China, A New Country for Me to Discover...

I was in China for the first time this summer.  I am not sure if I would like to go back soon, but seeing China made me think about a different part of the world during my whole trip.  I could not help but think of the choices people make in life.  I went to three cities in China, Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai. 

I remember that the first morning that I arrived in China, I felt a strange energy of constriction.  Not because I knew about the country.  It was the feeling that something is not right.  The same feeling continued even after we arrived at our five star hotel, a Marriott and even after I entered my room which was one of the best that I have stayed among the hundreds of hotel rooms I have stayed in.  In the middle of the evening I woke up.  I looked out my wide window.  My room had a wide view of that  part of the city.  There were no cars in the wide boulevard of a city of millions.  I felt a strange chill down my spine.  The energy of Beijing made me uneasy during the three days that I was there.  With its high rises, with the modern look, Beijing looked like a developing city. Still there was something that was making me uneasy.  Something hard to describe, yet very real. 

Sometimes you move into an apartment and although the location might be great, although the apartment may be in great condition, you can never feel comfortable in it.  It happens with shops and offices as well. Some shops in a certain location never have good business while the shop next door might be flocking with customers.  The problem may be the land the building is on and sometimes the problem is the people who owned or used to live in the building.  The energy of past troubles, the energy of the old occupants might still be there, affecting the people who live or work there now.  Customers might keep away because our subconscious, our energy knows that there is a problem there.  And we keep away.  Beijing had a similar effect on me.  It was as if I was on my toes trying to keep away from trouble.  The five star hotels, the high rise buildings, the clean look of the main boulevards were not enough for me to ignore the feeling.  In Xi’an and Shanghai the feeling did not disappear, however, it was definitely strongest in Beijing.

2012 is the “Year of China in Turkey” to honour the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Turkey and China. The year 2013 will be the “Year of Turkey in China.”  As some of the might remember because of my connection with Japan, with different foundations and groups in Japan as well as my connection with Lions Clubs in Japan, I had taken part in various organisations and events to honour the “Year of Japan in Turkey” in 2010.  Together with Fethiye Lions Clubs, which I am a member of, and Lions Clubs International Turkish Council we had organised concerts and specials events in Fethiye, İstanbul and İzmir.  Two years later Turkey is increasing its connections with another country, China this time.  And I do not feel prepared.  Visiting China in this special year was an opportunity for me to start to learn about this country and its people personally.

Visiting Shanghai and seeing the city from the Shanghai Tower, Oriental Pearl Radio & TV Tower as it is formally called, was an experience that will stay with me forever.  The Tower was completed in 1994 and until 2007 it was the tallest structure in China.    It is 468 metres high.  I had the chance to have dinner at the revolving restaurant which is at the 267 metre level.  The open buffet restaurant had food from all parts of the world.  I found myself drawn to the Japanese buffet again. The miso soup was excellent.  So were the sushi.  The restaurant was revolving quite fast.  If you were standing of the side that was revolving and if you took more than a few seconds you would find your table getting away from you.  However, apart from that it felt very comfortable.  Also, as the restaurant was revolving and the buffets at the center were stable and stationary, I would need to walk different distances to reach the various parts of the dinner buffet.  The big circular restaurant was quite packed and it is worth the money and the effort.  If I went to Shanghai away, I probably will like to repeat the experience.

The antenna of the Oriental Pearl Tower which adds 118 metres to the structure is used to broadcast radio and TV programs. And with this antenna, the Tower reaches its height of 468 metres.  

At the 90^th metre of the Tower, there is another observatory level, one of the fifteen in the Tower.  At that level  there is a glass deck that you can walk on and see the city under you as well as out.  I tired to get on that glass bottom balcony and I have to admit my head started to spin, chills –again- went down my spine, my stomach tightened.  I only could lie down on the glass floor.  I could not walk to the glass side of this glass deck.  There were some who could do it.  However, among the hundreds of people who were there, only very few could do it. It is strange how our body stops us from doing this that our mind finds safe and reasonable, how our body literally stops us from something our heart wants.  Our deep rooted reflexes unexpectedly kick in.

