Zeynep Kocasinan

2012-01-18T19:50:00.000+02:00

Zeynep Kocasinan's new book in Turkish "Doğru Yanlış Güzel Çirkin, Findhorn'da Sürdürülebilir Yaşam Macerası" is out. The book is available on all Turkish online bookstores as well as D&R Bookstores in Turkey.

From RUMI

2012-01-03T23:04:00.000+02:00

"Inside you there's an artist you don't know about.
...
Say yes quickly, if you know, if you've known it
from before the beginning of the universe."

2012

2011-12-31T18:15:00.000+02:00

Happy New Year...

BEGIN from RUMI:

2011-12-31T18:13:00.000+02:00

This is now. Now is. Don't
postpone till then. Spend

the spark of iron on stone.
Sit at the head of the table;

dip your spoon in the bowl.
Seat yourself next your joy

and have your awakened soul
pour wine. Branches in the

spring wind, easy dance of
jasmine and cypress. Cloth

for green robes has been cut
from pure absence. You're

the tailor, settled among his
shop good, quietly sewing.

Angel for November

2011-11-01T13:00:00.000+02:00

The Angel for November, from Joy Drake and Kathy Tyler is:

AWAKENING

Release all of the Angels that you have worked with so far and invite "Awakening" to support in the month of November.

Wishing you many blessings.

Wordpress Blogs is now open

2011-03-26T13:44:00.001+02:00

You can contact with Zeynep Kocasinan through her new blog site

www.zeynepkocasinan.wordpress.com

Enjoy.

Modern British Sculpture

2011-02-12T19:09:00.001+02:00

I have been to a strong exhibition today, thanks to a friend to works at Royal Academy of Arts in London: Modern British Sculpture.

This was not what I was planning to do on my last afternoon in London this Saturday. I am pleasantly surprised.

If you are planning to visit London until April 7th, plan to spend some time to visit this exhibition, even just to visit first few halls.

After the entrance section of the exhibition as you enter the room on the right hand side, you start to travel in time. Just that room is enough to take in what this exhibition was set out to give. Even just that room was enough to make my soul travel around the world and through time. Statues from all around the world made from all possible materials. Limestone, marble, basalt, sandstone, gypsum, wood, cheerwood, elmwood, granite... This room in the exhibition was named "Theft by Finding" and as walked around the room, my head started spinning. It was as if each statue was being a channel for the time period and culture it was representing.

Was it the Totem Pole from Canada that touched me more or Statue if Moai Hava from Rapa Nui-Easter Island? Or the torso without the arms or the head from India which felt quite alive?

How about The Seed by Maurice Lambert and Sekhmet borrowed from the British Museum for the exhibition? One from 1932 and the other from 1350 BC seemed familiar with each other. So different and so good together.

London is always full of surprises. It turns I was in the same room with Madonna for a couple of hours this morning and did not even know it until much later. Oh, well, maybe next time.

As I am heading back home, I do feel a little tired, but definitely calm and thankful. Grateful.

May those who share their love and light with me, receive even more.

Where Do You Hear Your Soul the Best?

2011-02-10T19:08:00.000+02:00

I am in London again, only for a few days. It's been raining since I arrived yesterday, but I like. It has been a while since I saw rain in London. It has been strangely sunny and warm the last few times I was here and I miss the classic London weather.

My life has not been about patterns, it has been, well at least for the last five siz years it is about change. I do travel almost every week for quite some time. No days are quite the same. Yet, as I was getting out of the plane on Thursday morning, I realised once again that I do have my patterns within the chaos that make me feel safe.

When I come to London, I always, at least when I have a choice, use Turkish Airlines. I might use different ways to get to the city, but I stay at the same hotel. There are more... I realise once again that I balance change and "sameness" in different ways.

I love London. I really do.

This city is one of the places on the planet that I can hear my soul clearly. In the middle of this big and busy city.

...

As I remember the different places where my soul feels free to speak, I would like to ask you where is that place for you?

...

With love and light,
Zeynep

Hurriyet Daily News

2010-09-27T10:32:00.003+03:00

Zeynep Kocasinan's interview with Jane Akatay is in Hurriyet Daily News:

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=the-road-of-spiritual-health-and-happiness-led-to-fethiye-for-zeynep-kocasinan-2010-09-21

Japan Within, Lions and More

2010-09-27T09:24:00.007+03:00

On September 28th, 2010 there will be a concert in İstanbul at Aya İrini Museum. As some of you might know already 2010 was declared to be “The Year of Japan in Turkey.” There are many activities around the country. There are exhibitions and concerts in different parts of the country. For example Fethiye Lions Club, which I am a member of, organised a celebration together with The Day of Press celebrations on July 21^st to introduce a few aspects of Japanese culture such as The Tea Ceremony and Japanese Caligraphy. On August 18^th, we also started a Japanese Course that will continue until April 2011.

Where did it all start? Well, the official reasons are explained in the website the Turkish and Japanese Governments had set up for this year. An Ottoman ship Ertuğrul , known as Ertuğrul Fırkateyni in Turkey, sank near the island of Ooshima about 120 years ago. Close to 600 sailors died, and only 69 sailors could survive. They were saved by villagers living in the island. And later on after they have treated and taken care of in Japan, they were sent home with Japanese ships and funds for the survivors. This was the beginning of a deep connection between Turkey and Japan.

My personal connection started with other coincidences which I will not go into the details now. I met very lovely people, great teachers and had the chance to visit different places in Japan in the last three four years. Yet, my path in Japan finally led me to Ooshima as well. Thanks to a Lions Club Member in Japan. I met Mr. Seiji Mukaiyama through many interesting coincidences. I keep using the term coincidence, but I strongly believe that there are no coincidences. I met him first when he was visiting Turkey in March 2010. He was here to attend some meetings about the concerts he would be giving this September. This successful Lions who is the general manager of a gas company has composed music after he heard about and read about the story of Ertuğrul Firkateyni.

When I went to Japan again this last May, Mr. Mukaiyama took me to Ooshima Island to where the Ertuğrul Ship sank. He took me to the temple that the surviving sailors were taken and stayed. He took me to the Turkish Museum and the special Memorial where the sailors who had lost their lives are also buried. Mr. Mukaiyama even took me to the Municipality of Kushimoto where he introduced me to the Mayor of Kushimoto Mr.Katsumasa Tashima.

Mr. Mukaiyama gave two concerts in Japan this year. On July 14^th in Osaka with Kansai and on July 28^th in Tokyo with Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. In September he will give four concerts in Turkey. He is the composer of the symphonic pieces and he is also the conductor of the orchestras. One of these concerts will be Lions Clubs Japanese Turkish Friendship Concert on September 28^th in Aya İrini in İstanbul.

I am still surprised at the different coincidences that brought us together, coincidences that brought him to Turkey, that took me to Japan.

I feel very connected to Japan, as if a part of my soul belongs there and does not want to come back. Therefore, I need to go there to unite with it. And I am amazed that there are people on distant parts of this planet who feel that strongly about my country as well.

Japan created a different hope within me, about the power of love and care. The Japan within me keeps me motivated to serve, to do whatever I can, however I can to help others. The Japan within reminds me that distances do not matter. What matters is the call of our hearts.

Thank you very much Mr. Mukaiyama.

Thank you very much Lions Clubs for bringing people from different parts of the world who want to make a difference, to want to serve together. To motto of Lions Clubs all around the world is “We Serve.”

Well, I want to mention one more thing. Last week our Fethiye Lions Club had guests from England. MD105 Past District Governor Lion Wim Hoogerwerf and his wife Lion Pauline Hoogerwerf from Marston Green Lions Club, and Past Term Club Presidents Lion Mavis Crowley and Lion John Crowley from Exeter West Lions Club were with us. They all had amazing stories about how Lions Club Members serve around the world. PDG Wim Hoogerwerf shared their North Sea Lions projects where each year they work on different parts of the world. North Sea Lions is a group formed by Lions from the UK, Germany, Holland and Denmark. Mrs. Pauline Hoogerwerf shared about her project where they opened 10 water wells in Republic of Niger where draught and famines affect the country. Through these wells now 25,000 people have access to clean water supplies. Two thirds of Niger is covered with deserts. They built the wells while the country was going through many military and civil unrests. Mrs. Mavis Crowley from Exeter West Lions Club shared how they collect hearing aids in the UK and send it to South Africa with collaboration with Lions Clubs Members there. Thousands of hearing aids have been sent.

Japan, Turkey, Republic of Niger, England, Germany, Denmark, Holland, South Africa... Different lands, different cultures, different languages ... Yet, we are all connected. I feel we need to be aware that we are all connected. That could be the key.

I hope and pray that as people of the world connect, peace love and prosperity will prevail.

With lots of love,

Zeynep

From Helen Keller:

2010-08-29T10:00:00.002+03:00

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature... Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."

From Helen Keller:

2010-08-23T00:20:00.001+03:00

" I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; I will not refuse to do something I can do." ...

Article published in Shumei Magazine

2010-08-01T10:00:00.000+03:00

Zeynep Kocasinan's article on The Miho Museum has been published in the Shumei International Magazine, in the July-August 2010 edition.

To read her article "Miho Grandama: Something More" connect to the online magazine link below:

http://www.shumei.org/mag-online/online.html

Hope that you enjoy.

Zeynep Kocasinan's Books in Alper Kirtasiye in Fethiye

2010-07-23T16:36:00.003+03:00

Zeynep Kocasinan's all books in Turkish and English are now
on sale in Alper Kirtasiye in Fethiye.

Alper Kirtasiye:
Koprubasi Mevki Sali Pazari Girisi, Fethiye
Phone:
(252) 612 26 09
(505) 825 84 04

Her books can be found in D&R Bookstores in big cities and in online bookstores.

Reiki Lessons from Zeynep Kocasinan

2010-06-30T20:32:00.006+03:00

Zeynep Kocasinan has been a Reiki Master since 2004 and has been trained in the Traditional Usui Reiki.

Reiki Initions are done individually and in groups, at the first, second and third levels.

Reiki-1 Initiation Fee: 150 usd
Reiki-2 Initiation Fee: 300 usd
Reiki-3 Initiation Fee: 750 usd

Service fees are subject to %18 vat/kdv.

Reiki lessons and initiations are given in 2 days, in total of 5 hours, in 2,5 hours on each day.

The student is able to start to use Reiki starting from the first initiation of the appropriate Reiki Level.

Reiki lessons are given in Istanbul and in Fethiye.

For appointments contact Zeynep Kocasinan at zeynep.kocasinan@gmail.com or (532) 312 33 54.

From "Many Lives, Many Masters" By Brian L. Weiss, M.D.

2010-06-22T22:53:00.003+03:00

"Patience and timing... everything comes when it must come. A life cannot be rushed, cannot be worked on a schedule as so many people want it to be. We must accept what comes to us at a given time, and not ask for more. But life is endless, so we never die; we were never really born. We just pass through different phases. There is no end. Humans have many dimensions. But time is not was we see time, but rather in lessons that are learned..."

From Herman Daly

2010-05-18T23:44:00.001+03:00

"There is something fundamentally wrong in treating the earth as if it were a business in liquidation."

...

MIHO GRANDAMA Arte della Lucce - An Exhibition or Much More?

2010-05-18T11:27:00.008+03:00

I was in Japan again this May, to attend The Grand Sampai, Annual Ceremony and Meetings in Misono, The International Headquarters of The Shumei Foundation in Japan. This was my third year in a row to attend. I arrived in Japan on May 1st with directors of The Shumei Istanbul Center and two Turkish friends. Kyoto was our first stop. The next day, on May 2nd we were headed for The Miho Museum.

Miho has been a special place for me since I learned about The Japanese Organisation Shumei. I remember clearly the day that I watched the movie “The Museum on the Mountain.” I was amazed by the ingenuity of both the Founder of the museum, Mrs. Mihoko Koyama, known as Kaishusama in Shumei, and the famous Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei who was able to understand Kaishusama and was able to execute her desire to create a sacred place for beauty, art and spiritual healing and transformation.

The path to Miho Museum is an adventure in itself. First of all going to Shigaraki Mountains in the Shiga Region in Japan means going to the mountains and leaving the busy-ness behind.
After you reach the entrance area of the museum, a different adventure begins. Oh the path from the reception area of the museum to the main building... I was almost mesmerized by the view of this path when I watched the movie about the construction of the Miho Museum.

I know that my words will not be enough to express my feelings, especially since English is my second language. Even in Turkish, in my mother tongue this could be tough. Miho Museum is a place that both my soul and my body want to return to. I have been to this special place three times. I went there each time I was in Japan since I learned about its existence and every time departing has been tough. For the last three years I have been spending a day of my each year in Miho. I was there on May 2nd in 2009 and this year I was there on May 2nd as well. And I feel as if, if I was late to go for one more day, it would have been too late. Strange feeling. Strange, but true.

This museum has been built on an environmentally protected area in the mountains and surely it has achieved that intention of protecting what is valuable and beautiful both in nature and in art. I have been to many museums around the world; I have been impressed by many artists and museums as well, however, I have never fallen in love with a museum, never before Miho.
The Miho Museum is one of the places on this planet that I crave to visit, that I long to be on the grounds of. The buildings are amazing, the walk path, the tunnel that takes you to the museum is to die for, but it is not just about these pieces. There is something more. Maybe it is the intention of its founders to create a sacred space for the soul that would heal with love and beauty. Would I have a better idea if I had the chance to meet Mrs. Mihoko Koyama, Kaishusama, before she passed away in? I don’t know. What I know is that I am in Turkey now and I just cannot wait to go back.

Strange feeling.

The Miho Museum has a permanent collection and also each year a new exhibition welcomes its visitors. The first year I visited Miho there was a Yosa Buson Exhibition. Buson is a very famous Japanese poet, but in the exhibition a different facet of Buson was in front of our eyes. I had deeply appreciated that exhibition.

Last year what had impressed was the newly acquired Jibo Kannon, named Miho Jibo Kannon. This special tapestry piece had a different kind of energy. The figure of the child in the tapestry had given me a sense of hope, of growth and change. Yet, this year seeing Jibo Kannon for the second time, as a part of a new exhibition, Miho’s Merciful Mother Kannon, Jibo Kannon seems to speak to me on a lot more personal level.

This year’s spring exhibition, “MIHO GRANDAMA Arte della Luce” is a celebration for the 100th Birthday of Mrs. Mihoko Koyama, Kaishusama. This exhibition is fabulous displaying the best of the best from the Miho Collection. Yet, still it is not only why the exhibition is great. The energy of Kaishusama seems to be lingering in the exhibition rooms. I have always felt her presence and especially her intention for this museum when I have been in Miho. However, this time the feeling has something different and more. It is as if she let the veil down for us to see who she really is, through her letting Miho display what she loves, what she chose, what she cared for. And what she thought was necessary for others to see as well.

The Jibo Kannon was the last piece of the exhibition. Impressed as I was last year, this year The Kannon seemed at home and ever more shining. As I was looking at the details of the tapestry, listening to the sound of the music in the room and looking at the flower display chosen for The Kannon, I realized that The Kannon was talking to me. “Kid, when you grow, a whole world will open up to you. We are protecting you. Smile and be patient. When the time comes, you will grow. Take your time to grow. Smile....” I found myself looking into my bag to find a pen and paper, and started to write these words on the Miho notebook I had just bought. The words continued “Ask and God will give you. There is always light.” It was as if golden light was sparkling from the tapestry as I was trying to write these words down in my notebook. “Be patient and you will know. Come back when you feel like it. Allow yourself time to grow.”
Yes, there had been questions in my mind. As I always seemed to do. And my questions were heard and answered in quite an unexpected manner. And not because I was told to smile, I just could not help but smile as I left the exhibition rooms of Grandama.

The Grandama exhibition had other messages for me as well through Kaishusama’s selections. And also through the curators of the exhibition. These people have been excellent channels whom I feel have put their hearts and soul to reflect who Kaishusama really is and what she wants to conveys with the Miho Grandama Exhibition.

...

You could tell me that The Miho is just a museum; I would have to tell you to look again...

From MEISHUSAMA

2010-05-09T16:09:00.002+03:00

In Miakarishu, Page 97:

"Even the greatest tree that stretches to the sky was once a tiny sprout."

From The Great Poet Matsuo Basho:

2010-05-02T14:12:00.001+03:00

”Do not follow the tracks of the old masters, but follow what they strove to seek."

...

With love from Kyoto,
Zeynep Kocasinan

2010-01-03T18:27:00.002+02:00

Inspired by John Randolph Price:

Connect with The Angel of Loving Relationships in this first week of 2010.
Let your mind, heart and soul connect.
Allow yourself be curious and accepting to the new and different.
Allow yourself to connect with the love of the Source.

Happy New Year,
Z.

From Henry David Thoreau:

2009-12-10T00:14:00.001+02:00

"Every superfluous possession is a limitation on my freedom."

