There are so many different ways to classify Yoga philosophy, and one way is to look at the different schools of Yoga. In classical terms, there are 4 paths- Karma Yoga (yoga of action), Bhakti yoga (yoga of devotion), Jnana yoga (yoga of wisdom) and Raja yoga (royal yoga).
There were times when I was attracted to different yoga schools throughout my journey. My journey started with Raja Yoga, by observing yamas and niyamas, doing asanas and pranayama, and following the 8 limb path, like most people start their yoga journey in the West. But when I was introduced to other schools, I realized how intertwined they are. Now, if I don’t practice one of them, my own practice doesn’t feel full and complete. I can’t imagine not practicing Jnana yoga, studying scriptures, especially Vedanta which satisfies my analytical mind and soul at the same time. In the same way, I can’t imagine not practicing Karma yoga, doing selfless service either in the form of volunteering, fund raising or simply offering up fruits of my actions. However there is one path, Bhakti yoga, which holds the other 3 together for me. Without Bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion, my practice would be dry and incomplete.
They say there are 9 different ways of practicing Bhakti yoga. In the East, Bhakti yoga is seen as a devotion to a Divine being, a god, goddess or a guru as the manifestation of Divine. In the West, it’s typically perceived more as devotion to whatever one feels like representing Divine. I was introduced to Bhakti Yoga through Kirtan, or devotional chanting. I was immediately hooked. To me, Kirtan feels like you’re at a stadium concert with your favorite band, but you’re actually on the stage with the band playing and singing your lungs out together. It’s that great! It’s like a flight for the soul, where you start soft and rise above slowly until you completely let go and crack open, without knowing you’re full with Divine and you slowly come back to self but always keep a piece of that experience with you. Ever since then, chanting has become a part of my practice, especially in my long commute to work every morning and evening.
I must say I was very lucky with the grace of a Guru and from time to time I still pinch myself how in the world I deserved this Grace. Only if one feels the call and if it resonates with you is Guru Yoga a practice to follow. It is definitely not for everyone, but it’s very rewarding.
Another important piece of my Bhakti yoga practice is my Altar. I have symbols or pictures of the Divine ones that resonate with me to remind me I’m not alone. I have objects of Divine beauty, a sea shell, or a rose pedal that reminds me the beauties of this world as Divine manifestations. Every time I sit on my altar, I commune with them before I start my meditation practice.
Everything, if done with devotion, can be a Bhakti yoga practice. In my personal practice I use yoga asanas as a way to show devotion. I throw myself, I throw my heart into my mat with devotion. Especially I practice Surya Namaskar, Sun Salutation, my core asana practice for devotion. It’s the intent that counts!
Kapalbhati is my favorite Bhakti yoga pranayama . Like I said, everything if done with devotion can be Bhakti yoga. In Kapalbhati, I visualize Light or a manifestation of Divine in the form of Guru or saint in my 3rd eye. I inhale towards the Divine, stop and merge for a second and I bring back a piece with me when I exhale.
After all, Bhakti yoga practice is to pretend to unite with Divine until you realize you’re the Divine itself.
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Karma Yoga
Karma Yoga is the yoga of action. For me, it’s the most practical of all yoga schools. It stems from the idea that every desire should be fulfilled. The Universe is so generous that it gives us back whatever we desire or generate. Karma is the ripple we generate at the Universe with our thoughts, words, actions, and desires. In other words, you reap what you sow, what goes around comes around, and every action has a reaction in the universe. It’s a Universal rule. It’s that simple. For as long as we generate a ripple or a reaction in the Universe with our actions, words, or thoughts, we can’t escape from Samsara (rebirth), which means we need to come back to this life over and over again to fulfill what we’ve generated.
Ha ha, here it gets fun…There is a way to get around this Universal law! We can overcome Karma and end Samsara (rebirth) if we can manage not to create karma, and burn the ones we’ve generated so far, while still living in this world.
To me, Bhagavad Gita is the ultimate text that explains how to overcome generating these ripples, Karma.
The Bhagavad Gita is a conversation between Arjuna and Krishna at a battle field and begins with Arjuna throwing his weapons down because he doesn’t want to shed blood of his own relatives. He prefers death rather than killing his own family. Krishna explains to him how he should not give up action, rather fulfill action with a sense of service by being true to himself. Any action, he says, should be without any attachment to the result and an offering to Divine. It’s a rather radical way to encourage one to fight, until you realize by the end that the real fight is a fight with your own ego and your life is the real battlefield.
Krishna teaches Arjuna how to fulfill a life without Karma, by finding peace in every action by offering it up to the Divine, and overcoming traps like anger, worry, ignorance and more importantly one’s own ego. If an action is done with selfless devotion without any expectations and attachment, it doesn’t generate a ripple. It’s quiet a learning!