Shanghai with its hundreds of high-rises and skyscrapers made me forget that I was in China instantly.  I had been in New York and Tokyo many times.  These two cities were symbols of modern age to me, may be Tokyo even more.  I had not been to Dubai, so I might be missing out on another important benchmark.  I had been to the capital of South Korea Seoul before seeing China.  The city had seemed quite modern.  Going to Seoul again after seeing Shanghai, everything looked a bit dull, not high-enough.  After seeing Shanghai  it is hard to be impressed by another city.  With this colourful city of continuous constructions that seem to be growing higher every day, China has certainly created an impressive image in Shanghai.  Of course to be able to know the real China with its 1,3 billion people and 9,6 million square kilometres, one might need to travel a much different path...

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Before I started to write this week’s piece, I chose a card from the “Saints & Angels” Card Deck of Doreen Virtue with the intention of asking for support for all those who will read it.   The message came from St. Agnes of Rome and her message was “Don’t Compromise”.  The main message translates as “The need to take a stand in favour of our truth and self-esteem.”  This does not mean to fight with those who do not agree with us, but rather first to try to make others see and understand our point of view peacefully.  However, if those efforts do not work, still to make sure that we stay with our beliefs and values and not to compromise as the main message says.  This surely is not an easy path, but maybe is the only one that will make us truly peaceful and happy even if it is difficult.  You may invite St. Agnes of Rome to support you to live with your beliefs whenever you feel the need.  May this energy support us during this week.

With best wishes,

Zeynep

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

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Quote of the Week:

“Birth and death are not two different states, but they are different aspects of the same state."

                                               Gandhi

Affirmation of the Week:

From Louise L. Hay:  “I know that old, negative patterns no longer limit me.  I let them go with ease.”

Signs, Reiki and Life

I believe that life gives us many different signs as we move along life.  Sometimes it is a feeling in the heart. Sometimes it is the way the light falls on a certain object or a person. Sometimes the number on a licence plate brings the answer.  The first words of a song that you hear as you get in the car in the morning or as you enter a shop with a question that keeps turning in your mind.  The answer is always out there, or is always present in our mind and heart.  It is always there.  Yet, we are not always willing or ready to listen.

The sign of coincidences is another way that the universe converses with us.  Sometimes protect us.

Twenty years ago I would probably say that this is new age mambo jambo or that believing in signs is being too naive.  Today I believe in another truth.  Life showed me, taught me, proved me that life offers more information to us than that can be measured by our five senses.  There is a world of energy that surrounds all, compasses all.  Our world is a world of energy.  Understanding that world of energy, working with the world of energy is how I believe we can gain control of our lives and find permanent solutions to our problems.

Since 2006, I have been sharing parts of my story in the Land of Lights.  Some of you know very well how life led me to this belief.  With some of you this is our first sharing.  Energy healing techniques are an important part of my daily life.  I am using and teaching techniques professionally for over ten years now and I am grateful for both my own healing and the opportunity to share the blessing.  I have written six books in Turkish and also collected the articles I have been writing for Land of Lights in two books in English.  I believe in the power of sharing our personal stories.  Our paths may not be the same, but similar tools might help us all.

How can we get to understand the world of energy better?

 There are many different techniques that we can use.  None of them is a necessity.  However, if you are going to learn one technique, I would recommend it to be Reiki, the Japanese energy healing/energy transfer method.

Reiki is taught and learned through an initiation where the teacher opens and prepares the energy channels and the energy field of the student so that he or she can transfer the energy frequency that we call Reiki to a person, to an animal, a plant or a certain place or time.  The main idea behind all energy healing techniques as well as Reiki is that when our energy level is high and of higher frequency, we are healthier, we feel better, we comprehend life and events in our lives better, make better decisions and follow a path in life that allows us to be more happy, successful, content and satisfied.  “Living our highest truth” some like to call it.  Some people believe that our lives are predetermined and that they cannot be changed no matter what we do.  I also do believe that there are certain events in our lives that we will encounter no matter what, but I also believe that there are tools that we can use that will determine the quality of time and the quality of our lives regardless of the events that take place.  I believe that we have a destiny that probably we have chosen before being born, but also that we are given the power and wisdom to choose to make it pleasant, enjoyable and worth living and exploring.