How free are you?

From Daniel Quinn:

2009-11-30T19:35:00.001+02:00

"If we continue ... to consume the world until there's no more to consume, then there's going to come a day, sure as hell, when our children or their children or their children's children are going to look back on us -- on you and me -- and say to themselves, "My God, what kind of monsters were these people?"

The Party's Over

2009-11-21T11:37:00.003+02:00

Have you ever read or listened to Richard Heinberg? If yes, you probably know what I am about to tell you. If your answer is no, it is time. For even if the party may be still on, it will really be over quite soon.

...

This October and the first week of November I was in the UK. With only two days in London, I spent this time up in Scotland in the Findhorn Ecovillage by the Findhorn Bay. It is a forty or fifty minute ride from Inverness airport. I was in Findhorn to attend a training of trainers by Gaia Education titled “Design for Sustainability - Ecovillage Design Programme”. It was quite an amazing training with participants from all around the world. Literally all around the world, from Burma/Myanmar to Argentina, from Canada to Australia, from Mexico to Japan… And there I was from Turkey.

It was my second time in Findhorn. Last summer I was there to attend a training to be a facilitator of the Transformation Game. The focus of that training was on personal growth, personal healing and empowerment. This game which is also available in Turkish is one of the best personal development tools that I have seen over the years.

Well, last summer I thought I had been to Findhorn. This October I realized that although Findhorn is essentially a spiritual community and offers many opportunities for personal growth and empowerment, it is also a very important place for sustainability awareness in the western world. It is a centre working hard to create awareness about climate change and peak oil.

Findhorn Ecovillage has the lowest ecological footprint measured in the western world. Their footprint is about one half of the footprint of the UK. Findhorn’s footprint includes the national factors for health services, infrastructure, and all government related activities, which needs to be included in the official calculations and definitely increases their footprint.

In the east countries and the global south as well as in Turkey especially in rural areas and in smaller rural towns, sustainability is still a way of life. People have not forgotten everything. Not yet. Our ecological footprint in Turkey is lower than many of the countries Europe and Northern America. Our villagers are still self sufficient in many aspects. However, it is also a way of life that we are forgetting fast. It is a way of living that we need to keep it alive, that we need to learn from, in order to survive when the party is over.

What is this party all about?

I have a lot of things to say, and I am finding it hard to decide where to start.

Have you heard of 350? When I was in Findhorn on October 24^th, there was an interesting event that took place. It was about 350. People gathered in the Universall Hall in Findhorn to sing and dance to connect to Mother Earth and to the people all around the world who are concerned about the future that awaits us all. Actually many interesting events took place all around the word. On that day in 181 countries about 5200 events were organised to rally for cutting CO₂ emissions.

In short 350 is the number of particles of CO₂ in the atmosphere [350ppm (parts per million)] which is thought to be a safe limit for humanity, in order to stop climate change, to prevent the melting of the arctic ice and all of its ripple effects. In December this year in Copenhagen a very important event will take place and it could be a historical event for the world, for the existence of human life on this planet. It is the UN Climate Change Conference COP 15 Copenhagen. This could be a historical time when we humans start to take responsibility for what we have caused on this planet, our home in the last few centuries with industrialization, our inconsiderate use of world’s natural resources especially fossil fuels.

The current level of CO₂in the air is over 387 ppm. We are over the limit that is considered safe by scientists. We are in quite dangerous waters. There is a very urgent need to cut carbon emissions all around the world. We are all sharing the same planet, the same atmosphere, the same seas and oceans. There is no private salvation. All governments need to come together and work together to find a way to radically reduce the use of fossil fuel energy resources. Countries need to find ways to use carbon free energy sources. There is no other way. We all need to reconsider our way of living which has turned into consuming Earth without consideration and respect for it, for all other forms of life. And especially in the western world. In big cities in Turkey we are modelling ways of behaving that has brought this trouble to the world. We are copying so called western countries which are waking up to the dangers waiting at the door.

For more detailed information about 350, I would like to recommend checking out the website www.350.org. This web site is quite up to date about what 350 really is.

Life on Earth will change as we know it. There is no doubt about it. Especially climate change and peak oil will change the way we live. We will wake up, voluntarily or through the waves of change. At this moment in human history, we are at a very critical point. It is a point where although difficult it is possible to make a change. Difficult, but possible. Yet, it is not a light decision. And I cannot help but think that so many of us are not aware of the changes that are about to happen.

There are things that governments need to do. By being aware citizens we can affect our governments to take this threat seriously. And we can do more. In hundreds of cities, towns and neighbourhoods around the world people are gathering together to find ways to bring resilience to their communities. In Findhorn I had the privilege some of these people who have started such initiatives in their towns. They are working together to organise their lives to make it les dependent of oil and are re-skilling themselves to prepare for both climate changes and expected increased oil prices.

As I listen to them, I realize that in Fethiye, people are already doing, have been doing what these people are trying to remember, are trying to learn again. They are learning about producing their own food through organic farming methods. They are supporting local producers, shops and products. They are relearning the skills their mothers, fathers, grandparents used to know to build their homes, to fix appliances, to sew, to knit, to cook, to make preserves and many more.

I do realize that I did paint a dark picture. My intention is not bring hopelessness or despair. Having seen Findhorn and what Findhorn Foundation has been trying to do to create sustainable settlements, to be a model or rather a laboratory for sustainable settlements, I have great hope. I have great belief in what humans can achieve once they are aware of the need to change and act with the will to change using proper tools and methods. We will need to change. If we change consciously and proactively, we can create a sustainable life that is fun and joyful.

Fossil fuels do not bring about health, joy and happiness perse. We created systems and life structures using fossil fuels. True. We thought that was the way. We lost track that we were using world’s precious resources as if there was an indefinite supply. We forgot. We got drunk with abundant energy. We thought it would last forever. Using fossil fuels is a method. We can change that. We can use these historic times to make life better, and reconsider what the words good and better mean to us.

This has been a very long beginning to what I would like to continue to talk about in the coming weeks. For the next two weeks I would like to invite to read about climate change, peak oil and 350. Until we meet again…

With lots of love,

Zeynep.

Back from Findhorn

2009-11-07T23:35:00.006+02:00

Finally I am back in London after a month long training on sustainability in Findhorn.

It was quite cold in Inverness this morning, yet London seems to be enjoying much warmer weather.

So much to say.

About "climate change".

About "peak oil".

About sustainibility.

About 350!

About communities, and especially Findhorn.

...

For tonight, I just would like to send love from London.

May our path be filled with love and compassion.

One Heart

2009-07-24T10:14:00.013+03:00

In Fethiye we are used to seeing people from different parts of the world and especially from the UK. Yet , last week there was a youth group visiting Turkey as a part of an International Youth Camp and Exchange Program of The Lions Club. There is a Lions Club in Fethiye. The current president of the club is Mrs.Nurcan İnce. This year I became the secretary of the club.

With this exchange program 27 students from 14 different countries came to Fethiye for 4 days of activities. Of course these students stayed with different host families before coming together as a group and also travelled to Pamukkale before coming to Fethiye.

The Fethiye Lions Club is the supporting club for this international activity. On July 21st, the group was welcomed to Fethiye with a lunch at Taş Fırın in Fethiye. Then the group went on to their 2 days/1 night boat trip. Later on they stayed at a hotel in Çalış for the remainder of the program. Apart from swimming and enjoying the wonderful nature, the youth group went on a jeep safari and also to a Turkish bat, hamam.

On the day that the group arrived I had the chance to talk with some of the visitors. One young lady was from Ohio in the US. One was from Poland and it was her second time in Turkey; she loved lokma and tulumba deserts of Turkey. And one young lady was from Germany and I talked with her about my visit to Germany, especially my trip to The Neuschwanstein Castle near Munich, the original castle that The Disney Magic Kingdom Castle was designed after.

I did not have the time to talk to all of them in detail, yet one young man from Italy shared that he found Turks and Italians really similar. I agree. I find Italians a little more joyful than Turks though.

When I visited the students at their hotel with my fellow Lions Club members the night before they were to leave Fethiye, it was wonderful to see them so very connected as if they were all from the same country, as if they have been friends for a very long time.

The language of the exchange program was English and this made it possible for us to connect and communicate with them as well. My French was quite insufficient when I tried to converse with two young ladies, one from France and one from Belgium, so we continued to talk in English.

On their last night in Fethiye, the youth group had a surprise for us and for the guests of the hotel they were staying at in Çalış. They had prepared a show of traditional Turkish dances of about 30-40 minutes. They danced to tunes from different regions of Turkey. The students told us afterwards that they have been practicing for one hour every day. They were quite amazing and we really had fun watching them and so did the guests of the hotel. The students seemed to be enjoying themselves, too.

The Fethiye Lions Club is quite active with educational and youth projects in Fethiye. Also, for those of you who are interested or who are already Lions, I would like to remind you that The Lions Club in Fethiye meets twice a month, on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month, at noon at Ata Park Hotel in Fethiye.

For more information on Lions Clubs, check out the website http://www.lionsclubs.org/ .

I will try to share our local activities and projects with you in the coming weeks.

May you have a week filled with joy, fun and happiness.

With love,
Z.

Angel of the Week: Patience

Affirmation of the Week: “There is only one voice worth listening to, the voice of my own heart.”

Zeynep’s Book Recommendation: Many Lives, Many Masters By Brian, L. Weiss, M.D. The name of the Turkish translation of this book is Birçok Yaşam Birçok Üstat. I heard that the Turkish translation is now out of print. Yet, if you can get hold of a copy, please do read. I really recommend this book on past-life therapy by the prominent psychiatrist Brian Weiss.

Original or Pirate?

2009-07-17T15:57:00.001+03:00

I was visiting one of my friends in İstanbul. She had visited me in Fethiye a couple of years. She showed me a book she bought in Fethiye, a very good book by Trevanian. The name of the book is Shibumi. It is one of my favourites. All is good so far. Yet she tells “Zeynep, I bought this book in Fethiye and I think it is a pirate copy.” Now, I do not know the proper term in English, I am not sure if there is one, but in Turkey we call books that are illegal prints of original books - pirate books (korsan kitap). I also looked at the book. The cover looked original yet the pages seemed a little strange. This book surely was not an original. She was really sad and so was I. My friend could not remember exactly where she bought the book, since it had been a couple of years. But she recalled that it was on the main seaside where tour boats take off.

I have always been very careful about pirate books. Since I get to travel to various cities and towns in Turkey, I also buy books when I am travelling, and I see many different shops that sell book. In the cities in Eastern Turkey I have seen a lot of pirate books on sale, and I try to be very careful to check the books. The ministry of culture puts on a lot of effort to stop illegal copy publishing of books, yet maybe this is an issue much grander than I give it credit for. My friends comment was not the first I heard about copy books in Fethiye, but it was the first time I heard it directly from a friend. And the topic suddenly became more real.

There is so much effort in writing, preparing and publishing a book that I find publishing and selling illegal copies of original books is something not to be tolerated. And since I have published three books this year, I am becoming more and more aware of the effort that needs to be put into a book until it makes it to the shelves. I would like to request your help to stop selling of pirate books in Fethiye. Let us inform in each other and protect the rights of authors, publishers and all of the people who work in editing, publishing and selling of book.

This March and April, two of my books “Reiki’yi Yaşıyorum-I am Living Reiki” and “Görüşler-Opinions” had been published. Recently, about a week ago, my third book “Dönüşüm Oyunu Gerçek mi?- Is The Transformation Game Real?” has been out. All three books currently only in Turkish unfortunately. I am really enjoying the process, yet I am also becoming more aware of the issues and problems of authors in Turkey.

In Fethiye you can find my books at Natur Bookstore, or in D&R and other major Bookstores in Turkey and through the internet sites such as kiapyurdu.com, netkitap.com or ideefixe.com.

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I was intending to write about a wonderful exhibition I had the chance to see at Tate Modern a few weeks ago. Yet, a visit to a friend in Istanbul took me elsewhere this week… Yet, I would like to remind you that the exhibition at Tate Modern is on Futurism and I really recommend it. The selection for the exhibition is filled with light, love and passion.

I wish you a colourful week.
With love,
Zeynep

Madonna, Jyorei or The Kyoto Garden?

2009-07-09T12:40:00.008+03:00

I came from London to Istanbul tonight. I am happy to be back in Istanbul, yet I miss London. Although I got the chance to do a lot, it still was not enough.

I really like London. It is a city that I feel at home in. The weather was quite nice when I was there. Friends told me that London has been especially hot this summer although quite cool in these last days. They told me that about a week ago the temperature was over 30 degrees.

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On the first day that I arrived in London, I visited The Shumei London Centre in Swiss Cottage. That Centre seems to have a lovely energy and to me it resembles the energy of The Shumei Centre in Istanbul. They both have high ceilings, light colours inside and have special calming and cleansing energies. Of course The Shumei Istanbul Centre has a wonderful view of The Topkapi Palace and The Sultan Ahmet Mosque (The Blue Mosque) and The Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya). It had been a while since I received Jyorei last; so I really appreciated receiving Jyorei at the Centre. I feel empowered with this strong and cleansing energy. Some of you might know that Jyorei is a Japanese energy healing technique developed by Great Master Mokichi Okada known as Meishusama (Master of Light), who is also the founder of the Japanese organisation Shumei.

The head of The Shumei London Centre Joe Amanai Sensei was in Milan for an event that day and I would have to wait for my last day in London to see Joe Sensei. He is such a strong, wise, yet humble and friendly teacher. I feel his continuous support. Joe Sensei came to Istanbul quite a number of times, and I really hope that he can visit us in Fethiye in the future as well. At The Shumei Centre I had the chance to see two old friends, one originally from France and the other from Bosnia. Another friend who has Syrian origins was also visiting the Centre and I had the chance to talk to him a little as well. I always appreciate groups like Shumei who bring like minded people of all origins, nations, religions and traditions together.

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When I was in London, I went to the Madonna Concert, from her Sticky & Sweet Tour. It was the first time I watched Madonna live. I must say that this lady who is 12 years older than me seemed to have endless energy. And I think that she made sure that all in the audience saw it clearly as well. Her show was very well planned and organised although Madonna came on stage about an hour late and the audience was about to get restless as we kept on waiting. It was my first time to go to London O2 and I really liked the stage. Since the Jubilee Line was closed that weekend, we needed to take a longer route through Canary Wharf to make it to The O2. Still, I believe it was worth the trouble.

This weekend in London I went to several restaurants and some casual fast service Italian ones. If you like Italian food and you would like good food with fast service, you may want to try Princi or Vapiano. Also, I went to Babylon at The Roof Gardens very close to the High Street Kensington tube station for Sunday lunch. There was quite a breeze outside so we sat inside first. Later on for coffee we had the chance to sit outside and see the garden on the 6th floor of the same building. If you are in the neighbourhood you can just go up and see the garden.

The next night I went to The Oxo Tower for dinner. This was the second time. I think it was 10 years ago that I went to The Oxo Tower restaurant for the first time. The view from that restaurant is one of my all time favourites. There is a lot you can find in London, especially when it comes to good food. Yet I need to say that over the years Istanbul is starting to compete with cities like London when it comes to food and restaurants. And The Bosphorous in Istanbul with its shades of blue and lovely breeze welcomes all…

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Kyoto in Japan is a city that I also like a lot. Yesterday I went to a special garden in Holland Park in London, called The Kyoto Garden and while walking around the pond in that small garden, for a few minutes I felt like I was in the garden of a temple in Japan. I realized that I miss Japan a lot already. This Japanese garden in Holland Park had been constructed as part of The Japan Festival in 1991 as a gift. … There is a special stillness and timeless energy in Japanese gardens. It is as if the time stops, and life goes on in these gardens forever…

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When I was in London, I could not stop thinking about the sustainability training I attended a few weeks ago. I couldn’t stop thinking about preserving nature and also about "Transition Towns". Tonight in Istanbul I am reading the book The Transition Handbook by Rob Hopkins, who is the founder of the Transition movement. I keep asking myself, “Is it too late? Or can we still make a change?” Norman Cousins says “All things are possible once enough human beings realise that everything is at stake.”

I am in Istanbul, a part of me is still in London, and I am thinking of a lot of things…

…

Angel of the Week: Respect

Quote of the Week: “Man is asked to make of himself what he is supposed to become to fulfil his destiny.” Paul Tillich

I wish you a wonderful and lucky week. With lots of love,
Zeynep

Abundance

2009-07-01T14:24:00.000+03:00

This morning I chose an angel card for myself and the angel of abundance came.

And I would like to invite the energy of abundance into our lives this week with some reminders and tips on how to keep the energy of abundance full and flowing.

Since the famous book and movie The Secret has been out we have been talking about methods to improve our health, relationships and finances. And indeed there are things that we can use to improve the overall conditions in our lives.

