A Time for the Body, Continued...

The night that I came to Istanbul from Fethiye was not a great night for Istanbul.  I had had a good and pleasant flight.  There were many familiar faces on the plane, most of who were going to Istanbul for the Emitt East Mediterranean Tourism & Travel Exhibition 2013, which took place in Istanbul from January 24^th to January 27^th at the TUYAP Exhibition Centre.

After I got off the plane, I called the shuttle service that I usually use to go home in Istanbul.  Shortly after I got in the minivan, I checked my Twitter account. That’s when I learned about the big fire that had started in one of the historical buildings of Galatasaray University at the Ortakoy Campus. 

Soon my phone began to ring.  Friends and relatives who knew I was coming to Istanbul that night were calling to warn me and tell me which roads were closed due to the fire on my regular way home.  I shared the news with the driver of the shuttle who interesting had not heard of the fire yet.

I live in Arnavutkoy in Istanbul.  As we arrived in Ortakoy that evening there was heavy smoke, even in th back streets.  I took a different route to Arnavutkoy.  When we were near my apartment building, I saw many police cars lined up by the waterfront near the Arnavutkoy Pier.  Twitter gave me news.  A boat had caught up fire and had recently been put out.  There were casualties. This had nothing to do with the big fire at the Galatasaray University. An unfortunate coincidence.

Istanbul felt unsafe.  Not dangerous per se.  However, just did not feel safe enough.  I had never felt that was about Istanbul.  Well, almost never.  May be the first time the city scared me was during the time of the Golcuk earthquake on August 17^th, 1999.  Apart from that Istanbul was my home and was good as it is.

As I spend more weeks, months and years in Fethiye, I am becoming more and more aware that my home is changing.  Istanbul is becoming a place that live in, that I go to, that I work in.  Although I still spend more time in Istanbul, Fethiye is really becoming home.

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In the hectic and beautiful city of Istanbul, it seems to be rather important to have a positive mindset. To succeed, to surmount, to survive.  There is always something around that overstrains the body, the mind and the soul.  Affirmations are some of best tools to keep me positive and motivated. 

As some of you might remember I started to share a body work by the famous author Louise L. Hay’s body awareness affirmations. I would like to continue with her affirmation program.

Previously I had shared seven affirmations. This time I would like to share seven more. You may use them over the next few weeks, using one affirmation a day.

Louise Hay is known for her work in mapping out the relationship between our though patterns and our health.

The recommended way to use this affirmations is as follows:

-          Use one affirmation a day in the first round of working with the affirmations.

-          Repeat each affirmation for at least ten times every morning and every evening.

-          Write each affirmation at least ten times every day.

You may also write the affirmation and place it where you can see during the day. The next week, either do another round of the seven affirmations or during the second week every morning look at the seven affirmations and choose that you feel will serve you the most.

For those who have missed the previous articles, the first seven affirmations:

Day 1 - Affirmation 1:  I Love My Mind

My mind enables me to recognize the beautiful Miracle of my Body.  I am glad to be alive.  I affirm with my mind that I have the power to heal myself.  My mind chooses the thoughts that create my future moment by moment.  My power comes through the use of my mind. I choose thoughts that make me feel good.  I love and appreciate my beautiful mind.

Day 2 - Affirmation 2:  I Love My Scalp

My scalp is relaxed and peaceful.  It is loose and easy. It provides a nourished bed for my hair. My hair is able to grow freely and luxuriously. I choose the thoughts that massage my scalp with love.  I love and appreciate my beautiful scalp.

Day 3 - Affirmation 3:  I Love My Hair

I trust the process of life to take care of my every need, and I grow strong and peaceful. I relax my scalp and give my beautiful hair room to grow luxuriously. I lovingly groom my hair and choose the thoughts that support its growth and strength. I love and appreciate my beautiful hair.

