out
*
Now the kissing is over
Fold your love in.
Hide it like pastry filling.
Whisper within with
a shy girl’s tenderness
*
Music begins.
Your silence,
deepen that.
Were you to put words with this
We would not survive the song.
*
Be silent now.
Say fewer and fewer praise poems.
Let yourself become living poetry.
*
Be clear like a mirror
reflecting nothing.
Be clean of pictures and the worry
that comes with images.
Gaze into what is not ashamed
or afraid of any truth.
Contain all human faces in your own
without any judgment of them.
Be pure emptiness.
What is inside that? you ask.
Silence is all I can say.
Lovers have some secrets
that they keep.
*-*-*
With love to you all,
Zeynep.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Angel of the Week: Trust
Affirmation of the Week:
“There is ample time and opportunity for creative expression in whatever area I choose.”
By Louise L. Hay
Quote of the Week:
“Since you are like no other being ever created since the beginning of time, you are incomparable.”
Brenda Ueland
Zeynep’s Book Recommendation of the Week:
How about readling, re-reading a book by Neale Donald Walsch this week?
Almost all of his books are available in Turkish, and I really do find him sincere and true in what he shares.
Since September I have been in London about 4 times. I do love London. It is the first city I have been to when I was a kid. I do feel at home in London, I guess London has that quality of making foreigners feel at home. I always did. And after spending 3-4 weeks on different occasions I feel much more so these days.
I had to chance to meet a lot of friends who works with various complementary therapies. It is good to know that we are quite up to date in Turkey as to what is happening in the world. London is a centre in many ways. I was happy to be with like minded friends and new acquaintances, but also happy to confirm –especially to myself – that we are, that I am on track.
*
Things to share did pile up, and I feel a little unsure as to where to start.
In the last few months, I had the chance to do training with Joy Drake. She is one of the creators of “The Transformation Game” developed in Findhorn. As some of you might know, I was in Scotland this summer, and became a facilitator for the Game. It is an amazing tool for self discovery. This fall I did a training on Frameworks Coaching Process, which is a coaching training derived from The Game. It is a much shorter application, but quite effective none the less.
What do I want to say…
I really find it hard to start. I remember the times when I had returned to Turkey from college almost 16 years ago. And summer vacations… I would be away for 8-9 months for the college school year, and then I would be in Istanbul for the summers. And the first few weeks at home and with friends used to be quite awkward. Of course, there was no internet then. And phone calls were quite expensive. That used to mean that we would be keeping in touch through letters. I remember writing letters to my parents as well as my friends. It is amazing to receive an envelope and wondering what might be written there – to go for the envelope and to look at the handwriting to figure out who might have sent it. To check the back or the left top corner for the sender. I realize that I have not written a proper letter in a very long time. … I do have such a feeling today. It is as if I have missed Fethiye and my friends in Fethiye, and I do not know where to start to share what has been happening with my life in the last few months.
*
I had an amazing time attending many trainings, especially for life coaching. I did attend various life coaching workshops and trainings in the last year. Some were more spiritually oriented, and some were more on the analytical side approved by the ICF, International Coaching Federation. Coaching is a different approach than consulting or the healing work that I do. Coaching does complement personal growth and is an amazing supportive tool. Empowerment is the key element. I am happy to discover that my personal approach to personal growth and development to match with the underlying principles of coaching, especially of the approach of Erickson College of Vancouver, that people are complete, that everyone internally knows what is best for him or her. The important thing is to allow or rather support the person to reach to that inner knowledge.
You will hear a lot about coaching from me in the coming weeks. You do not have to be a trained coach, but the approach is something you can personally use to support your family, kids, friends and business associates.
*
I am not physically back in Fethiye yet; but I am happy to be in touch again. I will admit that there are times when we go through a lot of personal change, or during times of excessive work or training, it is tough to keep the connection. I realize that when I am going through times of intense learning, intense experiences, on some levels I turn inside. During these last few months I had amazing experiences in the classes that I attended as well as the classes I had the chance to give. I met many colleagues and many new students and clients. I have quite a number of stories that I would like to share over the winter.
This is as deep as I seem to be able to go into the iceberg tonight. It is as if I needed to detach myself from a lot of things or people that I love for a while, not consciously, but to be able to move forward, to be able to spend the time with work and with the new learnings and the experiences. Life still and always amazes me.
*
December 17th is the death anniversary of one of the most famous poets in the world. Well, he is known more as a poet around the world. Yet, I would rather call him a sage, a wise-one, or even an enlightened being. He is Mevlana Celaleddin-I Rumi, known as just Rumi in the western world.
I would like to close with some lines from Rumi, with love and gratitude for all the writings, the work and the love he left behind for us all.
From the book titled “RUMI Bridge to the Soul” by Coleman Barks:
And the lines are mainly about silence…
*
Now let silence speak
As that begins, we will start out
*
Now the kissing is over
Fold your love in.
Hide it like pastry filling.
Whisper within with
a shy girl’s tenderness
*
Music begins.
Your silence,
deepen that.
Were you to put words with this
We would not survive the song.
*
Be silent now.
Say fewer and fewer praise poems.
Let yourself become living poetry.
*
Be clear like a mirror
reflecting nothing.
Be clean of pictures and the worry
that comes with images.
Gaze into what is not ashamed
or afraid of any truth.
Contain all human faces in your own
without any judgment of them.
Be pure emptiness.
What is inside that? you ask.
Silence is all I can say.
Lovers have some secrets
that they keep.
*-*-*
With love to you all,
Zeynep.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Angel of the Week: Trust
Affirmation of the Week:
“There is ample time and opportunity for creative expression in whatever area I choose.”
By Louise L. Hay
Quote of the Week:
“Since you are like no other being ever created since the beginning of time, you are incomparable.”
Brenda Ueland
Zeynep’s Book Recommendation of the Week:
How about readling, re-reading a book by Neale Donald Walsch this week?
Almost all of his books are available in Turkish, and I really do find him sincere and true in what he shares.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
With Love from London
It has been interesting couple of weeks for me. I was in London twice in September and met with friends from the London Centres of The Kaballah Center and the Japanese Organisation Shumei. I also got the chance to see friends who live in London. Although I attended a lot of spiritual groups and had the chance to do a lot of energy work, two of the highlights of my trips were to watch “Les Miserables” at West End (Thank you Tom and Rosie ) and to go to Arsenal Stadium to watch the Champions League soccer game of Arsenal and Porto.
I have a lot to share. However, I would like to start with a TV program I saw a few days ago after I came back to Turkey. It was the Oprah Show and the guests were the Turkish doctor, the famous heart surgeon, Dr. Mehmet Oz and the famous physiatrist Dr. Brian Weiss. Those of who have been following my column know that I really admire the work of Dr. Brian Weiss. Most of his books are also available in Turkish. On the show they were talking about the work Dr. Weiss has been doing on hypnosis. When Dr. Weiss was the head of the psychiatry department of the Mount Sinai hospital in the US, one of his patients regressed to what he calls a past-life in a hypnosis session. Since he did not believe in such things, he just went on with the sessions as a part of the treatment because the other treatment methods were just not working. His patient’s problems started to improve, however what made him believe was not the improvement in his patients, but the information the patient started giving about his child and his father who both had passed away. How can I explain his entire story and his books in a few paragraphs? I definitely recommend reading his books. It was quite amazing seeing him on the Oprah Show. Dr. Mehmet Oz said “Keep an open mind and observe what is happening.” I agree.
I also loved an example Dr. Brian Weiss gave about people. He said: “We are all like ice cubes. We have our definite shapes and corners and we are separate. To ice cubes, add heat energy and you get water. We think we are separate. Add energy, love energy and we become a sea. Love in the organising wisdom.”
*
I have written about my problems with my ankles and the relief I found with Reiki and healing methods. Well, my trust in my healing techniques was tested again in my first trip to London in September. On the evening of the 16th of September, as I was walking to return to my hotel, I fell in the street and I hurt my ankles. I was on my way back from the home of my cousin Reyhan. Her husband Mehmet just started London Business School for his MBA and he was walking me back to the Baker Tube Station. And I knew I was tired, but I was not aware that I was this tired. Suddenly my ankle turned, and I found myself falling face down in the street. I knew this was not going to be good. I tried to stand up, but it was not possible. Mehmet called a cab as I sat on the sidewalk waitinh and then I literally crawled into the taxi. On the way to the hotel I started giving Reiki to myself and applying my other visualization techniques. I was supposed to be flying back to Istanbul the next day. Was I going to be able to go to the Airport? How would I get there? How to get on the flight, how to go to my apartment in Istanbul? All these thoughts were racing in my mind. I was in quite a lot of pain. This was not a light injury. Well, that night Mehmet helped me walk to my room from the taxi and brought me ice. He had the class the next day and it was past midnight, so I sent him home.
I spent the whole night resting and giving myself energy. My hotel was in Swiss Cottage and very close to the London Centre of the Japanese Shumei Organisation. They use the energy healing technique called Jyorei. In London they start their morning activities at 7 am. So I woke up at around 6:30: My ankle was still a little swollen on the inner side, but I was able to walk. Not totally comfortable, but I was able to walk without any bandages or support. Well, I did not have any anyway. The pain was not completely gone, but was nothing like the night before. So I got up, got dressed and walked to the Centre. When we injure ourselves, sometimes rest is needed. I did not have that time. Also, it is usually harder to work on ourselves in an injury. Anyway, that morning Sensei Joe Amanai and Hiro-San gave me Jyorei. Hiro is from the Paris Centre of Shumei and he was in London for Shumei’s 11th European Anniversary Ceremony. I thank them both from my heart.
Well, that noon I got on the Tube to Paddington, took the Heathrow Express Train and flew to Istanbul. All on my own and carrying my own suitcase. I have written about my injures that took weeks and weeks to heal many times. I do not want to keep on repeating. However, I was reminded again that energy healing works and works wonderfully. I do wonder though why I needed the reminding.