Richard Carlson and John Randolph Price are two authors who I believe really have something worthwhile to read. “Don’t Worry Make Money” and “The Abundance Book” are two valuable books by these authors. There are many more, and many of the books on the law of attraction are valuable resources to draw prosperity and abundance into your lives.

Gratitude
Attitude of gratitude is considered to be the simplest and one of the most powerful tools in creating abundance consciousness, which brings abundance to health, relationships, wealth, love and more. Some of you might know that I am also a Reiki teacher, and gratitude is a very important concept in Reiki healings to keep our energy high and strong. Gratitude means thanking to the sources that we believe brings the good into our lives. As the work of Japanese Masaru Emoto shows, words of thanks improve the quality of water. As we as humans are made up of almost 70 percent water, thanking – whether we say it or hear it – improve the quality of the water in our body. Our body energy becomes stronger in that respect.

Show gratitude in whatever way you can. If not to please anyone, most importantly to improve your health. How? Whatever your health or financial condition may be, everyday for at least 15 minutes feel real gratitude for whatever it is that you already have. Yes, fake it if you find it hard to make yourself feel gratitude. Because if you do concentrate on the things that you do not have, it is not possible to create the right energy to allow or attract better conditions and opportunities into your life.

If you are able to do the 15 minute a day gratitude exercise for 21 days in a row, new neural connections will form in your brain which will allow you to do this more and more easily from then on. Gratitude is a very strong tool. Please use it.

Power of a Smile
The power of humour and the power of a smile are hard to believe in before you try bringing more fun into your life. Smiling and laughing improve our energy immediately. Since we are able to feel only one strong emotion at a time, when we are happy and having fun, we cannot be sad at the same time. That is one of the reasons why to smile regardless of how you might be feeling, changes our mood so quickly. Smiling changes our hormone secretions and the results are very fast and effective. Try being sad and smiling at the same time. ... It will not work.

Please use this simple bit of information. Use it to improve your level of happiness. Smile at home, smile at the office. You will feel better as well as the people who are with you. And start by faking a smile when you do not feel like it. After a while, it will become genuine. Can a smile bring abundance into our lives? Why not give it a try this week and see for yourself? And better try for three consecutive weeks and observe the changes that will take place in your life.

What are your beliefs about wealth and abundance?

Although most of us want wealth and abundance in our lives, we are not totally aware of the negative connotations especially wealth has in our minds, especially subconscious minds. Many people tend to associate wealth with selfishness, greed, unjust use of power, even cruelty. In many of the coaching and healing sessions with my clients, we discover that if we are experiencing financial difficulties in our lives, this means that somewhere deep in our minds we believe that we are better off the way we are. There are beliefs engraved in our subconscious which we are mostly unaware of. Beliefs of our parents or families, beliefs and patterns of our community influence us since childhood. We grow with fears. And we do not even know what we are afraid of.

Do you feel or express any negative feelings or thoughts about wealth or money? What is the vocabulary that you use when you talk about people who are very rich and wealthy?

And of course to be able to attract abundance, we need to bring ourselves to the same energy level. Similar energies exist together. You cannot feel very unlucky and experience luck at the same time. It is not possible to concentrate on your lack of health and expect your health to improve. It is important to look into our health problems and find treatments and solutions. What I mean is - not to concentrate on the illness, but to concentrate on ways to improve it, and what we will see, feel or thinks when the healing is achieved. Mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Some teachers recommend keeping abundance consciousness strong from 40 to 42 days every day consecutively to break the habits of lack consciousness, lack thinking. At least 21 days are needed for the new connections to be made in our brain.
Whenever you catch yourself thinking about lack, talking about lack, reverse the thought and imagine abundance in the same intensity. This will help you short circuit the negative patterns.

I am aware that it is not easy to part with patterns that we have been brought up with. Yet, to use our full potential, to make our dreams come true, we need to discover and let those old patterns go. And not to fall back to old habits, we need to make new habits of thinking more positive thoughts and talking more positive words.

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This week please concentrate on gratitude and your smile. And be open and honest to yourself: What do you really want? ... That is a valuable question to ask. We will look more deeply into abundance with each week to come.

With lots of love,
Zeynep

From the Angels: Be honest with yourself. Look into your heart and you will know the truth of the situation. It’s safe to admit the truth to yourself, for we will support and guide you through any necessary changes. Lean upon us for courage and the strength to take good care of yourself. Focus only upon your true desires, and they’ll come to you upon angels’ wings.

Nonviolent Communication and More

2009-07-01T14:17:00.000+03:00

I was in Bolu at Abant Izzet Baysal University last week for a workshop. The topic of the workshop was Sustainable Living. This was the third time this workshop was organised in Turkey.

Twice it was organized in Ankara at Middle East Technical University. This time it was in Bolu. The two main instructors at the workshop were Findhorn Ecovillage in Scotland. May East and Michael Shaw came to Turkey to teach about social and ecological aspects of sustainability. This was May East’s third time in Turkey, and the second time for Michael Shaw.

I have deep respect for people who are not only taking about the environment, the pollution, the carbon emissions, but doing what they can to protect and to inform and awaken others. I have respect for the actions taken by Findhorn and its community members.

There was great emphasis on social sustainability in the workshop. Most of the people were expecting to hear mainly the ecological aspects, yet global experiences have shown that communities, associations, groups that bring people together for a cause fail unless there is social sustainability in the structure. Both May and Michael shared that initiatives fail not because there are not sufficient funds or there is not enough good technology; projects fail because people are not able to live together, are not able to work and create together. They have studied the ecovillage initiatives in the world and 90% of these failed, and the main reasons seemed to be the social aspects. For that reason social aspects and methods were an equally important part of this workshop as well as the ecological aspects.

Nonviolent Communication, decision making processes, spiral dynamics and the transition town movements were some of the important elements and tools of social sustainability. Nonviolent Communication, NVC as it is more commonly known, is a very strong and important approach which is becoming more and more popular around the world. We keep hearing more about it in Turkey as well. NVC is a way of speaking that helps to exchange information and resolve conflict between different parties. NVC focuses on our feelings and our needs that bring up those feelings. It is an honest way of communication that focuses on a deeper understanding of ourselves and the people were are communicating with. The structure of it was created by Marshall B. Rosenberg and he has written many books about it. Nonviolent Communication is the most commonly known book of his. Teaching Children Compassionately and Speak Peace In a World of Conflict are two other books by Rosenberg I just completed reading. I recommend all of his books deeply. Unfortunately most of them are available only in English. Some people call NVC - this way of communication - compassionate communication.

NVC aims to set aside blames, put-downs, comparisons and judgements. It aims to create a safe zone with respect and care. It brings a new approach to talking and listening. It encourages us to observe situations and dialogues without evaluating. This objective evaluation creates a common and acceptable common ground in communication. I strongly recommend you to look into NVC. It is not something we can learn in a day; we need to undo some of our old habits of talking, evaluating and even judging. Yet with time it surely becomes a very effective tool.

NVC encourages us to express our feelings. Yet, as we try to do this it becomes more apparent that we are usually not in touch with our feelings. Most of what we call feelings seems to be how we think others are behaving. People use words such as abandoned, abused, neglected, let down, unsupported and rejected to describe so called feelings. Yet these are actually words that describe how we interpret what others are doing. Words that express feelings are words like amazed, confident, calm, carefree, delighted, fulfilled, thankful, or afraid, angry, annoyed, bewildered, cross, discouraged, mad, mean, unhappy, worried, upset, etc. NVC encourages us to enlarge our dictionary of feelings to be in touch with how we really are feeling. After objective observation, being able to express feelings is another important element of NVC.

I hope to share more about NVC and the social aspects of sustainability in the future. For now I send all of you lots of love from Istanbul. Hope to be in Fethiye soon.

From Rumi: “Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment.”

The Soul of Nara

2009-06-09T22:35:00.009+03:00

Nara seemed like a very spiritual city to me from the first moment I arrived. Later on I learned that next year, in 2010, Nara will be celebrating the 1300th year of being the capital of Japan. There was quite a lot of construction going on in the city for the preparations of the coming year. There is a calm and strong energy with stillness in Nara. It feels as if this city had always been and will always be there.

It was also surprising to learn that Nara was the last destination on the Silk Road. Although Japan and Turkey have never been really connected in history, I felt connected with Nara, and maybe through the history of the Silk Road.

There is a special stillness in Nara, a peacefulness that seems to exist regardless of where one is in the city.

When we were in Nara, we learned that some of the important statues from Nara were on display in Tokyo. Most of these statues were from The Todai-ji Temple. This temple as the biggest wooden structure in the world was quite impressive. I did wish to visit the exhibitions in Tokyo, yet our program in Tokyo was quite full that I figured that may be my call was to see those pieces when they are back in Nara.

Todai-ji Temple was built in the Nara Period (710-794 AD). The main point of attraction of the temple is the Vairocana Buddha which means ‘Buddha that shines throughout the world like the sun’. The temple was built as a structure to house this magnificent Buddha. This building had gone through several fires, and had been rebuilt three times. Interestingly the current wooden structure of the temple, although the largest in the world, is 33% smaller than the original temple.

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Nara is special for me for another reason. There is a wonderful Shumei Center in Nara. The Center with its garden feels liks an oasis, It feels like a sacred ground. Umibe Sensei is the head of The Shumei Nara Center. In his energy there is a strength of deep inner spirituality. He is a teacher who displays in his own character that which he wants to teach to his students. Caring, respectful and very strong. He is like a father one can trust and depend on. I met Umibe Sensei for the first time when I arrived in Nara this year. Yet Nara is special for me for another reason as well. Yuriko Sensei, wife of Umibe Sensei and the head of Shumei Himeji Center, is a teacher that I feel a very strong connection to. Yuriko Sensei has been to Turkey quite a few times. I had the chance to meet her in Turkey twice in the last two years.

Yuriko Sensei is a very strong yet so lovingly gentle person. Sometimes when I look into her eyes, I feel like I am looking into the eyes of my mother. It is as if there is only love and compassion in her eyes. I feel safe and secure in her presence, and I do learn immensely from her way of teaching. Yuriko Sensei shares her own experiences with whatever it is that she teaches. She is gentle, caring and endlessly supportive. Shumei seems to have an amazing group of teachers, and I still find myself asking how all of them can be this wonderful. Are there no exceptions? Interestingly I will need to say ‘no’, and this is one thing I am amazed and impressed by every time I meet a Shumei Sensei for the first time or when I meet again one of the teachers that I already know. A really interesting concept.

I have seen many teachers from many different paths and teachings from all over the world. Yet never in my life have I seen such consistency in love, care, dedication, trust and supportiveness among such a large number of teachers of a group. And all with their unique characters and approaches. Shumei stresses the importance of having truth and sincerity in our lives. And all the Shumei Senseis live and display these qualities to the core. I cannot help but deeply respect this wonderful way of being.

The Wind of Yokohama

2009-06-08T19:49:00.015+03:00

The last stop on my two week long trip to Japan was Yokohama and it is as if I can still feel the famous wind of this city called Hamakaze on my skin. The flags are waving with the wind in Istanbul in the Bosphorous today and I feel like my soul is lingering in both cities.

I loved Yokohama. It was not because I saw the sea in this city that I was visiting for the first time. It was not because I saw the bridges that reminded me of the ones in Istanbul. It was not because I was able to look at Yokohama from those bridges. And it was not because I visited the rose gardens. It was not feeling the cool, gentle yet strong wind that made me happy. In Yokohama I was caught up in the strong stream of love and friendship that warmed up my heart in a way which is hard to describe. I have been experiencing this quite a lot in Japan in this trip, and I had thought I would get used to it.

My visit to the Yokohama Center of Shumei ended in a quite emotional scene at the train station. When the Narita Express Train going to Tokyo Narita Airport left the station, there about nine or ten Japanese teachers and friends who had come to the station at those early morning hours to send me and a Turkish friend of my mine off to our journey back home to Turkey. They waited till the doors were closed. There was so much love and care that I could not hold the tears in my eyes any longer. This was what true friendship was about.

Teto Sensei, who is the head of the Shumei Yokohama Center not only came to the train station that early morning, but even got on the train to check that we were safely seated in our reserved seats. He sent us on our journey like one would his children or siblings. That morning it was hard on my heart to leave these friends who had wrapped us so strongly in love during our stay in Yokohama. And you know what, I feel like they have sent a part of their hearts with us to İstanbul with the intention of protecting us and caring for us.

I started the story with our departure from Yokohama, yet it may be better to go a little back and start with how it all began.

I had met Teto Sensei a couple of months earlier when he was visiting Istanbul. I had thought that he had a calm, tranquil and peaceful energy that makes the people with him feel the same tranquility. To be able to know and appreciate him better, I needed to go to Japan.

When we arrived in Yokohama, Teto Sensei was out of the city due to the opening of the Miho School of Shumei. When we arrived to Yokohama from Tokyo, Sakurai Sensei and two other ladies from the Shumei Yokohoma Center greeted us where we were to exit the station. And they took us to the dinner organized by Mr. and Mrs. Namimoto who would be our hosts in our stay in Yokohama. We found ourselves in a very elegant Italian Restaurant sitting at a long table with lovely new friends from Yokohama. The location was wonderful and a dinner with endless and delicious dishes were being served. We are grateful for this wonderful welcoming. At the end of the dinner I was really touched by the cake that came to the table. It was decorated with the Turkish and the Japanese flags. A group picture was taken with this cake and to our surprise each one of us received a copy of this picture even before we left the restaurant. I think we were about 13 people at that dinner. What a wonderful welcoming. ... I would like to give the Namimoto Family a special and heartfelt thanks for their genuine hospitality. Mr. Keiji and Mrs. Eiko Namimoto with their son who is an architect, welcomed us to Yokohama just like a parent. I wish them the best from my heart.

We were the guests of this sweet couple for three days. They were full of love; they were so gentle. They had a special elegance and grace. In the mornings we would wake up to the day with the wonderful music Mr. Keiji Namimoto would play for us, coming softly up from the living room to our bedrooms upstairs. His wife Mrs. Eiko Namimoto is an excellent cook. The perfect welcoming dinner was a reflection of their fine taste. Mrs. Namimoto woke up at 04:45 one morning to cook us home made bread. She baked three different kinds of bread for us that morning. And they were so delicious. We cannot thank her enough for her kindness and thoughtfulness.

Later on we would learn that Teto Sensei had a big input in the wonderful meals prepared at the Namimoto residence as well. To make sure that we had healthy foods, Teto Sensei had brought all kinds of goods from sugar to salt, from flour to salad materials that were all grown with Shumei Natural Agriculture methods, into the house from all around Japan. Shumei Natural Agriculture is a method of natural farming developed by the founder of Shumei, Mokichi Okada, who is known as Meishusama, Master of Light. This is a method of farming that is respectful to nature and emphasizes sustainability. Last year I started to grow vegetables in our family garden with this method. Also in Turkey in the city of Samsun, rice is grown with Shumei Natural Agriculture methods, and we have the chance and privilege to consume rice that is both very healthy and also delicious.

The day that we went to the Shumei Yokohama Center, we were to see different surprises. The center was decorated with Turkish and Japanese flags. Quite a large group filling the Center welcomed us with a huge banner that was decorated with Turkish and English words of Hello and Welcome. The word for welcome in Turkish is ‘Merhaba’. And not only the banner has this word on it, but also a group of 30-40 people were saying ‘merhaba’, welcome, in Turkish to us as we were entering the center. And in the background I could hear Mozart’s Turkish March playing. And I thought: What a group of sensitive, loving and thoughtful people...

There we had the opportunity to give a short talk to Shumei members. They had prepared a special Taiko drum performance for us as well as a concert where we could listen to different Japanese instruments. We also sang the famous Japanese song 'Sakura' together. During the two days that we visited the Center, we had the chance to eat meals prepared with Shumei Natural Agriculture ingredients. First we thought that the meals were prepared by professional cooks. Later on we discovered that the meals were prepared by volunteers at the Shumei Center. They were prepared by ladies who took the time to prepare special dishes for us. I am glad that I was able to meet these wonderful cooks and thank them in person with my limited Japanese. I want to thank them again with all my heart; I could feel that they put their love in the food that they prepared for us. I like Japanese food a lot, yet the food in Yokohama was very special filled with the loving intentions of our hosts and cooks.

On our three day trip to Yokohama, we were able to spend a day and the morning that we left with Teto Sensei. We learned a lot from Teto Sensei, and the topic that he emphasized the most was the importance of eating foods that were produced naturally. For success, to be able to do good, successful and productive things one had to eat healthy and be healthy. I thought that maybe this was a little more important than I was giving it credit for.

When we were in Yokohama, we had the chance to go up the Landmark Tower Building, which is 296 meters tall and is the second highest structure in Japan after the Tokyo Tower. We went to the observation floor which is on the 69th floor of the building. This building has the fastest elevator in Japan. At times the speed of the elevator goes up to 700+ kilometers per hour. This was also an amazing experience. Yokohama is a beautiful city, with the sea, with its well planned city structure and its sweet wind called Hamakaze that seems to leave a special taste of its own. Who knows, maybe I will get the chance to walk in the Yokohama port and feel that delicious wind in my hair again.