How can we apply this to real life and not generate karma, or a single ripple, in the Universe?
One way to practice this is to perform every action without expecting any particular outcome, without expectations of monetary benefit or praise, and perform everything as a service to humanity and a service to Divine. This way, we at least stop generating Karma.
There are different ways to burn old karma. The most effective way is to bring awareness to a sanskara (imprints left behind). There are rituals, like fire ceremony, that burns karma. Requesting grace of a guru thru meditation techniques is yet another way to clean old karma. Again what counts is the awareness and desire to neutralize our imprints.
The ultimate practice of Karma yoga is to fully materialize our Divine purpose on this earth, live in accordance with our true self, establish our purpose on Earth, to think, talk, act from a space of non-duality, meaning nothing to wish because we realize everything is perfect as is, nothing to regret because everything was meant to be, no anger, no worries, no expectations, nothing to give, nothing to receive, simply being content in the present moment.
and….Voila! No more Karma.
Ha ha, here it gets fun…There is a way to get around this Universal law! We can overcome Karma and end Samsara (rebirth) if we can manage not to create karma, and burn the ones we’ve generated so far, while still living in this world.
To me, Bhagavad Gita is the ultimate text that explains how to overcome generating these ripples, Karma.
The Bhagavad Gita is a conversation between Arjuna and Krishna at a battle field and begins with Arjuna throwing his weapons down because he doesn’t want to shed blood of his own relatives. He prefers death rather than killing his own family. Krishna explains to him how he should not give up action, rather fulfill action with a sense of service by being true to himself. Any action, he says, should be without any attachment to the result and an offering to Divine. It’s a rather radical way to encourage one to fight, until you realize by the end that the real fight is a fight with your own ego and your life is the real battlefield.
Krishna teaches Arjuna how to fulfill a life without Karma, by finding peace in every action by offering it up to the Divine, and overcoming traps like anger, worry, ignorance and more importantly one’s own ego. If an action is done with selfless devotion without any expectations and attachment, it doesn’t generate a ripple. It’s quiet a learning!
How can we apply this to real life and not generate karma, or a single ripple, in the Universe?
One way to practice this is to perform every action without expecting any particular outcome, without expectations of monetary benefit or praise, and perform everything as a service to humanity and a service to Divine. This way, we at least stop generating Karma.
There are different ways to burn old karma. The most effective way is to bring awareness to a sanskara (imprints left behind). There are rituals, like fire ceremony, that burns karma. Requesting grace of a guru thru meditation techniques is yet another way to clean old karma. Again what counts is the awareness and desire to neutralize our imprints.
The ultimate practice of Karma yoga is to fully materialize our Divine purpose on this earth, live in accordance with our true self, establish our purpose on Earth, to think, talk, act from a space of non-duality, meaning nothing to wish because we realize everything is perfect as is, nothing to regret because everything was meant to be, no anger, no worries, no expectations, nothing to give, nothing to receive, simply being content in the present moment.
and….Voila! No more Karma.
Jnana Yoga
Imagine you’re at a jewelry store and checking out hundreds of gold rings. Each gold ring has a different shape and size. Regardless of their shape and size; their essence is the same, they’re all gold. No matter what shape or size these the rings come, their essence doesn’t change. This is how a Jnana yogi would explain you this philosophy. Our true nature is Divine.
Imagine a see through empty glass. There is air inside, there is air outside. The air inside and outside is exactly the same. That’s how we forget our true essence, and think ourselves separate from Divine. The practice of Vendanta is to dissolve the glass to recognize your true self.
Jñāna yoga is the yoga of knowledge but it’s knowing beyond our intellect, it goes all the way to knowing with the core of our soul. Knowing what? Knowing the ultimate reality, our true nature, our essence; which is pure consciousness and bliss.
Vedanta is the philosophy identified with Jnana yoga and is one of the most difficult paths because it uses mind to negate itself to inquire its true nature. Veda means knowledge and Anta means end. Vedanta is said to be the philosophy which leads to the end of knowledge. It’s funny how it starts with knowledge and draws you into yourself to realize the only ultimate knowledge, is to know the self.
Adi Shankara is the great sage of Vedanta. He was a great philosopher, a poet who lived in the 8th century. He started his spiritual journey when he was 8, he traveled around India all the way to Himalayans 3 times by foot, he wrote many books, poems, commentaries and he died when he was only 32. He established the Swami order that is still used in India today. Sankaracharya’s philopophy or as it’s called Advaita (non-dualistic) philosophy advocates the oneness of individual soul and Brahman (cosmic soul). The rain, the water that flows into the river and the sand in the river that sustains it, all are one and only one. Everything is Divine, the Brahman.