With lots of love and light,
Zeynep
Angel of the Week: Beauty
Affirmation of the Week:“The joy I find in my career is reflected in my overall happiness.”
By Louise L. Hay
Quote of the Week:
“Genuine beginnings begin within us, even when they are brought to our attention by external opportunities.”
William Bridges
Zeynep’s Book Recommendation of the Week:“Many Lives Many Masters” By Dr. Brian Weiss
The Turkish translation of the book may be found under the name “Birçok Yaşam Birçok Üstat”.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
All In a Minute or Less
I met Ken Blanchard when I was at Cornell University in the US. I took his “One-Minute-Manager” course when his book by the same name was really hot on the best-sellers list. I believe that was in 1992. Since then more than 18 million copies of this book has been sold. Ken Blanchard had many other books out since then, and many of them have been translated to Turkish.
Recently I have been reading one of his books that have been out in Turkish last October. “Leading At a Higher Level” is the title. Since I do life coaching and consulting, I read and follow the new books and methods by various teachers and consultants around the world. Tom Peters is also one of my idols. His books changed the way I thought when I was in college. Being an engineer and operations research specialist, his approach to production and business seemed so different, I believe to the whole world as well as me.
I am not going to write about business or management techniques today. Maybe I will in the coming weeks. Through mentioning these teachers, I would like to say that a few days spent with a good teacher in 1992 still continues to create a positive influence in my life, 16 years later. Ken Blanchard is not the only one. I cannot forget the day I met Steve Jobs. That was in 1989. I was a freshman in engineering and the Macintosh seemed even more amazing in those pre-Windows years. Steve Jobs was cool, ultra smart and so casual. As I kept on meeting these knowledgeable, hard working and smart and accomplished people through life, I believe my expectations from life and from myself radically changed. I lived what we call the importance of role models. My father and my mother were great mode models; however having met some of the teachers that I did made a big difference.
I like going to the theatre. There is something beautiful and strong in being in the same atmosphere with talented artists. I love going to concerts. For the last couple of years Istanbul has been welcoming great performers around the world. I hope that one day we will be able to watch them in Fethiye as well. There is a different magic in watching excellence performed. This alone teaches more than we can image. Seeing a living example of someone of doing something has effects beyond most understanding. We can teach a kid or an adult that something is possible and even teach them the techniques of mastery. Even though they may learn it all perfectly, unless and until they believe that they can do it, it will not happen. That is what role models are especially for – to show that it is indeed possible. Efforts of years may then give fruit in a second...
*
Messages of the Week from Susan Jeffers:
+ Awareness let’s you know it’s time for action:
Once you are aware of the Chatterbox, at last you can do something about it (even if it is driving you crazy!). When you are unaware of this mischievous little voice, you are at its mercy.
+ The paradox of genuine giving:
When we give genuinely, with thought only for others, we often find that more comes back to us that we could ever have imagined.
+ Giving diminished fear:
When you focus on giving, you lose your neediness and you fell “full-filled”. As you give, your sense of power and love gets greater and greater and greater.
+ Give away praise:
Often the people we find most difficult to praise are those closest to us. Yet praise is a wonderful way of releasing anger and resentment. Praise can take down the barriers to love and connection.
+ Are you a complainer?
Complaining is a very common activity of everyone’s Lower Self. Complaining is also a big clue that you are not taking responsibility for your experience of life.
+ Positive affirmations: a wonderful tool.
An affirmation is a strong, positive statement telling you that ‘all is well’. With constant repetition, affirmations help you drown out the negative messages of the Chatterbox. Confidence restored!
*
I wish you love, luck and confidence...
Zeynep
____________________________________________
Angel of the Week: Openness
Affirmation of the Week:
“Everything is how it needs to be right now. I look past the illusion, and see the underlying order.”
By Doreen Virtue
Quote of the Week:
“May you live in interesting times.”
Chinese saying
Zeynep’s Book Recommendation of the Week:“Leading At A Higher Level” By Ken Blanchard
This book is available in Turkish under the title: “Liderlikte Çıtayı Yükseltmek”.
Recently I have been reading one of his books that have been out in Turkish last October. “Leading At a Higher Level” is the title. Since I do life coaching and consulting, I read and follow the new books and methods by various teachers and consultants around the world. Tom Peters is also one of my idols. His books changed the way I thought when I was in college. Being an engineer and operations research specialist, his approach to production and business seemed so different, I believe to the whole world as well as me.
I am not going to write about business or management techniques today. Maybe I will in the coming weeks. Through mentioning these teachers, I would like to say that a few days spent with a good teacher in 1992 still continues to create a positive influence in my life, 16 years later. Ken Blanchard is not the only one. I cannot forget the day I met Steve Jobs. That was in 1989. I was a freshman in engineering and the Macintosh seemed even more amazing in those pre-Windows years. Steve Jobs was cool, ultra smart and so casual. As I kept on meeting these knowledgeable, hard working and smart and accomplished people through life, I believe my expectations from life and from myself radically changed. I lived what we call the importance of role models. My father and my mother were great mode models; however having met some of the teachers that I did made a big difference.
I like going to the theatre. There is something beautiful and strong in being in the same atmosphere with talented artists. I love going to concerts. For the last couple of years Istanbul has been welcoming great performers around the world. I hope that one day we will be able to watch them in Fethiye as well. There is a different magic in watching excellence performed. This alone teaches more than we can image. Seeing a living example of someone of doing something has effects beyond most understanding. We can teach a kid or an adult that something is possible and even teach them the techniques of mastery. Even though they may learn it all perfectly, unless and until they believe that they can do it, it will not happen. That is what role models are especially for – to show that it is indeed possible. Efforts of years may then give fruit in a second...
*
Messages of the Week from Susan Jeffers:
+ Awareness let’s you know it’s time for action:
Once you are aware of the Chatterbox, at last you can do something about it (even if it is driving you crazy!). When you are unaware of this mischievous little voice, you are at its mercy.
+ The paradox of genuine giving:
When we give genuinely, with thought only for others, we often find that more comes back to us that we could ever have imagined.
+ Giving diminished fear:
When you focus on giving, you lose your neediness and you fell “full-filled”. As you give, your sense of power and love gets greater and greater and greater.
+ Give away praise:
Often the people we find most difficult to praise are those closest to us. Yet praise is a wonderful way of releasing anger and resentment. Praise can take down the barriers to love and connection.
+ Are you a complainer?
Complaining is a very common activity of everyone’s Lower Self. Complaining is also a big clue that you are not taking responsibility for your experience of life.
+ Positive affirmations: a wonderful tool.
An affirmation is a strong, positive statement telling you that ‘all is well’. With constant repetition, affirmations help you drown out the negative messages of the Chatterbox. Confidence restored!
*
I wish you love, luck and confidence...
Zeynep
____________________________________________
Angel of the Week: Openness
Affirmation of the Week:
“Everything is how it needs to be right now. I look past the illusion, and see the underlying order.”
By Doreen Virtue
Quote of the Week:
“May you live in interesting times.”
Chinese saying
Zeynep’s Book Recommendation of the Week:“Leading At A Higher Level” By Ken Blanchard
This book is available in Turkish under the title: “Liderlikte Çıtayı Yükseltmek”.
A Magical Word: Empowerment
Empowerment is a word that I like a lot. I have been writing a lot about empowerment lately. As long as the urge is there, I trust that there is a reason for it.
I believe empowerment to be like a mission in my life – empowering myself and others. That is what my father taught me in the years that we worked together. He taught me to share the knowledge and to share the accomplishments. He was a wonderful teacher.
There is a very good by titled “Empowerment” by John Randolph Price. There is another book by him called “The Angels within Us” that I also love. His approach is always reminding us of our infinite potential.
Do we empower our family, our children, our employees? Or do we go on to create dependent beings with low self confidence and motivation? Do we serve our ego or a higher purpose?
There was a conference in Fethiye a couple months ago by the famous child psychiatrist Prof. Yankı Yazgan. He is a professor at the Medical School in Marmara University in Istanbul and he is also the author of about 10 books on brain development and child and adolescent development. He also writes for the national Akşam Newspaper weekly.
I had met him a couple years ago in a training and we were among the 12-13 people who were to watch the test run of a new program. We had spent about 2 days together and had invited him to give a conference in Fethiye. He accepted. Although it took over a year for it to actualize, he did keep his promise and gave a two hour conference to parents and teachers on April 24th, 2008. The title of the conference was: “Being a Parent and an Educator in the Times of Change”.
Of all the things that Prof. Yazgan said, what I stood out for the most was - the importance of letting a child experience and learn through experience.
We are not here to do for them; we are here to allow them and create the space for them to learn and accomplish for themselves. No matter how we describe it , or which words we use – the real word is Empowerment.
Michell Cassou says “We live in a time in which most people believe there is not much inside them, only what teachers, parents, and others have out there.” They are all here to uncover the potentials that are waiting to be expressed and used.
Empowerment, for whom?
Empowerment is a key word for me. I had the chance to work with teachers who believed in empowerment. I was told to aid people who wanted to discover their true self and true path. My teachers told me to be aware that I can only share possibilities and options, and I can encourage if they want to be encouraged. I can support, if there is anyone who wants to be supported. I may answer if I am asked. However, I was also told that I should be wise enough to discover that I am no wiser than anyone I know. Empowerment was the key word I was lucky enough to learn through experience. I was empowered and learned to accept that it is the only way.
Now, I cannot be one of those who know it all, even if I do know some. I cannot be one of those of who preach a lot, I can only share.
In my early years when I would see a healer or teacher who would go on to share how wonderful or great he or she was, I would go back to my own teachers and ask why they did not do the same since they knew a lot too, and why was I not to share openly what I knew. I wanted to show that I knew too. Almost in union they would reply “Be yourself, then they will know.”