Day 4 - Affirmation 4:  I Love My Eyes

I have perfect vision.  I see clearly in every direction.  I see with love my past, my present and my future.  My mind chooses the way I look at life.  I see with new eyes. I see good in everyone and everywhere. I now lovingly create the life I love to look at.  I love and appreciate my beautiful eyes.

Day 5 - Affirmation 5:  I Love My Ears

I am balanced and poised and one with all of life. I choose the thoughts that create harmony around me.  I listen with love to the good and the pleasant.  I hear the cry for love that is hidden in everyone’s message. I am willing to understand others, and I have compassion for them.  I rejoice in my ability to hear life. I have a receptive capacity of mind.  I am willing to hear.  I love and appreciate my beautiful ears.

Day 6 - Affirmation 6:  I Love My Nose

I am at peace with everyone around me. No person, place, or thing has any power over me.  I am the power and authority in my world.  I choose the thoughts that recognize my own true worth.  I recognize my own intuitive ability.  I trust my intuition, for I am always in contact with Universal Wisdom and Truth.  I always go in the right direction for me.  I love and appreciate my beautiful nose.

Day 7 - Affirmation 7:  I Love My Mouth

I nourish myself by taking in new ideas.  I prepare new concepts for digestion and assimilation.  I make decisions with ease based upon the principles of Truth. I have a good taste for life. I choose the thoughts that enable me to speak with love. I speak up for myself, secure in my own true worth.  I love and appreciate my beautiful mouth.

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The new seven affirmations:

Day 1 – Affirmation 8:  I Love My Teeth

My teeth are strong and healthy I bite into life with joy. I thoughtfully and completely chew all my experiences.  I am a decisive person. I make decisions with ease, and I stick to them. I choose the thoughts that create a solid inner foundation.  I trust my inner Wisdom, knowing that I will always choose what is best for me at any given moment.  I love and appreciate my beautiful teeth.

Day 2 - Affirmation 9:  I Love My Gums

My gums are the picture of health. They support and protect my teeth with love. It is easier for me to stick to my decisions. I back up my decisions with spiritual convictions. I am strongly centred in Wisdom and Truth. I choose the thoughts that create only right action in my life. I love and appreciate my beautiful gums.

Day 3 - Affirmation 10:  I Love My Voice

I voice my opinions. I speak up for myself.  I sing the praises of love and joy.  My words are the music of life.   I choose the thoughts that express beauty and gratitude.  I proclaim my oneness with all of life.  I love and appreciate my beautiful voice.

Day 4 - Affirmation 11:  I Love My Neck

I willingly and turn to acknowledge other viewpoints and other ways of doing things.  I am free to acknowledge it all. I am willing to change.  I choose the thoughts that keep me flexible in my ideas and in my creative expression. I express myself freely and joyously. I am safe. I love and appreciate my beautiful neck.

Day 5 - Affirmation 12:  I Love My Throat

My throat is my avenue of expression and creativity.  I keep it open and free. I sing with great joy.  I choose the thought that allow me to express my creativity. I lovingly declare to the world my self-worth and my self-esteem.  I love and appreciate my beautiful throat.

Day 6 - Affirmation 13:  I Love My Shoulders

I shoulder my responsibilities with ease.  My burdens are light – like feathers in the wind. I stand tall and free, and I joyfully carry my experiences.  My shoulders are beautiful and straight and strong.  I choose the thoughts that make my way easy and free. Love releases and relaxes.  I love and appreciate my beautiful shoulders.

Day 7 - Affirmation 14:  I Love My Breasts

My breasts are the perfect size and shape for my body.  They are healthy and will always be healthy. I always nourish and take care of myself before I take care of others.  I choose the thoughts that nurture me in every way.  I love and appreciate my beautiful breasts.

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I have many friends and clients who struggle with various health problems.  Using affirmations seem to lighten the load.

May the year 2013 bring you lots of love and blessings. 

Zeynep

Quote of the Week:

“I always say that incurable means ‘curable from within.”