I was first exposed to Sankaracharya , thru Dave Stringer’s beautiful voice. When I listened Nirvanashatakam during a Kirtan, I didn’t understand any of the words but he song touched me so deeply. It was the most inspiring song I’ve ever listened. I think sometimes even the vibration of words are enough to move you even though you don’t understand meaning. After the Kirtan when I read the lyrics, I couldn’t believe how simple yet profound this poem was. Then I started studying Vedanta texts by writings of Swami Dayananda, Swami Tadatmananda, Rasmesh Balsekar.
Here I’d like to share my favorite Adi Shankara poem, Nirvanashatakam.
i am not mind, intellect, ego or memory;
Not ears or tongues, or smell or sight; not ether, air, fire, water or earth.
i am not virtue or vice; pleasure or pain, not mantra, not sacred place,
Scripture or sacrifice; not the food, the eater or the act of eating.
i am beyond all things. i am everlasting, self-luminuos.
taintless, and pure; immovable, blissful and imperishable.
i am without thought, without forms, I am all pervasive, I am beyond all senses;
i am not detachment or salvation or anything that could be measured.
i am consciousness and bliss.
Shankaracharya (788-820 A.D.)
This poem also reflects one of the Vendata techniques, which is negation. The practitioner negates who he/she thinks is until he/she find the true self, the Divine-self.
Here is also my favorite Ramesh Balsekar video. I must admit, it’s little heavy but If you watch this and enjoy it and it resonates with you, probably there is a Jnana yogi in you :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fByNIZWwm4
and I welcome you to the wonderful world of Vedanta!
Raja Yoga
There are so many different ways to classify Yoga philosophy, and one way is to look at the different schools of Yoga. In classical terms, there are 4 paths- Karma Yoga (yoga of action), Bhakti yoga (yoga of devotion), Jnana yoga (yoga of wisdom) and Raja yoga (royal yoga).
Raja Yoga is the school of Yoga that we’re most familiar in the West. It’s also called Asthanga Yoga, or 8 limbed path. Thanks to Patanjali, a sage who lived around 100 BC, he compiled the ancient teachings, the Yoga Sutra’s, which are the foundations of Raja Yoga.
Raja Yoga provides practitioners a comprehensive, step by step approach to purify body and mind to achieve liberation.
The eight limbs of Raja yoga are:
• Yama – things that we should restraint
• Niyama – things that we should cultivate
• Asana – practice of yoga postures
• Pranayama – breathwork to bridge the body and mind
• Pratyahara – withdrawal of senses
• Dharana – concentration of mind
• Dhyana – meditation
• Samadhi – the state to realize true self, blissful and consciousness
Having such a clear path helped to satisfy my analytical mind when I first started my yoga practice. Shortly thereafter I realized how these steps are intertwined and in fact should be practiced together to master the mind. In fact it’s a mix and match! You can take one, any one of these steps, and apply it in conjuncture of another, except the last one, Samadhi. Like you can never tell a fruit will be ripened and fall down from the tree, you can’t tell when you will achieve Samadhi. It’s viewed as God’s Grace.
Likewise, the Yama and Niyamas, the moral codes are like threads, if you go deep down in one, you find yourself perfecting another. That’s how Mahatma Gandhi, by practicing Ahimsa, not only worked towards his liberation but liberated a whole country.
Yamas the “Don’t’s”.
Ahimsa, non-violence
Satya, truthfulness
Brahmacharya, moderation or self control.
Asteya, non-stealing
Aparigraha, non-possessiveness
Niyamas – The “Do’s”.
Saucha, purity
Santosha, contentment
Tapas, self-discipline
Swadhyaya, self-study and study of the sacred scriptures
Ishwara Pranidhana surrender to God
Next 10 weeks during my Thursday night gentle yoga class we’ll focus on one Yama and Niyama, each week. We’ll talk these moral codes and go deep down in each one and discuss how to practice these codes on and off the mat.
After all it’s about how we can take these yogic principles off the mat and integrate into our daily lifes.
Friday, April 4, 2014
Reiki Newsletter- April 2014
Dear Friends,
I declare this month the month of "Reiki".
Reiki as a Spiritual Path –TOMORROW Saturday April 5th at 5pm
Tomorrow Saturday April 5th at 5 pm, Patricia Gary, Sundar Kadayam and I will present a workshop at Victory of Light Expo on “Reiki as a Spiritual Path. It’s at Sharonville Convention Center, 11355 Chester Rd. You can join workshops at VOL all day long, from 10 am till 7pm and visit 100’s of booths of healers, readers, energy therapists.
