AliS'in diYAri...

Listening for Silence (E.Tolle)

2011-12-01T21:16:00.002+02:00

11-11-11

2011-11-11T08:14:00.001+02:00

My Musical Path

2011-09-24T22:22:00.000+03:00

Music has always been an important part of my daily life, my biggest desire as a child was to go to a music course and learn to play the guitar, piano or any other instrument, no matter what..but for an average Turkish family in Germany it wasn't very common to send their child to a music course and my silent and hiding nature never allowed me to express such a desire. And I guess since Gardner hadn't yet developed the theory of Multiple Intelligences my mother never saw that side in her girl although she had studied social pedagogy and was a kindergarten teacher. So I never learned to play anything...

At least, they nurtured my interest in music by buying the latest albums and my favorite singles even when I was very little.

The First Years; 1974-1980

The first three years were of course passive exposure to music my uncles and aunts were listening to back then, which was mainly Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen, Eagles and later Queen, Dire Straits etc. Thanks God no exposure/imposure to/of the Bee Gees and ABBA. My first single was Umberto Tozzi's "Ti Amo". I think I was 4 years old...

Followed by "Rivers of Babylon" by Boney M.

Again passive exposure to AC/DC, Kiss, Led Zeppelin and similar bands which would be showing its effect in later years.

1980-1989

Gosh, those were the years...the famous 80's. Reading "Bravo" Magazine and watching the music show "Formel Eins"...

Michael Jackson, Madonna, George Michael, Prince, Bon Jovi, Cyndie Lauper,Guns'n Roses, Kim Wilde, Kool&the Gang, Spandau Ballet, Nena, Queen, Phil Collins, Rolling Stones, Sade, Scorpions, The Cure, and so many many more...I was quite average, my room was full with posters of Michael and Madonna for a long time.

When I started "Gymnasium" one of the first "topics" in music class were the Beatles. That's when I got to know them better and started to like. Very soon my interest in Glam/Hard Rock arouse, of course Bon Jovi, Guns'n Roses, Scorpions, Europe, etc..but there was also a short period where it got harder, darker and faster...with Helloween, W.A.S.P. and tougher pieces by Metallica and even some death metal stuff.

Then I went into another direction. German Punk Rock.

"Die beste band der Welt: Die Ärzte." Die Toten Hosen, usw...
Other German singers I liked were Herbert Groenemeyer and Udo Lindenberg.

1989-1998

1989, a turning point for me and for Germany. My return to Istanbul and the fall of the Berlin Wall. The following two years spent with adaptation and creating a new life, rather shallow in terms of music, not only for me but in general I would say. During my university years I first went back to rock and metal, then a short phase with Depeche Mode...

After those years a 2.5 year period of heavy night life while working as a dealer in a casino. Lots of music, fun, entertainment and crazy days and nights...spending most nights at the best bar ever, "She" Bar in Arnavutkoy. Those who know the place will remember the following theme song..around 3am ever morning.

1998-2006

Change of taste, entering the world of (smooth) jazz with Norah Jones and pending between classic jazz and blues. And, of course, Tarkan...

Lots of memories...

2006-2011
A wider range of Jazz, R&B, Classical Music, New Age, Italian, French and German music, sometimes Fado, sometimes Turkish Pop. An effort to find my style or simply being open to variety? Whatever...

A Meditation by Philip Snow

2011-09-09T13:13:00.003+03:00

One inspiring and enlightening woman...

2011-08-31T12:57:00.000+03:00

Happy Bayram to everyone...

Yesterday I came across a woman called Anita Moorjani in an interview by Lilou Mace and the more I found out about her story of NDE the more I felt inspired and enlightened. I found her aura and light to be so pure and sparkling or maybe that's how I chose to see her. Not all people with NDE or any other experience or knowledge have the same effect on me but while watching her I felt like going through the same experience with her, feeling what she felt and relating so much to the emotions she's describing..

Here's the interview and below her website with more details...

http://www.anitamoorjani.com/

Refreshment: Zeitgeist Movies

2011-08-19T12:48:00.000+03:00

Yesterday I was talking to a friend about the Zeitgeist movies, while sending her the links I felt like watching them again...
Here they are if you also want to refresh & re-watch or watch for the first time...

Zeitgeist: The Movie - 2007 by Peter Joseph from ZeitgeistMovie.com on Vimeo.

http://zeitgeistmovie.com/Zeitgeist,%20The%20Movie-%20Companion%20Guide%20PDF.pdf

http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/

My Song Of The Week (high vol. pls)

2011-08-09T21:53:00.001+03:00

[Frank Ocean]

Human beings in a mob
What's a mob to a king?
What's a king to a god?
What's a god to a non-believer?
Who don't believe in anything?

We make it out alive
All right, all right
No church in the wild

[Jay-Z]

Tears on the mauseoleum floor
Blood stains the coliseum doors
Lies of the lips of a priest
Thanksgiving disguised as a feast
Rollin' in the Rolls-Royce Corniche
Only the doctors got this, I'm hidin' from police
Cocaine seats
All white like I got the whole thing bleached
Drug dealer chic
I'm wonderin' if a dove's prayers reach
It's pious Pius, the god loves Pius
Socrates asks, "Whose bias do y'all seek?"
Or for Plato, the screech
I'm out chere ballin', I know you hear my sneaks
Jesus was a carpenter, Yeezy, he lay beats
Hova flow the Holy Ghost, get the hell up out your seats
Preach

Human beings in a mob
What's a mob to a king?
What's a king to a god?
What's a god to a non-believer?
Who don't believe in anything?