                                                                                              Dr. John Demartini

2012, A Time for the Body

I am not an expert on body work.   In high school I was in the track team, but I cannot say I was very good.  I had a couple of injuries and although I was a very fast sprinter, I never got to live my love of running. 

I always loved dancing.  In college I would dance for hours, especially on Saturday nights when life at Cornell University gave me a short break.  I started to do Yoga and body building seriously when I was in college.  I was very healthy and fit when I graduated from college.

I returned to Turkey after college.  I was planning to stay for a masters degree in engineering.  However, my father had been ill since his by-pass surgery during my sophomore year and he needed support at our family construction company.  After I returned to Turkey, I worked almost nonstop for eight nine years.  Then I was not that well anymore.  I had various problems with my health as well as many problems with my husband.  My father and mother were experiencing serious health problems, too.  Everything looked good on the outside.  Business was good.  I was married, travelling around the world although for much shorter times since I was working very hard, driving very nice cars.  I was able to buy and do more or less all that I wanted.  I was also helping a lot of people during those years.  Giving financial help was what I knew to do.   Today I have a little different understanding of helping another person.  We learn best my doing and especially by making mistakes.  However, maybe what I did then protected me during the couple very dark years that followed.

Anyway. My path led me to energy work and various healing methods.  I never looked for a method to heal myself or my life.  As l looked for healing methods to help others, I was to discover a whole new way of life for myself.  At all phases of my life there were people who told me how foolish it is to try to help others.  Surely there were times when I was hurt and betrayed by the people that I helped, however, I believe that trying to help with a pure heart can never truly hurt us.   As long as we know our boundaries. As long as helping does not turn into satisfying our own ego.  Help should be about empowerment. Again, today I have a different of definition of what really helping another means. No one is a victim.

Although I learned many different personal development and healing tools, energy work has always been my favourite.  The more I advanced, I found myself doing less and less body work.  Although I did not have any health problems, at one point I realized that I was losing the awareness of my body and that I was gaining weight.  Gaining weight is a common symptom among many energy healers.  If we are not careful about grounding ourselves, we start to use food and eating as a means for grounding.  Naturally many healers end up gaining weight.

Also, spiritual work is important, but if we have been born on this planet, I believe that it means we need to work with our body, mind and spirit. With spiritual work, it is easy to look down upon material needs and all that is material including the body. I have been doing mental and spiritual work deeply, but not enough body work.  To find a new balance I needed to focus on my body again.  That is when I turned to Louise Hay with a different focus.

Good diet and physical exercise are essential for good health.  Deep awareness of our body is another level of body work.  A topic that I want to start sharing more.  Actually in some of my previous articles I had shared some body affirmations as the affirmations of the week.  Now, I would like to recommend to you using Louise L. Hay’s body awareness affirmations in a systematic manner.  Louise Hay has mapped out the relationship between our though patterns and our health.

-          I always thoroughly use any technique that I recommend to my family, friends and clients.  The body affirmations that I will share will certainly heal and strengthen your body immensely. There are seven affirmations given in this article.  Of course, there are many more for the other parts of our body. 

The way to work with the following affirmations, suggested by Louise L. Hay:

-          Use one affirmation a day in the first round of working with the affirmations.

-          Repeat each affirmation for at least ten times every morning and every evening.

-          Write each affirmation at least ten times every day.

You may also write the affirmation and place it where you can see during the day. The next week, either do another round of the seven affirmations or during the second week every morning look at the seven affirmations and choose that you feel will serve you the most.

Day 1 - Affirmation 1:  I Love My Mind

My mind enables me to recognize the beautiful Miracle of my Body.  I am glad to be alive.  I affirm with my mind that I have the power to heal myself.  My mind chooses the thoughts that create my future moment by moment.  My power comes through the use of my mind. I choose thoughts that make me feel good.  I love and appreciate my beautiful mind.