Mata Aimashoo Yokohama… Hope to see you again…

Fethiye with Snow on the Mountains

2009-05-22T09:38:00.002+03:00

I came to Fethiye last night after about a month. It is interesting to see that there is still snow on the mountains. Last night the streets were wet in Dalaman when I arrived and Fethiye was much cooler than I expected. I missed this lovely piece of the world. No matter how much I like travelling, I love coming back home. My zodiac sign is Gemini and maybe like the air elemen this sign belongs to I love travelling and flying to different places of the world. I like change, trying new things and meeting new people. Yet may be because I was born on the first day of the sign, there are some astrologists who consider that day the second day of the month of Gemini, on May 22 I see myself display some Taurian qualities at strange times. Of course if you ask a Kabalistic Astrologist, he or she may say that is only natural since I am born in the sign of Taurus according to Kabalistic Astrology, which takes into consideration both signs, one determined by the sun and the other by the moon.

I was not going to talk about astrology, where did this come from now? Well, today is May 22 and it is my birthday. Birthdays definitely change their meaning as the years pass, at least for me. For the last few years I feel like I am at the completion of a project at the end of each age. Not better or worse, but as if one adventure ended and a new one will begin. As I have been studying various energy healing techniques over the years, I am becoming more and more sensitive to the energy that seems to welcome us at our birthdays. A new energy, a new package of possibilities arrives at our doorstep on our birthday and stay with us for about a year. Of course as the end of our birth year approaches, the energy of the coming year can be felt a little as well. As there is a specific energy available for us each and every day, there is a different energy available for us starting with our birthdays every year. There are 22 main energy times with many many variations. Therefore you will probably experience some similar energies over your life time, yet some you may experience 3-4 times and some maybe only once.

Maybe that is one of the reasons all teachings ancient and new talk about the importance ‘being in the now’ and ‘experiencing today’. The same energy may never be available to you again. And this is a good thing. Life continuously brings us new opportunities and changes. As I look ten years back today, I would have never ever imaged myself sitting in front of my computer on a cloudy but wonderful Fethiye morning writing an article for the Land of Lights newspaper in Fethiye. I was a person of plans, so I indeed had many plans and programs, and they did not turn out to be as I planned. Yet, I am also thankful that they did turn out the way they actually did.

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When I was in Japan, I had the chance to stay at the home of a wonderful family while I was visiting the headquarters of Shumei, Misono, and The Miho Museum in the Shigaraki Mountains. The family had two wonderful kids, Haruka-Chan, age 6, and Chisato-Chan, age 3.

And if I remember correctly on the third day of my stay in their home, we discovered that their mother, Sachiko-San was born on the same day as I. The same day, May 22nd, 1970.

It was a nice surprise, and I was not surprised at the same time. I had felt very close to this joyful, happy, loving and caring woman from the first moment I saw her. Maybe it was from seeing the piano in their home, or it was her smile, or her natural and peaceful care. In her approach to life, there is joy, there is happiness and love, all very natural and true. Today I cannot help but think of my ‘twin sister’ in Moriyama, Japan. I wish you a very happy birthday Sachiko-San. And hope to see you soon in Turkey or in Japan.

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As I got together with a friend late last night, I got good news and bad news at the same time. ... I learned that one of my precious friends in Fethiye, Rose, lost her beloved daughter. It is hard to find the words... I just want to send Rose my love and wish her strength and patience...

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This week I would like to end by sharing a short section from Michael Gelb’s famous book How To Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci:

“You can witness an ironic testament to Leonardo’s lament when you next visit the Louvre. As you approach the Mona Lisa, you will see a number of signs, written in large letters and different languages, reading: “No Flash Photography, Please.” As you attempt to take in the subtleties of this most mysterious of all paintings, you’ll find yourself almost blinded by the stroboscopic effect of the nonstop camera flashes of the Philistines who never bother to stop and actually look at the painting.”

...

May your days be filled with love and light,
Zeynep.

I'm Back Home

2009-05-15T08:07:00.007+03:00

After being away in Japan with no cell phone connections for over two weeks have been an interesting experience for me. I have been traveling to various cities and centers and now that I am back I find not that easy to be here in Istanbul totally yet. This may take a few days. May be partly due to the jet-lag, my soul might need to catch up with my body which seems to be traveling at a faster pace. The traveling schedule was also quite full which in a way required me to be in Japan totally with mind, body and soul. I am trying to digest what I really experienced. There was a lot about spirituality, a lot about friendship and connecting with Japan and Japanese people. Once again I felt I was deeply connected with this land of Islands.

My first trip to Japan was last year, and everything had felt strangely familiar during that trip also. This time there is no doubt. With people I meet in Japan, I kept on having this lovely strange feeling of meeting old acquaintances, in every city I went to, one after the other. I do not question it any more, I just welcome and appreciate.

This time in Japan I had the opportunity to visit many temples and shrines in different parts of the country. Tokyo was a lot less chaotic than I expected. Yokohama was really fresh like the breeze called Hamakaze Yokohama is famous for.

There is an amazing attention to details in Japan. People carry this energy of loving whatever that they are doing. The love may not come naturally, but they seem to be able to add that love and care that seems to make a great difference.

In general there are also amazing similarities between the Turkish and the Japanese cultures. The futon beds on the floor remind me of the floor-beds I have seen in rural areas all around Turkey. Use of home slippers is quite a common tradition in Turkey as well as in Japan. And there are many more similarities. Yet, I could not help but think that there is a lot more to learn about dedication, respect, care and attention to life, to people and to details in Japan.

I believe I still need to allow some time to let my soul to completely arrive back home. So this week I will share more pictures with you than words, hoping that they speak louder.

I send my love to you all and hope to see you soon.

Zeynep

Talent Management & Coaching

2009-04-22T08:22:00.001+03:00

Zeynep Kocasinan completed the training "Talent Management & Coaching Program" given by Marilyn Atkinson, Ph.D., President of Erickson College International, on April 21st, 2009.

Team Coaching

2009-04-15T08:17:00.004+03:00

Zeynep Kocasinan completed the "Coaching Team Thinking & Team Innovation" training given by Marilyn Atkinson, Ph.D., President of Erickson College International on Aprik 15th, 2009.

Erickson College International recognizes and supports guidelines for training set by International Coach Federation.

The Messages of Our Weight and Body

2009-03-27T10:24:00.003+02:00

I spent most of my childhood years as a very thing girl. During my high school years I did gain weight, however gave most of it back during college at Cornell University. Students who go to the US usually gain weight. There is a term “freshman fifteen” and it is used to refer to the weight that students gain in their first year in college, which is about 15 pounds. I on the other hand lost about 15 during my first two years at Cornell. My height was 158 cm, and my weight ranged from 47-52 kgs over my four years in college. I was 58 kg when left for the states from Turkey. I was 52 kg when I returned to Turkey after college. My weight has been fluctuating over the years, up and down and up again. This is one issue that has not been very stable in my life, and one issue I would like to look more seriously into. So far it had not been top priority; and I feel that the time has come.

*

When looking at a health issue through the eyes of complementary medicine, or holistic medicine, we need to beyond the visible. If I am overweight, unless I have a different health problem issue, I must be taking in more calories then I am spending. To lose weight I would need to eat less and exercise more. However, for many people going to a dietician and going to sports clubs do not solve their weight problems. Even though they may lose weight, most of them gain weight right back. Why?

Although we understand the mathematics behind gaining weight, unless we look into the reasons of why we choose to have excess weight on our bodies, we cannot find permanent solutions. And being overweight means that we subconsciously believe that the excess weight is necessary or that being overweight is serving us in some way. If we can discover these hidden benefits that the excess weight is providing, then we can find a way to be and to stay in our ideal weight.

How could being overweight serve us?

If you subconsciously believe that you are not safe, and that you need protection, gaining weight is one way your body responds to this thought. Finding food meant safety for humans for hundreds of years, and your body responds with ancient protection methods to your current safety issues. You might be feeling unsafe because you may not be getting the promotion you want; your body senses insecurity from your experience, and you gain weight. You may try dieting, but under those conditions you will not be able to lose that weight no matter what you do. On the surface you want to lose weight. However, on a deeper level, your subconscious keeps saying: “I need protection.” And having food is being safe. And also with the extra weight you are physically adding layers around your body which are in a way your natural shields.

Being aware of our unknown ulterior motives is not easy. Yet, even knowing that they exist brings enough awareness to create change.

Of course there are many reasons for overeating, however the need or desire for protection, insecurity issues are some of the most common ones. There are many more. If we are overweight and we are staying that way, this means that this condition is serving us in some way. If we did not choose to stay fat, we most probably wouldn’t be.

I would certainly request you to have your medical check-ups to make sure that you do not have a health problem that needs immediate attention. If you are not able to control your weight even though medically you do not seem to have any problems, then it is appropriate to look at the issue from another perspective.

I feel the need to add that all illnesses tell us something about our way of thinking and our subconscious beliefs as well. For example, if we keep on having injuries, then first it is necessary to take care of the wound. Yet, later on we need to find out why we keep on having wounds. How is this serving us in any way?

Once I had client, an old lady a grandmother of three kids, who came to me asking for some supportive energy. She had broken a leg, and felt the need to heal fast to help her daughter to take care of her three kids, her own grandchildren. In a few seconds the picture was clear to me.

I asked her: “Why did you break your leg?” First she looked quite puzzled, then she started to cry. After crying for a few minutes, she looked up and said: “I cannot go on anymore. I am so tired.” It turns out she had been feeling very tired with the responsibility of supporting her daughter with the kids. However, she could not find the courage or heart to share this with her daughter. She could not say to her that she was tired, and although she loved them all very much, it was difficult for her to find the energy as well as the patience to be with three young kids every day. With a broken leg, she had the permission. All on the subconscious level. Please remember that she had come to me to have faster healing and more energy to take care of her chores.

This lady needs to share her honest situation with her daughter, and learn to say “no” to demands when she does not want to accept. Also using methods like Reiki she can find ways to increase her energy and not feel so frustrated.

Over the years I have seen that a lot of the injuries that we are experiencing are self-induced subconsciously to serve us, to protect us in an interesting way.

As for anorexia and bulimia, these conditions are also serving the person in some way. In the cases that I have worked with as a coach, not loving the self seems to be the main thought that triggers anorexia. There may be many different reasons for how and why this thought is created, however belief of self-worthlessness or even self-hate can become very strong. For both anorexia and bulimia, immediate medical care and professional psychological support might be necessary. However, I believe that after the urgent measures are taken, attention to the thoughts and beliefs that trigger these conditions needs to be given as well.

I would like to share some affirmations for self-love and self-acceptance this week. Repeat them whenever you can, in the morning, during the day, in the evenings, but at least 20-25 times a day. You can choose one affirmation and work on that over a week, or you may choose one every day and use different affirmations each day. Please follow your heart.

I trust the process of life.

I am deeply fulfilled by all that I do.

I am safe, it’s only change.

I can release the past and forgive everyone.

I love my body.

I love life.

I am worth loving.

My healing is already in process.

*

I wish all of you a wonderful week.
With lots of love,

Zeynep

***
Affirmation of the Week:
“Today I listen to my feelings, and I am gentle with myself. I know that all of my feelings are my friends.” By Louise L. Hay

Quote of the Week:
“Man is asked to make of himself what he is supposed to become to fulfil his destiny.”
Paul Tillich

Zeynep’s Book Recommendation:
“The Life You Were Born To Live” By Dan Millman
The Turkish translations of these stories are available under the name “Hayatınızın Amacı”.

A Different Approach to Success

2009-03-12T21:06:00.002+02:00

There are so many approaches and methods that talk about success, on financial and business success especially. I feel that it is time to share a different approach. From John Randolph Price, a teacher that has affected the world tremendously over the past 35 years. His teachings are the basis of the methods taught by many teachers around the world. Although there are many books on success and positive thinking out, his books are the originals of many written.

...

“To have the consciousness for that which is desired”: This approach to success makes us realize that without the consciousness, the physical effort will not give us the results we desire. And the people who have achieved do have this awareness to a great extent.

To create the base for the success that you desire:

1- Focus on what you desire. This is not easy if you are not clear you really want in your life, in your business, at home, in your social life or health.
2- Although we usually believe that the deliverence is the difficulty in a desire, accepting what life offers us is one of the bigger obstacles. Are you open to accepting your wishes if they appeared at your doorstep tomorrow morning?
3- For your wants to take on a physical form, the awareness of the desires in your mind is a definite must.
4- For you to be able to identif a true want for a desire, the awareness of that desire needs to be in you. The fact that you have the desire means that the possibility, or even certainty of that desire is in existence.
5- Add feelings to you mental desires. In addition to the mental conciousness of a desire actualizing, add the feelings of satisfaction of attaining it.
6- Do not be concerned to the way your desires are going to take place. Leave the way of fullfillment to the universe, to the divine system, or God, however you would like to name it.
7- Use the power of your imagination. If you can image as if your desire has actualized and that you are experiencing the joy of having achieved your wishes.
8- Be grateful. For this moment. The gratefulness for what is creates an energy that intives more things to be grateful about.
9- Use the power of action. Look for inspiration, and when that comes do not wait, take action.

This is a very general outline of the basic approach to attracting what we truly desire in life. However, this is just a beginning. John Randolph Price is famous for his 40 and 60 day programs that you can use on your own to achieve your desires. Most of these programs are ones that you can do on your own. I used them on myself and I also work with groups using these programs.

...

There is a strong affirmation that Price recommends on using Faith as a strong tool. If you would like, here is the affirmation to use:

I believe there is Nothing God cannot do.
I believe there is nothing God cannot do Through me.
I believe there is nothing God cannot do As me.
God is myself; therefore, there is nothing that I cannot do.
Nothing is too good for God, and nothing is too good for me!

Simple is beautiful, and so are many of the tools offered by Price. He believes in empowerment, and believes in awakining the power of our soul.

May your path filled with love, gratitude and trust.
With love,
Z.

Old and New

2009-03-12T20:12:00.002+02:00

This week I am re-reading some old books. Actually I have been doing this a lot in the last few months. A few days ago I went to the Remzi Bookstore in Akmerkez. This is something I usually do every few days when I am in Istanbul.

There are many new books out, fiction and non-fiction. I was tempted to buy many, but I kept my promise to read my old books. I am reading mostly Norman Vincent Peale. Also, Louise Hay and Esther and Jerry Hicks. I thought that I knew some of these books by heart. I seem to discover something new each time I read them again.

Also in the last few days I was not reading, but looking at some of the books by Paulo Coelho. This week I seem to have too much to say, which means I will not be able to. Not yet. This is a week I need to let someone else speak. And I love it when Coelho does that…

From Paulo Coelho:

- It is enthusiasm for your work that you will find the gate to Paradise, the love that transforms and the choice that leads us to God

- Happiness is sometimes a blessing, but usually it is a conquest. Each day’s magic moment helps us to change and sends us off in search of our dreams.

- Surrendering completely to love, be it human or divine, means giving up everything, including our own well-being or our ability to make decisions, it means loving in the deepest sense of the word.

- Love is an act of faith in another person and its face is wrapped in mystery. It must be experienced and enjoyed at every moment, but as soon as we try to understand it, the magic vanishes.

- We tend always to value those things that come from far away, never recognising the beauty around us.

- When we are on the right path, we follow the signs, and if occasionally we stumble, Divinity comes to our aid, preventing us from making a mistake.

- Have faith. Believe that it is possible and you will begin to change the reality around you.

- True devotion only appears when we have a desire and we will die if we do not achieve that desire.

- Faith: Before going into battle, you must believe in the reasons for the fight.

- True love can withstand separation.

- When a beginner knows what he needs, he proves more intelligent than an absent-minded sage.

- The only way to make the right decision is by knowing what is the wrong decision, by examining the other path fearlessly and boldly, and only then deciding.

- Love is a challenge, an invisible fire.

- We tend not to value the things we do every day, but they are what transform the world around us.

- A warrior knows that his best teachers are the people with whom he shares the battlefield.

- The Way involves respect for all small and subtle things. Learn to recognise the right moment to adopt the necessary attitudes.

- What does learning mean: accumulating knowledge or transforming your life?

- Every search is an act of faith.

*

This week surround yourself with beautiful objects and images and be thankful for what life brings.

With love and light,

Zeynep

Angel of the Week: Delight

Affirmation of the Week:
“I centre myself in safety and accept the perfection of my life. All is well.”
By Louise L. Hay

Quote of the Week:
“As above, so below. As within, so without.”

Zeynep’s Book Recommendation:
“Creative Visualization” By Shakti Gawain
The Turkish translation of the book may be found under the name “Yaratıcı İmgeleme”.

