The Placebo Effect?

Today I was talking about Reiki with some friends.  I was talking about how real the effects of Reiki are even though they are hard to prove.  How one has to experience the effects to believe in the power of the Japanese healing energy Reiki.  How the healing effects of Reiki is not a placebo effect.  I was talking about how I have seen Reiki work on people who do not believe in Reiki at all.  And this evening as I am re-reading a book an American friend of mine from Cornell University had recommended me a couple months ago, I am thinking that the healing power of Reiki is not a placebo effect, but also that the power of our thinking is an amazing healing tool.  I am reading about an experiment that was done in 1979.  The results of the experiment as amazing as they were 33 years ago.

This experiment was done on a group of 75 year old men.  These men spent a week at a retreat centre.  They were not allowed to bring any pictures, books or many documents that was dated later than 1959, twenty years earlier than the year of the experiment.  Even the ID cards they used had their photos of when they were 55 years old or younger.  The newspapers or books they were allowed to read where from 1959.  Their clothes and the decoration of the retreat centre were also like they used to be twenty years ago.

These men were tested for various bodily functions before and after this one-week long experiment.  Other people were shown these men’s before and after the experiment photos and according to the ratings, on average they looked three years younger after the experiment.  Their eyesight was measured to improve by ten percent on average after the experiment.  Their memory test performances also improved by ten percent.  In one week.  Isn’t it amazing?  Is this not a sign of the amazing power of the mind?

NLP Neuro Linguistic Programming is a personal development approach developed by Richard Bandler and John Grinder in 1970s.  It is one of the most well known techniques in the world.   It is quite popular among life coaches as well.  NLP is about understanding and using our mind to control and improve our lives.  And similar to Reiki, it is not possible to scientifically prove the effectiveness of NLP. There are many books on NLP and you can find a lot of free material on the internet as well.  I use NLP as one of the tools in my sessions.  I usually choose to use a couple techniques together.  I think NLP is one of the tools that we can use on our own very effectively.  To be aware of the fact that we have a control panel in our minds and even though there might be things in life that we cannot change, there are many that we can influence and change immensely.  Also, that we have automatic responses to what we see, hear and experience, and most of these mental responses have been programmed by our previous experiences.  Some of these automatic responses might be serving us, some of them might be stopping us.  Understanding and positively shaping the way we think does bring about healing, health and happiness.  I will write about NLP more in the coming weeks.  It is not as popular as it used to be, but it is worth looking into.

Reiki, NLP, EFT Emotional Freedom Technique are some of the personal development and healing tools that I use. There are many more.  Yet, the most important thing I believe is to think constructively.  To be aware of the problems, but work to overcome them, to go around them, to continue with life.  The more we concentrate on the problems, the harder it becomes to find solutions. I have seen it happen so many times like you also must have seen.  In coaching we have an agreement.  When we start to work with a client, we start with setting an intention for the coaching process and the session.  The intention needs to be a positively stated sentence.  “I want to fight less with my husband” is not a valid intention for us.  We go on to work with the client to clarify what it is that she really wants to experience with her husband. Fighting less is usually never enough. “I want my husband to show me more attention” is also not a valid intention sentence since we can only control ourselves. Trying to control others becomes manipulation. Then we work together to understand the need behind the words that want the attention.    Setting a goal always gives power.  Setting a positive goal that you really want and believe in makes a big difference.

So my question to you this week is: What do you want?  What do you really want in life?  I do ask myself this question in meditation every couple of months.  I ask and I sit down with a soft music for twenty to thirty minutes, to let the thoughts clarify.  You may also choose to write all of the replies that come to this question every day for a week.  Finding out what I really want has always been the best beginning I ever did.

May your days be filled with joy and happiness.

Zeynep.

Affirmation of the Week:

From Louise L. Hay:  “I am safe when I express my feelings.  I can be serene in any situation.”

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.”

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.”

Sailing on the Bosphorus, Sailing in Life

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reiki Lessons from Zeynep Kocasinan

Zeynep Kocasinan has been a Reiki Master since 2004 and has been trained in the Traditional Usui Reiki.

Reiki Initions are done individually and in groups, at the first, second and third levels.