Day 2 - Affirmation 2:  I Love My Scalp

My scalp is relaxed and peaceful.  It is loose and easy. It provides a nourished bed for my hair. My hair is able to grow freely and luxuriously. I choose the thoughts that massage my scalp with love.  I love and appreciate my beautiful scalp.

Day 3 - Affirmation 3:  I Love My Hair

I trust the process of life to take care of my every need, and I grow strong and peaceful. I relax my scalp and give my beautiful hair room to grow luxuriously. I lovingly groom my hair and choose the thoughts that support its growth and strength. I love and appreciate my beautiful hair.

Day 4 - Affirmation 4:  I Love My Eyes

I have perfect vision.  I see clearly in every direction.  I see with love my past, my present and my future.  My mind chooses the way I look at life.  I see with new eyes. I see good in everyone and everywhere. I now lovingly create the life I love to look at.  I love and appreciate my beautiful eyes.

Day 5 - Affirmation 5:  I Love My Ears

I am balanced and poised and one with all of life. I choose the thoughts that create harmony around me.  I listen with love to the good and the pleasant.  I hear the cry for love that is hidden in everyone’s message. I am willing to understand others, and I have compassion for them.  I rejoice in my ability to hear life. I have a receptive capacity of mind.  I am willing to hear.  I love and appreciate my beautiful ears.

Day 6 - Affirmation 6:  I Love My Nose

I am at peace with everyone around me. No person, place, or thing has any power over me.  I am the power and authority in my world.  I choose the thoughts that recognize my own true worth.  I recognize my own intuitive ability.  I trust my intuition, for I am always in contact with Universal Wisdom and Truth.  I always go in the right direction for me.  I love and appreciate my beautiful nose.

Day 7 - Affirmation 7:  I Love My Mouth

I nourish myself by taking in new ideas.  I prepare new concepts for digestion and assimilation.  I make decisions with ease based upon the principles of Truth. I have a good taste for life. I choose the thoughts that enable me to speak with love. I speak up for myself, secure in my own true worth.  I love and appreciate my beautiful mouth.

In the coming weeks, I will share more of Louise Hay’s body affirmations for better health and a happier life.

May love and light always be with you.

Zeynep

Quote of the Week:

“The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude.”

                                                                                                              By William James

Mindfulness and a Peaceful and Happy Way to Be

Talk about synchronicity.  I was reading a book on Thich Nhat Hanh.  As I was reading the sentence “For him, a ringing telephone is a signal to call us back to our true selves” in the “Editor’s Introduction” section of the book, the phone rang.  Not one sentence before, not after.  At that short part of a second that I finished the sentence.  I found myself smiling more deeply as I had been smiling for sometime as I was re-reading this book on mindfulness and personal peace on this warm and sunny morning.  

The call was from a client who had not been in contact with me for over a year.  At the time she had been having problems with her husband.  Her condition had improved, but lately I had been wondering how she was. This time she was calling me to refer a friend of hers to me.

So many women are in conflict with their husbands.  It is tough to see people suffer.  Some of these women are with men who are totally abusive, but they still choose to stay with them.  Surviving as a single woman and even more as a single mother is not easy; and some choose the abuse instead of the difficulties of surviving alone.  Unfortunately families in Turkey a lot of the time demand the women to try to make it work.  Especially if they have kids.  There are many couples who are able to make it if they are able to reach an understanding about their problems.  However, this requires both parties to take responsibility and to work on themselves.

Some women are unwilling to accept the fact that they cannot change another person and also that they do not have the right to change their spouse.  They spend their lives trying to change their husbands and partners who do not have any desire to change. Life gets tough if we want everyone to act, to think and to choose as we want them to.  We only have the right and the ability to change ourselves. 

I work with many women, of all ages.  I work with men as well, a lot fewer though. There are very few men who go to a coach or a healer to heal their relationships with their wives or children.  Most of the men that I work with come to work on their careers and their responsibility to provide for themselves and their families.  A smaller number of men I work with have very serious health problems. Most of the rest are trying to deal with the loss of a loved one. According to my experience, the reasons men and women turn to self-development or healing are quite different.  Men and women are different in so many ways.