Too vague?  After writing about my trips in the past couple of weeks, I want to write about the actual story behind the stories and I am finding it difficult.  I am sitting in front of my notebook computer in my living room at Sovalye Island, remembering the hundreds of little coincidences and signs that brought me to Fethiye in the first place and continued to make my life more and more interesting in the following seven years.  It is my eighth summer in Fethiye; and I probably have not been happier in my life. Twelve, thirteen years ago I had almost decided that regardless of how good my life looked on paper, I was not going to have a life that had any of my real desires or dreams in it.  I was staring to accept a life that felt mediocre; I was trying to convince myself to accept that life was something mediocre and that dreams were only dreams. It turns out I was wrong.  Dreams and desires were telling the truth; the truth that although there can be good days and bad days, happy and sad days in life, there is a life where all of the good and bad can feel great and amazing.  Mediocre is certainly not what life is meant to be.  This is what I believe, this is what I am experiencing and this is what I would like to share and keep on sharing.  None of this would be possible without using energy, without using Reiki.

What does Reiki do for us? When we are hungry, or thirsty or when we did not have enough sleep it is harder to be happier, harder to make good decisions.  In the month of Ramadan we go without food and water for hours, yet in the evening comes a time when we feed our body.  Imagine you were continuously lacking sleep, food and water.  Your judgment will get clouded.  Imagine that you were outside in a dusty construction site and you are not able to take a shower afterwards.  You get dirty, but you are not able to clean yourself.  What if the dust continued to accumulate over the years? And what if the dust is not visible? You start itching, you get wounds, you smell bad, but you cannot see what is happening, what is bothering you.  Energy transfer-energy healing techniques like Reiki allow us to fill our energy body so that we are not thirsty for energy anymore.  We feel full and complete.  In addition as we are given Reiki, Reiki washes our energy field of the effects of negative events, thoughts and feelings.  Reiki cleans the dust and dirt that we cannot see.  When we see an accident on the street, we get scared and a negative energy mark may stay on our energy field.  Every argument that we hear or get into may leave a negative energy mark.   Every “negative” or “sad” event may leave a mark, a scar or weaken our energy field. Feelings of fear and worry weaken and deplete our energy field.

Love of our friends and family, physical exercise, music, dance, swimming, helping others, thinking positive thoughts are some of the factors that allow us to clean and fill our energy field.  Sometimes they are enough, sometimes they are not.  Then we start to feel tired, unhappy, discontent and finally even physically sick.  When a mother worries about her children and wants them to be happy, she may want to give everything she has regardless of the fact that she might be left with nothing and she cannot live on nothing and continue to support her kids.  Reiki allows us to give, to channel healing energy without depleting ourselves.  And Reiki is one of the few energy healing techniques that we can use for ourselves. This really is a blessing.

What ever your path might be calling you out for, please think positive thoughts.   I am not saying ignore the facts of your life, ignore possible threats. Of course be cautious. Of course be prepared.  However, please also be aware that staying hopeful, looking towards the future instead of the negative events in the past, looking for solutions will support you. 

Also affirmations, keeping positive sentences in our minds, saying positive words to ourselves and others support us greatly.  Louise L. Hay is the pioneer of the positive effects and influences of affirmations on our body and in our lives.  I am grateful for her work.  I would like to recommend you to get one of her books or google her name and you will have access to a powerful world that will always support you.

With best wishes and love to you all,

Zeynep

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

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Quote of the Week:

“The world would have you agree with its dismal dream of limitation. But the light would have you soar like the eagle of your sacred visions."

               Alan Cohen

Affirmation of the Week:

From Louise L. Hay:  “I stand on my own two feet.  I accept and use my own power.”

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.

...

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.”

An-nyung Haseyo, 안녕하세요, Hello Korea

When it was announced that Lions Clubs International’s 95^th International Convention would be in Busan, South Korea, I realized how little I knew about Korea.  I had been to Japan many times and I really liked Japan.  If I had the time and the means, Japan was my destination in the Far East.  As a member of Fethiye Lions Club and as the Vice-Secretary for The Turkish Lions Council Chairperson for the 2012-2013 Term, I wanted to attend the International Convention.  And it would be my first Lions International Convention.  I had been to a Lions Mediterranean Conference and a Lions Europa Forum.  The International Convention was an occasion where one could meet tens of thousands of Lions.  I had imagined that it would be good, it surely was beyond my expectations.

Our first destination in South Korea was Seoul.  The Turkish Lions Group was quite big, 107 people with Past and Present Council Chairpersons and many Past and Current District Governors.  Seoul reminded me of Japan in many ways.  Koreans have been inspired by Japan, but seem to have a unique take on things as well. As a person who loves Japan, it is a little difficult to learn more about the Japanese occupation of Korea and its effects on the people.  The view from the Seoul Tower was quite amazing there was a South American band playing at the bottom of the Tower.  We could not help but dance until we could not with the many songs in Spanish... “Yo no soy marinero, yo no soy marinero, soy capitan, soy capitan, soy capitan...”