Reiki-1 Initiation Fee: 150 usd
Reiki-2 Initiation Fee: 300 usd
Reiki-3 Initiation Fee: 750 usd

Service fees are subject to %18 vat/kdv.

Reiki lessons and initiations are given in 2 days, in total of 5 hours, in 2,5 hours on each day.

The student is able to start to use Reiki starting from the first initiation of the appropriate Reiki Level.

Reiki lessons are given in Istanbul and in Fethiye.

For appointments contact Zeynep Kocasinan at zeynep.kocasinan@gmail.com or (532) 312 33 54.

Original or Pirate?

I was visiting one of my friends in İstanbul. She had visited me in Fethiye a couple of years. She showed me a book she bought in Fethiye, a very good book by Trevanian. The name of the book is Shibumi. It is one of my favourites. All is good so far. Yet she tells “Zeynep, I bought this book in Fethiye and I think it is a pirate copy.” Now, I do not know the proper term in English, I am not sure if there is one, but in Turkey we call books that are illegal prints of original books - pirate books (korsan kitap). I also looked at the book. The cover looked original yet the pages seemed a little strange. This book surely was not an original. She was really sad and so was I. My friend could not remember exactly where she bought the book, since it had been a couple of years. But she recalled that it was on the main seaside where tour boats take off.

I have always been very careful about pirate books. Since I get to travel to various cities and towns in Turkey, I also buy books when I am travelling, and I see many different shops that sell book. In the cities in Eastern Turkey I have seen a lot of pirate books on sale, and I try to be very careful to check the books. The ministry of culture puts on a lot of effort to stop illegal copy publishing of books, yet maybe this is an issue much grander than I give it credit for. My friends comment was not the first I heard about copy books in Fethiye, but it was the first time I heard it directly from a friend. And the topic suddenly became more real.

There is so much effort in writing, preparing and publishing a book that I find publishing and selling illegal copies of original books is something not to be tolerated. And since I have published three books this year, I am becoming more and more aware of the effort that needs to be put into a book until it makes it to the shelves. I would like to request your help to stop selling of pirate books in Fethiye. Let us inform in each other and protect the rights of authors, publishers and all of the people who work in editing, publishing and selling of book.


This March and April, two of my books “Reiki’yi Yaşıyorum-I am Living Reiki” and “Görüşler-Opinions” had been published. Recently, about a week ago, my third book “Dönüşüm Oyunu Gerçek mi?- Is The Transformation Game Real?” has been out. All three books currently only in Turkish unfortunately. I am really enjoying the process, yet I am also becoming more aware of the issues and problems of authors in Turkey.

In Fethiye you can find my books at Natur Bookstore, or in D&R and other major Bookstores in Turkey and through the internet sites such as kiapyurdu.com, netkitap.com or ideefixe.com.



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I was intending to write about a wonderful exhibition I had the chance to see at Tate Modern a few weeks ago. Yet, a visit to a friend in Istanbul took me elsewhere this week… Yet, I would like to remind you that the exhibition at Tate Modern is on Futurism and I really recommend it. The selection for the exhibition is filled with light, love and passion.

I wish you a colourful week.
With love,
Zeynep

Abundance

This morning I chose an angel card for myself and the angel of abundance came.

And I would like to invite the energy of abundance into our lives this week with some reminders and tips on how to keep the energy of abundance full and flowing.

Since the famous book and movie The Secret has been out we have been talking about methods to improve our health, relationships and finances. And indeed there are things that we can use to improve the overall conditions in our lives.

Richard Carlson and John Randolph Price are two authors who I believe really have something worthwhile to read. “Don’t Worry Make Money” and “The Abundance Book” are two valuable books by these authors. There are many more, and many of the books on the law of attraction are valuable resources to draw prosperity and abundance into your lives.

Gratitude
Attitude of gratitude is considered to be the simplest and one of the most powerful tools in creating abundance consciousness, which brings abundance to health, relationships, wealth, love and more. Some of you might know that I am also a Reiki teacher, and gratitude is a very important concept in Reiki healings to keep our energy high and strong. Gratitude means thanking to the sources that we believe brings the good into our lives. As the work of Japanese Masaru Emoto shows, words of thanks improve the quality of water. As we as humans are made up of almost 70 percent water, thanking – whether we say it or hear it – improve the quality of the water in our body. Our body energy becomes stronger in that respect.