I need to keep in mind that I do not heal anyone. I can only show the options.
Maybe I can do first aid and clean up the wounds. But where did the wounds came from? Why are they there? And who wants them there and for what?
And you know what, I may have the answers to all of these questions, but again this is not what matters. It is not important that I discover the answers.
It is important that I am able to create the desire in a person to want to discover their own answers.
And once the desire is there, they will find their answers - no matter what. At that point, I may be a part of their journey in discovering better ways to find out and deal with what they discover. If they want it; if they choose it; if they accept it.
This is not how I had thought how healing would work, but this is where I am right now.
I thank my teachers and masters of all different traditions and cultures. You give me hope and taught me to trust what is in our core.
I did say a lot today.
Where did it come from?
Hopefully from my heart.
One final quote from Louise Hay:
“Ask for help. Tell Life what you want, and allow it to happen.”
*-*-*
With love and light...
Z.
____________________________________________________________
Affirmation of the Week:
“I am well structured and balanced.”
Louise L. Hay
Quote of the Week:
“Life is not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be lived.”
Thomas Merton
Suggested Reading:
“The Life You Were Born To Live” By Dan Millman
The Turkish translation of the book may be found under the name “Hayatınızın Amacı”.
Imagine Being Lucky
Courage to Walk the Talk
My friends, people who consult me and those of you who have been reading my articles over the years know that I really like Louise Hay and her work. She has changed the world through her courage to look at and live life totally differently. She also has the courage to walk the talk.
“You Can Heal Your Life”, “The Power is Within You”, especially “Heal Your Body” are amazing books. Louise Hay was one of the pioneers in acknowledging the power our thoughts and words have on our well being. Don Miguel Ruiz does it with his book “The Four Agreements”. Norman Vincent Peale and Napoleon Hill did it with their books. They were the pioneers. “The Secret” came much later.
Can You Imagine?
Even though I teach or write about the importance and the power of our words, I sometimes find it hard to give up complaining completely. If I am too tired, or sleepless or in too much hurry, once in a while I catch myself complaining. If I am, or you are complaining, that means that something in our system is not in balance, especially energetically
I have learned a few lessons over the years. When do I catch myself complaining (even if it is to myself), I know that I am tired, that my energy level is low, that I have in touch with people and events that have charged my energy field with other vibrations. Or that I slipped into negative thinking and unsupportive thoughts. Therefore I am not taking the responsibility for my decisions, actions and conditions.
Then, usually I immediately take a shower. If it is in the evening, I go to bed early. If it is during the day and I am not able to shower, I wash my hands and keep them under running water for a while. I also visualize my whole body and energy field cleansed with the help of the water. I close my eyes and release all energies and influences that do not belong to me, but I have accumulated.
When our energy level is low, we cannot carry the load. And one thing we also lose sight of is that we have energy to carry the load of that day on any given day. We cannot carry yesterday or tomorrow if the energy of today.
Many master and teachers of energy techniques clearly note that we are given our energy day by day, and only for the coming 24 hours. This was one of the first lessons I learned from my bio-energy teacher Moshe Abudaram. That is one of the reasons worrying about the future will not help us out. If the energy we are given includes energy to plan and program for tomorrow, then we will. However, it may also not. That is why I believe that sometimes we just have to let go. Let go of expectations, worry, anger or restlessness. Can you image yourself letting go?
Letting go of unnecessary expectations?
Letting go of loads and duties that were not yours to start with?
Can you image being lifted and carried to where you want without strain?
Without too much effort?
Can you image being lucky?
Being totally taken care of?
Being totally and unconditionally loved?
Can you image … what is it that you truly desire?
Words Make A Difference
The words that we utter make a difference. They do. So this week I would like to offer you some phrases to incorporate into your speech, your writing, your life. And see how the outer picture of your life responds.
+ I love being me.
+ It’s only a thought and a thought can be changed.
+ All my changes are easy to make.
+ I deserve good in my life.
+ I deserve joy.
+ I follow the path of right action.
+ Everything I need comes to me in the perfect time and space sequence.
+ I express my true being.
+ I can do what I want.
+ Every hand that touches me is a healing hand.
+ I have unlimited potential.
+ I am good enough.
+ I am now willing to see only my magnificence.
Maybe, maybe everything we need is in the words.
So let us let it be….
*
With love and light. May your power always shine with truth and honesty.
Zeynep
_______________________________
Angel of the Week: Truth
Affirmation of the Week:
“Everything I need comes to me in the perfect time and space sequence.”
Louise L. Hay
Quote of the Week:
“Everywhere I go, I find a poet has been there before me.”
Sigmund Freud
Zeynep’s Book Recommendation of the Week:
“Welcome Home” By Steve Rother & the Group
This book is available in Turkish under the title: “Yuvaya Hoşgeldiniz”.
Soulmates
Feng-Shui of Love
I have been interested in Feng-Shui since the year 2000. I met some experts who knew what they were talking about, and some were just reciting what they gathered. Yet, when I started applying some of the principles I learned in 2000 in my home, my own true life path started opening up.
I teach and use energy methods. We are all made up of energy, us and the whole universe. And when we are aware of this fact and use this awareness to understand the dynamics of our lives, our paths unravel just naturally.
*
Feng-Shui principles are used to improve the flow of energy in our physical environments, our homes, offices, apartment buildings, gardens, road paths, ponds, etc. As the energy flow and quality of energy improves in these spaces, so does the quality of our lives. I have seen it happen and that is why I would like to suggest you to be aware of it as well. Your life might change, for the better.
Feng-Shui is not only about spaces. The power of the mind, positive thinking and increasing your personal energy level is an important aspect as well. We are an important part of our environment.
From Feng-Shui expert Lillian Too:
“Music will change the vibrations that surround you. Happy songs lift the spirits like nothing can! Control your moods with music. Make it happy music. In fact it is an excellent idea to make it a rule never to listen to melancholic music. And if you enjoy love songs go for those with a happy ending. Singing the blues is like chanting a negative mantra.”
How about giving uplifting music a try for a week? Who knows what ripple effects this may bring?
Story of Soul Mates
I do not write about soulmates a lot. A lot of people ask me to, however, when the desire to know comes from our ego, we do not benefit much from the information. The intention behind the desire to learn is very important.
Yet, once a year, when a special time comes, I do write about soulmate energy. Around this time of the year, if I feel the need, I share what seems appropriate.
Richard Bach’s “Bridge Across Forever” and Dr. Brian Weiss’s “Only Love Is Real” are two books you can also find in Turkish on the theme of soulmates. Being aware that there is an energy with exactly the same quality as ours with the opposite polarity creates an awareness for the dynamics of living on this earth and life.
For centuries, in literature there are hundreds of famous love stories of probable soulmates. Well, in the teachings of bioenergy, the same concept also exits.
According to Kabbalists, in August, in the month of Av, there is an opportunity to connect with our soulmate energy. And on a special day which can be determined by the moon calendar, it is easiest to make that connection. It is believed to be the day when we are able to connect with the other half of our soul, our unique half, which it is believed of which we got separated at creation.
This year it is the 16th of August in 2008. It is from sunset of August 15th until sunset on August 16th. To set the intention that you are open to unite with your soulmate, energetically and physical if your soulmate is alive.
Most people assume that their soulmate would be of the appropriate gender of their dream partner, or around their age or eligible for a relationship. None of this may be true. You might be a young graduate from college and your soulmate might be the elderly lady who owns a shop in the town you visited for business. You might be living in Inverness in Scotland, and yes your soulmate might be living in a small village in Fethiye. And as likely, you might be born and your soulmate energy might not have.
Are these all for real? There is no way to know for sure. These are what I find to be true from my studies, my personal sessions with various teachers and clients around the world. When these experiences seem to match and also ring true in my heart, I go with that information. As I am studying the topic of soulmates more over the years, I am becoming aware of the knowledge passed on by the ancient traditions.
What to do on that day?
Be your true self. Connecting with the energy of our soul mate does not necessarily mean finding or meeting a new or better partner. It could mean that. However, it also means connecting with an energy that will make us feel complete, content, happy and healthy. This union does not necessarily have to happen on the physical plane. It could, but doesn’t have to.
Will you get to meet your soulmate? Well, maybe you already did. And maybe you will never get the meet him or her in person. However, if you are open to that energy, and you intend to connect on a continuous basis with no strings attached, both you and that person-that energy will feel complete and in union with life, with the world, with the universe.
To Regress
I do astrological & numerology analysis for my clients. People do benefit a lot from learning about the main energies and influences that they are under during their lives and during various parts of their lives. I also do regressions especially through Inverse Wave Therapy if need arises. I do not choose to do regressions for people who just want to wonder around in their past. Maybe the past is available for us to look, yet we are born in a body in this lifetime on this earth. That is what we chose and we are here. I am for improving the quality of our lives here. However, in case of illnesses of various sorts, regressions create a lot of relief and cure.
*
A Key, for Life:
Doing what is difficult for us to do.
This gets us out of the box.
For some this might mean keeping quiet, and for some this means talking in front of crowds. This may mean starting singing or simply stopping. Anything and everything you can think of. Doing what is beyond our safe limits brings growth and expansion. Do it. Try it. I do it and I love it. Not to repeat what Mark Twain said, I definitely regretted the things that I have done much less that what I haven’t.
*
May your lives always be joyful and in union… and filled with wonderful adventures…
With lots of love,
Zeynep
_________________________________________________
Angel of the Week: Harmony
Affirmation of the Week:
“It is important not only to bring about my own transformation but also to assist others.”
From The Kabbalah Centre
Quote of the Week:
“Art doesn’t transform. It just plain forms.”
Roy Lichtenstein
Zeynep’s Book Recommendation of the Week:
“Indigo Child-The New Kids Have Arrived” By Lee Carroll & Jan Tober
This book is available in Turkish under the title: “İndigo Çocuklar – Yeni Çocuklar Geldiler!”.