Hope you can all join us at 5 pm!
http://www.victoryoflight.com/pages/index.cgi/201404_festival?disp=Workshops
Shanti: A Journey of Peace is TOMORROW in Aronoff Center at 8 pm
Shanti an expansive and collaborative performance that explores the meanings and message of peace, joy, and the interconnectedness of us all through dance, music, and images of India. The producer and composer Kanniks is our dear friend.
Few of us will go to Shanti directly after Victory of Lightt. You can still get tickets. Half price tickets for students will be available just before the curtain!
http://www.cincinnatiarts.org/events/detail/shanti
Reiki Public Talk by Frans Stiene on April 24 and Reiki Mid-West Retreat
Last but not least, Frans Stiene, my Reiki teacher is coming to Cincinnati for a 4 day Reiki Retreat at the end of this month. As always, he graciously will give a Public Talk. This is a once-a-year opportunity!!! Hope you can all make it!
What: Public Talk on Japanese Art of Reiki
When: Thursday April 24th 7pm-9pm
Where: Cincinnati Yoga School/Lotus Yoga Temple 6125 Ridge Avenue
Feel free to invite your family, friends, neighbors, or anyone you think is interested in Reiki.
Mid-West Reiki Retreat April 25-28 2014
If you want to get more information on the 4 day Reiki retreat, we still have few spots left.
http://cincinnatishinpiden.wordpress.com/2013/12/15/mid-west-reiki-retreat-april-25-282014/
Oh, who is Frans? He is the awesomest teacher on Earth. Read more… http://www.ihreiki.com/about/teachers/frans_stiene
Love & Light,
Zeynep
I declare this month the month of "Reiki".
Reiki as a Spiritual Path –TOMORROW Saturday April 5th at 5pm
Tomorrow Saturday April 5th at 5 pm, Patricia Gary, Sundar Kadayam and I will present a workshop at Victory of Light Expo on “Reiki as a Spiritual Path. It’s at Sharonville Convention Center, 11355 Chester Rd. You can join workshops at VOL all day long, from 10 am till 7pm and visit 100’s of booths of healers, readers, energy therapists.
Hope you can all join us at 5 pm!
http://www.victoryoflight.com/pages/index.cgi/201404_festival?disp=Workshops
Shanti: A Journey of Peace is TOMORROW in Aronoff Center at 8 pm
Shanti an expansive and collaborative performance that explores the meanings and message of peace, joy, and the interconnectedness of us all through dance, music, and images of India. The producer and composer Kanniks is our dear friend.
Few of us will go to Shanti directly after Victory of Lightt. You can still get tickets. Half price tickets for students will be available just before the curtain!
http://www.cincinnatiarts.org/events/detail/shanti
Reiki Public Talk by Frans Stiene on April 24 and Reiki Mid-West Retreat
Last but not least, Frans Stiene, my Reiki teacher is coming to Cincinnati for a 4 day Reiki Retreat at the end of this month. As always, he graciously will give a Public Talk. This is a once-a-year opportunity!!! Hope you can all make it!
What: Public Talk on Japanese Art of Reiki
When: Thursday April 24th 7pm-9pm
Where: Cincinnati Yoga School/Lotus Yoga Temple 6125 Ridge Avenue
Feel free to invite your family, friends, neighbors, or anyone you think is interested in Reiki.
Mid-West Reiki Retreat April 25-28 2014
If you want to get more information on the 4 day Reiki retreat, we still have few spots left.
http://cincinnatishinpiden.wordpress.com/2013/12/15/mid-west-reiki-retreat-april-25-282014/
Oh, who is Frans? He is the awesomest teacher on Earth. Read more… http://www.ihreiki.com/about/teachers/frans_stiene
Love & Light,
Zeynep
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Reiki Newsletter- March 2014
I was desperately searching for a Reiki teacher in early 2002. I was confused with so many different lineages and teachers charging different fees, all the way from $100 to $10,000, let alone the free online classes. .. and then I found Gulcan Arpacioglu’s Reiki website in Turkey. Gulcan took her Reiki Master class from William Rand in England two years prior. At that time, she was a full time Reiki teacher, teaching extensively in Istanbul. I was pleasantly surprised that someone from Turkey went all the way to train with William Rand, the same Reiki teacher I was considering taking my Reiki 1 class with. I sent Gulcan an e-mail asking a few questions about William.
She replied to my mail immediately, I was touched by how thorough she was and how she answered all my questions patiently and compassionately, even though I was miles away, just a newbie asking some questions about Reiki.
This later impacted how I reply to anyone who asks me questions about Reiki.
More impressive was the fact that Gulcan never gave up on me, she continued to follow up with me. I took my Reiki class with William Rand in November that year. I was drunk with Reiki. Everywhere I looked there was Reiki. I wanted to share it with everyone I met. Gulcan was the first person I shared my Reiki 1&2 class experiences. I wrote her every detail, every miracle. We become Reiki pen pals.