Searching for True Colours

2009-01-12T20:33:00.009+02:00

When I was in London this October, I had the chance to visit Tate Modern. I do love modern and abstract art. I prefer to work with abstract forms in my own art work as well. There was a Rothko Exhibition, which I believe is still on. I like Rothko’s work, yet in that exhibition, the pieces chosen were not my favourite. It could be my personal mood at the time, or even the weather. It made me think of my own choice of colours and shapes when I paint. What makes me choose a black over a yellow, or a dark red instead of a lighter shade?

When I paint, I try to follow my heart. And I believe that all who paint with that calling try to listen to that inner urge. … Yet, are we that transparent? Or do we ever hide from ourselves behind our own colours?

*

There is a famous teacher in Istanbul, R. Şanal Günseli. I believe his books have not been translated into English yet. He is not the only teacher who talks about it, but his main concept in a treatment is the need to be reminded of our God-like self, our own true power. He believes that all our ailments and troubles are a result of rejection of our true self, our true spark which is unique as our fingerprint. Neal Walsch talks a lot about this as well. One way or another all teachers talk about this, about our grandness and uniqueness.

Still, we do manage to avoid even to think about the idea that we indeed might be perfect just as we are.

It is that time of the year when things are fresh and we want to be that person we always dreamed of being. And there is nothing wrong with that. Yet, why is it so difficult to accept that we might indeed be good enough, loveable enough, pretty or strong enough, to be happy and content with what we have in hand. That drive of course pushes us to try and reach our potentials. Yet, is it possible to be more content during this journey?

Affirmations come handy. They are not cure for all, but they do cure if we want to be and choose to be. For example, to be able to accept that life supplies all our need in great abundance, it helps to say the words. And unless we believe it, trust it and most of all accept it, it will not and cannot come into our own reality. The affirmations allow that path to open up. Of course, along the way it will be necessary to look at our hidden demons that make us believe why the contrary is utterly true. Where did the clouds come? And who decided that my sun is better than your cloud?

Walking in the rooms of the Rothko Exhibition, I realized that the colours that were being displayed that day were not pleasing me. Blacks, and dark and dirty reds and browns were almost making me suffocate. This was not the Rothko I was expecting to see. He did have yellows and light yellows and purples and oranges. Where were they?

And it was time to look at my own colours when I paint. What do I choose and why?
Is it not true that on some days I only have energy for a postcard size watercolour? And sometimes a watercolour brush of size 0 is too big and sometimes on a large canvas using a sponge instead of a brush is just too little.

It is all about what comes from the heart. To be true to that, is essential in art – to be true to what comes from within. But is it only about art? And, when it comes to decide what we choose to take in, isn’t there also a voice inside, sometimes loud sometimes far too quiet, that we question the need to listen to?

What would you like to bring into your world today?

What you choose will effect and determine a large portion of what you will bring out to the world from within.

...

*

“Life supplies all my needs in great abundance. I trust life.”
Do you?

*

Before starting to write today, I had chosen an angel for Fethiye. And the Angel of Respect came. Joy Drake and Kathy Tyler share that this energy asks us to “cultivate deep listening and act in ways that acknowledge and esteem ourselves and others.” They continue their own description of what this angel brings by telling us: “Everyone and all life matters. Recognize, honour, and elicit the best.” May this energy help us all.

*

And do get your hands on a book on affirmations. If you are looking for something in Turkish, go for the book “Kuantum Olumlama” (which translates as Quantum Affirmation) by R. Şanal, or go for a book by Louise Hay in Turkish or English. I love her book “I Can Do It, How to Use Affirmations to Change Your Life”.

Please do it.
And let your true life unfold. Give it a chance to be what it is indeed capable of being.
…

I wish you all, as well as myself, the strength and courage to walk the talk.
Zeynep.
________________________________________
Angel of the Week: Respect

Affirmation of the Week: “I am now willing to be open to the unlimited prosperity that exists everywhere.” 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:
“Jonathan Livingston Seagull” By Richard Bach

Of JOY

2009-01-12T20:30:00.000+02:00

Today I found a book in my office that I bought on June 22, 2004. I know because it turns I dated it the day I bought it, as well as writing the place I bought it from: Okuyanus, in Teşvikiye, İstanbul.

However I saw a note saying “With Love to Zeynep” on the same page with a signature by Hidayet Türkoğlu. A note from four and a half years ago. For those of you who are not acquainted with who Hidayet is, he is a very famous Turkish basketball player who is playing in the American NBA League for the last, well about 7-8 years.

When I saw the name, for a second it did not make sense. Then I remembered our chance encounter in a café, and we talked a little, and I wanted to do the typical and asked for an autograph. I had this book with me and it seemed very appropriate. The book was “A Book of Joy” by Thomas Kinkade. Now, for those of you who know Thomas Kinkade, yes he is a very famous contemporary American artist. Well, his paintings are quite different and magical, almost dreamlike. And he is widely known as the ‘Painter of Light”.

I learned about, well at least of Thomas Kinkade from my Reiki and Bioenergy Master Moshe Abudaram. He had given me a screensaver with his paintings for my computer. They were really nice, but still I did not know much about Kinkade, until my brother Yaman who was back in Turkey from San Francisco for his Christmas Break saw the screen saver and said: “Thomas Kinkade, isn’t he great? I just love his work. His paintings make me happy.” And interestingly, those paintings certainly did. I loved that screensaver. With each view of the paintings, I was carried into a very happy and joyful dream world. And I still use the same screensaver in my notebook computer at home. But this book of joy had been away from sight for almost five years.

This book is a combination of images from Kinkade’s paintings and quotes from different writers and teachers as well as Thomas Kinkade himself. A small book, which I am very happy to see.

*

There is another significance to why I am very happy to find this book today. Because just before finding it, I chose an angelcard for myself, and the title of the card that I chose was ‘Joy’. Interesting synchronicity…

I pulled a card asking for some direction and information as to how to go about these days, since I seem to be very busy, and I find myself questioning if I am on the right track. Here is the answer that came:

JOY

Joy is the highest energy of all. It’s the magical sense that everything is possible. Joy springs from appreciating the gifts within each moment. Joy allows you to attract and create your present and future moments at their highest possible levels.

*

There are many attitudes and emotions that we can choose from during the day. How about choosing Joy for a change?

*

And surround yourself with beautiful images this week and enjoy the beauty…

With love and light,

Zeynep

Angel of the Week: Joy

Affirmation of the Week:
“My partner is the love of my life. We adore each other.”
By Louise L. Hay

Quote of the Week:
“True love does not consist of trying to correct others, but of feeling joy that things are better than we expected.”
Paulo Coelho

Zeynep’s Book Recommendation:“The Power Is Within You” By Louise L. Hay
The Turkish translation of the book may be found under the name “Pozitif Gücün Büyüsü”.

Power of Laughter

2009-01-12T20:29:00.005+02:00

There is amazing power in laughter, and in humour. I am one of those who believe in the power of the smile, both to make me and those around me happier and stronger.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox said “Laugh and the world laughs with you.” Smile and the world smiles also, I can guarantee at least most of the time.

Peter Ustinov said “Laughter is the most civilized music in the world.”

Well, this week I would like to write about laughter and humour because unless we integrate them into our lives, maintaining health and happiness becomes quite difficult.

This week I worked with two clients who are dealing with life threatening conditions, and through our conservations both have admitted to the fact they do not even recall when they last laughed, a real laugh that came from their heart. We are not talking about the polite smiles at work, or the pressured laugh at friend’s birthday party.

When was the last time you laughed?

How frequently do you laugh in a day? In a week? In a month?

*

Did you know that ‘a sense of humour’ is cited as the most sexually attractive trait in surveys? More seems to be involved in real attractions than our body parts. Many psychologists agree that laughter opens up our senses, as well as our mind.

Laughter also seems to affect our endocrine systems, and produce natural painkillers and increase our immune system.

I have believed that growing up and getting older meant being more serious. I could not totally manage it, but tired to be more reserved that what was natural to me. I do not anymore.

I do not watch the news in the evenings anymore. I do read the paper, but not first thing in the morning anymore. I save that for times during the day where my subconscious is more protected and aware of the negative input bombardment. What you see, read or hear does affect you, whether you believe, accept or even want to take it in. The second you are in contact, the input, the information is in your system.

The news say that the world is not a safe place, that the economy is crashing and life standards will fall. If you are listening to these news without awareness, like when you are just up in the morning, or about to sleep in the evening, or just dozing off on the couch on a Sunday afternoon, you are being sold to this information as true. Whether you know or accept it or not. Your subconscious cannot differentiate between what is really true and what is just being told as someone’s perspective on what seems to be taking place.

So somewhere in your being a part of you believes that the world is not safe, and act accordingly. And you will find yourself questioning why you are afraid to try even the smallest new things. A part of you is doing crisis management, and you are not even aware.

*

There are so many different stories and battles that are taking place in our personalities, in our bodies that we are not aware. Yet, as soon as we open ourselves to this possibility, we can do something to stop creating useless and even dangerous new influences to our physical, emotional and mental health.

Affirmations are great tools to reprogram thoughts and beliefs that do not serve us anymore.

And also happiness, laughter, humour increase our energy levels to the highest of our potential. They indeed do. And in that state, all that seem to trouble us become apparent and surmountable.

*

Exercises of the Week:

1- This week as you go out, or just while you are walking in the street, try to catch people’s eyes and smile at them. (They may or may not smile back at you, but the changes are most of them will.)
2- Watch at least one comedy film or show this week.
3- Buy yourself or borrow a comic book or a cartoon book and read it allowing yourself to smile or laugh as you feel.
4- Catch yourself when (and if) you are frowning and turn it into a smile. Whether you are alone or with others.
5- And finally an affirmation: “I am usually cheerful, and bring a sense of lightness to my life and the lives of others.”

*

May you journey be filled with joy and happiness.

With love and light,
Zeynep

===================
Awareness of the Week: Cheerfulness

Affirmation of the Week:“I am in a joyous, intimate relationship with a person who truly loves me.”
By Louise L. Hay

Quote of the Week:
“Do not try to explain feelings. Live everything intensely and treasure what you feel as a gift from God.”
From “Brida” by Paulo Coelho

“The Road Less Travelled” By M. Scott Peck
The Turkish translation of the book may be found under the name “Az Seçilen Yol”.

Numerology Analysis with Zeynep Kocasinan

2009-01-10T17:58:00.003+02:00

With your Numerology Analysis, learn about the energies that influence your life and the specific oppurtunities life provides for you. Also, each year in your life gives you specific strengths and information about the time period you are in. It is a valuable tool in discovering and fulfilling your true potential.

For appointments: Zeynep.Kocasinan@gmail.com

Quote of the Day

2009-01-07T23:41:00.006+02:00

"All the arts we practice are apprenticeship. The big art is our life." M.C. Richards

From the Angels: You need a good laugh!

2009-01-01T22:48:00.003+02:00

When I picked this card, I realized that maybe it was more than just for me.

"You've been so serious lately that you're feeling stressed. It's time to lighten up and see the humor in the situation. There's always something to laugh about. Think about it for a minute: What part of your life is like a movie? What parts are funny? Laughing with love is very healing.

Sometimes the best way to heal a situation is to step away from it. Can you read a funny book or watch a comedy on TV? Can you get together with friends and tell silly jokes? It feels so good to laugh hard, especially with loved ones.

This card asks you to see the humour within each situation, and take life so seriously. You can ease your own stress and that of others with humor and laughter. Learn to feel joy, no matter what's happenning around you. Laughter and joy are magical because they bring happy situations into your life."

With love,
Z.

2008-12-31T13:10:00.001+02:00

Wish all of you a very happy new year ...

Affirmation of the Day:

2008-12-28T11:04:00.003+02:00

Life supplies all my needs in great abundance. I trust life.

Mehmet Oz, M.D. - Oprah - Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor

2008-12-26T12:51:00.003+02:00

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.

From Neal Donald Walsch

2008-12-26T11:08:00.000+02:00

"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.

Affirmation of the Day:

2008-12-26T09:49:00.001+02:00

"I love myself exactly as I am. I no longer wait to be perfect in order to love myself."

Angel of the Week: Kindness

2008-12-24T20:31:00.002+02:00

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.

From the Great Master RUMI

2008-12-18T12:06:00.005+02:00

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.

Pure Silence

2008-12-17T11:32:00.003+02:00

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.

To Be Back...

2008-12-17T01:01:00.001+02:00

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.

With Love from London

2008-10-09T21:35:00.004+03:00

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”.

All In a Minute or Less

2008-08-06T18:51:00.003+03:00

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”.

A Magical Word: Empowerment

2008-08-06T18:48:00.004+03:00

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

2008-08-06T18:37:00.004+03:00

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

2008-08-06T18:30:00.003+03:00

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!”.

Childhood Dreams

2008-08-03T17:25:00.004+03:00

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

2008-08-03T14:20:00.003+03:00

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?

2008-08-03T14:13:00.003+03:00

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?

2008-08-03T14:00:00.005+03:00

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”

The Transformation Game

2008-07-01T19:13:00.001+03:00

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

From RUMI: Holiday Without Limits

2008-07-01T17:57:00.004+03:00

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
__________________________________________________

How to Get There?

2008-07-01T17:56:00.001+03:00

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?”.

______________________________________________________________________

Burgaz Island, Findhorn, Shambhala and More

2008-07-01T17:54:00.003+03:00

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

2008-07-01T17:52:00.002+03:00

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”.

______________________________________________________________________

Konnichiwa from Fethiye

2008-07-01T17:49:00.003+03:00

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”.

______________________________________________________________________

With Love from Japan

2008-07-01T17:44:00.002+03:00

Here I am in Japan.

Yesterday, on May 4th, I gave my speech in front of about ten thousand people at Meishusama Hall in Misono in Shigaraki Mountains.

Japan is so different and so very familiar in many ways.

I have been on a very busy schedule since we arrived and will keep on travelling to various different locations.

I would like to say many things, however I will probably need to wait to write about them until I come back to Turkey.

I would like to say that there is a lot of love and respect for Turkey.

I send you a picture taken in front of the Meishusama Hall where I gave my speech, and send all of you love and light.

Ah, one more interesting note, yesterday as I was walking to the Hall for the rehearsal of the speech at 7 am with my friends Chikako and Satoru Nakano, I saw an ad for a photography exhibition. If I recall correctly the title of the exhibition was ‘The Hallowed Land of Light’. Some of the pictures in the exhibition were taken in where I was, in Misono in the Shigaraki Mountais. I could not help myself from thinking about our wonderful Land of Lights, the wonderful area of Fethiye and its environs and our Land of Lights newspaper.

In my speech in one section I talked about coincidences and how they show us maybe more than we realize and about the messages that they store for us. I am thankful that they are happening wherever I am around the world.

I wish you all many happy coincidences and miracles.
With love and light from Japan.
Z.

Suggested Reading:
I would like to suggest to google or read about Japan this week, to discover this wonderful land for yourself.

Messages of the Week, from Napoleon Hill

2008-07-01T17:43:00.000+03:00

Most of you have probably heard of the famous movie and book The Secret by now. There are also many books out about The Law of Attraction discussed in this book. There are also many books out by the teachers featured in The Secret such as Joe Vitale and Bob Proctor.

Jack Canfield, John Gary, Neale Donald Walsh and Fred Alan Wolf were some of the famous authors who were also featured in the movie The Secret.

There are also teachers from the past that have been credited and not credited in the book. Fewer people know of Napoleon Hill. He had his best seller in 1930 and wrote many books until he passed away in 1970.

Louise L. Hay is a teacher and author not mentioned in the Secret with respect to the law of attraction. However, I believe that with her enormous works on healing with affirmations, with changing our thoughts. “Heal Your Body”, “The Power is Within You”, “You Can Heal Your Life” are some of her great books. By the way, the movie “You Can Heal Your Life” is also out. www.hayhouseradio.com is a wonderful address where you can listen to many authors and teachers live. I recommend checking it out.

I would like to pay a visit to masters of all times and walks of life as much as I can. This week I would like to share messages from Napoleon Hill.