Seoul was a very new, clean and people friendly city.  Seoul had suffered a lot during the Korean War.  The War had started when the North Korean Forces had invaded South Korea on June 25th, 1950.  After this terrible war, June 25th would be a very important date for many countries and millions of people for a different reason, a day that I got the chance to experience this June 25th in Busan. Koreans seem to be gentle people with a quiet and respectful dignity, people with an elegant pride.  I have many Japanese friends and Japanese people are also quite gentle, kind and very respectful.  Koreans are respectful was well and may be a little more social and may be smile a bit more.   In Japan it is sometimes possible to feel the invisible barriers of respect and caution in human relations.  In Korea there seems to be no barriers, but gently standing back or allowing space. 

In just a few days I started to realize how little I knew about Korea, the country of these gentle and friendly people.  Turkey has been a very important friend and ally of Korea since the Korean War, and surely I knew about the history, I had heard about the historical relations with Korea from my family, we even had a Korean firm based in land as a tenant for a while, but knowing a country meant so much more and to be able to understand a country, long distance relationships did not do the job. I was getting to know and more importantly getting to like Korea very much.  Of course to be able to understand what it means to be a Turk in Korea, I would need to wait to see what was going to see in Busan.

I had never eaten Korean food specifically.  I was curious about the food, but I was not worried about what to eat since I like Japanese and Chinese food very much.  I sometimes find myself craving a Miso soup or a shrimp tempura with Udon noodles. These wheat-flour noodles are also a part of the cuisine in Korea although prepared a little differently. Korean dishes seemed to be a mix of Japanese and Chinese dishes, or rather a transition between the two countries as the location of Korea on the map.  Green tea and jasmine tea are common on all meals, but as far as I can see Koreans seem to drink more water with meals than their Japanese neighbours.  Koreans also have their own style of the Japanese Shabu-shabu, which is a dish in which thinly sliced meat and vegetables are cooked in a boiling pot of water and are usually served with dipping sauces.  The Japanese shabu-shabu is more bland compared with the Korean shabu-shabu in which noodles and more vegetables might be brewing.  As I write, I also notice that I do not know my English words for food that well.  Here is a great area for improvement.  In a open buffet restaurants in Korea, there was always a section for Japanese food and many of them had a wide sushi bar as well.  However, Koreans seem to add, sprinkle different sauces on the sushi, which is something I was not used to and something, although I was curious and tasted almost all of the various kinds, did not like very much. I like my sushi simple and clean.

It might take me a few weeks to write about my days in South Korea. As some of you know I am also a teacher of Japanese energy technique, Reiki.  Korea has its own tradition of hands on and energy healing techniques.

Korea is a country I am glad that I discovered. Thanks to Lions Clubs International. 

I wish all of you a wonderful week.

With best wishes,

Zeynep

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Quote of the Week:

“Thus we are all teachers and we are all students, and we must share our knowledge with each other."

Brian Weiss, M.D., From “Messages from the Masters

Affirmation of the Week:

From Louise L. Hay:  “My good comes from everywhere and everyone.”

The Glance

I began reading Rumi again lately.  I believe that the American professor of poetry and creative writing Coleman Barks has written some of the best books on Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi.  “The Glance, Songs of Soul-Meeting” is one of them.  It is as if Coleman makes a different side of Rumi visible.  The Rumi that we get to know in Turkey, through Turkish text is a little different.  Maybe the truth is that what the author believes who Rumi is, is reflected in the interpretation as well as in the energy of their books.  Isn’t that how we behave most of the time as well? Regardless of the words we use, what we mean, what we intend to say comes across more strongly.  And we share as we see and understand...

Today “The Glance” reminds me of a totally different book, “Blink” by Malcolm Gladwell.  “Blink, The Power of Thinking without Thinking”.  The main idea in “Blink” is what use in my consulting and complementary therapy work.  After years of training and working with hundreds of clients in Turkey and over the world, I have to admit that the answers to most of my clients’ questions do not come from a text book or a training or from the teachings of one of my masters.   Most of the answers come from the insights of the clients themselves.  If I feel that it is necessary, I also share what I see or sense about the situations.  My answers and theirs answers usually come in an instant.   And that instant for me usually comes in the first few seconds of meeting the client or in the few seconds after a question is asked. 