I have been interested in Feng-Shui since the year 2000. I met some experts who knew what they were talking about, and some were just reciting what they gathered. Yet, when I started applying some of the principles I learned in 2000 in my home, my own true life path started opening up.
I teach and use energy methods. We are all made up of energy, us and the whole universe. And when we are aware of this fact and use this awareness to understand the dynamics of our lives, our paths unravel just naturally.
*
Feng-Shui principles are used to improve the flow of energy in our physical environments, our homes, offices, apartment buildings, gardens, road paths, ponds, etc. As the energy flow and quality of energy improves in these spaces, so does the quality of our lives. I have seen it happen and that is why I would like to suggest you to be aware of it as well. Your life might change, for the better.
Feng-Shui is not only about spaces. The power of the mind, positive thinking and increasing your personal energy level is an important aspect as well. We are an important part of our environment.
From Feng-Shui expert Lillian Too:
“Music will change the vibrations that surround you. Happy songs lift the spirits like nothing can! Control your moods with music. Make it happy music. In fact it is an excellent idea to make it a rule never to listen to melancholic music. And if you enjoy love songs go for those with a happy ending. Singing the blues is like chanting a negative mantra.”
How about giving uplifting music a try for a week? Who knows what ripple effects this may bring?
Story of Soul Mates
I do not write about soulmates a lot. A lot of people ask me to, however, when the desire to know comes from our ego, we do not benefit much from the information. The intention behind the desire to learn is very important.
Yet, once a year, when a special time comes, I do write about soulmate energy. Around this time of the year, if I feel the need, I share what seems appropriate.
Richard Bach’s “Bridge Across Forever” and Dr. Brian Weiss’s “Only Love Is Real” are two books you can also find in Turkish on the theme of soulmates. Being aware that there is an energy with exactly the same quality as ours with the opposite polarity creates an awareness for the dynamics of living on this earth and life.
For centuries, in literature there are hundreds of famous love stories of probable soulmates. Well, in the teachings of bioenergy, the same concept also exits.
According to Kabbalists, in August, in the month of Av, there is an opportunity to connect with our soulmate energy. And on a special day which can be determined by the moon calendar, it is easiest to make that connection. It is believed to be the day when we are able to connect with the other half of our soul, our unique half, which it is believed of which we got separated at creation.
This year it is the 16th of August in 2008. It is from sunset of August 15th until sunset on August 16th. To set the intention that you are open to unite with your soulmate, energetically and physical if your soulmate is alive.
Most people assume that their soulmate would be of the appropriate gender of their dream partner, or around their age or eligible for a relationship. None of this may be true. You might be a young graduate from college and your soulmate might be the elderly lady who owns a shop in the town you visited for business. You might be living in Inverness in Scotland, and yes your soulmate might be living in a small village in Fethiye. And as likely, you might be born and your soulmate energy might not have.
Are these all for real? There is no way to know for sure. These are what I find to be true from my studies, my personal sessions with various teachers and clients around the world. When these experiences seem to match and also ring true in my heart, I go with that information. As I am studying the topic of soulmates more over the years, I am becoming aware of the knowledge passed on by the ancient traditions.
What to do on that day?
Be your true self. Connecting with the energy of our soul mate does not necessarily mean finding or meeting a new or better partner. It could mean that. However, it also means connecting with an energy that will make us feel complete, content, happy and healthy. This union does not necessarily have to happen on the physical plane. It could, but doesn’t have to.
Will you get to meet your soulmate? Well, maybe you already did. And maybe you will never get the meet him or her in person. However, if you are open to that energy, and you intend to connect on a continuous basis with no strings attached, both you and that person-that energy will feel complete and in union with life, with the world, with the universe.
To Regress
I do astrological & numerology analysis for my clients. People do benefit a lot from learning about the main energies and influences that they are under during their lives and during various parts of their lives. I also do regressions especially through Inverse Wave Therapy if need arises. I do not choose to do regressions for people who just want to wonder around in their past. Maybe the past is available for us to look, yet we are born in a body in this lifetime on this earth. That is what we chose and we are here. I am for improving the quality of our lives here. However, in case of illnesses of various sorts, regressions create a lot of relief and cure.
*
A Key, for Life:
Doing what is difficult for us to do.
This gets us out of the box.
For some this might mean keeping quiet, and for some this means talking in front of crowds. This may mean starting singing or simply stopping. Anything and everything you can think of. Doing what is beyond our safe limits brings growth and expansion. Do it. Try it. I do it and I love it. Not to repeat what Mark Twain said, I definitely regretted the things that I have done much less that what I haven’t.
*
May your lives always be joyful and in union… and filled with wonderful adventures…
With lots of love,
Zeynep
_________________________________________________
Angel of the Week: Harmony
Affirmation of the Week:
“It is important not only to bring about my own transformation but also to assist others.”
From The Kabbalah Centre
Quote of the Week:
“Art doesn’t transform. It just plain forms.”
Roy Lichtenstein
Zeynep’s Book Recommendation of the Week:
“Indigo Child-The New Kids Have Arrived” By Lee Carroll & Jan Tober
This book is available in Turkish under the title: “İndigo Çocuklar – Yeni Çocuklar Geldiler!”.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Childhood Dreams
Some of you might have heard of Professor Randy Pausch’s story and his last lecture at Carnegie Mellon University last September. Randy Pausch passed away on July 25th, 2008, but the ripple effects of his lecture, his book “The Last Lecture”, his story will most probably continue to touch many lives.
I am not here to tell about his life, just how he used these circumstances to create a more positive outcome for others and especially for his kids. I am moved by this courageous man.
Randy Pausch, when he learned that he had pancreatic cancer gave a final speech at the university he was working in, Carnegie Mellon University in the US. And he also wrote a book with the aid of Jeffrey Zaslow and managed to complete and publish it before he passed away. His book became a best seller and it has been available in Turkish for about a few months.
One of my teachers, Moshe Abudaram had shown me the record of the lecture at Carnegie Mellon months ago. The title of his lecture was “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams“. Then I watched him on the Oprah Show when he gave an abridged version of his speech. He used the time he had to share and to tell what was closest to his heart. And he made a difference.
…Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams…
Are we aware that once we really did have dreams?
Do we remember how it felt to be a kid?
How would it feel to be like a kid?
Do we allow ourselves to dream?
What do we allow ourselves to think of?
To imagine?
To want?
*-*-*
When I was a kid, there were a few things that I really wanted. I wanted to write and I wanted to dance. I have been writing since I was 13 or 14. I used to write for our Turkish and English newspapers and magazines when I was in high school. I wrote a lot of poems over the years. And since 2006 I have been writing for a couple of national magazines in Turkey, and of course for the Land of Lights newspaper for the last few years.
I just love writing. Today is a wonderful sunny summer Sunday in Istanbul. As I am writing today, I look out the window and it is wonderful to watch the sea, shining, and the boats that are going up and down the Bosphorous. Yet, I choose to stay, to stay inside and to write. To share what really excites me and what I believe will make or can make your life better.
What really makes me stay inside and on my own in front of the computer?
As for dancing, I never got the chance to learn or even to find much the time to dance. As a kid I remember that I would put a tape that I loved and dance. I would look for times when there was no one home, so that I could do this more freely. When I was at Cornell University, I remember that Friday and Saturday nights, there would be parties and there would be real dancing. I remember that we would dance till the early hours of the morning. It was such a wonderful feeling.
The last such experience I had was in a training called “The Butterfly Effect.” Our trainers Adi, Adir and Yair had created a wonderful atmosphere where all participants had free space to express their feeling with their bodies in the form of a dance. The music kept changing, and so did the dances. There was such joy, freedom and happiness that we all felt and shared.
Since then when I feel like it, I put on a CD that I like, or I turn the radio to a station that I like and I dance. And I each time I feel born anew…
*-*-*
This is one of the weeks that I believe less is more, and I would like to request one thing from you:
To remember your childhood dreams and to see what you can do to get a taste of what you really wanted then.
Could you give it a try?
…
Wish you lots of love and luck.
Zeynep
_________________________________________
Angel of the Week: Power
Affirmation of the Week:“Our soul gives us power to accomplish more that we can imagine.”
From The Kabbalah Centre
Quote of the Week:“I welcome all creatures of the world with grace.”
Hildegard of Bingen
Zeynep’s Book Recommendation of the Week:
“The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch
This book is available in Turkish under the title: “Son Konuşma”.
To Have a Story to Tell
I chose an angel card for myself today and the card that came out was “Play”. I find myself with than quality that we call childlike many times. We indeed do forget to play – yes even during a vacation. When did we forget to play? And how?
*
I have been playing and watch others playing a different kind of game – The Transformation Game lately. This game is an amazing tool to discover how we act, how we behave and respond to life. I fell in love with this game as a player and then wanted to learn how to facilitate it. That is how my trip to Findhorn got started.
I have been hearing of the Findhorn Foundation and Community in the last couple of years. I have been hearing about it with respect to Spirituality and Ecological Living and Ecological Footprints. I have been attending workshops on Sustainability and we also organized seminars to high school kids in Fethiye on Ecological Foot Prints. However, I learned about the Transformation Game, which was developed in Findhorn, for the first time last year in October. A few months later, the Turkish translation of the game was available in bookstores around the country under the name “Donusum Oyunu.”
Personal development and healing are topics very dear to my heart. I am a life coach and I am aware that we all have our unique ways of learning and digesting information. Some of us like to read, some of us would like to hear the words from a teacher. Some learn better under pressure. And some of us do learn while playing. The Transformation Game is an excellent tool to learn, about ourselves, while playing.
*
What would you consider “playing”?
Do you play in life?
Did you play today?
*-*-*
I have an art studio in Istanbul. For me painting is playing. I lose track of space and time when I paint and I love that feeling. I get a similar feeling when I am reading. The other day I was trying to figure out how and when I started to like reading. I couldn’t. Maybe I should ask my Mom. But I do. I do love reading.