*
Messages from Napoleon Hill:

1. Edison failed 10.000 times before perfecting the incandescent electric light bulb. Don’t worry if you fail once.
2. The average person would have quit at the first failure. That’s why there have been many average men and only one Edison.
3. Drifting, without aim or purpose, is the first cause of failure.
4. Making life “easy” for children usually makes life “hard” for them in adulthood.
5. Most of us don’t mind being told of our faults if the critic is generous enough to mix in a few of our virtues as well.
6. Success requires no explanation; failures must be doctored with alibis.
7. There is a vast difference between failure and temporary defeat.
8. Your real courage shows best in the hour of adversity.
9. There always remains an opportunity to make a new start.
10. Most failures could have been converted into successes if someone had held on another minute or made more effort.
11. Success attracts success and failure attracts failure because of the law of harmonious attraction.
12. The one who tries to get something for nothing generally winds up getting nothing for something.
13. Failure is not a disgrace if you have sincerely done your best.
14. If you don’t know why you failed, you are no wiser than when you began.
15. You never know who your real friends are until adversity overtakes you and you need cooperation.
16. Before opportunity crowns you with great success, it usually tests you mettle through adversity.
17. The most important job is that of learning how to negotiate with others without friction.
18. If you have more enemies than friends, the odds are a thousand to one you have earned them.
19. Your reputation is what people think you are; your character is what you are.
20. Every thought you release becomes a permanent part of your character.
21. Some people resemble a cheap watch, they are not dependable.
22. If you are a shepherd, be the best and you may live to own the flock.
23. Take possession of your own mind, and you may soon make life pay off on your terms.
24. You cannot be entirely free until you are entirely honest with yourself.
25. Would you take a chance on being judged in heaven by the same rules you use to judge your fellow men?
26. Only one thing will attract love. And that is love.

*

As Doreen Virtue says “Keep expecting the best out of life, because you will truly get what you expect.”

With love and light,

Z.

______________________________________________________________________
Affirmation of the Week:
“I am the joy of Life expressing and receiving. I am a Magnet for Miracles.”
By Louise L. Hay
________________________________________________________________________
Quote of the Week:
“Love is the will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth.”
Scott Peck, The Road Less Travelled

______________________________________________________________________
Suggested Reading:
“Biology of Belief” By Bruce H. Lipton
The Turkish translation of the book may be found under the name “İnancın Biyolojisi”.

______________________________________________________________________

What Did the Master Say?

2008-07-01T17:41:00.005+03:00

I am re-reading some of the books that I have. Some books are worth reading and reading again. “Many Lives, Many Masters” By Brian Weiss brought the topic to my mind.

What is mastery? We seem to associate the word ‘mastery’ either with skills of doing or on the opposite pole with spiritual practices.

In that sense is it something only a few lucky ones can achieve?

Is it an attainable concept or position in life?

What is “Mastery”?

And what does it mean to be a “Master”?

...

I believe that we all have an inner master, a higher intelligence. And also that we all have a connection waiting for us to give us all that we need to have or known. The pass code for that connection is also hidden within, for us to discover.

And there are Masters that lead the way. For me, mastery is more than being a teacher. A master is who lives by the principles he or she teaches...

They lead the way by just being and doing.

*-*-*

I received a message from the Kabbalah Centre that I would like to share:

“It is written that when a great Kabalist was on his death bed, all his students gathered around him and asked, "Master, please tell us, what was the most important thing you did in your life?" The Kabbalist thought for a moment and answered, "What I am doing this very minute."

What does this teach and reinforce for us? Thinking about the past or worrying about the future is a waste of time. It only takes us away from the importance of the moment we're in.

Today, be present in whatever it is you are doing. It is the most important thing you have ever done.

Impossibility is just an illusion of your ego, preventing you from true joy and contentment.

How do you allow your fears and insecurities to control you or limit you so that you don't take risks in your life?

Leaving behind the limitations of the physical world - what is your greatest dream yet unfulfilled? Let go of the critic within and truly dream outside the box today.”

*

Are you present now? Would you like to be?

For a day?
Or for a life time?

*-*-*

I believe that Brian Weiss is a brave Master.

Brain Weiss is a graduate of Columbia University and Yale Medical School. He is the founding chairman and chairman emeritus of the Department of Psychiatry at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami. This special medical doctor is a leading authority in past-life regression therapy.

He may be known as a psychiatrist; to me, he is an amazing healer with an open heart and mind. He is helping thousands remove barriers to reach freedom from fears, peace and happiness. His “Same Souls, Many Bodies” and “Mirrors of Time” are also intriguing books.

His biography is interesting:

“His background and extensive experience in traditional psychotherapy was set on a new course more than a decade ago when one of his patients began recalling past-life traumas that seemed to hold the key to her recurring nightmares and anxiety attacks. Astonished and initially skeptical, Weiss's skepticism eroded when his patient began to channel messages from "the space between lives," that contained remarkable revelations about Weiss's family and his dead son. Realizing that past-life regression presented potential as a powerful new therapy method, Weiss went on to cure the patient and embark on a new, more meaningful phase of his own career.”

*

The Masters talking in the book “Many Lives, Many Masters” say interesting things:

“… We are given intuitive power we should follow and not try to resist. …. We are not sent back from each plane with equal powers. Some of us possess powers greater than others, because they have been accrued from other times. Thus people are not all created equal. But eventually we will reach a point where we will all be equal….

… Patience and timing . . . everything comes when it must come. . . . Everything will be clear to you in time. But you must have a chance to digest the knowledge that we have given you already. …

… Energy . . . everything is energy. So much is wasted. The mountains . . . inside the mountain it is quiet; it is calm at the center. But on the outside is where the trouble lies. Humans can only see the outside, but you can go much deeper. You have to see the volcano. To do it you have to go deep inside. …

… You were correct in assuming this is the proper treatment for those in the physical state. You must eradicate the fears from their minds. It is a waste of energy when fear is present. It stifles them from fulfilling what they were sent here to fulfill. Take your cues from your surroundings. ...

… To be in physical state is abnormal. When you are in spiritual state, that is natural to you …”

*

Brian Weiss says “Realize that life is more than meets the eye. Life goes beyond our five senses.”

*-*-*

‘Come to the edge,” he said.
‘We can’t, Master, we’re scared.’
‘Come to the edge,’, he said.
‘We can’t, Master, we’re scared.’
‘Come to the edge,’ he said.
They came.
He pushed them…
They flew.

*-*-*

My father was a master in solving problems and manifesting. He was a master as an engineer. Although he chose to leave his post in this lifetime, he will remain to be my Master.

With all my love and gratitude to all of my Masters in this life and beyond...
Z.

______________________________________________________________________
Affirmation of the Week:
“I now follow my heart. I am open, and ready to go wherever it may lead me.”
By G. Ziegler
________________________________________________________________________
Quote of the Week:
“As you teach so will you learn. If that is true, and it is true indeed, do not forget that what you teach is teaching you.”
From the Course in Miracles
______________________________________________________________________
Suggested Reading:
“Many Lives, Many Masters” By Brain L. Weiss, M.D.
The Turkish translation of the book may be found under the name “Birçok Yaşam Birçok Üstat”.

Two Roads Diverged, Which One to Take?

2008-07-01T17:39:00.002+03:00

Sometimes, talking is too much. Words are too much. Or are they too little?

But what are we to do if that is all that we have at hand?

*

Emotions are more difficult to handle than thoughts. They need and require to be handled with honesty.

I am back in Fethiye for quite a long while. I really missed this city. I feel complete when I am here and feel connected to a different part of my soul that I seem to connect only here.

Then I will be going to Japan for a few weeks. I will be visiting various sites of the Japanese Shumei Foundation mainly in the Osaka, Kyoto and Okayama regions. I feel very close to the Japanese traditions. The Japanese energy healing and balancing technique “Reiki” is one the techniques that I use the most. Reiki is a wonderful energy, gentle, intelligent and strong.

The other Japanese energy technique that I learned this winter is called “Jyorei” It is a technique developed by the founder of the Shumei Foundaiton, Mokichi Okada. Mokichi Okada is also known as Meishusama “Master of Light.” Jyorei is a frequency that supports the purification of the soul, and to create health, prosperity and happiness in our daily lives.

The Shumei Foundation, through supporting energy purification healing technique Jyorei, through supporting natural agriculture and supporting art and increasing the awareness of the importance of beauty in our lives, wants to help create a peaceful and better world. The Shumei Foundation is a UN recognised NGO.

*

I am excited about this trip. Naturally I am excited when I am to visit new places.

However, I feel that this will be different. On May 4th, I will have the chance to give a short speech in front of a couple of thousand Japanese people in Misono, at the Meishuhama Hall at the Shigaraki Mountains north of Kyoto.

I am excited not because I will visit this sacred location or talk in front of such a crowd.

It was in a meditation that I heard a voice say “When you go to Kyoto, you will find some missing parts of your soul”...

I feel it to be true. I feel that something new waits for me and I am at a loss for words to describe it.

*

What to do when I am at a loss for words?

Then I turn to poetry.

I used to write poems; much more that I do now.

I was not that fond of prose. I loved poems.

*

I love Robert Frost’s poems. I think I read them first when I was in 8th or 9th grade.

In my freshman year in college my best friend’s sister gave me a book by M. Scott Peck, “The Road Less Travelled”. This was during the Thanksgiving holiday in 1988 in Boston. Looking back I feel that my journey might have begun with that book Renin game me. I was impressed and happy and sad and motivated. It definitely is a timeless book.

Remembering my own travels, I want to share with you Robert Frost’s famous poem of diverging roads. I see that there is a path, and with our choices we move along. I believe that we decide on a path as we plan to come to this world. How we decide to act when we start walking seems to be more difficult.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence;
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

….

How do I choose my path?

I cannot help but think that at each step, I am creating my life and destiny. However, I also believe that there is also a best scenario waiting to be discovered.

What to do? I try to take the one road that seems to call me - the one that my heart and soul wants. I believe that when I am able to listen to my mind, my heart and soul in union – then gateways open, even new roads are created. I believe that we are meant to discover our bliss when we are willing to hear.

I believe that– that has made the difference for me.

*-*-*

And I would like to share some inspiration from Eileen Caddy's book “Opening Doors Within”. She is one of the founders of the Findhorn Foundation in Scotland. In October 2007 and in February 2008, I had the chance to meet various teachers from Findhorn. This is a community that is trying to make sustainable living possible on this planet. I am also thankful for their efforts and their contribution to Turkey.
From “Opening Doors Within”:

“It is important that there is balance in every situation at all times. You will find when everything you undertake is done under My guidance, there will always be perfect balance. That is why you have to allow life to unfold without trying to force anything, for as you do, nothing can go wrong and nothing can be out of timing. It does not mean that you sit and do nothing, expecting everything to fall into your lap. You have to keep ever alert; you have to keep your consciousness raised; you have to expect the very best; you have to have faith that all is very, very well. You have to wait upon Me in absolute faith and confidence. You have to know without a shadow of a doubt that I AM your constant guide and companion. You have to know that your ways are guided by Me and by Me alone, so that every step you take is firm and sure and everything you do is done in love.”

*-*-*

As Leroy Bornlow said “There are times when silence has the loudest voice”.

May you find your answers in the sweet silence of your soul. Please listen.

May all your paths always be filled 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:
“What I am looking for is a blessing that’s not in disguise.”
Kitty O’Neill Collins
______________________________________________________________________
Suggested Reading:
“Tuesdays with Morrie” By Mitch Albom.
This book is one of my favourites of all times. There is also a movie of this book out, with Jack Lemmon as Morrie.
The Turkish translation of the book may be found under the name “Öğretmenim Mori ile Salı Buluşmaları”.

Our Big Transformaiton Game - Life

2008-07-01T17:37:00.003+03:00

Last October I was introduced to a wonderful game called The Transformation Game. It is a game developed at Findhorn, in Scotland and I was introduced to it by Ms.Deniz Dinçel. Deniz was in Fethiye last November as a guest of the Fethiye Lions Club to give seminars in some of the high schools in Fethiye. The topic was ecological foot prints and global warming. She is a biologist by training and she is organising the eco-village design and sustainable living workshops with the Middle East Technical University in Ankara. Deniz is also one of the current three certified facilitators of The Transformation Game in Turkey.

I was in Ankara in February to attend the second international workshop on Sustainable Living at METU (ODTÜ). Teachers from Findhorn, Scotland and from Torri Superiori Ecovillage in Italy were in Ankara, to share their knowledge and experiences on sustainable living and permaculture. Prof. Dr. Ali Gökmen and Prof. Dr. İnci Gökmen of the Chemistry Department of METU were the hosts of the workshop. I am very grateful for the effort and contributions to the workshop.

Sustainability was discussed from the social and ecological aspects in depth. Of course it is a very broad area; however it was a wonderful experience to share a whole week with like minded people from all around the world and Turkey. There were participants from Portugal, Israel, France and Australia. The instructors were from Turkey, Scotland and Italy. This was a confirmation for me that, in order to find solutions to global problems, we need to get together as citizens of this Earth.

*

When the topic is the welfare of the planet I cannot seem to stop myself.  Maybe what we can do is very little, but we can only do what we can do…

Back toThe Transformation Game… The game has been on sale in the D&R book stores for the last 5-6 months. At least I bought mine last November after Deniz told me that the game was available in Turkish.

This game is a wonderful representation of life. We can start playing the game with an intention about life and in about five to eight hours, we can see how things will turn out or what qualities about ourselves that we need to realize, see, accept or change.

The game gives us a wonderful opportunity for self-discovery and self-awareness, and also the truer and the more sincere we are to the game, the more we benefit. It becomes, it represents a very honest and concentrated version of our life.

We learn and experience possibilities in life, without the permanent effects. After the game, we can choose to take action or not. Hard to explain.

I really recommend experiencing this game. Do not be fooled by the word “game”. The Transformation Game gives us an opportunity to learn, to grown to live the life that we desire, or whatever we truly desire.

*-*-*

I was reading Neale Donald Walsch - again. My brother Yaman has been reading his books for the first time in the last few months and has been sharing with me his ideas about the books. I believe that Mr. Walsch has started a silent revolution for a happier world over a decade ago. I find his words sincere and from the heart. It has been maybe over four years since I listened to him in Istanbul. His approach to life and towards God could be worth listening to.

This week I would like to share some lines from his famous book series “Conversations with God”. So what could God be telling to us? Here it goes:

 You don’t have a clear focus; you’re not really sure what’s true for you. And the universe is just a big Xerox machine. It simply produces multiple copies of your thoughts. Now there’s only one way to change all that. You have to change your thought about it.

 Every prayer – every thought, every feeling, every statement – is creative. To the extent that it is fervently held as truth, to that degree will it be made manifest in your experience.

 We dare not solve all the problems, or there will be nothing left for us to do.

 Worry is the activity of a mind which does not understand its connection with God.

 Your perception of ultimate reality is more limited that you thought, and Truth is more unlimited than you can imagine.

 No one who has attained mastery is dull. Unusual, perhaps. Extraordinary, perhaps. But never dull.

 A true Master is not the one with the most students, but one who creates the most Masters.

 Your ideas about Right and Wrong are just that – ideas. They are the thoughts which form the shape and create the substance of Who You Are. There would be only one reason to change any of these; only one purpose in making alteration; if you are not happy with who you are.

 You have come here to work out an individual plan for your own salvation. Yet salvation does not mean saving yourself from the snares of the devil. You are saving yourself from the oblivion of non-realization.

 Why not simply acknowledge the truth when you hear it, and move towards it?

 You are not on this planet to produce anything with your body. You are on this planet to produce something with your soul. Your body is simply and merely the tool of your soul.

 The more you are, the more you can become, and the more you can become, the more you can yet be.

 There is no coincidence, and nothing happens “by accident.”

 You misunderstand your power. I tell you this: Your life proceeds out of you intentions for it.

 I talk to everyone. All the time. The question is not to whom do I talk, but who listens?

 A true teacher is not the one with the most knowledge, but one who causes the most others to have knowledge.

 Nothing occurs in your life - nothing – which is not first a thought. Thoughts are like magnets, drawing effects to you.

 Be patient. You are gaining wisdom.

 Every human thought, and every human action, is based in either love or fear. There is no other human motivation.

 You must first see yourself as worthy before you can see another as worthy. You must first see yourself as blessed before you can see another as blessed. You must first know Self to be holy before you can acknowledge holiness in another.

 You can know yourself to be generous, but unless you do something which displays generosity, you have nothing but a concept. You can know yourself to be kind, but unless you do someone a kindness, you have nothing but an idea about yourself.

 The soul – your soul – knows all there is to know all the time. There is nothing hidden to it, nothing unknown. Yet knowing is not enough. The soul seeks to experience.

 Treating others with love does not necessarily mean allowing others to do as they wish.

 God asks that you include yourself among those you love.

*-*-*

May your life be what you truly desire.

With love and light,
Z.

Affirmation of the Week:“Peace comes from remembering that only love is real.”
By Doreen Virtue

Quote of the Week:
“Lovers find secret places
Inside this violent world
Where they make transactions
With beauty.”
Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi

Zeynep’s Book Recommendation:“Sincerity and Truth – The Life Story of Meishusama” by Gerard Rohlfing

I thank you Water - I respect you Water - I love you Water

2008-06-27T00:21:00.001+03:00

On the way to the contemplation garden in the Cluny Hill campus of The Findhorn Foundation in Scotland, there is a man-made pond. It is a small pond that seems to capture a different kind of energy. Near the pond written on the rocks and pebbles, you can read the words “I thank you Water; I respect you Water; I love you Water” in English and in many other languages. This reminded me of Masaru Emoto’s books.