...

The Dalai Lama says “Although attempting to bring about world peace through the internal transformation of individuals is difficult, it is the only way.”   Like many great Buddhist masters Thich Nhat Hanh focuses his teachings on mindful living, on mindfulness.  He teaches about conscious breathing and awareness of breath, especially as a tool to be mindful of each moment, of each act in our lives.  Like one of my own teachers Paracha, Thich Nhat Hanh also brings into our attention the importance of smiling.  I am a firm believer in smiling and in the power of a smile.  The chemistry of our body changes as we smile.  Our body relaxes.  As we smile, the changes that happen in our body clear away our worries and tiredness.  In Vipassana meditations, most masters want us to keep a smile on our face while we are focusing on our five senses and/or focusing on our body and organs.

Thich Nhat Hanh in all his teachings reminds us that we do not need a special time or a place to meditate.  As long as we can breathe and smile, we are able to tap into the energy of self-awareness and internal power.  I will admit that when I had just started to meditate, I would be upset about the dog that barked outside, or the music that did not seem appropriate for the mood, or the heat, or the cushion or the chair.  It was hard to accept what is, to embrace the moment. 

Of course, now I know the tricks that we use in order not to listen to our heart and soul.  We create so many distractions.  We are magicians when it comes to finding ways to stop ourselves.  And I also discovered that the only way to pass through those phases is to live through them.  To be upset and to continue to try to meditate.  To be angry and to continue.  To find it useless and to continue.  Then came a time when I could be in the middle of a traffic jam in Istanbul, and I would be able to smile and watch life as if in slow motion.  Then came a time when I would be on the escalator in a crowded shopping mall and the moment I started to consciously observe my breathing, the colours around me would brighten and I would start to hear my thoughts clearly as if all of the noise around me has been filtered out.

Trainings of different breathing techniques are very popular in Turkey for the past couple of years.  My brother Yaman is a breathing coach.  I personally have not advanced in that area.  For me, I found it enough to strengthen my awareness of my breathing.  Most of us when are afraid or excited stop to breath. Literally.  Just to be aware of how you react to different emotions in your breathing can make a big difference in how you live those emotions as well as in your health.  With the help of breathing, we can transform our feelings.

Breathing is always with us.  It is not a goal to be reached. It is not something to be completed. Not something to be overcome or to be left behind.  Breathing is with us, always and constantly.   It is about just being, just doing.  Continuous, essential and natural and effortless at the same time.  Breathing keeps us alive, helps us renew our body, helps us connect with the air, with nature.

Meditation is about creating a space to receive information that was not apparent with our busy minds.  Meditation is about slowing down our brain waves.  It is about relaxation and tapping into peacefulness.

One of my favourite meditations is the walking meditation.  To walk just to walk and to be in the moment.  Not giving importance or attention to the destination.  Such a free feeling.

These are the thoughts and feelings that Vietnamese Zen Master and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh brought to my mind and heart. Some may call him a monk; some call him a great bodhisattva.  I call him like many great masters a “master of light.”

May our days be filled with many moments of love and light.

Zeynep

Affirmation of the Week, From Louise Hay:

“ I Love My Ankles

My ankles give me mobility and direction. I release all fear and guilt.  I accept pleasure with ease.  I move in the direction of my highest good.  I choose the thoughts that bring me pleasure and joy into my life.  I am flexible and flowing.  I love and appreciate my beautiful ankles.”

Before We Have To...

I remember listening to Louise Hay once, the lady who made us aware of the mental reasons behind our illnesses and how to heal through affirmations, how to heal by being aware of and by changing our thinking.  She had said that all teachers and healers share the same information, because there can only be one true information.  One true path.  We all share the parts of the path that we are able to see and the methods that help us stay on track.