*
There is a famous Turkish author who had passed away in 1950s, Sait Faik. He surely is one of my heroes. And I discovered him when I was 13, when I saw my British math teacher reading Sait Faik in Turkish, a book called “Semaver Sarnıç”. First of all, in class he never gave us a clue that he knew Turkish and, now he was reading a book in Turkish. I was to discover this wonderful and very famous story teller in the most unusual way. One of the first things I did after started to live in Fethiye was to order a complete sets of Sait Faik’s books for my library here.
Do you ever get that feeling, the feeling of wanting to read a story again, a section of a book again, and to feel a restlessness that is hard to explain when you cannot seem to find it? I feel like that quite a lot. For that reason, I have a library in all my homes and my offices for the books that I love. And yes I do have various copies of the same books, maybe not of all, but of quite a lot of them. Why do I need to have their presence? Maybe it is to be closer with the energy of the words or of the energy of the authors. I realize that in some of my libraries I have more books on certain topics or more books of certain authors. And they are not related with the location of the library. Makes me wonder about the energy interactions we usually do not think about, but that exit.
Ah, one final note. In Sait Faik’s biography it is written: “Since Sait Faik considered writing his work, he decided to do nothing else.” Quite courageous for the 1930s in Turkey and I am so thankful and grateful to him for just doing that...
*-*-*
I send you lots of love and may the books that will touch your heart appear on your journey.
Zeynep
_______________________________________________________________________________
Angel of the Week: Patience
Affirmation of the Week:“My creative powers of imagination and my connection to all-encompassing consciousness show me the way to realize my ideas.”
Gerd Ziegler
Quote of the Week:
“Energy moves in waves. Waves move in patterns. Patterns move in rhythms. The rhythms gave me a way to map the movements of my own psyches as well as the ever-changing state of the universe.”
Gabrielle Roth
Zeynep’s Book Recommendation of the Week:
This week I have different book recommendations in English and Turkish.
In English: “Six Degrees, Our Future on a Hotter Planet” by Mark Lynas
In Turkish: “Semaver Sarnıç” by Sait Faik, with my deepest respect to the memory of this great Turkish story teller. He is one the reasons that I am writing today. May he rest in peace.
What Would Love Do Now?
I have been away from Fethiye almost since December. I came for a few days on and off, but I really missed it and missed my friends here. Still, I have a lot of catching up to do. By the way, currently I am back in Istanbul for a project on Life Coaching. Actually, I came back to Istanbul today with a morning flight. I flew with Pegasus Airlines for the first time. And also I used the Sabiha Gökçen Airport in Istanbul for the first time as well. I am amazed to see that London now has four airports, and having a second one was definitely needed in Istanbul. However, I have a feeling this second airport will turn out to be too small for the city’s growing needs for air travel.
*
Well, back to Fethiye. I was talking with some friends about my trip to Japan this year in May. That trip has been like a Tibetian bowl in my life. I can still feel its influence, its vibration in my life. I am also trying to understand why I feel this connected to this country…
What makes us connected to a place?
What makes us feel close to, to like, to love a place, a country, a person?
It is about culture, language, or appearances?
Is it about being similar or different?
What are the underlying factors?
What are the reasons, if any?
…
*
Fethiye is a place that I am really drawn to. There are other cities and towns that I have been to tens of times and I do not feel a similar connection with those places.
I also feel a very close connection with Japan, more than many of the countries that I have been to so many times.
Why?
Well, there are different answers:
My bio-energy teacher Moshe Abudaram says that sometimes the land, the energy of the physical land may call a person, to complete what is taking place there. Maybe that is why although distant healing works beautifully in many cases, sometimes healer needs to be physically close to the person in need of the healing.
What does this really mean
This can mean several things. First of all, those of you who might have read “The Celestine Prophecy” by James Redfield know that energies of groups of people come together at certain times at certain places to create a higher energy field. A person’s presence might be needed for the formation of such a circle. A circle of two or many. Second, either the person might need the energy of the land or the land might need the energy of that person. And this could be needed for many different reasons.
Of course, there is also the topic of previous life times. One of my friends is going to the US to attend a workshop by the famous psychiatrist Brian Weiss. I also wanted to go; yet I have been travelling so much in the last few months that I felt I needed stay this time. Brian Weiss is a must read for those who are interested in regressions and hypnotherapy.
There is a lot more happening energetically than we seem to be aware of. Also, to be aware of the energy exchanges that take place between people everyday have a look at James Redfield’s books. Also, the movie of the book “The Celestine Prophecy” is out, by the same name. I really do recommend watching it.
*-*-*
Neale Donald Walsch in his book “Conversations with God” writes:
“Do what you love to do and nothing else. Make a life. Otherwise that is a dying.”
And there is also a powerful question that he uses and that I also use when things get difficult. And with that question I would like to leave you this week.
The question is: “What would love do now?”
*
I wish all of you the best.
With love,
Zeynep
_______________________________________________________________________________
Angel of the Week: Intention
Affirmation of the Week:
“As I become the right person, I find the right person.”
From The Kabbalah Centre
Quote of the Week:
“It is necessary to write, if the days are not to slip emptily by.”
Vita Sackville-West
Zeynep’s Book Recommendation of the Week:
“Ask and It Is Given” by Esther and Jerry Hicks
This book is available in Turkish under the title: “Yeter ki İsteyin!”
Freedom, Is It Just a Boat?
I was on my brother’s boat Freedom a few days ago. It was our first time out in Fethiye in his boat. Cruising to the Şövalye Island from Ece Marina in Fethiye, I found myself thinking about what freedom really is. What was freedom for me? And what is freedom for me now?
For my brother Yaman, his boat brings him the feelings of freedom.
What makes you feel free?
What is really freedom for you?
...
Being in Fethiye is freedom for me. Most of the time. Being on an airplane is both freedom and confinement. Being single is both freedom and not. Being rich is both freedom and confinement and so is being poor.
Life is so relative, and so simple and so difficult if we choose to make it so ...
Emotional Freedom Technique - EFT
Some of you might have heard of the Emotional Freedom Technique. It is one of the healing modalities that I am trained in. This system has been developed by an engineer like me, Gary Craig. There certainly is an aspect of freedom related to our emotions. Our experiences, our memories, the meanings that we attach to what we experience constrict us or expand us. During my trainings and in the cases I have worked on, I have seen so many emotional chains lifted that I have respect for this simple, but very effective method. Simple is beautiful. I have seen traumas of near-death experiences, phobias, child abuse, and many more lifted in less than 20 to 30 minutes. Of course, for each person and for each case, the time and effort needed may vary. However, to know that sometimes it can happen so quickly gives me hope.
One of my cousins is a doctor at the Med-American Clinic in Istanbul. He sometimes shares how difficult it is to find ways to help the elderly, especially in the terminal states. They have so much pain, so many health problems, so many issues and most of the time so little hope. Also, use of medications becomes more difficult as they get more fragile with age. I cannot help, but think that complementary therapies can be of help in providing pain relief as well as emotional support. It is comforting that in some hospitals in Istanbul heart yoga is taught to patients with heart surgeries. I know that in most of the cancer hospitals in the US, Reiki and many other complementary techniques are offered to patients if they choose to have such treatments. I have seen such great improvements in the health conditions and the quality of life in the elderly as well as the young that I would like to encourage all of you to learn and use complementary healing techniques to improve your lives.
Is it really possible to heal, to be more healthy, to be more energetic or to have a more positive – a truly positive approach to life? Health is a very delicate subject. It is very difficult to suggest or recommend a certain technique or approach when a person’s life is at stake for example. I believe that is why it is very important to use these techniques as preventive medicine, to keep the immune system up and running. They work. I use them for myself, for my family, for people who consult me. Reiki works. EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) works, Jyorei works. Affirmations work. Foot Reflexology works. Flower Remedies work. Bio-energy and IPEC Work. Kinesiology works. I use them and through my own experiences I can say that they work and they work beautifully.
Time may be needed for the results to be scientifically documented and approved. I am happy to see that doctors in Turkey and abroad are trying to provide scientific documentation. The world wide famous Turkish heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz (Dr. Oz is the author of the award-winning book, Healing from the Heart) says that they are working with bio-energy healers on various microbes in petridishes to be able to document the effectiveness of these treatments scientifically. However, he also mentions in his books and programs that, even though not scientifically proven in the conventional sense, he believes in the support of complementary treatments. I would also like to mention that Dr. Mehmet Oz’s wife Lisa Oz is a Reiki Master.
Gorse and other Flower Remedies...
There were a lot of gorse flowers when I had arrived in Findhorn this June. I knew of Gorse as a Bach Flower Remedy which is very effective in removing depression. Seeing the yellow flowers made me realize how this flower can bring us life energy. In one of his books Japanese Masaru Emoto displays the pictures of water crystals of the Findhorn Flower Essences and one of the pictures of the crystals was of water with the gorse flower. It is quite a beautiful water crystal.
I really do recommend Bach Flower Remedies. They offer excellent support for emotional states. There are Findhorn Flower Remedies as well and the Australian Bush Remedies of Ian White. Currently I am trying some of the Findhorn Flower Remedies. They seem quite good. Flower Remedies work with the energy quality of the flower and there are no known side effects. Only, those with alcohol intake problems and allergies need to check with their doctors to see if and how they can take these remedies, since most of the flower remedies are preserved with a small amount of brandy. In such cases one suggestion is to take these in hot liquids so that the alcohol evaporates. I do recommend you to keep a bottle of the Rescue Remedy of Bach Flower Remedies at hand in your travels. It is very effective and supportive in case of emergencies.
*-*-*
May your days bring you love, joy and true freedom...
Zeynep
____________________________________________
Affirmation of the Week:“As I accept my fears, they are transformed into love.”