Show gratitude in whatever way you can. If not to please anyone, most importantly to improve your health. How? Whatever your health or financial condition may be, everyday for at least 15 minutes feel real gratitude for whatever it is that you already have. Yes, fake it if you find it hard to make yourself feel gratitude. Because if you do concentrate on the things that you do not have, it is not possible to create the right energy to allow or attract better conditions and opportunities into your life.

If you are able to do the 15 minute a day gratitude exercise for 21 days in a row, new neural connections will form in your brain which will allow you to do this more and more easily from then on. Gratitude is a very strong tool. Please use it.

Power of a Smile
The power of humour and the power of a smile are hard to believe in before you try bringing more fun into your life. Smiling and laughing improve our energy immediately. Since we are able to feel only one strong emotion at a time, when we are happy and having fun, we cannot be sad at the same time. That is one of the reasons why to smile regardless of how you might be feeling, changes our mood so quickly. Smiling changes our hormone secretions and the results are very fast and effective. Try being sad and smiling at the same time. ... It will not work.

Please use this simple bit of information. Use it to improve your level of happiness. Smile at home, smile at the office. You will feel better as well as the people who are with you. And start by faking a smile when you do not feel like it. After a while, it will become genuine. Can a smile bring abundance into our lives? Why not give it a try this week and see for yourself? And better try for three consecutive weeks and observe the changes that will take place in your life.

What are your beliefs about wealth and abundance?

Although most of us want wealth and abundance in our lives, we are not totally aware of the negative connotations especially wealth has in our minds, especially subconscious minds. Many people tend to associate wealth with selfishness, greed, unjust use of power, even cruelty. In many of the coaching and healing sessions with my clients, we discover that if we are experiencing financial difficulties in our lives, this means that somewhere deep in our minds we believe that we are better off the way we are. There are beliefs engraved in our subconscious which we are mostly unaware of. Beliefs of our parents or families, beliefs and patterns of our community influence us since childhood. We grow with fears. And we do not even know what we are afraid of.

Do you feel or express any negative feelings or thoughts about wealth or money? What is the vocabulary that you use when you talk about people who are very rich and wealthy?

And of course to be able to attract abundance, we need to bring ourselves to the same energy level. Similar energies exist together. You cannot feel very unlucky and experience luck at the same time. It is not possible to concentrate on your lack of health and expect your health to improve. It is important to look into our health problems and find treatments and solutions. What I mean is - not to concentrate on the illness, but to concentrate on ways to improve it, and what we will see, feel or thinks when the healing is achieved. Mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Some teachers recommend keeping abundance consciousness strong from 40 to 42 days every day consecutively to break the habits of lack consciousness, lack thinking. At least 21 days are needed for the new connections to be made in our brain.
Whenever you catch yourself thinking about lack, talking about lack, reverse the thought and imagine abundance in the same intensity. This will help you short circuit the negative patterns.

I am aware that it is not easy to part with patterns that we have been brought up with. Yet, to use our full potential, to make our dreams come true, we need to discover and let those old patterns go. And not to fall back to old habits, we need to make new habits of thinking more positive thoughts and talking more positive words.

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This week please concentrate on gratitude and your smile. And be open and honest to yourself: What do you really want? ... That is a valuable question to ask. We will look more deeply into abundance with each week to come.

With lots of love,
Zeynep


From the Angels: Be honest with yourself. Look into your heart and you will know the truth of the situation. It’s safe to admit the truth to yourself, for we will support and guide you through any necessary changes. Lean upon us for courage and the strength to take good care of yourself. Focus only upon your true desires, and they’ll come to you upon angels’ wings.

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”.

With Love from London

It has been interesting couple of weeks for me. I was in London twice in September and met with friends from the London Centres of The Kaballah Center and the Japanese Organisation Shumei. I also got the chance to see friends who live in London. Although I attended a lot of spiritual groups and had the chance to do a lot of energy work, two of the highlights of my trips were to watch “Les Miserables” at West End (Thank you Tom and Rosie ) and to go to Arsenal Stadium to watch the Champions League soccer game of Arsenal and Porto.