Yet, listening to some teachers make more sense.  Some of the healing methods work better on us.  I had the chance to meet some exceptional teachers over the years.  Some were exceptional yet I did not feel like their path was fit for me.  I learned through time that it is important to expose myself to new approaches, but also always tostay with which feels fit both for my mind and my heart.

...

With every new student, with each new client I find myself asking what I really do believe in when it comes to illness and healing.  I work with many people who have serious health issues, but there are as many if not more people who seem to have many blessings in their lives, but are still not happy, very discontent with their lives. 

In the first years that worked, I had more people come to me who were really ill and were looking ways to improve their lives.  Later on, more and more people started to come to me to change their lives because they did not feel they were headed in a positive direction.  It is hopeful to see that people are looking for ways to change their lives before they make themselves sick.  It is tough and wonderful to be proactive in such a way.  I was not one of them.  I was a part of the former group.

Yes, I am a strong believer of the idea that if we do look into the daily problems in our lives, we will eventually make ourselves sick.  Our subconscious will try to bring our problems in our consciousness by a difficult method that works - through illness. 

If we are proactive, the process of  being aware is faster and easier.  But sometimes life literally knocks us out, to shake us, to awaken us, to make us change.  As a person who has had a tough wake up call, I can say that I admire those you are courageous enough to work on themselves before they really have to. 

...

So what do I do?  What helps us to be happier and healthier in life?  One of the important aspects is to unload the “negative” feelings as they arise.  Our spouse shouts at us, or scolds us for a reason – whether he or she has the right or not is another issue – and we want to reply back, however because kids are around, because the mother and father-in-law is around, because you are afraid things will get worse, you stay quiet.  You “swallow” the words as we say it in Turkish.  May be you have done the right thing, but the feelings of anger, disappointment, maybe of resentment are there.  You have not let them out.   In order to stay healthy emotionally, mentally and physically, we need to let out these feels that do not feed us.  

One option is to speak up and let the other person know, but this is not always easy or possible.  We are very unprepared for conflict resolution.  I wish and pray that conflict resolution one day will be a part of the education as a basic life skill.  So, for many people telling how we feel when we are feeling it is not easy.  However, we have to find a way to let that negative energy out.  Unless we release it or clear it, it is hard to feel another emotion.

Listening to music and physical movement such as walking and dancing seems to create a means to clear the energy.  Another method that works very effectively at releasing negative feelings is EFT, Emotional Freedom Technique.

EFT is a technique that is used best to clear negative emotions, emotional residues of past unpleasant events or traumas.  As some of you might know, in EFT we tap into certain point on our head, body and hands while concentrating on our negative feelings to unload our emotional burdens.  This technique that was developed by an engineer Gary Craig has been in use since 1995.  This year Gary and his daughter are making some modifications in the technique and also EFT had been a technique that was freely distributed although there were official trainings and certifications. It seems they want to have more control on the technique and therefore creating new certifications to be an “official” practitioner.

I believe in trainings.  I must have attended close to a hundred including the previous official certification trainings of the Emotional Freedom Technique. I also understand the need to be able to live and survive as a teacher and healer, the need to be paid for your efforts and the knowledge that you created.   Gary Craig seems to experience the negative aspects or sharing information freely.  His old websites are not active anymore and www.garythink.com is his new website where he shares information about EFT.  There are free and purchasable information on this web site.  According to my observation, the “old” EFT techniques are as valid as they used to be.  They work.  If you know how to use EFT, I recommend you to keep on using them.  I will share the additions or changes to EFT that make sense to me in the coming weeks.  I believe in finding what works for you and in keeping using it.  That means to try new approaches, but to trust your heart, to trust your intuition in the healing method. 

Sometimes my clients ask me if certain healing techniques can be used together.  Most of time we can.  For example, we can use EFT Emotional Freedom Technique and use Reiki at the same time to support us during the EFT process.  Or we can use Reiki to help heal the time in the past we are working with EFT. 

