Of JOY

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

JOY

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

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

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

With love and light,

Zeynep


Angel of the Week: Joy

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

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

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

Childhood Dreams

Some of you might have heard of Professor Randy Pausch’s story and his last lecture at Carnegie Mellon University last September. Randy Pausch passed away on July 25th, 2008, but the ripple effects of his lecture, his book “The Last Lecture”, his story will most probably continue to touch many lives.

I am not here to tell about his life, just how he used these circumstances to create a more positive outcome for others and especially for his kids. I am moved by this courageous man.

Randy Pausch, when he learned that he had pancreatic cancer gave a final speech at the university he was working in, Carnegie Mellon University in the US. And he also wrote a book with the aid of Jeffrey Zaslow and managed to complete and publish it before he passed away. His book became a best seller and it has been available in Turkish for about a few months.

One of my teachers, Moshe Abudaram had shown me the record of the lecture at Carnegie Mellon months ago. The title of his lecture was “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams“. Then I watched him on the Oprah Show when he gave an abridged version of his speech. He used the time he had to share and to tell what was closest to his heart. And he made a difference.

…Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams…

Are we aware that once we really did have dreams?

Do we remember how it felt to be a kid?

How would it feel to be like a kid?

Do we allow ourselves to dream?

What do we allow ourselves to think of?

To imagine?

To want?

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When I was a kid, there were a few things that I really wanted. I wanted to write and I wanted to dance. I have been writing since I was 13 or 14. I used to write for our Turkish and English newspapers and magazines when I was in high school. I wrote a lot of poems over the years. And since 2006 I have been writing for a couple of national magazines in Turkey, and of course for the Land of Lights newspaper for the last few years.

I just love writing. Today is a wonderful sunny summer Sunday in Istanbul. As I am writing today, I look out the window and it is wonderful to watch the sea, shining, and the boats that are going up and down the Bosphorous. Yet, I choose to stay, to stay inside and to write. To share what really excites me and what I believe will make or can make your life better.

What really makes me stay inside and on my own in front of the computer?
As for dancing, I never got the chance to learn or even to find much the time to dance. As a kid I remember that I would put a tape that I loved and dance. I would look for times when there was no one home, so that I could do this more freely. When I was at Cornell University, I remember that Friday and Saturday nights, there would be parties and there would be real dancing. I remember that we would dance till the early hours of the morning. It was such a wonderful feeling.

The last such experience I had was in a training called “The Butterfly Effect.” Our trainers Adi, Adir and Yair had created a wonderful atmosphere where all participants had free space to express their feeling with their bodies in the form of a dance. The music kept changing, and so did the dances. There was such joy, freedom and happiness that we all felt and shared.

Since then when I feel like it, I put on a CD that I like, or I turn the radio to a station that I like and I dance. And I each time I feel born anew…

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This is one of the weeks that I believe less is more, and I would like to request one thing from you:
To remember your childhood dreams and to see what you can do to get a taste of what you really wanted then.

Could you give it a try?
…

Wish you lots of love and luck.
Zeynep
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Angel of the Week: Power

Affirmation of the Week:“Our soul gives us power to accomplish more that we can imagine.”
From The Kabbalah Centre

Quote of the Week:“I welcome all creatures of the world with grace.”
Hildegard of Bingen

Zeynep’s Book Recommendation of the Week:
“The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch
This book is available in Turkish under the title: “Son Konuşma”.

What Would Love Do Now?

I have been away from Fethiye almost since December. I came for a few days on and off, but I really missed it and missed my friends here. Still, I have a lot of catching up to do. By the way, currently I am back in Istanbul for a project on Life Coaching. Actually, I came back to Istanbul today with a morning flight. I flew with Pegasus Airlines for the first time. And also I used the Sabiha Gökçen Airport in Istanbul for the first time as well. I am amazed to see that London now has four airports, and having a second one was definitely needed in Istanbul. However, I have a feeling this second airport will turn out to be too small for the city’s growing needs for air travel.

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Well, back to Fethiye. I was talking with some friends about my trip to Japan this year in May. That trip has been like a Tibetian bowl in my life. I can still feel its influence, its vibration in my life. I am also trying to understand why I feel this connected to this country…

What makes us connected to a place?

What makes us feel close to, to like, to love a place, a country, a person?

It is about culture, language, or appearances?

Is it about being similar or different?

What are the underlying factors?

What are the reasons, if any?
…

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Fethiye is a place that I am really drawn to. There are other cities and towns that I have been to tens of times and I do not feel a similar connection with those places.
I also feel a very close connection with Japan, more than many of the countries that I have been to so many times.

Why?

Well, there are different answers:
My bio-energy teacher Moshe Abudaram says that sometimes the land, the energy of the physical land may call a person, to complete what is taking place there. Maybe that is why although distant healing works beautifully in many cases, sometimes healer needs to be physically close to the person in need of the healing.
What does this really mean

This can mean several things. First of all, those of you who might have read “The Celestine Prophecy” by James Redfield know that energies of groups of people come together at certain times at certain places to create a higher energy field. A person’s presence might be needed for the formation of such a circle. A circle of two or many. Second, either the person might need the energy of the land or the land might need the energy of that person. And this could be needed for many different reasons.

Of course, there is also the topic of previous life times. One of my friends is going to the US to attend a workshop by the famous psychiatrist Brian Weiss. I also wanted to go; yet I have been travelling so much in the last few months that I felt I needed stay this time. Brian Weiss is a must read for those who are interested in regressions and hypnotherapy.

There is a lot more happening energetically than we seem to be aware of. Also, to be aware of the energy exchanges that take place between people everyday have a look at James Redfield’s books. Also, the movie of the book “The Celestine Prophecy” is out, by the same name. I really do recommend watching it.

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Neale Donald Walsch in his book “Conversations with God” writes:
“Do what you love to do and nothing else. Make a life. Otherwise that is a dying.”
And there is also a powerful question that he uses and that I also use when things get difficult. And with that question I would like to leave you this week.
The question is: “What would love do now?”
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I wish all of you the best.
With love,
Zeynep

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Angel of the Week: Intention

Affirmation of the Week:
“As I become the right person, I find the right person.”
From The Kabbalah Centre

Quote of the Week:
“It is necessary to write, if the days are not to slip emptily by.”
Vita Sackville-West

Zeynep’s Book Recommendation of the Week:
“Ask and It Is Given” by Esther and Jerry Hicks
This book is available in Turkish under the title: “Yeter ki İsteyin!”

Reiki Seminar in Istanbul

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

Moshe Abudaram Invites You To Think Differently

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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