There is a special kind of knowing which may come through years of experience, but it also comes through reading, receiving information that is always available for all of us, all of the time waiting to be received.  Being aware of the fact that there is always more data than that which can be measured by our five senses, helps.  We do have another or rather other senses that feed us information, and very valuable information.  The information is always coming.  Are we aware of this inflow?  Are we listening? The answer to that question makes all of the difference.  “Blink” has a lot more to say.  As I am reading it for the fourth time, I am becoming aware of the details I had missed before.   There are parts that I would like to share in the coming weeks.

Malcolm Gladwell writes so fluently, it is not possible to admire and also a bit jealous.  How he connects all of the details is quite amazing.  The famous child and adult psychiatrist Prof. Yankı Yazgan was in Fethiye on May 2^nd this year as one of the guests of the 5^th Fethiye Culture and Art Days.  I came from and went back to Istanbul with his that day and we had a lot of time to talk and share.  I was starting to reread Blink on the plane and he told me about some of the details in the book.  Dr. Yazgan said that although the medical and research information shared in “Blink” have been known for quite some time, he also admired the way Gladwell shares so much information in a way that is both detailed, but easy to read by a wide audience.  Dr. Yankı Yazgan himself has ten or eleven books in Turkish.  One of his books is being translated into English and hopefully will be out by 2013.

*

Rumi is a lot of different things to a lot of different people.  Many people in touch with spirituality feel connected to him.  Want to connect with him, his thoughts and energy more.  I cannot say that I started to feel more and more connected to him after I started to learn energy techniques such as Reiki.  I felt more connected because it was as if his words were resonating in me, around me as I was reading the words that he left behind.  The strength of the energy of his words, especially his poetry affected me. Like the words of a special prayer, some of his poems come to my mind at the most unexpected times and I find myself reciting, quietly or out loud.  Not all of his work, not all of the words that are told to be his.  But does that matter? Not really.  Because also his energy is present in the most unexpected occasions and places as well.  There is more that what meets the eye and still it is never something I am able to totally get used to. 

*

Like cool, fresh water Rumi washes me clean from the meaningless chatter in my mind...

Stay together, friends.

Don’t scatter and sleep.

Our friendship is made

of being awake.

The waterwheel accepts water

and turns and gives it away, weeping.

That way it stays in the garden...

Stay here, quivering with each moment

like a drop of mercury.

*

Let love lead your soul.

Make it a place to retire to,

a kind of cave, a retreat

for the deep core of being.

*

Begin

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 goods, quietly sewing.

...

I wish all of you a week filled with peace and joy.

Zeynep

AKUT, Lions Clubs International, Fethiye and More

On May 26^th Fethiye had a special guest that we have been having the chance to see three or four times during the past 11-12 months.  The President of AKUT Search and Rescue Association Mr. Nasuh Mahruki was in Fethiye for a day as the guest of honour of the Lions District MD118-R Preparation Camp in Club Letoonia.

As some of you might know, I am a member of Fethiye Lions Club.  Fethiye Lions Club is a local NGO and we are also a member of Lions Clubs International.  (www.lionsclubs.org) Turkey is one of the two hundred and eight countries in which Lions Clubs are active.  I became a member of Fethiye Lions Club, a Lion in 2007 and since then I have been involved in our Club in Fethiye as well as in our Lions District MD118-R, which is the Lions Clubs District for the Mediterranean and Aegean Region in Turkey.  There are many NGOs, non-governmental and non-for profit associations active in Turkey and in Fethiye as well. Fethiye Lions Club (Fethiye Lions Kulübü Derneği) is one of them. 

Lions Clubs in the world use the motto “we serve” to describe what they do.  The aim of Lions Clubs is to create protects where service can be provided in regions needed in our communities, whether it is about health, education or about working with the disabled.  We carry out cultural projects, environmental projects and projects for the youth as well.  First Lions Club in the world was founded in 1917 and the first Club in Turkey was founded in 1963.  Next year in 2013 we will celebrate Lions 50^th year in Turkey.  Lions Clubs in Turkey are non-governmental organizations that have a broad range and area of service.  In our Mediterranean Aegean District we have over 55 Lions Clubs.