I wanted to meet her in person when I was in Turkey the next summer. I sent her an e-mail. Her reply came few weeks later, just a day before we departed for Istanbul. She was in Denmark attending a training with the Dalai Lama. She was talking about how she was still up in the clouds. I was astonished. Could one really meet the Dalai Lama? Wow! I didn’t know we were going to be in Toronto next year sitting together just few yards from the Dalai Lama :-)
Gulcan and I met for first time on Monday June 30th 2003 at 10:30 am in her home in Fenerbahce, Istanbul. (thanks to my journaling records!)
I remember that day very clearly. It was one of the most memorable days of my life.
I’m not exaggerating… A lot happened that day that changed my life forever. First thing I remember is Peanut, Gulcan’s Cocker Spaniel who greeted me as soon as I entered her apartment, (Peanut, if you’re not in doggie heaven, you must have incarnated as a human being already!).
It was a beautiful summer day. We sat in her balcony overlooking the vast Marmara Sea. There was a clear blue sky, the Princess Islands were shining like diamonds, we could see sailing boats and joggers on the trail down below. We had a lot to talk about. We caught up on our life stories. She was an industrial engineer from Middle East Technical University, one of the most prominent engineering schools in Turkey. She worked in IT, she had experiences in sales, training and even as a translator.
I brought her a gift, a necklace that had immediately reminded me of her when I saw it. It turned out to be her symbol. She was surprised. She even asked me “Who are you? Really WHO ARE YOU?
When I told her I work for P&G, we immediately found a common friend. She called him, gave me the phone and we surprised him. Gulcan talks about miracles of Reiki and how it brings people together. Over the phone she invited our friend to attend her upcoming Reiki class. He was confirmed. We all laughed.
Then the doorbell rang, Gulcan was surprised, she wasn’t expecting anyone. It was her mom who lived close by. She stopped by to say hello. She was the cutest old lady with a cute straw hat. Gulcan told me she is Reiki 3. I was so happy to meet her.
Gulcan then showed me her library. So many books, books everywhere. She recommended some Reiki books, I took notes, I had so much to learn. I was like a sponge. She was looking for a certain book and she remembered that she had leant that book to Yesim, a friend of hers. She called her friend to ask her who the author was.
Yesim? Could it be the same Yesim? Another acquaintance?
A year prior to meeting Gulcan, I came across the blog of a writer from Istanbul, Yesim Cimcoz. I immediately felt close to her. She lived and studied in the US. She was my age, she had a 3 year old son and I had a 2 year old daughter. She too was a yoga, Reiki and Tai-Chi practitioner and believe it or not she lived in my neighborhood, Moda in Istanbul (in a huge city of 12 million people!). In her blog, she mentioned Gulcan as her Reiki teacher. Being home sick, I loved her writing on Istanbul so much that I printed it and put it on my cork board at work and read it few times every day.
“For me Istanbul is not a city. It is a smell. It is a yellow light in a window at night reflected on thick velvet curtains pulled tight, behind which lives I don't know, have never met, are being lived. It is the voice of the muezzin sounding a sad prayer that enters my soul and floods my whole being, pulling me into different directions all at once. Istanbul is an old woman, frail, wrinkled, eyes reddened from age, white hair brushed loosely back sitting in her faded nightgown in the late afternoon before the window of her living room, looking out expressionless at the people that go by. Istanbul is houses where crocheted cloths cover television tops and side tables. It is the smell of a glass of fresh brewed tea on a cold day and warming by the heat of a wood stove. It is the smell of fresh baked bread and the crisp sound of a piece being pulled of as steam rises to bring forth the smell. Istanbul is the Bosphorus lapping against an old boat that carries me to the evening lights of the other shore as sea air and the salt sprinkle across my face and the tired, disillusioned, weary people on their way home from another long day at work sit indoors. Istanbul is expectation, anticipation and hope in the air. It is relentless, pulling, tugging at me never allowing my attention to drift elsewhere. “
I felt so close to Yesim, I even thought about writing to her and telling her how I admired her writing. I never did. However, her last name Cimcoz sounded so familiar. Where do I know this last name? I asked a good friend of mine who is a veteran of Moda, she knows everyone in our neighborhood. Sure enough, she did, she said, Yesim is Huseyin’s wife. Of course, I remember Huseyin. He is a good frined’s high school friend. I can’t believe I come across Huseyin’s wife on the internet. Yet, I still didn’t write to Yesim.