Gerd Ziegler
Quote of the Week:“Magic has often been thought of as the art of making dreams come true; the art of realizing visions. Yet before we can bring birth to the vision … we have to see it.”
Starhawk
Zeynep’s Book Recommendation of the Week:
“Energy Medicine” by Donna Eden
This book is available in Turkish under the title: “Enerjilerle Pratik Şifa”
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
The Transformation Game
Zeynep Kocasinan is facilitating Transformation Games in Istanbul at Kocasinan Life Coaching and Personal Development Center and also in ROM Center. She is one of the four accrediated facilitators in Turkey
The Tranformation Game has been developed by Joy Drake and Kathy Tyler in Findhorn, Scotland. The Game is wonderful personal growth tool.
For more detailed information:
www.innerlinks.com
www.findhorn.com
www.donusumoyunu.com
The Tranformation Game has been developed by Joy Drake and Kathy Tyler in Findhorn, Scotland. The Game is wonderful personal growth tool.
For more detailed information:
www.innerlinks.com
www.findhorn.com
www.donusumoyunu.com
From RUMI: Holiday Without Limits
From the great master, the Sufi poet of the 13th century – From Mevlana Celaleddin RUMI:
Holiday Without Limits
Going into battle, we carry no shield.
Playing in concert, unaware
of the beat or the melody.
We have become grains in the ground underfoot,
fold on fold, layers of love, nothing else.
Obliterated, as when the eye medicine
is no longer even a powder.
Then it cures sight.
An accident gradually gets accepted
as the thing that needed to happen.
Sickness melts into health.
There is nothing worse than staying congealed.
Let your liver dissolve into blood.
Let your heart break into such tiny pieces
it cannot be found.
The moon orb wanes.
Then for three days you could say
that there is no moon.
That is the moon that has drawn
so close to the sun,
it is nowhere, and everywhere.
Send us someone who can sing music
for the soul, though we know
such longing cannot rise from a lute
or a tambourine, not from the sun,
or Venus, or any star.
As day comes, give back
the night-fantasy things you stole.
Admit your arrogance as the stars do at dawn.
When the sun goes down, Venus begins bragging,
claiming lights, arguing her loveliness
over the moon’s. Jupiter lifts a gold coin
from his bag. Mars shows his blade
to Saturn. Mercury sits on a high throne
and gives himself successive titles.
That is how it goes in the middle
of the night. Then dawn. Jupiter
is suddenly poor. Mars and Saturn
have no plans. Venus and the moon
run away, broken and terrified.
Then the sun within the sun enters,
and this night-and-day talk
seems a meaningless convention,
the lighting business.
A true holy day for a man or a woman
is the one when they bring themselves
as the sacrifice.
When Shams shone his light from nowhere,
I felt a holiday without limits begin
where once was just a person.
*-*-*
May your days bring you such holidays of true love.
With love and light,
Z.
__________________________________________________
Quote of the Week:
“Create a future from your future, not your past.”
Werner Erhard
__________________________________________________
Holiday Without Limits
Going into battle, we carry no shield.
Playing in concert, unaware
of the beat or the melody.
We have become grains in the ground underfoot,
fold on fold, layers of love, nothing else.
Obliterated, as when the eye medicine
is no longer even a powder.
Then it cures sight.
An accident gradually gets accepted
as the thing that needed to happen.
Sickness melts into health.
There is nothing worse than staying congealed.
Let your liver dissolve into blood.
Let your heart break into such tiny pieces
it cannot be found.
The moon orb wanes.
Then for three days you could say
that there is no moon.
That is the moon that has drawn
so close to the sun,
it is nowhere, and everywhere.
Send us someone who can sing music
for the soul, though we know
such longing cannot rise from a lute
or a tambourine, not from the sun,
or Venus, or any star.
As day comes, give back
the night-fantasy things you stole.
Admit your arrogance as the stars do at dawn.
When the sun goes down, Venus begins bragging,
claiming lights, arguing her loveliness
over the moon’s. Jupiter lifts a gold coin
from his bag. Mars shows his blade
to Saturn. Mercury sits on a high throne
and gives himself successive titles.
That is how it goes in the middle
of the night. Then dawn. Jupiter
is suddenly poor. Mars and Saturn
have no plans. Venus and the moon
run away, broken and terrified.
Then the sun within the sun enters,
and this night-and-day talk
seems a meaningless convention,
the lighting business.
A true holy day for a man or a woman
is the one when they bring themselves
as the sacrifice.
When Shams shone his light from nowhere,
I felt a holiday without limits begin
where once was just a person.
*-*-*
May your days bring you such holidays of true love.
With love and light,
Z.
__________________________________________________
Quote of the Week:
“Create a future from your future, not your past.”
Werner Erhard
__________________________________________________
How to Get There?
This week I would like to give you some notes from the famous physiatrist Brian Weiss. His regression therapies have changed the way millions of people look at life, past lives and the journey of the soul. One of my friends will be attending one of his courses at the end of July in the US. Who knows maybe I can make it there as well. The book “Many Lives, Many Masters” by Brian Weiss is a book that I really recommend.
There are so many books, so many methods and techniques and teacher.
Neale Donald Walsch in one of his books says: “The job of the soul, of course, is to cause us to choose the grandeur – to select the best of who you are –without condemning that which you do not select.”
Sometimes I feel as if no words are necessary; and that we will all find our chosen path on our perfectly fine. I know that. Yet, at times I also feel that I need to share whatever I am able to.
This week’s messages are from a doctor. From Brian Weiss:
- The path of our spiritual journey is an inward one, unique to each of us.
- Wise teachers can point the way, but only we can make the journey.
- Regressing to significant childhood events, to infancy, or even to past lives may provide considerable relief and benefit in the present time.
- I know that there is a reason for everything. Perhaps at the moment that an event occurs we have neither the insights nor the foresight to comprehend the reason, but with time and patience it will come to light.
- Most people recite prayers in their churches, synagogues, mosques, or temples, prayers that proclaim the immortality of the soul. Yet after worship is over, they go back into their competitive ruts, practicing greed and manipulation and self-centeredness. These traits retard the progress of the soul.
- I believe strongly that therapists must have open minds.
- The answers are there. We are immortal. We will always be together.
- There was much practical advice along the way: the value of patience and of waiting; the wisdom in the balance of nature; the eradication of fears, especially the fear of death; the need for learning about trust and forgiveness; the importance of learning not to judge others, or to halt anyone’s life; the accumulation and use of intuitive powers; and perhaps most of all, the unshakable knowledge that we are immortal. We are beyond life and death, beyond space and beyond time. We are the gods, and they are us.
- (Through my work) I have become more intuitive, more aware of the hidden, secret parts of my patients, colleagues, and friends. I seem to know a great deal about them, even before I should. My values and life goals have shifted to a more humanistic, less accumulative focus.
- I have begun to meditate, something that, until recently, I thought only Hindus and Californians practiced.
- I still write scientific papers, lecture at professional meetings, and run the Department of Psychiatry. But now I straddle two worlds: the phenomenal world of the five senses, represented by our bodies and physical needs; and the greater world of the nonphysical planes, represented by our souls and spirits. I know that the worlds are connected, that all is energy. Yet they often seem so far apart. My job is to connect the worlds, to carefully and scientifically document their unity.
*
May your journeys lead you to true love and sharing.
With love and light,
Z.
______________________________________________________________________
Affirmation of the Week:
“I love exploring the unknown.”
By Angeles Arrien
________________________________________________________________________
Quote of the Week:
“Read every day something no one else is reading. Think every day something no one else is thinking. It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity.”
Christopher Morley
______________________________________________________________________
Suggested Reading:
“What God Wants” By Neale Donald Walsch. The Turkish translation of the book may be found under the name “Tanrı Ne İster?”.
______________________________________________________________________
There are so many books, so many methods and techniques and teacher.
Neale Donald Walsch in one of his books says: “The job of the soul, of course, is to cause us to choose the grandeur – to select the best of who you are –without condemning that which you do not select.”
Sometimes I feel as if no words are necessary; and that we will all find our chosen path on our perfectly fine. I know that. Yet, at times I also feel that I need to share whatever I am able to.
This week’s messages are from a doctor. From Brian Weiss:
- The path of our spiritual journey is an inward one, unique to each of us.
- Wise teachers can point the way, but only we can make the journey.
- Regressing to significant childhood events, to infancy, or even to past lives may provide considerable relief and benefit in the present time.
- I know that there is a reason for everything. Perhaps at the moment that an event occurs we have neither the insights nor the foresight to comprehend the reason, but with time and patience it will come to light.
- Most people recite prayers in their churches, synagogues, mosques, or temples, prayers that proclaim the immortality of the soul. Yet after worship is over, they go back into their competitive ruts, practicing greed and manipulation and self-centeredness. These traits retard the progress of the soul.
- I believe strongly that therapists must have open minds.
- The answers are there. We are immortal. We will always be together.
- There was much practical advice along the way: the value of patience and of waiting; the wisdom in the balance of nature; the eradication of fears, especially the fear of death; the need for learning about trust and forgiveness; the importance of learning not to judge others, or to halt anyone’s life; the accumulation and use of intuitive powers; and perhaps most of all, the unshakable knowledge that we are immortal. We are beyond life and death, beyond space and beyond time. We are the gods, and they are us.
- (Through my work) I have become more intuitive, more aware of the hidden, secret parts of my patients, colleagues, and friends. I seem to know a great deal about them, even before I should. My values and life goals have shifted to a more humanistic, less accumulative focus.
- I have begun to meditate, something that, until recently, I thought only Hindus and Californians practiced.
- I still write scientific papers, lecture at professional meetings, and run the Department of Psychiatry. But now I straddle two worlds: the phenomenal world of the five senses, represented by our bodies and physical needs; and the greater world of the nonphysical planes, represented by our souls and spirits. I know that the worlds are connected, that all is energy. Yet they often seem so far apart. My job is to connect the worlds, to carefully and scientifically document their unity.