Please never, never use a method that you do not feel comfortable with.  Of course, I am not saying you to give in to your fears of change.  Because sometimes we are afraid of the good that awaits us as well.  This is surely not what I am talking about.  I have seen many people who are afraid to physically heal because they have grown so familiar to the life as the “sick person”, they do not know what to do as a person who is not sick anymore.  Many of them realize that sickness is how they have learned to say no without having to say no.  It is unbelievable how so many people use illnesses as an excuse to say no.  

It seems very hard to say no, just to say say. It seems very hard to accept that we have the right to say no.  Looking back at my own life, my life would have been easier if I had been able to say no a little more. I am still learning.  Saying no is not a rejection, saying no is not about being selfish.  Saying no when we really want to and need to say no, is being honest. Saying no, or not choosing a reply out of obligation, when I cannot seem to say yes is listening to the universe. It is listening to the genuine voice inside.  Saying no is as good as saying yes.  This can be liberating for us as well as the people around us.  Who knows if agreeing with the desires of others will be for their benefit?

...

May love and light always be with you.

Zeynep

Affirmation of the Week, From Louise Hay:

“ I love my heart.

My heart lovingly carries joy throughout my body, nourishing the cells. Joyous new ideas are now circulating freely within me.  I am the joy of life, expressing and receiving.  I now choose thoughts that create an ever-joyous now. It is safe to be alive at every age.  I radiate love in every direction, and my whole life is a joy.  I love with my heart.  I love and appreciate my beautiful heart!”

Xi’an, Ben & Jerry’s and “Sliding Doors”

On my trip to China this summer, our group leader told us that we were going to the city of Xi’an as well and for one reason, to see to “Terracotta Soldiers.”  As it is also called the Terracotta Army or the "Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses", is the name used to talk about a site that has a huge collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, known as the first Emperor of China.  This amazing site is one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites.  Terracotta statues of 8000 soldiers, 520 horses with 130 chariots are the main pieces of attraction at this site.

It was  a very hot and a very humid day when we arrived in Xi’an.  The amazingly hot days we had in Turkey in July this summer seemed very innocent compared with the extremely humid summer days of China.  I remember feeling quite cool after I have been back in Turkey and although we are experiencing one of the hottest summers in history in Turkey, I am not as bothered.  A week in China was enough to change my perspective.

Back to the city of Xi’an... Xi’an has become a centre of attraction after the discovery of this site and everything is geared towards this historical site.  I find it difficult to remember anything but the city itself.  But maybe it is enough.  May be the Terracotta Army is more than enough.

Why would anyone go through the trouble of making much life-size statues, in such a manner that the face of each warrior is different than the other?   Some say that The Terracotta Army is a form of funerary art and that these were buried with the Emperor in 210–209 BC and their purpose was to protect the emperor in his afterlife, and/or to make sure that he had people to rule over.  However, since this site was discovered by coincidence by a farmer who was digging a well in 1974, no one really knows for sure.  One of the stories we were told that these statues were built so that the actual soldiers of the army would not have been killed and buried with the Emperor.  As far as I was told by our Chinese local guide in Xi’an, there are only theories and since the site was found in 1974, no official records have been found yet. 

There are amazing details about these soldiers.  They are life-sized.  All of them vary in height, size and expression.  It seems that the details also vary with the ranks of the soldiers and they are created and placed with those taken into consideration. They are thought be painted in colour as well, but in most of the statues the colours seem to have faded.

There are many details that make this UNESCO World Heritage Site and its statues amazing.  The sheer amount of work and effort behind this site is more than enough to be impressed.

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Strange things impress me at different times.  Today I was going to Şövalye Island. I realized that there were a few things that I needed to buy and I turned around to stop at Tansaş.  As I was about the finish my shopping, I saw the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream refrigerator.  Actually I had seen Ben & Jerry’s ice cream fridges in several of the big supermarkets in Fethiye over the years.  It was obviously not the first time, but I found myself going back twenty years in time.  And surprisingly almost exactly twenty years...