I have a lot to share. However, I would like to start with a TV program I saw a few days ago after I came back to Turkey. It was the Oprah Show and the guests were the Turkish doctor, the famous heart surgeon, Dr. Mehmet Oz and the famous physiatrist Dr. Brian Weiss. Those of who have been following my column know that I really admire the work of Dr. Brian Weiss. Most of his books are also available in Turkish. On the show they were talking about the work Dr. Weiss has been doing on hypnosis. When Dr. Weiss was the head of the psychiatry department of the Mount Sinai hospital in the US, one of his patients regressed to what he calls a past-life in a hypnosis session. Since he did not believe in such things, he just went on with the sessions as a part of the treatment because the other treatment methods were just not working. His patient’s problems started to improve, however what made him believe was not the improvement in his patients, but the information the patient started giving about his child and his father who both had passed away. How can I explain his entire story and his books in a few paragraphs? I definitely recommend reading his books. It was quite amazing seeing him on the Oprah Show. Dr. Mehmet Oz said “Keep an open mind and observe what is happening.” I agree.

I also loved an example Dr. Brian Weiss gave about people. He said: “We are all like ice cubes. We have our definite shapes and corners and we are separate. To ice cubes, add heat energy and you get water. We think we are separate. Add energy, love energy and we become a sea. Love in the organising wisdom.”

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I have written about my problems with my ankles and the relief I found with Reiki and healing methods. Well, my trust in my healing techniques was tested again in my first trip to London in September. On the evening of the 16th of September, as I was walking to return to my hotel, I fell in the street and I hurt my ankles. I was on my way back from the home of my cousin Reyhan. Her husband Mehmet just started London Business School for his MBA and he was walking me back to the Baker Tube Station. And I knew I was tired, but I was not aware that I was this tired. Suddenly my ankle turned, and I found myself falling face down in the street. I knew this was not going to be good. I tried to stand up, but it was not possible. Mehmet called a cab as I sat on the sidewalk waitinh and then I literally crawled into the taxi. On the way to the hotel I started giving Reiki to myself and applying my other visualization techniques. I was supposed to be flying back to Istanbul the next day. Was I going to be able to go to the Airport? How would I get there? How to get on the flight, how to go to my apartment in Istanbul? All these thoughts were racing in my mind. I was in quite a lot of pain. This was not a light injury. Well, that night Mehmet helped me walk to my room from the taxi and brought me ice. He had the class the next day and it was past midnight, so I sent him home.

I spent the whole night resting and giving myself energy. My hotel was in Swiss Cottage and very close to the London Centre of the Japanese Shumei Organisation. They use the energy healing technique called Jyorei. In London they start their morning activities at 7 am. So I woke up at around 6:30: My ankle was still a little swollen on the inner side, but I was able to walk. Not totally comfortable, but I was able to walk without any bandages or support. Well, I did not have any anyway. The pain was not completely gone, but was nothing like the night before. So I got up, got dressed and walked to the Centre. When we injure ourselves, sometimes rest is needed. I did not have that time. Also, it is usually harder to work on ourselves in an injury. Anyway, that morning Sensei Joe Amanai and Hiro-San gave me Jyorei. Hiro is from the Paris Centre of Shumei and he was in London for Shumei’s 11th European Anniversary Ceremony. I thank them both from my heart.

Well, that noon I got on the Tube to Paddington, took the Heathrow Express Train and flew to Istanbul. All on my own and carrying my own suitcase.  I have written about my injures that took weeks and weeks to heal many times. I do not want to keep on repeating. However, I was reminded again that energy healing works and works wonderfully. I do wonder though why I needed the reminding.

With lots of love and light,
Zeynep


Angel of the Week: Beauty

Affirmation of the Week:“The joy I find in my career is reflected in my overall happiness.”
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 of the Week:“Many Lives Many Masters” By Dr. Brian Weiss
The Turkish translation of the book may be found under the name “Birçok Yaşam Birçok Üstat”.

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.”