*
May your journeys lead you to true love and sharing.
With love and light,
Z.
______________________________________________________________________
Affirmation of the Week:
“I love exploring the unknown.”
By Angeles Arrien
________________________________________________________________________
Quote of the Week:
“Read every day something no one else is reading. Think every day something no one else is thinking. It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity.”
Christopher Morley
______________________________________________________________________
Suggested Reading:
“What God Wants” By Neale Donald Walsch. The Turkish translation of the book may be found under the name “Tanrı Ne İster?”.
______________________________________________________________________
Burgaz Island, Findhorn, Shambhala and More
This noon I was on a boat with my brother. We went to Burgaz Island in Istanbul for lunch. It was quite a windy and rough weather, but it was also wonderful to watch the waves wash the boat. There were only a few boats out apart from the municipality public catamarans and vapurs, the typical boat that give service in Istanbul.
As we were having lunch at the Barbayani Restaurant, we talked about two books. One of them was by Jack Canfield. The title of the book is “How to Get from Where You are to Where You Want to Be? The 25 Principles of Success.” Although I found the title a little cheesy at the beginning, I need to admit that I really did like the book. I was reading it again on a flight the other day.
Jack Canfield is famous for his part in the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series of books. I like his other books as well. As some of the might remember, he was in the popular movie “The Secret”.
The second book we talked about was “Eckhart Tolle’s Findhorn Retreat”. This is a book with 2 DVD and it is composed of footage from a retreat in Findhorn, Scotland with Eckhart Tolle as you probably have already figured out. Since I will be in Findhorn for a couple of weeks to attend a training, we could not help talking about Eckhart Tolle’s teachings as well as the role Findhorn played in the world both in the spiritual and the environmental sense.
Where is Shambhala?
I was reading a book by Doreen Virtue this week, and I came across a sentence:
“When you have to make a decision between two directions, take the path that brings you closer to your life’s mission.”
Being an engineer and doing engineering and construction work for years, I was expected to be very logical and analytical. And maybe I expected this from myself more than anyone else. As time went by I found myself on another path, and I am pretty happy with the way things were unfolding.
Life gives us quite a number of clues in its own mysterious ways. How? Probably you have your own ways of receiving these messages. James Redfield’s books are also wonderful in creating an awareness. “Celestine Prophecy” is one of my all time favourites. “The Secret of Shambhala” is also a book I like in the series.
Shambhala is also the name of the Buddist Retreat I will be staying at in June. When I am visiting Findhorn, I will be staying at this retreat for a few days.
Shambhala is a Sanskrit term meaning "place of peace/tranquility/happiness". Shambhala is also believed to be a society where all the inhabitants are enlightened. I feel that I will find peace and tranquility at the Shambhala Retreat in Findhorn Bay.
Where is Shambhala for you? Could it exit, for you?
From Eckhart Tolle
This week I would like to quote Eckhart Tolle a little. It really fits my mood after a day on the sea and on an island:
- You are the sky. The clouds are what happens, what comes and goes.
- When you are present in this moment, you break the continuity of your story of past and future. Then true intelligence arises, and also love. The only way love can come into your life is not through form, but through that inner spaciousness that is Presence. Love has no form.
- The sun never sets. It is only an appearance due to the observer’s limited perspective. And yet, what a sublime illusion it is.
- Let go of excessive thinking and see how everything changes.
- You don’t solve problems by thinking; you create problems by thinking. The solution always appears when you step out of thinking and become still and absolutely present, even if only for a moment.
- Outer space and inner space are ultimately one.
- It has been said that there are two ways of being unhappy; not getting what you want, and getting what you want.
- When you awaken, nature awakens, too.
The Questions of the Week
Many masters say that questions bring about answers. Therefore here are
The Questions of the Week:
Q1: How many times a day do you use words such as “totally” , “always”, “certainly”, “must”, “never” and “absolutely”?
Q2: When you are closing a conversation do you usually end with a statement or a question?
Q3: What roles does each person in your family play?
Q4: How are the roles in the family interdependent?
Q5: Questions for the self:
a- What are my weaknesses, blind spots, and areas for improvement?
b- What are my strengths, my best qualities?
c- What can I do to be more effective, helpful, or sensitive?
*
May your questions bring you all of the answers that you seek.
May you find you own Shambhala.
With love and light,
Z.
______________________________________________________________________
Affirmation of the Week:
“I am excited about growing and becoming even more of who I am.”
By Angeles Arrien
________________________________________________________________________
Quote of the Week:
“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark.
The real tragedy of life is when an adult is afraid of the light.”
Plato
______________________________________________________________________
Suggested Reading:
“The Secret of Shambhala” By James Redfield
The Turkish translation of the book may be found under the name “Kehanetlerin Gizemi”.
______________________________________________________________________
Mistakes and Mastery
What makes a teacher great?
As I am doing more and more teaching, I find myself asking this question to myself.
What made my great teachers great? What made the difference?
What made the difference for me?
*-*-*
I believe that what made my teachers special was the desire they created in me to learn and explore. How did they manage to create it?
This is the question I keep on asking myself - How can I create the desire to want to learn in others?
As I am getting older, I am also discovering that being a teacher is becoming a more difficult responsibility.
And I keep on uncovering pieces of this challenging and magical world...
*
I strongly believe that our approach to mistakes makes a big difference in our learning experience and in life. What are your own opinions about mistakes?
I would like to ask you some questions Michael Gelb poses in his book “How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci”:
? What did you learn at school about making mistakes?
? What did you parents teach you about making mistakes?
? What is the biggest mistake you ever made?
? What did you learn from it?
? What mistakes do you repeat?
? What role does the fear of making mistakes play in your daily life, at work and at home?
? Are you more likely to make mistakes of commission or omission?
These are tough questions to ask, and to answer.
The important point with mistakes is: How do we keep on going despite the mistakes?
For example, in the Reiki tradition Reiki teachers are called Reiki Masters. Master is a powerful word – a very strong word. I still find it difficult to use the term “Reiki Master” as I refer to what I do.
Who is a Master? I am not sure if I am certain about what I would prefer it to be. ...
Mastery also seems to be mastering the use of our time. Spending time where our heart belongs seems to make a big difference. Keeping cool and calm at times of change, turbulence and crisis seems to be a common trait of masters as well.
“It is not what you are that is holding you back in life. It’s what you think you’re not.”
“Remember, nothing can stop a person who refuses to be stopped” says Robin Sharma.
*-*-*
Back to now and back to questions that may help us.
My father used to tell me about the time when he broke his arm in elementary school. He had told me that he learned write with his left hand although he was right-handed. To increase our brain activity and to balance it, teachers recommend using both of our hands. Here are some simple exercises that you can do on your own:
- You could turn lights on and off with your non-dominant hand.
- Try drawing circles, squares, triangles with both hands at the same time.
- Try writing your name with your non-dominant hand.
- Try brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand.
Since left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, exercises like the ones mentioned above are known to balance the mind and the body.
*-*-*
If you would like to inject the taste of mastery, it is not all that difficult. There is a wonderful exercise that I use. It involves remembering something that we do with mastery, something like driving or cooking or writing or swimming, and transferring this energy to all of our actions, to our being.
Close your eyes. See yourself at your mastery of whatever it is that you do very well. It does not matter what the activity is; what matters is that you do it like a master, very well and without effort or tension. Then take this feeling, this energy and visualize it surrounding whatever you would like to master. You will see miraculous results.
Body and Mind
The state of our body also affects our mind. Words sometimes mean more that we realize. Moving our body is known to create flexibility in our thinking and increase our flexibility manoeuvring through life.
3 questions are suggested by Robin Sharma to test our words:
? Are these words truthful?
? Are these words necessary?
? Are these words kind?
He speaks of these 3 questions as the gates that the words that we would like to utter needs to pass through.
*
From Paul Arden:
There is a book that I read on and off. Its name is “Whatever You Think, Think The Opposite”. The author Paul Arden says “Good marks will not secure you an interesting life. Your imagination will.” And in the front cover of the book it says: “This book explains the benefits of making bad decisions. It shows how risk is your security in life. And why unreason is better than reason. It’s about having the confidence to roll the dice.” This book is now also available in Turkish.
Exercise of the Week:
Draw Music
Listen to your favourite song or music. And while listening to this piece of music, draw your feelings, thoughts and impressions with shapes and colours. Try this whenever you feel like it. Write the name of the song or piece and the date for future reference. You may try drawing with the same music at different times.
*-*-*
“The Last Samurai” was a movie that I really like. I watched it again after I came back from Japan. I believe it reflects what Japan really was and a lot about what it still is. There is a lot to be learned from that movie about mastery as well. Am I longing for feelings and times long forgotten?
There is a conversation I really like in this movie.
Preparing for battle:
Samurai Katsumoto asks: “Do you believe a man can change his destiny?”
Nathan Algren acted by Tom Cruise replies:
“…A man does what he can, until his destiny is revealed...”
…
______________________________________________________________________
Affirmation of the Week:
“Joy. Joy. Joy. I lovingly allow joy to flow through my mind and body and experience.”
By Louise L. Hay
________________________________________________________________________
Quote of the Week:
“What you do instead of your work is your real work.”
Caitlin Metthews
______________________________________________________________________
Suggested Reading:
“The Laws of Spirit” By Dan Millman
The Turkish translation of the book may be found under the name “Ruhun Yasaları”.
______________________________________________________________________
As I am doing more and more teaching, I find myself asking this question to myself.
What made my great teachers great? What made the difference?
What made the difference for me?
*-*-*
I believe that what made my teachers special was the desire they created in me to learn and explore. How did they manage to create it?
This is the question I keep on asking myself - How can I create the desire to want to learn in others?
As I am getting older, I am also discovering that being a teacher is becoming a more difficult responsibility.
And I keep on uncovering pieces of this challenging and magical world...