I have an English copy of “The Secret Life of Water” in Fethiye.

In this book Emoto shares a story when he almost drowned when he was six or seven years old:

* “When I went home and told my mother what has happened, she gave me some advice based on her own ability to swim and her understanding of water. ‘You can float if you just give in,’ she said. She told me that if I let the water lift me instead of trying to resist it, it would pick me up and carry me.”

And Masaru Emoto continues to share. I would like to do the same:

* “... About 70 percent of our bodies are water. This is the case for adults of all races, and it is why people should not be divided by political strategies and ideologies. Just like water, people must always be allowed to flow freely. ... The desire for peace and prayers of love cannot be contained within borders. Differences in skin colour or language are easily overcome when hearts resonate together, creating a new flowing wave ....”
* “When we start to compare our happiness with that of others, we soon start resonating with the hado of unhappiness. As long as we search for happiness from outside, then it’s unlikely that true happiness can ever be found.”
* “The search for happiness is ultimately and simply a search for self. You can go searching for it in distant lands, but you’ll only find it in the palm of your hand.”
* “One treatment suggested for people with cancer is ‘life-purpose treatment.’ By finding a purpose in life –giving speeches, climbing a mountain, laughing – the immune system is revitalized and the cancer often goes into remission. It’s now common knowledge in the medical community that your mind has an enormous impact in your body.”
* “For a business to succeed, it needs to focus on what is selling well, what’s most effective, and what they do best.”
* “ Thank you.
Let’s do it.
I love you.
Beautiful.
Well done. “ Water exposed to these words from beautiful crystals. Make sure that you use these words for yourself and for people and kids you come in contacts with, for an internal health and happiness.
*“The words that make beautiful crystals from the water that flows through your body are the words that fill you with a gentle feeling of peace.”
*“The ability of the spoken word to give life is much more powerful than we can imagine.”
*“Unless we can become one with the unlimited existence, we will never find true happiness.”
* “Many of the problems that we have not even started to solve require careful resolves and bold action. And what will be necessary for us to arrive at solutions? The answer is circulation.”

*-*-*

Masaru Emoto’s story reminded me of a time when I almost drowned when I was seven. I was in the summer swimming school and it was the beginning of my second week. I had learned to swim very quickly and they had moved me up 2 levels to another group in just one week.

Well, I believe that one of my beliefs that advancing rapidly and quickly is not good (even lethal) must have been influenced by what I lived through. That day I almost drowned if it was not for a teacher who realized what was going on and saved me from the bottom of the pool of the school under some platforms set for the students in the pool. I remember after being hit by the feet of some students practicing who did not see me, I remember sinking into the water or let me rephrase – floating with no clear sense of direction, which in Newtonian terms means sinking.

I made it. And I kept on swimming. However, this incident which I remembered in 2004 for the first time after 26-27 years, have been coming to my mind quite often lately. And finally I feel like I know what it wants to say:

There in this swimming school, I was very good. I had learned to swim very well and very quickly. My teachers realized this rapid advancement and they wanted to support me and acknowledge that and took me to a group 2 levels up from my beginning level. So I had started in Group 4 and in one week I was told to join Group 2 with good swimmers.

This is good so far. However, there was one point my teachers missed. I was not experienced. I had learned fast and well and I was able to apply the new knowledge. Yet, when I was by coincidence, by an unthinkable situation of not being seen by students of a lower level practicing the use of their legs in water, when I was under the influence of the waves made by 40-50 kids and under the direct influence of some those legs, I could not protect myself. And of course one thing my teachers might have also missed, I was near sighted and I was not able to see and realize that these kids were about the start to practice as I was getting out of the pool.

Many of my friends know that I like being well prepared, really well prepared. I do not like accidents and I do not like being in circumstances I am not very qualified at. People many times tell me to do things because I am very good at it; And I usually can find many excuses that I need to more of this and more of that to be qualified. When I feel ready, I am successful; but it takes time for me to accept my competence. I believe, I strongly believe, that this drowning experience has some effect.

I do not remember the name of the teacher who saved me. I only remember that I later learned that he was a friend of my piano teacher at the time, a friend of Faris Akarsu. I also remember that teacher in his wet clothes; he must have jumped into the pool with his clothes on.

... Just a short event that took place in a summer some 31 years ago. Which I almost totally forgot and of which I was reminded slowly...

*

I would like to remind parents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters - be careful in the sea and the swimming pools. Make sure that your kids, relatives and friends know how to swim well and please keep a close eye on the kids.

At Cornell University, the university that I went to in Ithaca, New York, it was compulsory to know how to swim in order to graduate. I remember that quite a lot of friends from the USA and all around the world learned to swim after they started college. They had to – in order to graduate. If you do not know how to swim, how about starting to learn this summer? For yourself and for the ones you love.

With lots of light and love,
Zeynep

Affirmation of the Week:
“I am open channel for creative energy. I get rid of clutter and clear the energy around me.”
Gerd Ziegler

Quote of the Week:
“Every decision, even the ones considered wrong give us feelings of peace.”
Rita Mae Brown

Zeynep’s Movie Recommendation of the Week:
“What The Bleep Do We Know!? Down the Rabbit Hole.”
This movie is available in Turkish and also with Turkish subtitles and the Turkish title of the movie is “Biz Ne Biliyoruz ki!? Tavşan Deliği“.

Honest to Whom?

2008-06-26T23:30:00.001+03:00

I am back in Fethiye. On the way from the Dalaman Airport to Fethiye, in the taxi I was talking to my mother. I was telling her about some of my experiences at the Findhorn Ecovillage which is about 45 minutes driving distance to Inverness in Northern Scotland.

I had been meeting teachers from Findhorn since last October, and finally had the chance to go up there for a couple of weeks. My main focus was to attend The Transformation Game Facilitator’s Training for 2 weeks and to spend some days exploring the Park and the Cluny Hill Campus in Findhorn.

I already miss the fennel tea one of our friends used to prepare for the group. It was quite an intense time of self discovery as well discovering the magic of The Transformation Game. It was an intense training of 14 days.

*

On the day that I arrived at the Cluny Hill Campus there was quite big group from Japan in Findhorn.

Interestingly the room that I was sharing with two ladies (Aneette was from Germany and Aija was from Latvia) was decorated with Japanese posters and paintings which were donated to Findhorn Foundation by another Japanese group a couple of years earlier. I found myself conversing with some of these Japanese visitors in my broken Japanese and in German. Yesterday I received an e-mail from one Japanese friend I met in Findhorn, and the e-mail was in German. J Isn’t it wonderful how international the world has become? I just love it.

Since I was 15 years old, I have been travelling around the world. I have seen quite a number of countries and I also had the chance to travel extensively in Turkey as well. I had the chance to see Steve Jobs, Tracy Chapman and Jon Bon Jovi, as well as Neale Donald Walsh, Steve Rother, Dr. Fred Alan Wolf, and many CEOs, governors, bureaucrats all around the world. I have also seen kids without shoes and proper clothing in the ghettos of Rio de Janerio and in the remote villages in Turkey. I have been with the very rich and famous and with the real poor and forgotten. I believe that this was the gift of life to me. I believe that this is Life’s gift for me.

Wherever I am and wherever I go, I know that we all share the same joys and the same fears, no matter where we live, regardless of the language we speak, regardless of the country we live in. I know it because I saw it, I lived it and I am grateful for it. I have so many friends around the world, and sometime I do forget that we speak different languages. I do forget that sometimes our countries are politically in disagreement or in too much agreement. Through all of these friends, Life is teaching me that we are all the same, we are all one.

You may find all this talk about people all being one big family, we all being one quite cheesy. How can we be, with all the wars and the terror around the world? My life put me in positions where I had friends from Bolivia to Ivory Coast, from Israel to Pakistan, from Ecuador to Latvia, from Japan to South Africa. And I would like to, I love to meet many more. This gives me hope because meeting seemingly different people makes me realize how similar we indeed are. This gives me hope that there is the possibility for us to act together, to make this world a better place for the human race and all living beings.

*

When I was in Findhorn, I also stayed at a Buddhist Retreat Center called Shambhala. My room had a wonderful view of the Findhorn Bay. I was amazed by the tide and how the bay is filled with water and is almost completely dry a couple of times a day.

I realized I did not know much about Buddhism. One night I took a couple of books from Shambhala’s library and read a little. In the Findhorn Community meditation is an important part of daily life. For example, one day I wanted to receive an energy treatment from a Japanese lady who was living in the community temporarily. When I asked her what her fee would be, she just said “tune in and you see what is appropriate”. On one level I know that a proper and just exchange is necessary in all healings; I was also happy to see that when we trust our inner knowledge and trust that everyone is willing to hear and follow that inner knowing, life changes in unimagined ways. I thank Kae-San for her support in my journey.

*

What do I want to say?
I want to say that I love Turkey. I love Istanbul and I really do love Fethiye. But this does not stop me from loving Kyoto or loving Florence (Firenze) or loving Ibiza or Ithaca, New York. I am able to love as much and as wide as I choose. There are no limitations and there is no need for any limitations.

I want to say that it is not being naive when I feel like loving everyone I meet and feel that they have a special place in my heart. I do not want to miss the opportunities of getting to know someone. I am becoming aware that sometimes all we got is just one shot, until and if we meet again. I do not want to live with should haves, could haves of missed opportunities of a missed life.

I want to choose my life to be true to who I am and trust that – that is what life has in store for me.

I am glad that I talked with the Turkish lady who had 20 months old twins and an American husband and who was going to Akyaka for her summer vacation. I am glad that I met those Japanese people in Findhorn one of which wants to start up a small scale Findhorn in Japan. I am glad that I talked with that lady from Switzerland whose mother was Spanish in the garden on a bench at Cluny Hill. And I am glad that I saw her and talked to her again on an EasyJet flight and learned that we will attend an Ecovillage Training in Findhorn next February. I am glad that life offers me the chance to meet people, and new people and I am taking the offer.

*

Then, why is it so difficult to love?
To love others?
And to love ourselves?

I chose one angel card for myself while writing this piece – the angel of Transformation came. I know that in the last 7-8 years I have been going through quite a lot of changes. Yet, something happened in the training in Findhorn. That was more like a completion of what has been taking place.

I also chose an angel card for Fethiye – the angel of Truth came. Truth is such a strong key that opens all doors.

Call me whatever you would like, but I want to contribute, I would like to share and increase the desire in others to do the same. That is all life is really about.

When I was in the training in Findhorn, honesty, simplicity, truth and sincerity have been qualities that I found myself anchoring to. Especially honesty. When I anchor to Honesty, the answers to my most difficult questions seem to open up.

May we all find our true anchors that will let us soar...

With lots of love,
Zeynep

Affirmation of the Week:
“As I nurture a child, I nurture my own inner child. Both activities are important for me right now.”
Doreen Virtue

Quote of the Week:
“The world is a mountain in which your works are echoed back to you.”
Mevlana Celaleddin RUMI

Zeynep’s Book Recommendation:
I request you to read and re-read “The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz.
The Turkish translation of this book may be found under the title “Dört Anlaşma”

With Aija and Aneette:

TV Program: Understanding Mevlana

2007-12-29T12:19:00.000+02:00

On December 17th, 2007 Zeynep Kocasinan was the guest on the program titled "Understanding Mevlana-Mevlana'yı Anlamak" on Channel 21.Yuzyil (21st Century) Television in Fethiye. She shared information on Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi's life, his books and poems, as well as his selected poems. The 30 minute long program was first aired on the death anniversary of the great Sufi and poet Rumi, also to commemorate the 800th year of Mevlana's birth in 2007. The year 2007 had been declared as the "Year of Mevlana" by UNESCO to emphize Mevlana's messages of love and tolerance in the world.

Four Agreements for Sustainable Personal Development

2007-11-29T23:35:00.001+02:00

On November 29th, 2007 Zeynep Kocasinan gave a seminar titled "Four Agreements for Sustainable Personal Development" at the Istanbul Technical University. The seminar was the first of a series titled "Taşkışla Meetings for Sustainibility - Sürdürülebilirlik için Taşkışla Toplantıları." The Seminars will continue until December 28th, 2007 at the Taşkışla Building of ITU at Meeting Hall 134. Topics such as permaculture design, life cycle of buildings, ecological foot print and ecological design will be discussed in the seminars.

Reiki Seminar in Istanbul

2007-11-27T16:59:00.001+02:00

On November 26th, 2007, Usui Reiki Master Zeynep Kocasinan gave a Reiki Initiation Seminar with Usui Reiki Master Moshe Abudaram in Istanbul, Turkey. Initiations at the Reiki-I and Reiki-II Levels were given.

Seminars on Global Warming in Fethiye

2007-11-19T01:06:00.002+02:00

The Fethiye Lions Club organised seminars in four high schools in Fethiye (Mugla) on the 15th and 16th of November, 2007. The seminars were for the 9th graders of eight high schools of Fethiye. Industrial Engineer Zeynep Kocasinan, Bioligist Deniz Dincel and Agricultural Engineer Kerziban Arikan discussed various aspects of "Global Warming" and "Ecological Footprint".

2nd EFT Training in Fethiye

2007-11-17T01:24:00.001+02:00

On November 13th, 2007 Zeynep Kocasinan, together with Kerziban Arikan gave a second training on EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique). The training was organised by the Personal Growth Club of the Akdeniz Dostlari Association of Fethiye.

EFT was taught to beginners and various application techniques were discussed. Books and related materials were also introduced to the participants.

All for a Piano?

2007-11-06T16:23:00.002+02:00

It is 06:05 am and I am sitting in my apartment in Fethiye with a boarding card at hand. The Havas airport shuttle bus passed in front of my house about 45 minutes ago. I told the driver Ramazan that I will not be able to come.

It has been raining in Fethiye for a day now. After a very hot summer, finally rain is here.

Well, why I am not able to go to Istanbul? Because of the rain. Not because of a storm, for I am sure that the flight will not be cancelled. I am sitting in my living room in Fethiye writing because my roof and windows are leaking!

In Fethiye I live in a new building that has been built less than two years ago. Last winter was my first winter and I had many leakage problems. Since I do not live in Fethiye all of the time, I need to say that some of rugs were damaged since they “floated” in the house as we say it in Turkish due to rain waters. And it happened several times. I had informed the builder who has kept an apartment in the building to also partly live in Fethiye.

During the summers, I usually live in the Sovalye Island right across Fethiye. And this summer, although I did not see it, I was sure that the roof was repaired. As I woke up this morning to get ready for the plane at 5 am, I stared walking on a wet floor and started hearing the drippings from the ceiling. The water was dripping from the light bulb in the bathroom (and unfortunately it still is.)

So instead of taking a shower and getting ready to go, I found myself trying to clear the water from the upper floor of my apartment. Of course, I was thinking: “I am leaving for a week, how should I leave the house that the water does not accumulate, and also damage my furniture and paintings. The water drips from the wooden ceiling, which was beautiful when I bought this apartment, but now with huge bumps and discoloration due to the leaks. Then I decided to go to the lower floor to the living room to close up. It was then I realized that I was stepping on a wet floor again. This time water was leaking below my windows. The whole living room was wet. For a second I was very happy that I did not have wood flooring.

Before this apartment of mine in Fethiye, I had always had wood floorings and I still do in Istanbul. When I had bought this apartment in Fethiye, I had seen the tiles next door and decided to have wooden floors. Yet, before I could tell the builders, they had put the ceramic tiles and the topic was closed before I could interfere. This morning I was glad that it happened that way.

I like my furniture, but I have learned that what cannot be taken away from us, ourselves, is what gives us true value and makes us happy. I have one treasure, at least for me, in my apartment in Fethiye, my piano. It is a Schimmel Classic. I do have 2 pianos in Istanbul. A Russian piano, a Lirika, my father bought me when I was seven. That piano waits in my mother’s house. At home in Istanbul I have an electronic piano, a Roland, that I am able to play day or night without bothering the neighbours. So this Schimmel is my third piano.

Actually I was planning to buy another Roland for Fethiye. As I said, using the piano with headphones is very convenient and the sound quality is rather good. I remember the day, which was about approximately a year ago, that I went looking for a piano for Fethiye. I looked at various Rolands, and then suddenly I saw this shiny black piano sitting at a corner with a black baby grand Yamaha and another black Steinway grand. I was planning to spend a certain amount, but I could not resist going to that section. I played just a little, actually very little. The sales rep kept saying “you may play as you wish you are our previous customer”, since I had bought a Roland from them and a few guitars for Fethiye and Istanbul. I loved the piano, but it was expensive. Then the sales rep said “this is a lovely piano, and something your grandchildren can play.” That phrase hit me. It made me feel wonderful. I was choosing a piano for Fethiye and this made me feel as if I was going to grow roots in Fethiye with this piano. I left the shop to have a coffee and to think about it. After I ordered my coffee, I could not wait to finish it and when to the shop, told them I was buying the piano and gave a small amount as a down payment, and told that I would be back on Monday with the rest and asked them to arrange for the transport to Fethiye. This was on a Saturday.