As I am eating my Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream, I am still surprised by the fact that I remembered my days in Vermont, USA exactly twenty years later.  I went to college in the US. The university that I went to, Cornell University, is one of the Ivy League Universities in the US and is quite a good university in the field of engineering.  Cornell University is also known in the world for its famous Medical School, which is in New York City.  The main campus of Cornell University is near the town of Ithaca in New York State.  Ithaca is about five hours driving distance to  New York City. 

When I was completing my undergraduate degree at Cornell, I was planning to stay a year or two more to get my masters degree in engineering or maybe to do an MBA. However, after my family came to attend my graduation in May 1992, I found myself planning to go back to Turkey to work with my father in our family construction company.  My father, who had had a complicated heart surgery in 1989 in Indiana was not able to work like he used to and he needed help at the family company in Turkey.  Either I was going to go back home or a partner from outside would be needed for our company.  My plans to get a masters degree started not to look that reasonable.  It was 1992.  Those years  were times when we were still writing letters on paper to our family and friends. 

I had been away from home for 18 months and I was learning about my father’s and our company’s needs at a pace much faster that I was willing.  Life has its unique ways and timings.  I was not as appreciative of the timings of the Universe then.  It took me a few years more to learn those lessons.

So there I was.  My parents, especially my mother, were trying to convince me come back to Turkey immediately after graduation.  I was sure that I should be staying to complete my masters.  Those were our first stands and reactions.  Actually my father was not saying anything.  He was just being his sweet self.  After the first week of their arrival in Ithaca, I was starting to feel that I was about to make an important decision.  I was torn between my logic and my heart.  Those few days were maybe my hardest days in life and now looking back can see why.  Those few days definitely determined my following twenty years and will probably continue to do so for the rest of my life.  Roads diverge and some of these paths never come together again.

There was an interesting movie in the late 1990s called “Sliding Doors” with Gwyneth Paltrow.   In the movie the main female character is at the door of a train in London and the movies continues with two different  parallel plots, one in which she misses the train with the sliding of the door of the train and in the other she makes it to the train in that one split second.  The effect that split second has on the possible turn of events and the life of the female leading character has made me wonder every time I watched this movie.

My split second was more like a day, a Sunday in May in 1992. That decision took me to Vermont that  in the month of July in 1992, which made it possible for me to think of Vermont in a Tansaş in Fethiye on the same days in 2012.   Let me tell the details of that story at another time, yet I cannot help but share that as doors keep sliding, keep opening and closing, we seem to be swimming in a world of endless options and choices and every choice and every move seems so very important; yet, there is also the feeling that as I was staring at the Ben & Jerry’s fridge at the supermarket, oblivious of the fact that Ben & Jerry’s had been sold to Unilever about 12-13 years ago and for that reason this quite uniquely American brand of ice cream was able to make it to its own fridge in the supermarket in a small town in South-western Turkey, there was also the feeling that that moment was the only possible option for that moment.  It was the only following step for all of the millions of big and small preceding decisions.  I chose to go to China this June, I chose to apply and go to Cornell, I chose to move to Fethiye and certainly I chose to go to Tansaş this afternoon.  Still, there is more to the mystery of the choices that we make and choices that we cannot seem to make.  And surely these were not what I was planning to write for this week’s Land of Lights.

There is a lot to share about China and a lot to share about energy, decisions, fate, our callings and more.  It is clear to me that for now this is more than enough.

Let’s trust that there is time for everything and for everything there is a time. 

Wishing you a week full of love, joy and happiness. Best wishes,

Zeynep

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

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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

Affirmation of the Week:

From Louise L. Hay:  “I am neither too little nor too much, and I do not have to prove myself to anyone.”

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.

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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.”

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.”