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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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…

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Now let silence speak
As that begins, we will start out

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Now the kissing is over
Fold your love in.
Hide it like pastry filling.
Whisper within with
a shy girl’s tenderness

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Music begins.
Your silence,
deepen that.
Were you to put words with this
We would not survive the song.

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Be silent now.
Say fewer and fewer praise poems.
Let yourself become living poetry.

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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.

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With love to you all,
Zeynep.
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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.