At around Monday noon I was at the store again. The sales representative was there, and even before saying hello he said: “You will not believe it, a gentleman came on Sunday. He wanted the piano and said he would pay in cash and take the piano right away and that he can arrange for the transport. He was so insisting. But you had given us a down payment. We could not believe it. We sell many pianos, but these kinds are not asked for this frequently and so quickly. You and him- so similar.” I smiled to myself. I knew what made me not finish my coffee on Saturday. And my friends know I love coffee.

Well, back to the rain in Fethiye. So it is around 6 am. I am walking on a wet floor in my living room. My piano is in a corner that is surprisingly not touched by the water. So I had to decide. Would I leave it; should I be leaving my apartment with a dripping ceiling in the top floor and a floating floor at the bottom floor? I had planned to be gone for a week and had not checked the weather forecast. And apart from that I needed to clean and clear this water on my floors and furniture first. I decided not to go. I had talked with the Havas yesterday and had asked him to pick me up from my apartment which is on the Havas route. I did not want to keep him waiting; I got my umbrella; waited for him to come; and when he did, I told him that I would not be able to go due to my leaking ceiling. He said “be in health” and left for Dalaman.

I had a few meetings arranged for this afternoon. What will I do now? First, I will sleep a little at least until the office hours. Before starting to write, I more or less finished my cleaning.
This does not happen to me very much. I think this is the second time in three years that I am delaying going to Istanbul due to rain. And the first time with a boarding card at hand. I know and accept that there is a reason for everything and we will see what that may be.

May the abundance and fruitfulness of Rain be always with us.

With love to you all.
Z.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Affirmation of the Week:
“ I pay attention to thoughts and ideas that come to me as answered prayers.”
By Doreen Virtue
Quote of the Week:
“Impulses of intelligence create you body in new forms every second. What you are is the sum total of these impulses, and by changing their patterns, you will change.”
Dr. Deepak Chopra
Zeynep’s Book Recommendation:
“Positive Thinking” by Vera Peiffer. The Turkish translation of this book may be found under the name “Çekim Yasasının Temeli”.

EFT Training in Fethiye, Turkey

2007-11-04T21:00:00.000+02:00

On October 30, 2007, Zeynep Kocasinan,

together with Kerziban Arıkan, gave an Emotional Freedom Technique

(EFT) Training for the Personal Growth Club of

the Akdeniz Dostlari Association in Fethiye.

In the training, detailed information on EFT has been given,

as well as information on the various application methods.

Personal Growth for Sustainable Living

2007-11-04T20:00:00.000+02:00

On October 18, 2007, Zeynep Kocasinan gave a seminar at the Fethiye Ali Sıktı Mefharet Koçman Vocational Institue of the Mugla University, Fethiye Ali Sıtkı Mefharet Koçman Meslek Yüksekokulu. The title of the seminar was "Personal Growth for Sustainable Living". Teachers and students from the Institute attended the seminar. The studies done by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Middle East Technical University (METU - ODTÜ) were discussed, as well as personal development and growth methods and techniques for the social aspects of sustainibility.
http://www.mu.edu.tr/departments/fethiye/images/sem/index.htm

Moshe Abudaram Invites You To Think Differently

2007-11-04T12:35:00.001+02:00

When I was in high school, I was the head of the English newspaper club. Computers were new. Actually I believe we only had one in the whole school at the beginning. The name of our newspaper was “Bonus” and the logo of the paper was a cute dinosaur as I remember. We also had a Turkish school magazine which was called “Serçe”, the sparrow. I used to write for both. I also remember that I was a part of a few interviews in my senior year, with the deceased author Duygu Asena, with the famous actor, director and author Haldun Dormen, and with the famous author and journalist Zeynep Oral. That was in 1988. 19 years later I will attempt to start my interviews this time with a very dear teacher of mine Mr. Moshe Abudaram.

***

Zeynep: I am glad that this interview is in English. As you know I have problems calling with your first name using the informal you in Turkish. Why do you insist that people call you with your first name, even small kids?
Moshe: I also grew up in a formal environment. I was born in 1945 in Istanbul as you know. Yet, formality does not fit; especially in the field that I am in. We need to be open and honest to each other. That is how progress in made. If you call me Mr. Moshe, there is a barrier. In the US or in Switzerland or Israel being informal easier than in Turkey. There are so many barriers in life. I do not want to add any. Let’s be respectful, but also let us be open and talk from the heart – soul to soul. I am not necessarily greater or wiser than a kid just because I have lived longer in this life time. At the soul level we are all equal.

Zeynep: You have been teaching energy therapies and methods for years and giving consultancy as well. A very typical question – but how did it start? Are you exceptionally talented? Is this a God-given gift? What do you do? Where does this come from?
Moshe: I use and teach various complementary healing modalities and methods. Reiki, which more widely known around the world, is one of them. I also teach bio-energy and emotional energy clearing methods. Reiki is very easy to teach, but also is very effective. You are one of my students; you are able to tell how it works. You walked all the way. I use various methods in helping people to improve the quality of their lives. I use crystals, flower remedies, colour therapy, meditations in addition to the energy methods. When it is needed I do regressions to heal past traumas. Some people call what we do life-coaching.

Zeynep: Yet, you do a little more than life-coaching. You are able to look into the past and the present and I will dare say the future. You are known as the character Ari in the Turkish bestseller “Ben 44 Yaşındayım Oğlum 53”, which for our English readers translates as “I am 44 years old and my son is 53”. So are you a medium as told in the book? How we can describe what you do?
Moshe: You know how I feel about some of these concepts. I understand that you want me to clarify it. OK. First of all, why do you need to label? We label everything and everyone. Do we have the adequate information to do so? Most of the time - we don’t. Actually we rarely have enough information in advance. We need go about living in the now. There is a very good book called “The Power of Now”. If you can stay in the present, you can receive a lot of information. Everyone is able to receive information about themselves and their life issues. We have forgotten to listen, to see. Do you know what the temperature is today? How warm was it when you came to my office this morning? How was the sun, were there clouds?

Zeynep: Well, you know that I was driving to come here and in the traffic, I admit that we are driving with our minds elsewhere in Istanbul.
Moshe: You are smiling, so you know what I mean. You are a very aware person, you also teach this. I just wanted to point out that we are most of the time either planning for the future, for the moments to come, or we are worrying about what we have done wrong. Stop it. Move on. Now is where the information is and given. So that is what I do. I look into the now to collect the information given to us. That is what I teach.

Zeynep: So we are able to know the past, the present, and the future?
Moshe: Have you not had experiences were you knew exactly what you needed to do? Archimedes jumped out of the bath to shout “Eureka”. When you are able to tap into the now – that silence- that being in the moment- you connect. Find you method to connect. Some meditate, some take a shower, some listen to music, some play an instrument. Try and see. Most of the time, it is not the information coming to you. You tap into it. There are also times of course when the world of angels whispers in your ears.

Zeynep: So do we have angels? What and who are these beings?
Moshe: Everyone has guardian angels to protect them. Let’s rephrase. We human beings are energy. And there are many other forms of energies. What we call angels is also another form of energy. Some stay with us during our life time. Yes, all of the time.
Sometimes you may feel the need to help a person, to do something for a person who is not in a position to talk to you. Where did that urge come from? ... What happens is that when a person asks for help, their angels call out to all the angels to find out who can be of help. When that person is found, the angels whisper the message. You may be on different continents, yet if you are the person who can be of help, you will know. There is excellent communication in the universe. The point is do you listen?

Zeynep: About the future – you know that we have the habit of reading coffee cups, for the fun of it most of the time, but in life we would like to know about the future. Can we look into the future? Is it possible?
Moshe: Now everything is possible. Do you or should you want it to be possible? The future is a word we use, actually there is no yesterday, today and tomorrow. The movie is all there on the DVD. It is you who needs to watch it in a certain order.

Zeynep: What about creating our future? If it is all determined, what is the point in living a predetermined thing then?
Moshe: You do create your future. You chose to come here, to be born in Istanbul, Turkey, at the specific date in May, within our family. You decided a path and you came down. How well you will act your part – you decide and choose, a second time. When you create something now, the past and future, everything can change. And remember that it is not only your actual actions, but also your intentions that have an affect on your life.
For example, in a healing I see a situation where a patient had a trauma in the past or even a past life time. We have different choices. We may go back and re-write that script as you also do in your inverse wave healing. Or we may clear the emotions attached with that event. The event had passed, yet the energy of the negative emotions stayed with you causing your claustrophobia for example, or fear of the sea and most commonly seen your allergies.

Zeynep: I know that I was able to get rid of most of my allergies in the last 3,4 years. It is possible for everyone?
Moshe: A very big portion of allergies are due to emotional reasons. For instance, a lady patient has rashes every time she eats chicken. As I look at the time this allergy started, I pointed out a time when she was a kid. I looked deeper to see what happen. Here again either I can go into that time period to see what happened, or we can together with the person in a hypnotic like state to remember. In her case, they were at a dinner table, yes eating a meal of chicken. The phone rang and the news of the death of a beloved grandmother was given. She attached the feeling of deep loss and grief with chicken without even realizing. So when we clear this connection and the emotions attached to it - Surprise she is not allergic to chicken anymore.
Every illness has very very different reasons. It is all about the person. We can not say, this is good for this illness. From the energy perspective, we need to look into the person and the specific tools. Every person is different and needs to be looked into in that way. So we have the tools, Reiki or Bioenegy or IPEC. We may also use reflexology, or aromatherapy or colour therapy. When a person comes, I ask the soul of the person, the energy of the person what is wants and needs. Our souls, our energies know everything. The difficulty is making our mind and body cooperate. When we help the body, mind, heart and soul to act together, magic happens.

Zeynep: I am running out of space. I feel as if I have not even started. What will we do?
Moshe: Well, you are welcome anytime. To begin is a thing much greater that what we imagine…

Zeynep: Thank you very much. Hope to continue with this conversation soon.
Moshe: Thank you Zeynep. As I always say, always stay in the positive. Remember the reiki principles. Respect your elders, make an honest living, do not worry. And also remember that everyday we are given the energy we need for the load of that day. What we need tomorrow, we will have tomorrow. Stop looking into the future. It will come anyway. And would waking up to a known tomorrow as much fun? You know Paul Arden says “Whatever you think, think the opposite.” Think differently; think out of the box, break your old moulds, and then your life will light up.

***

I wish all of you a wonderful and exciting week. With lots of love.
Z.
______________________________________________________________
Affirmation of the Week:
“I feel tolerance and compassion and love for all people, myself included.”

By Louise L. Hay
Quote of the Week:
“When you do a thing, do it with the whole self. One thing at a time. Now I sit here and eat. For me nothing exists in the world except this food, this table. I eat with the whole attention. So you must do – in everything. ”
George I. Gurdjieff

Book of the Week:
“Public and Conversational Speaking”; By Dale Carnegie.
The Turkish translation of this book is sold under the name “Özgüven Kazanma Yolları II.”

About Zeynep Kocasinan

2007-11-04T10:08:00.000+02:00

The author is a graduate of the Uskudar American Academy in Istanbul, and afterwards has received her undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from Cornell University. Zeynep Kocasinan works in the construction sector. Since 2004 she has her own art studio and works also as an artist. She writes for and prepares articles for various Turkish and English magazines and newspapers, and also gives lessons and seminars on creativity and personal growth. Zeynep Kocasinan speaks English and Spanish in addition to her native language Turkish, and introductory level French and German. She is also a Reiki Master. Zeynep Kocasinan lives in Fethiye and Istanbul, in Turkey.

For her blog in Turkish, please check out: http://www.zeynepkocasinan.blogspot.com/

Orhan Pamuk and His Father's Suitcase

2007-11-04T10:00:00.000+02:00

Today is a Sunday and it will be a while before this piece will get published. But I could not wait. I read, for the first time, the speech Orhan Pamuk gave when he received the Nobel Prize for literature last October. I was travelling a lot those days, so I had not had the chance to hear his speech. Yesterday, I was in Remzi bookstore in Akmerkez, Istanbul and bought the book that contained both this speech of his and a few others.

Actually, the story begins yesterday morning when I was at a printing press to prepare the invitations and posters for my exhibition at the Fethiye Cultural Centre. There I had seen this book on the desk of one of the owners of the place. I knew that for the last 3 or so months, I had been meaning to find the text to read. So much was told about it, and me who is supposedly very interested in literature had not read it.

Most of my friends know that I love to read. I really do. And I cannot help buying books. I feel as if their presence in my environments makes life feel full and secure. And also, when I buy a book I usually do not wait all that long to start reading it. Ok, there are some books I bought years ago and have not read yet. However, when I bought them I was aware that I had no idea why bought them. These books wait until their time come. Yet, this was not the case for “My Father’s Suitcase.” In a way I wanted to wait for the morning.

I woke up. It was around 10:30. I had been meaning to open my eyes maybe for the last 2-3 hours. This morning I was not in a rush. I had no programs for the early hours of the day. A Kabbalah course in the afternoon, but that was after 4 p.m.

The book was by my bedside. It was not a planned move to bring it there, yet I had done it unconsciously. I got up, washed my hands, drank a glass of water and a bit more, and went to bed, this time to read the book.

Pamuk was talking about a suitcase of notebooks his father gave him 2 years prior his father’s death, and at the time Pamuk gave this speech in Stockholm, it had been 2 years since his father had passed away. It had been almost exactly 2 years since my own father had passed way when Orhan Pamuk received the prize. Maybe that was why it took me so long to be able to look at what he had to say about his relationship with his father, and what he had to say about his own life under these lights.

I realized that it is not easy to touch what we are afraid of. Yet, what good does fear do when it causes us to watch our life go by? There are many things I do even if I fear them a lot. However, I was also to see that there are so many other things that I do not do, because I am just afraid. Maybe that was the cry of help of these desires and wishes that do not want to be buried inside me anymore. We’ll see what new days will bring.
…

Anyway,
I believe that the English translation for this speech is also available for you to read. I really do recommend it. I have only been able to find a piece of the speech to share with you. The translation for this speech and many of Orhan Pamuk’s books are done by Maureen Freely.

“What literature needs most to tell and investigate today are humanity's basic fears: the fear of being left outside, and the fear of counting for nothing, and the feelings of worthlessness that come with such fears; the collective humiliations, vulnerabilities, slights, grievances, sensitivities, and imagined insults, and the nationalist boasts and inflations that are their next of kind ... Whenever I am confronted by such sentiments, and by the irrational, overstated language in which they are usually expressed, I know they touch on a darkness inside me. We have often witnessed peoples, societies and nations outside the Western world – and I can identify with them easily – succumbing to fears that sometimes lead them to commit stupidities, all because of their fears of humiliation and their sensitivities. I also know that in the West – a world with which I can identify with the same ease – nations and peoples taking an excessive pride in their wealth, and in their having brought us the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and Modernism, have, from time to time, succumbed to a self-satisfaction that is almost as stupid.”

***

Orhan Pamuk’s first novel was out in 1983 and as I remember that was around the time that I read it. I was 13 and maybe the book was a little of my league, yet I remember being very moved by it. It was called Cevdet Bey and His Sons. The second book that I read by Pamuk was White Castle. After that on, Pamuk became a very well-known and popular novelist in Turkey and abroad. As I look back at those times when I was a kid, I remember that I loved my Turkish and English literature classes at my American High School. I loved writing. And I could read for hours. Sometimes I would buy a book on a Friday and almost spend the whole night up and finish the book before I would go to bed. I loved being a part of the adventure of the stories and I loved the feeling of being alive that those books gave to me. The books made me feel, as if they were opening my heart – they made me feel.

My father was an engineer. He was a true, smart, genius engineer. I believe I wanted to be like him. I became an engineer and although I never stopped reading, I stopped writing for a quite a long time, for almost ten years to be exact. When, why and how are not questions that I will discuss today and here. Then, it came back. Slowly at first, but a part of me that was lost came back to me.

I feel prisoned if I do not have a notebook and a pen and a book or two in my bag. I buy books not by ones or twos, but by tens. I feel safe when I have more books than I can read at a time. I feel safe when I have more empty notebooks and pens than I seem to be able to fill. Why? I do not look for the reasons anymore. I go with the flow. Maybe it is true that deep inside I know that the fear of not being able to say the thoughts and feelings that bottle up inside me is one the reasons. And maybe the fear of missing out on all the adventures that the world whispers through the writers of this world.

***

If and when I do have a kid of my own, I wonder what kind a mom I will turn out to be? Will I have a suitcase to offer? Will I be a parent like Orhan Pamuk’s father or my own father or mother? Will I know what it means to let a child be who he or she truly is or allow him or her to be the person he or she came here to be for? Hard to say. So we will let the time show what it has in store.

With love to you all.
Zeynep Kocasinan