Gulcan was on the phone with Yesim and I asked her if she’s talking to Yesim Cimcoz. Gulcan couldn’t believe we have another connection. She gave me the phone. I didn’t know what to say. I told Yesim that I had found her website a year ago and I loved her writing about Istanbul that it’s on my cork board back in America. Gulcan invited Yesim to her Reiki Share that night so that we could meet! I was not used to so much excitement in one day and it was not even over yet.
Gulcan thought we must have a karmic connection. So many coincidences were simply too much.
She had a friend who is a karmic astrologer. Typically people wait for months to get an appointment with him. Gulcan directly called him and asked him to tell us if we had a past karmic connection. We gave him my birth date and time, he already had Gulcan’s. He put our charts together and he confirmed that I was Gulcan’s student in a past life. He said, now that we found each other again, we’ll work together and travel as well.
At noon, Peter joined us, back then Gulcan’s boyfriend, now her husband. Peter was such a gentle soul, but very deep. We had lunch together. We talked and talked and talked. We had so many similar interests. I didn’t want the day to end. After lunch, Peter made us Turkish coffee. Peter is a Britt who studied Philosophy. At that time, he had just left a 20 year consulting career as an ex-pat in Istanbul with one of the largest consulting firms to spend full time in writing, breathwork and energy healing. I admired his dedication. Could I do that one day?
If Gulcan was Fire, Peter was Water. If Gulcan was Yang, Peter was Yin. They complete each other so well. I associated myself with both of them. I loved being electrified with Gulcan and soothed by Peter.
My one hour visit lasted 6 hours that day, I left their apartment at 4:30 pm only to come back at 8 pm again that night for the Reiki Share. When I was on the table to receive Reiki, the door bell rang. Someone came over and touched me gently. I immediately knew who she was. She was Yesim. The circle was complete.
You can find Peter’s book, The Healing Field at Amazon. Yesim was the writing coach during the process to bring this book to life. Peter’s book is a collection of real-life cases of intensive energy healing work that Gulcan and Peter have been experiencing for the last 15 years. A must read, if you’re into healing. The book provides a comprehensive understanding of all elements that impact healing. It reinforces a field of consciousness that expands to past lives, before birth and even ancestors. This healing field connects us to one another, to our family and ancestors and to wider community of all sentient beings and is sensitive to ethics and harmony of all.
http://www.amazon.com/Healing-Field-Energy-Consciousness-Transformation/dp/1452583560/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393701071&sr=1-1&keywords=peter+mark+adams
She replied to my mail immediately, I was touched by how thorough she was and how she answered all my questions patiently and compassionately, even though I was miles away, just a newbie asking some questions about Reiki.
This later impacted how I reply to anyone who asks me questions about Reiki.
More impressive was the fact that Gulcan never gave up on me, she continued to follow up with me. I took my Reiki class with William Rand in November that year. I was drunk with Reiki. Everywhere I looked there was Reiki. I wanted to share it with everyone I met. Gulcan was the first person I shared my Reiki 1&2 class experiences. I wrote her every detail, every miracle. We become Reiki pen pals.
I wanted to meet her in person when I was in Turkey the next summer. I sent her an e-mail. Her reply came few weeks later, just a day before we departed for Istanbul. She was in Denmark attending a training with the Dalai Lama. She was talking about how she was still up in the clouds. I was astonished. Could one really meet the Dalai Lama? Wow! I didn’t know we were going to be in Toronto next year sitting together just few yards from the Dalai Lama :-)
 |
| Gulcan and I at Toronto- May 2004 |
Gulcan and I met for first time on Monday June 30th 2003 at 10:30 am in her home in Fenerbahce, Istanbul. (thanks to my journaling records!)
I remember that day very clearly. It was one of the most memorable days of my life.
I’m not exaggerating… A lot happened that day that changed my life forever. First thing I remember is Peanut, Gulcan’s Cocker Spaniel who greeted me as soon as I entered her apartment, (Peanut, if you’re not in doggie heaven, you must have incarnated as a human being already!).
It was a beautiful summer day. We sat in her balcony overlooking the vast Marmara Sea. There was a clear blue sky, the Princess Islands were shining like diamonds, we could see sailing boats and joggers on the trail down below. We had a lot to talk about. We caught up on our life stories. She was an industrial engineer from Middle East Technical University, one of the most prominent engineering schools in Turkey. She worked in IT, she had experiences in sales, training and even as a translator.
I brought her a gift, a necklace that had immediately reminded me of her when I saw it. It turned out to be her symbol. She was surprised. She even asked me “Who are you? Really WHO ARE YOU?
When I told her I work for P&G, we immediately found a common friend. She called him, gave me the phone and we surprised him. Gulcan talks about miracles of Reiki and how it brings people together. Over the phone she invited our friend to attend her upcoming Reiki class. He was confirmed. We all laughed.