The new service term for Lions Clubs will start on July 1^st, 2012 and it will continue until June 30^th, 2013.  And from May 25^th to May 27^th, 2012 we had our Lions District Camp in Fethiye.  The head office of our Lions District is in Izmir, but have have Lions Clubs in Altinoluk, Edremit, Denizli, Manisa, Antalya, Alanya, Mugla, Bodrum, Marmaris and Kas well as many Clubs in Izmir and one club in Fethiye.  In the coming term Lions Clubs in our District want to start to work with AKUT Search and Rescue Association, to create a synergy that will continue over the years.   AKUT has over 30 rescue teams in Turkey, with 27 in full active and 5 or 6 in their startup years and some of these teams are in our region.  There are teams in Izmir, teams in Antalya, one team in Bodrum, one in Marmaris. And we have a very good and active AKUT Team in Fethiye as well. The team leader for the AKUT Fethiye Team, Mr. Sadi Çidem is a geological engineer and he is also the head of the Disaster Management Center of the Municipality of Fethiye.

About a year ago, on June 29^th, 2011 Fethiye Lions Club and many other organisations as well as the Municipality of Fethiye joined forces to support our Fethiye AKUT Team better.  AKUT Teams are composed of volunteers who are dedicated to search and rescue efforts.  Now Lions Clubs in our wider region want to support AKUT’s efforts for disaster and earthquake awareness and their teams’ needs. 

AKUT is a very special NGO in Turkey.  It has a special status which classifies it as an NGO that works for the benefit of the state (Is this called a benevolent association in English?) and recently it has received certain certifications which made it an NGO and rescue team recognized by the UN.  AKUT became a member of INSARAG, United Nations’ Search and Rescue Advising Group.  AKUT members are justifiable quite proud of the worldwide acknowledgement.  It is a very trusted and respected NGO.  I would like to recommend you to look into the work done by AKUT if you have the time.  You can check out their website or you can follow them on Facebook or Twitter.  Facebook and Twitter information are more up-to-date.  Some of the teams also have their own accounts. For example The Fethiye Team has an open Facebook group that you can join.  Some links: ( http://www.akut.org.tr ), (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AKUT_Search_and_Rescue_Association )

I believe in the power of working together, in joining forces and I believe in the power of sharing information.  Fethiye is a town where it is much easier to learn about what is happening in the community when compared to many other cities and towns in Turkey.  However, there are also many times that we learn about events and activities after they are over and done.  Many people who are interested in working, in helping are not able to take part for that reason.  AKUT is an organisation where both Turkish and foreigners can support.  Actually AKUT organized a seminar for English speakers in Fethiye in the past year on earthquakes and the AKUT Fethiye Team wants to be connected with the British and foreigners’ communities in Fethiye for better disaster awareness and preparation.  The AKUT Team has regular meetings and if you are interested in supporting their activities feel free to contact the team.  There are team members who speak good English.

There are many well organised British groups in Fethiye that create and work on powerful and effective social projects.  FIG in the best known in town and there are many more.  I am aware that these social groups are aware of most of the other Turkish NGOs and groups as well.  I plan to share these various communities when the opportunity comes to create a better understanding and also a better visibility.

I am a relatively new volunteer in AKUT, but having been following the relief and rescue work they have been doing in Turkey since 1995, I feel motivated to ask for your support for AKUT with all my heart.  I trust their genuine concern for the community as well as their professional approach in service.

As a member of Fethiye Lions Club, I will also try to share our club activities and future projects as much as I can in the weeks to come.  If non-for profit organisations and groups that you are involved in are having activities in the coming weeks and months, please let me know.  I would like to share your projects.  Of course I will need to know at least a week in advance to be able to announce them here.  And who knows, may be we can create opportunities to join forces.

I hope, wish and pray that we all have the opportunities to take part in social projects that resonate with our heart, mind and soul.  May our heartfelt ideas find their way to where they are most needed.

Wishing all of you a great week, with love and best wishes...

Zeynep

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Affirmation of the Week:

“I live and dwell in the totality of possibilities. Where I am there is all good.”

From Louise L. Hay

Quote of the Week:

“The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.”

