Being a Turk in Korea

A few days ago I visited a neighbour at the Sovalye Island, Mr. Zeki Koreli.  His last name is Koreli which means “From Korea” or rather “Korean” in Turkish and there is a reason for him to have this last name.  He is one of the veterans of the Korean War in which Turkish soldiers also took part in the early 1950s.  Many of the soldiers never made it back.  He is one of the lucky ones who made it back to Fethiye after eleven months in Korea in a brutal war.  Mr. Zeki Koreli was my neighbour for seven years, but after coming back from Korea this July, I feel like I understand him and I appreciate his time in Korea for real for the first time.  I believe now even more in the power of seeing for ourselves.  Seeing becomes believing; seeing becomes understanding.

What did I understand?  Well, let’s go back a few weeks.

On June 23^rd, 2012 I got on an early morning plane with 106 Turks from Seoul to Busan to attend the Lions Clubs International’s Lions Parade in Busan, Korea.  As a tradition Lions from 208 countries walk in a parade with their countries’ flags to salute the people of the city where the Lions International Convention takes place. The Parade was in the morning of the 23^rd of June in Busan and we were going to make it just in time.

After we landed, we got on three buses and went directly to meeting point of the Parade, where thousands of Lions from different countries were waiting for their turn to start walking in the Parade.  After spending a day and a half in Seoul, Busan was my second destination in Korea.  And in Busan, I discovered what it meant to be a Turk in Korea.

Only a few minutes after I got off the bus, I found myself walking side by side with Korean Lions who were also walking to get to the meeting point.  We started talking.  The second they discovered that I was a Turk, they started smiling, talking more, shaking hands, complementing me and offering me things, offering me food, pins and small gifts.  I was surprised, but I would be discovering later on that I was not comprehending the real degree of their friendship yet.

When we as the Lions Clubs Members from Turkey arrived at the Parade meeting point, there were thousands of Lions from so many different countries.  I knew that over 55 thousand Lions Clubs members had signed up for the Lions 95^th International Convention, however to feel the energy of so many liked minded people with such different backgrounds was like swimming in a sea of many different colours and textures.  As I looked up, I saw the two big Turkish Flags in the air.  A team of Turkish Lions had come to Busan a few days earlier to take care of the necessary preparations for our group.

In the Parade area there were Lions from Nepal, Spain and Bangladesh nearby.  Many women Lions from Korea were wearing their traditional costume the Korean Hanbok, which is a long dress resembling the Japanese Kimono, in bright colours.

We had to wait about 30-40 minutes for our turn to start walking in the Lions Parade.  As we lined up to walk with one very big Turkish Flag in front of our group and with banners with Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s sayings, Koreans started to cheer for us.  Each member of our group had a few Turkish flags in our hands which we stared to wave as we were walking.  Lions from Korea and Koreans who were waiting on the side of  the road stared to shout our “Our big brother... We love you... Turkey, welcome to Korea...” and many similar words.  Since this was my first Lions International Convention and first Lions Parade, I initially thought they were cheering for all of the countries as they walked in front of them.  I soon realized it was not so.  They were cheering for us, they were applauding us, they were calling us their big brother because we were Turks, because we were Lions from Turkey.

Koreans were coming near our group asking for one of our small Turkish friends.  They were coming near us to take a picture of their kids with us.  They were telling their kids to wave to us, to cheer for us.   As we they were cheering  “Turkey... Turkey... Turkey...” And in return our group of about 100 Turks found ourselves cheering, shouting “Korea” at the top of our lungs. They were shouting  “Turkey” and we were shouting back “Korea.” This continued for the couple of hours we walked in the Lions Parade in Busan.  Strange, interesting, emotional, surprising... I had heard that Koreans like Turks very much and that there is a deep respect for Turks in Korea. I had heard. However, I had not imagined that people my age or younger, who certainly were not around during the time of the Korean War still appreciated the efforts and sacrifices of the Turkish soldiers during the Korean War.  They knew.  Little kids who were may be 7, 8 or 9 years old seemed to know.  They seemed to know and care.  It was strange to see that they not only cared, they wanted to make sure that they showed us that they cared.

When I had decided to attend the Lions Clubs International’s yearly International Convention in Busan, Korea, I had not imagined that being a Turk would make that trip special.  I had been to many countries around the world and had been welcome in many. However, I had not experienced a visit where being a Turk made such a big difference.  Korea in that respect would be a first for me.

There is surely more to the story and June 25^th, 2012 was another special day to be Turk in Korea.  Let’s leave the story of that day to another week.

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In these hot summer days, please make sure you drink plenty of water and let it wash your body from inside out.  If you consume alcohol and caffeinated drinks which cause dehydration, make sure you add a couple of glasses more to your daily amount of water intake.

Wishing you many blessings in the week to come.

Love,

Zeynep

http://www.zeynepkocasinanenglish.blogspot.com/

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Quote of the Week:

“Every time you put yourself into a proactive state, it is considered an act of sharing."

Yehuda Berg, From “The Monster is Real”

Affirmation of the Week:

From Louise L. Hay:  “I get plenty of sleep every night.  My body appreciates how I take care of it.”

Freedom, Is It Just a Boat?

I was on my brother’s boat Freedom a few days ago. It was our first time out in Fethiye in his boat. Cruising to the Şövalye Island from Ece Marina in Fethiye, I found myself thinking about what freedom really is. What was freedom for me? And what is freedom for me now?

For my brother Yaman, his boat brings him the feelings of freedom.

What makes you feel free?
What is really freedom for you?


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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.

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May your days bring you love, joy and true freedom...
Zeynep
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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”