Then the doorbell rang, Gulcan was surprised, she wasn’t expecting anyone. It was her mom who lived close by. She stopped by to say hello. She was the cutest old lady with a cute straw hat. Gulcan told me she is Reiki 3. I was so happy to meet her.
Gulcan then showed me her library. So many books, books everywhere. She recommended some Reiki books, I took notes, I had so much to learn. I was like a sponge. She was looking for a certain book and she remembered that she had leant that book to Yesim, a friend of hers. She called her friend to ask her who the author was.
Yesim? Could it be the same Yesim? Another acquaintance?
A year prior to meeting Gulcan, I came across the blog of a writer from Istanbul, Yesim Cimcoz. I immediately felt close to her. She lived and studied in the US. She was my age, she had a 3 year old son and I had a 2 year old daughter. She too was a yoga, Reiki and Tai-Chi practitioner and believe it or not she lived in my neighborhood, Moda in Istanbul (in a huge city of 12 million people!). In her blog, she mentioned Gulcan as her Reiki teacher. Being home sick, I loved her writing on Istanbul so much that I printed it and put it on my cork board at work and read it few times every day.
“For me Istanbul is not a city. It is a smell. It is a yellow light in a window at night reflected on thick velvet curtains pulled tight, behind which lives I don't know, have never met, are being lived. It is the voice of the muezzin sounding a sad prayer that enters my soul and floods my whole being, pulling me into different directions all at once. Istanbul is an old woman, frail, wrinkled, eyes reddened from age, white hair brushed loosely back sitting in her faded nightgown in the late afternoon before the window of her living room, looking out expressionless at the people that go by. Istanbul is houses where crocheted cloths cover television tops and side tables. It is the smell of a glass of fresh brewed tea on a cold day and warming by the heat of a wood stove. It is the smell of fresh baked bread and the crisp sound of a piece being pulled of as steam rises to bring forth the smell. Istanbul is the Bosphorus lapping against an old boat that carries me to the evening lights of the other shore as sea air and the salt sprinkle across my face and the tired, disillusioned, weary people on their way home from another long day at work sit indoors. Istanbul is expectation, anticipation and hope in the air. It is relentless, pulling, tugging at me never allowing my attention to drift elsewhere. “
I felt so close to Yesim, I even thought about writing to her and telling her how I admired her writing. I never did. However, her last name Cimcoz sounded so familiar. Where do I know this last name? I asked a good friend of mine who is a veteran of Moda, she knows everyone in our neighborhood. Sure enough, she did, she said, Yesim is Huseyin’s wife. Of course, I remember Huseyin. He is a good frined’s high school friend. I can’t believe I come across Huseyin’s wife on the internet. Yet, I still didn’t write to Yesim.
Gulcan was on the phone with Yesim and I asked her if she’s talking to Yesim Cimcoz. Gulcan couldn’t believe we have another connection. She gave me the phone. I didn’t know what to say. I told Yesim that I had found her website a year ago and I loved her writing about Istanbul that it’s on my cork board back in America. Gulcan invited Yesim to her Reiki Share that night so that we could meet! I was not used to so much excitement in one day and it was not even over yet.
Gulcan thought we must have a karmic connection. So many coincidences were simply too much.
She had a friend who is a karmic astrologer. Typically people wait for months to get an appointment with him. Gulcan directly called him and asked him to tell us if we had a past karmic connection. We gave him my birth date and time, he already had Gulcan’s. He put our charts together and he confirmed that I was Gulcan’s student in a past life. He said, now that we found each other again, we’ll work together and travel as well.
At noon, Peter joined us, back then Gulcan’s boyfriend, now her husband. Peter was such a gentle soul, but very deep. We had lunch together. We talked and talked and talked. We had so many similar interests. I didn’t want the day to end. After lunch, Peter made us Turkish coffee. Peter is a Britt who studied Philosophy. At that time, he had just left a 20 year consulting career as an ex-pat in Istanbul with one of the largest consulting firms to spend full time in writing, breathwork and energy healing. I admired his dedication. Could I do that one day?
If Gulcan was Fire, Peter was Water. If Gulcan was Yang, Peter was Yin. They complete each other so well. I associated myself with both of them. I loved being electrified with Gulcan and soothed by Peter.