*
I strongly believe that our approach to mistakes makes a big difference in our learning experience and in life. What are your own opinions about mistakes?
I would like to ask you some questions Michael Gelb poses in his book “How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci”:
? What did you learn at school about making mistakes?
? What did you parents teach you about making mistakes?
? What is the biggest mistake you ever made?
? What did you learn from it?
? What mistakes do you repeat?
? What role does the fear of making mistakes play in your daily life, at work and at home?
? Are you more likely to make mistakes of commission or omission?
These are tough questions to ask, and to answer.
The important point with mistakes is: How do we keep on going despite the mistakes?
For example, in the Reiki tradition Reiki teachers are called Reiki Masters. Master is a powerful word – a very strong word. I still find it difficult to use the term “Reiki Master” as I refer to what I do.
Who is a Master? I am not sure if I am certain about what I would prefer it to be. ...
Mastery also seems to be mastering the use of our time. Spending time where our heart belongs seems to make a big difference. Keeping cool and calm at times of change, turbulence and crisis seems to be a common trait of masters as well.
“It is not what you are that is holding you back in life. It’s what you think you’re not.”
“Remember, nothing can stop a person who refuses to be stopped” says Robin Sharma.
*-*-*
Back to now and back to questions that may help us.
My father used to tell me about the time when he broke his arm in elementary school. He had told me that he learned write with his left hand although he was right-handed. To increase our brain activity and to balance it, teachers recommend using both of our hands. Here are some simple exercises that you can do on your own:
- You could turn lights on and off with your non-dominant hand.
- Try drawing circles, squares, triangles with both hands at the same time.
- Try writing your name with your non-dominant hand.
- Try brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand.
Since left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, exercises like the ones mentioned above are known to balance the mind and the body.
*-*-*
If you would like to inject the taste of mastery, it is not all that difficult. There is a wonderful exercise that I use. It involves remembering something that we do with mastery, something like driving or cooking or writing or swimming, and transferring this energy to all of our actions, to our being.
Close your eyes. See yourself at your mastery of whatever it is that you do very well. It does not matter what the activity is; what matters is that you do it like a master, very well and without effort or tension. Then take this feeling, this energy and visualize it surrounding whatever you would like to master. You will see miraculous results.
Body and Mind
The state of our body also affects our mind. Words sometimes mean more that we realize. Moving our body is known to create flexibility in our thinking and increase our flexibility manoeuvring through life.
3 questions are suggested by Robin Sharma to test our words:
? Are these words truthful?
? Are these words necessary?
? Are these words kind?
He speaks of these 3 questions as the gates that the words that we would like to utter needs to pass through.
*
From Paul Arden:
There is a book that I read on and off. Its name is “Whatever You Think, Think The Opposite”. The author Paul Arden says “Good marks will not secure you an interesting life. Your imagination will.” And in the front cover of the book it says: “This book explains the benefits of making bad decisions. It shows how risk is your security in life. And why unreason is better than reason. It’s about having the confidence to roll the dice.” This book is now also available in Turkish.
Exercise of the Week:
Draw Music
Listen to your favourite song or music. And while listening to this piece of music, draw your feelings, thoughts and impressions with shapes and colours. Try this whenever you feel like it. Write the name of the song or piece and the date for future reference. You may try drawing with the same music at different times.
*-*-*
“The Last Samurai” was a movie that I really like. I watched it again after I came back from Japan. I believe it reflects what Japan really was and a lot about what it still is. There is a lot to be learned from that movie about mastery as well. Am I longing for feelings and times long forgotten?
There is a conversation I really like in this movie.
Preparing for battle:
Samurai Katsumoto asks: “Do you believe a man can change his destiny?”
Nathan Algren acted by Tom Cruise replies:
“…A man does what he can, until his destiny is revealed...”
…
______________________________________________________________________
Affirmation of the Week:
“Joy. Joy. Joy. I lovingly allow joy to flow through my mind and body and experience.”
By Louise L. Hay
________________________________________________________________________
Quote of the Week:
“What you do instead of your work is your real work.”
Caitlin Metthews
______________________________________________________________________
Suggested Reading:
“The Laws of Spirit” By Dan Millman
The Turkish translation of the book may be found under the name “Ruhun Yasaları”.
______________________________________________________________________
Konnichiwa from Fethiye
Konnichiwa from Fethiye
Konnichiwa. Hello from Fethiye. It is wonderful to be back home.
My friends know that I really love Fethiye. And I fell in love with Japan on my last trip. Japan is the land of gentle and respectful people and I really felt at home. Japanese people are kind, thoughtful and they are always smiling. This made me realize that how as a nation we do not smile as much anymore. Ok, maybe not that much in Fethiye. However, in Istanbul we forgot to smile and forgot to be respectful to each other.
I met an American couple in Japan, and they were sharing with me how they feel like “barbarians” in Japan. The husband also told me: “But I am also glad that I know that I act like one now.”
I believe that in our roots we Turks know how to be respectful and loving, honest and true. Unfortunately, after seeing Japan for the first time, I am faced with the fact that we forgot some of it. Maybe much less that the so-called western world, but we did forget.
When I used to look at my late father, he was a gentleman true to his word. He would tell me that “the word is the contract”. They were from a generation who took their words seriously and considered words to be enough to seal contracts. They were respectful and honour was very important. They cared and they worked for their country and worked for what they believed to be the benefit of the whole nation. Personal interests were always secondary to them. They were the nameless heroes that made this country grow from its ashes after the wars.
Well, then I am afraid that we forgot some of it ...
We forgot to show respect as we used to. We forgot the power of kind and loving words. We forgot the meaning of patience, tolerance and compassion, especially in the big cities and in the corporate world. We forgot to love, our friends, colleagues, neighbours, unconditionally as we used to.
I believe that it is time to remember. It is time to remember who we truly were and are.
I used to see how my parents were, and I used to think that the times have changed.
Well, it seems that there are parts of the world like Japan where it hasn’t.
This gives me hope.
I felt peacefulness and serenity in Japan, even in the busiest sections of cities.
Fethiye gives me that feeling and I wish to feel it in Istanbul.
People allow each other space in that crowdedness - a space to be, created by caring and respect.
*-*-*
Empowerment is a word that I like a lot. I believe empowerment to be an important concept in life – empowering myself and others. That is what my father taught me in the years that we worked together. He taught me to share the knowledge and to share the joy, accomplishments and success. He taught me the importance of being a team. He was a wonderful teacher.
There is a very good book titled “Empowerment” by John Randolph Price. There is another book by him called “The Angels Within Us” that I also love. His approach is always reminding us of our infinite potential.
Do we empower our family, our children, and our employees? Or do we go on to create dependent beings with low self confidence and motivation? Do we serve our ego or a higher purpose?
Are we living with concepts of limited resources and competition? Or are we living with the awareness that for our every action there is a reaction of similar intention and frequency?
Some say “the bad always wins”; I do not believe it to be so...
*-*-*
There was a conference in Fethiye a couple weeks ago by child psychiatrist Prof. Yankı Yazgan. He is an M.D. and a professor at the Medical School of Marmara University in Istanbul and he is also the author of 10 books on brain development and child and adolescent development. He also writes for the national Akşam Newspaper weekly.
I had met him a couple years ago in a training and had invited him to give a conference in Fethiye. He accepted and he gave a two hour conference to parents and teachers. The title of the conference was: “Being a Parent and an Educator in the Times of Change”.
I would like to share some of my notes from this conference with you this week.
Here is what I gathered from what Yankı Yazgan said:
- The importance of learning mathematics is learning to use the left side of our brain which teaches us problem solving in general. This is a tool beneficial for our whole life.
- Education is not learning things, rather something that gives us the capacity to think differently.
- What we learn is the system we use in the process of learning.
- The connection between the worst parent and the worst child is still the strongest than any other relationship.
- Be aware that children are excellent at reading faces and knowing the truth about the feelings and thoughts of adults.
- Schools are a place where we are taught to figure what happens to us and others when we take an action.
- Schools teach us when to fit in the crowd and when not to. Cheating because many do so is not ok. However, if there is a dress code, everyone also needs to respect it and obey it.
- Took at schools as areas to learn life.
- Intelligence of kids increase with the love given to a child and nourishment.
- Parents sometimes have issues with the teachers. Sometimes this may be the result of bad experiences that the parents had with their own teachers when they were kids. Be aware of the origin of the issues and problems.
- Going to schools, even with the worst grades, gives a general concept of culture and responsibility of fulfilling duties, essential all through life.
- Keep your babies and small kids away from television. Studies show that psychological disorders are directly linked to the number of hours a kid spends in front of the TV.
- The human brain develops the most rapidly between the ages of (0-4) and (12-16).
- Children are usually quite strong psychologically. What breaks a child’s psychology is bad behaviour from people the child loves and trusts and expects to be loved by.
- Teaching a child to lose, to learn to tolerate loss, defeat and failure and to try and to success despite past failures is very important. Teaching a child that life is a process is essential.
- Do not give your kids loads that they are not ready to carry. However, also make sure that you allow them to do the things that they are capable of. Not allowing the kids to carry out responsibilities that they would like to is interference and intervention. Please be careful in that respect.
*-*-*
Michell Cassou says “We live in a time in which most people believe there is not much inside them, only what teachers, parents, and others have out there.”
I believe that we are all here to uncover the potentials that are waiting to be expressed and gather the skills to do that the best.
*-*-*
With lots of love and light from Fethiye ...
Z.
______________________________________________________________________
Affirmation of the Week:
“I am well structured and balanced.”
By Louise L. Hay
________________________________________________________________________
Quote of the Week:
“Life is not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be lived.”
Thomas Merton
______________________________________________________________________
Suggested Reading:
“The Life You Were Born To Live” By Dan Millman
The Turkish translation of the book may be found under the name “Hayatınızın Amacı”.
______________________________________________________________________
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