                                                                                              Oscar Wilde

Sailing on the Bosphorus, Sailing in Life

I was in Istanbul last weekend.  As I was looking out my window on Saturday, I started to see sailing boats with open blown sails on the Bosphorus.  This was not a common sight since sail boats can only travel with their engine on the Bosphorus. Normally. But sometimes there is a race and this special straight in Istanbul looks totally different.  No more tankers, no more big ships, but the Bosphorus is filled with racing sailboats big and small with their mostly white and colourful sails.  I felt calm and happy and lucky to have the chance to experience one of these special days on the Bosphorus.

I believe that there is always a purpose for the things that come into our lives.   This does not always mean that it is easy for me to accept what is happening.  This is a belief that there is a reason, a purpose for what is taking place.

I had trainings organised for the next six days in Istanbul and that is why I thought I was in the city.  Reiki courses, Bach Flower Remedy courses, coaching sessions.  I had thought I was in the city for work.  I had chosen the dates to be in through looking at the dates in the calendar and feelings which were the dates that felt good for me to be in Istanbul.  All of training and sessions appointments were taken afterwards.  Well, it seems that there was more reasons for me to be in Istanbul around that time.

It turns there was a big repair planned in my apartment building in Istanbul and my landlord needed to make changes and repairs in my apartment immediately.  I had not heard of the repairs since I had been away from Istanbul for two weeks and I learned this urgent news on my first morning in the city.  Since I had planned to be in the city for almost the week, this would not be a problem for me.  But if they had said this was to be done say next it would be a major problem because after that I needed to be in Izmir for four important meetings in three days. Yet, the bigger surprise for me is that I was asking landlord for the repairs in the windows, actually for her to change the old wooden style windows with single layer glasses on the back side of the apartment for almost seven years. The heat and sound insulation was quite bad and it was hard to repair the windowsill which were more than thirty years old.  I had lost hope and now it needs to be done for the other repairs in the apartment building to be done.  I am just grateful.

There are many reasons of why we need to be at a certain place at a certain time.  And there are many different ways that we decide to be at a certain place.  Sometimes it is just a feeling tells me to go to Fethiye on a certain date, without any apparent reasons.  Most of the time the reason appears on its own.  Feeling to go to different places at different times.  Like the feeling that tells us to do or not to do something, there is always a call to go or to stay as well.  The result of a meeting I had in the city of Elazığ about ten days ago explains the uneasiness that I felt in going.  The team told me that I should be there as their leader and as their boss; I had felt that with my presence we might be cornered into a decision that we were not ready for.

They insisted that I should be there.  I did not say no.  As it sometimes is, it was difficult to come with logical reasons to explain why I should not be there with my team of engineers.  With the almost twenty years of work that I had done as an engineer, I see their point.  However, with the new understanding I have as a Reiki Master, a complimentary healing therapist and coach, how I can I live ignoring my strong feelings?  The meeting in Elazığ was a quite technical meeting and my feelings had told me that I shouldn’t be there regardless of all the mental, organizational and technical reasons. 

Those of you who might have read “Missing Lady” last week might see a pattern.  Last residues of a pattern that I want to call attention to.  In the last five six years there are indeed very very few times that I do not listen to my feelings, that I do not listen to my heart anymore.  My decision to attend the meeting in Elazığ was almost simultaneous with my decision to confirm Lady’s operation that we lost her in.

If something is not calm in your heart when you make a decision, it is a sign that definitely needs to be taken into account.  Do not decide, please do not decide before understanding what it is trying to tell you.  Maybe it is to say no, maybe it is to prepare better, but surely there is part of the puzzle that still needs to be discovered.  I had been grateful for this feelings that has made me happy and that protected me I must say that kept be alive a few times. As I find myself writing about a similar approach to life again, I realize that it is not enough to be grateful anymore.  It is important for me to say that the life I am grateful for was only possible with that compass of feelings.

I have two books published in English and they are the collections of the articles I have written in the Land of Light.  For over five years I wrote in almost every issue in our Land of Lights.  And then an offer came to publish those articles.  One thing led to another and I found myself receiving such interesting email from both Turks and foreigners who have read those two books “Is It Written in the Stars?” and “Imagine Being Lucky.”  In 2006 when I had started to write for our English newspaper, I surely did not imagine that I would have two books in English that were sold all around Turkey.  I had not imagined I would have six other books in Turkish either.  One thing led to another.  One feeling, one insight led to another. 

The late Steve Jobs of Apple had said this may be better than most in his commencement speech at Stanford University in June 2005: “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” May he rest in peace and may we find the strength and courage to listen to our heart.