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| Gulcan and I at Caddebostan -Summer 2010 |
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| Peter Adams, Yesim Cimcoz, Gulcan Arpacioglu, Zeynep Premdasi Yilmaz February 2014 |
You can find Peter’s book, The Healing Field at Amazon. Yesim was the writing coach during the process to bring this book to life. Peter’s book is a collection of real-life cases of intensive energy healing work that Gulcan and Peter have been experiencing for the last 15 years. A must read, if you’re into healing. The book provides a comprehensive understanding of all elements that impact healing. It reinforces a field of consciousness that expands to past lives, before birth and even ancestors. This healing field connects us to one another, to our family and ancestors and to wider community of all sentient beings and is sensitive to ethics and harmony of all.
http://www.amazon.com/Healing-Field-Energy-Consciousness-Transformation/dp/1452583560/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393701071&sr=1-1&keywords=peter+mark+adams
Friday, January 31, 2014
Reiki Newsletter- February 2014 Upcoming Reiki Retreat in Cincinnati April 25-28,2014
Lately I was thinking how important it is to keep the fire of my practice bright and strong. This is true for everyone regardless what your practice is; it could be yoga, Reiki, martial arts or whichever practice brings you closer to your true self :-)
It’s important to have a disciplined practice but from time to time we need to juice up our practice, immerse ourselves deeper into it so that its fire will burn stronger. It’s also important to bring some fun to it, some play time! I try to surround myself with like minded friends and practice together or attend workshops or retreats annually.
An excellent opportunity is coming up now! We’ll have the very-first- ever Reiki Retreat with Frans Stiene in Cincinnati this April. This will be time to dive deeper, rejuvenate and invigorate our practice and have lots of fun too! Hope you can join us.
Where is the Retreat?
Transfiguration Spirituality Center is located in the heart of historic Glendale, minutes from Sharonville and I-275, an easy drive from Kentucky and Indiana. It is a newly restored, quiet but active place of peace. The accommodation is lovely with mainly single rooms with private bathrooms. Transfiguration center is located at 495 Albion Ave, Village of Glendale, Cincinnati, OH 45246 Tel: 513-771-2171 http://www.tscretreats.org/
What should I expect?
It’s intense experiential work, Reiki practice, discussions and you will come away relaxed and renewed with a stronger will to deepen your practice. (a lot of fun too!!!)
What’ll take place?
Reiki Retreat
April 25-28, 2014 9:00 am- 5:00 pm, Course fee $800, Acc & Meals $325 Total Retreat fee $1125
Private Tutoring and/or Reiki treatment with Frans
Wednesday April 23 and Thursday April 24 $125/hour
A Reiki Evening with Frans
Thursday April 25 7pm- 9pm at Cincinnati Yoga School Donation based (with suggested donations of $10)
How do I book and pay for the Retreat?
To book and pay $800 for the Retreat, click: http://us.ihreiki.com/events/detail/cincinnati_reiki_retreat_25-28_april_2014
How do I book and pay for the accommodations?
Once you sign up for the Retreat, your accommodation will automatically be reserved. You will need to pay for the $325 accommodation fee latest by April 10. Please send a check addressed to Transfiguration Spirituality Center directly to me via mail.
What’s included in $325 accommodations?
4 nights stay, and 3 meals a day, checking in on Thursday April 24, staying on April 24,25,26,27 and checking out on April 28th . The Retreat will officially start on Friday morning, you can check in on Friday morning if you like. If you need to stay on Wednesday April 23rd or Monday April 28th, it’ll be an extra $ 70 per night (including meals).
The Fee includes three meals per day on April 25-28 (except the dinner on 24th and 28th).
I have dietary restrictions, what do I do?
The meals will be vegetarian and we have a chance to influence the menu. Please let me know your dietary restrictions and I’ll work with the chef to accommodate your choices. We also have access to the kitchen and the refrigerator, in case you need to bring your own food.
Are there any double rooms?
There are 3 double rooms (one is reserved already as of 1/6/14). Please let me know if you want to share a room with a friend or your spouse. There will be no price difference for shared rooms.
Are there any scholarships?
We regret that there will be no scholarships for the Retreat. We’ll continue to offer scholarships for upcoming Shinpiden classes.
How do I book a session with Frans?
Contact me and be quick because folks started to book their treatments already :-)
Can I commute to the Retreat?
This is a residential Retreat and we strongly recommend you to stay in the Retreat Center (to conserve the energy and also not to miss the fun and pillow fight too!!!). However if you need to stay at home for family reasons, we understand, but we’re afraid you should still pay the $325 since we’ve rented the building and financials are based on sharing the rent.
Who can come to “Reiki Evening with Frans” on Thursday April 24th?
Everyone! You don’t need to be a Reiki practitioner to come to this event. You can bring your family, kids, neighbors, friends! Everyone is welcomed! It’ll be at Cincinnati Yoga School 6125 Ridge Road, Pleasant Ridge. Get ready for some serious Reiki fun :-)
Who do I call if I have questions?
Me! Send me an e-mail at turquoizen@yahoo.com or check the website for more info: http://cincinnatishinpiden.wordpress.com
Hope you can make the Retreat or the Reiki evening (or both) and I’ll see you there!
Love & Light,
Zeynep
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