A Time, A Place, Istanbul, Korea, Soldiers and More

At the end of last summer when I was in London for the last time, I was sure I was going to be in London for the Olympic Games this summer.  As it turned out I wasn’t.  Actually I even barely found the time to watch the games.  The Turkish team was represented by 114 athletes in 16 sports in London, 66 women and 48 men.  This was the game Turkey was represented by the highest number of women athletes.  This surely is a good sign.  However, the difficulties women are facing in Turkey are not diminishing.

I was in Seoul, Korea for the first time in June this year and as I was visiting the National Museum of Korea, I could not be but surprised that a special exhibition “Emperors In Istanbul, The Civilizations of Turkey” had opened in addition to the permanent collection.  I would be in Seoul for only two days and I found the chance to see very important historical artefacts from our history and from Istanbul.  Some of them I had seen for many times at the Topkapi Palace or Istanbul Archeology Museum, but so many more of them, I was seeing for the first time in Seoul. I was surprised, happy and also impressed by the way the exhibition was put together at this National Museum.

A few years ago I had found myself discovering the close relationship between Japan and Turkey through the tragic story of the Ottoman Ship Ertugrul.  And now I was discovering in quite coincidental ways the relationship between Korea and Turkey.  May be there only two important sites where Turkish soldiers are buried in the Far East.  One of them is in Japan and the other one is in Korea.  And in the last two years I find myself visiting our soldiers in both of them in the most unexpected ways.

 

Life seems to coordinate the paths and take me there.  This special exhibition on Turkey was organized to honour and celebrate the 55^th anniversary of the friendship and close diplomatic relations between Korea and Turkey since the Korean War, in which Turkey had provided military support to Korea from 1950 to 1953.  Over 1000 Turkish soldiers lost their lives in Korea in that War and are still resting there.

I had not planned to see this exhibition as I had not planned to visit the UN cemetery where our Turkish soldiers are resting in Busan in Korea, on the specific day that the soldiers who lost their lives in the Korean War are honoured and commemorated in Korea.  But I was there, in Busan, on June 25^th, 2012.  I was praying for them there when whole of Korea was praying for them as well. 

Life surely has its special order when it comes to times and places.

We might think that we go to a certain city or country because we want to or choose to.  The way I see it now, this is a much more complicated process.  A process we are not usually aware of. 

And exactly for that reason when we need to go to a place that we do not want, we start complaining.  Sometimes we plan to go a city for a business trip. Then we are told we cannot go.  We feel we have been cheated.  We sign up for a tour, then the trip is cancelled and we are dismal. We wanted something, it did not happen, and surely this must be something bad.  Right? 

The reasons we believe things are happening or not happening for might create heaven or hell for us.  We are out of the group for the business trip to Italy and we criticize ourselves for not being good enough to be chosen to go, or we start complaining about how thoughtless and unappreciative our manager, who is not taking as we the company group, is.  It is just not that simple.  Your manager might indeed in unappreciative of your efforts, but he or she still might be making the best decision for you.

When something does not seem to be happening as planned, there are two options.  Either we have to push harder and/or find a way to make it happen or it is not supposed to happen and/or we are supposed to give up or do something else.  Understanding which one we are faced with can make a great difference in our happiness and success.  As work with hundreds of different people in my coaching and consulting work, I realize that main bulk of the work that we do is about understanding this very concept.

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There is a time for everything, a time to go, a time to come.  There is time to know.  And sometimes the universe will want us to sit and wait and do nothing.  All are a gift, as life is.

I chose a card from the “Saints & Angels” Oracle Cards of Doreen Virtue.  The card of “Sweetness” came.  This message is from our Guardian Angels for this week.  The message is about noticing and enjoying life more.  It is about trusting that the support of the spiritual world will be with us if we choose to lower our defences.  Life does toughen us up at times, yet we need to connect with the sweetness of life, with our sweetness to enjoy life.  And our relationships need that sweetness to, through speaking with love, of love, through being kind and generous.

May your days be filled with love and light.

Have a great week.

Zeynep

Zeynep.Kocasinan@gmail.com

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

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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  Course in Miracles

Affirmation of the Week:

From Louise L. Hay:  “The Law of Attraction brings only good into my life.”

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.

Madonna, Jyorei or The Kyoto Garden?

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…

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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

Searching for True Colours

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?

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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.

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

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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.

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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.
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I wish you all, as well as myself, the strength and courage to walk the talk.
Zeynep.
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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