Missing Lady

After being in Fethiye for only a few weeks this winter, I am back in Fethiye.  Whether it is sunny or rainy, there is always a special energy in this special town.  It is one of the places on the planet that I feel more connected to life and to the Divine.

                I have been using and teaching various methods for about twelve years and writing about complementary therapies and life in the past five or six years in Land of Lights.  I am an engineer by training, however it is not possible for me to imagine a life in which our intuitions and feelings are not considered as important as our analytic mind.  Not anymore.  We have tools other than our mind or five senses, tools that we are not using fully, tools we are not fully aware of.  Our intuition is a very important tool and we seem to use it better and better first of all by listening to it, by respecting it and by taking it seriously. 

                It is easier to listen to our intuition when it matches what our mind says.  Yet, how about when the mind and the intuition say different things?

                About a week ago I received a message from the veterinarian of my German shepherd dogs in İstanbul.  She was suggesting that one of two female dogs must be fixed, sterilized since she had been pregnant twice at a relatively young age and our guards at our organic garden have not been able to protect our dog Lady at the time that she was fertile.  Actually the vet had asked me to give an approval for this operation this winter as well.  For some reason it had not felt right and I had said no.  A few days after I arrived in Fethiye, the veterinarian was asking for my approval and confirmation for this operation again.  She had sent the message that it was for the good of the dog and they would pick her up from the garden and do everything necessary and bring her back when she was totally healed.  The message arrived at a time I was quite busy with trainings and sessions.  I read the email sent by the vet to my secretary in İstanbul.  Again it did not feel right. I knew that with five other dogs in the garden, it was not easy for my staff to keep the dogs apart during the fertile times of the females.  It could be done, but for some reason we have not been good at it.  So when the message came, although I still did not feel good about this operation, I found it difficult to say “no” since I did not have any tangible reasons to say no.  It did not feel right, but I did not say no.  I said yes.  I told my staff to take care of the details for the operation.  I remember that I reminded my secretary to make sure that we checked the state of our dog Lady often and to let me know about how she was healing.

Two days later I received the news from İstanbul.  A long list of complications had happened during Lady’s operation and they have not been able to save her.  Our young and healthy German shepherd had died due a long list of reasons that the vet had written in a long email.  I was very sad, but not only for the loss of this beautiful and gentle female dog, but more for not listening to my very clear intuition.  Please do not get it wrong, I make almost all of my decisions with my hearts, my intuition’s approval.  That is my new way of living.  Almost all of the time.  But sometimes, sometimes, when there is an expert involved in the decision, sometimes I make the mistake of not listening to the voice that protected me hundreds of times over the years. 

After I came back to Fethiye, I learned that I need to go to the city of Elazığ in Eastern Turkey for a meeting for a couple of days.  I was being called for a very important meeting for a project.  I would have to make very important decision that would have huge financial and legal effects on the government and the community as well as me, my family and our business.  Learning about Lady before this important trip was a very important message for me, a gift from Lady if I may say. A very sad but an immensely important message for me.

Years ago I had decided to listen to my heart and not to make decisions that do not feel right And I was doing this, this was becoming my way of living However, Lady was telling me, showing me that I had to make a much clearer choice.  Was I willing to live fully and completely what I believed in?  Not 90 percent, not 99 percent, but was I willing to listen to my intuition on a full hundred percent?  Was I willing to say yes or no depending and trusting on my intuition all of the time, and not back out when I cannot come up with logical reasons?

I believe that in life there are things that we can control and things that we cannot.  Sometimes it is hard to say which is which. Yet Lady’s message to me is very clear.  It was clear from the first moment of the bad news. ... “Please listen to your heart, please listen to your intuition.  It has protected you.  It protects what you love as well.” ... I thank her.  For coming into my life. For the four babies that she has given us in the last years.  Lady’s memory will always be precious for me.  May she be in peace and light.  May her message be always clear in my mind...

_______

Affirmation of the Week:  From Louise L. Hay, “It is safe to be me.  I express who I am.”

Book Recommendation: “Biology of Belief-İnancın Biyolojisi” by Dr. Bruce H. Lipton

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

"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

Happy New Year...

BEGIN from RUMI:

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

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

You can contact with Zeynep Kocasinan through her new blog site

www.zeynepkocasinan.wordpress.com

Enjoy.

Modern British Sculpture

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.