We make it out alive
All right, all right
No church in the wild

Let me buy you
Desire
I stand by you
Walk through the fire
Your life
Is my Scripture
And I need it
Through your encryption
Yeah, yeah

[Kanye West]

Coke on her black skin made a stripe like a zebra
I call that jungle fever
You will not control the threesome
Just roll the weed up until I get me some
We formed a new religion
No sins as long as there's permission'
And deception is the only felony
So never fuck nobody wit'out tellin' me
Sunglasses and Advil
Last night was mad real
Sun comin' up, 5 a.m.
I wonder if they got cabs still
Thinkin' 'bout the girl in all-leopard
Who was rubbin' the wood like Kiki Shepard
Two tattooes, one read "No Apologies"
The other said "Love is cursed by monogamy"
That's somethin' that the pastor don't preach
That's somethin' that a teacher can't teach
When we die, the money we can't keep
But we prolly spend it all 'cause the pain ain't cheap
Preach

Human beings in a mob
What's a mob to a king?
What's a king to a god?
What's a god to a non-believer?
Who don't believe in anything?

We make it out alive
All right, all right
No church in the wild
No church in the wild
No church in the wild
No church in the wild

Today..

2011-08-08T09:46:00.000+03:00

Back home, after very busy days...a wedding, a sick child, a retro mercury...good to be in Izmir again.
Nice it was though...

What do you want?

2011-07-29T09:23:00.000+03:00

Allison Rae is asking:
What do you want?

When we’re little, that’s what people are always asking, right? These days, the Universe is asking. And it’s waiting for your answer.

The cosmic force of creation needs you to focus the lens, to get clear on your vision, your dreams, your intent. You can take a giant step forward with whatever you want this weekend when three energetic gateways converge.

You can shoot for the mundane stuff, like a new car or a better job, maybe a date for Saturday night or someone to babysit your toddlers.

Or you can go for the gusto and tackle the big issues like getting free of addictions, ending (or beginning) relationships, turning your finances around, living your purpose or moving to a new location.

Why stop there? How about world peace, food for the hungry, shelter for the homeless and alternative energy sources that work?

Do you like the world we live in? Are you fed up with the violence, the greed and corruption, the injustice and insanity?

Do you dream of a more humanitarian world where every life matters, a world of hope and opportunity? Would you prefer to live on a just, nourishing, abundant, joyful and compassionate planet?

Are you tired of your life the way it’s been, your worn-out habits and the repetitive patterns you can’t seem to shake? Here’s your chance.

If you’re willing to participate in making the shift by changing yourself, you’ll start seeing progress quickly.

I’m not talking about chatting on Facebook, sitting around om-ing at peace meditations and love-ins or hoping so-called leaders will turn things around. I mean real-life change, one person and one choice at a time, that ultimately re-shapes the world. Action is required.

Why now

The prophecies of indigenous people everywhere point to these times as a period of intense purification, the transition from the current cycle to whatever comes next.

And guess what? No Native elder, no spiritual guru, no prophet or or pyschic or anyone else can tell you what the next world age will be like. We’re here to create it together.

A momentous opportunity is coming along this weekend to mold the life and the world you do want.

It begins with the new moon on July 30. On July 31, the Fifth Day of the ninth and final underworld of the Mayan calendar begins, coinciding with the Lammas/Imbolc cross-quarter gateway.

The mid-point between the June Solstice and September Equinox, Lammas (or Lughnasadh) continues through the Sun’s crossing of 15 Leo on August 7. The Fifth Day completes on August 17.

The most potent time for getting clear and setting intent is July 30-31. There’s both an opportunity and a responsibility in this.

The impact of thoughts, actions and choices go quantum when cycles line up. That means we can each contribute to planetary transformation more than ever before. On the flip side, if we don’t bother to make the most of this rare shift point, we’ll be giving our power away.

What will you choose?

Imagine

If you’re going the empowered route, take time every day to imagine the world and the life you want. What does it look like? How does it taste, smell and feel? Notice who’s there with you, and who’s not. How do you spend your time? What are the qualities of this new life and new world?

According to Carl Johan Calleman’s interpretation, the evolution of consciousness accelerates throughout the completion of the nine underworlds of the Mayan calendar this year. Within this, the July 30-31 gateway is particularly potent. This is all designed to shift consciousness in ways that will result in the creation of a new world.

When I read the article I immediately started to think about all the things I was going to focus on this weekend, what I wanted for myself, for others, the world...what I was dreaming of and working on to manifest in the near future...then I had to smile since this weekend I'm going to spend so much time at places I love the most, people I truly love and beautiful, romantic energies flying around.
My dear little brother (tho 31) is going to marry his lovely girlfriend Zeynep tomorrow. That's def. going to create the romantic energy :p
Then we're going to have a small family dinner at Lacivert Restaurant, a beautiful & again romantic venue at the Bosphorus. The restaurant can only be reached by little boats from Rumeli Hisari (European side) to the Anatolian side so the ride to/from the restaurant is another spectacle I'm really looking forward to. Riding on the Bosphorus has always inspired and amazed me...
Since my parent's flat is full with guests we will stay in a hotel for the weekend, Alper arranged Five Boutique Hotel in Harbiye, another place that makes me feel really good and that's close to Nisantasi, another favorite...
For Sunday morning I arranged a special breakfast at Frederic's/SuAda, again in the middle of the Bosphorus. I used to go swimming there when I was living in Istanbul and I remember that it was the most perfect place for dreaming and imagining all kinds of things...
After that some shopping is on the plan probably at Istinye Park and afterwards we're meeting friends at Bebek Starbucks. Bebek is the place I always wanted to live during my years in Istanbul and it still is on top of my wish list of places to live!
I guess I couldn't have organized a more perfect setting to focus on my dreams and desires. I dearly wish everybody the most perfect weekend and pls don't forget to focus on your dreams! So...

What do you want?

Driving with their eyes closed (by Jennifer Hoffman)

2011-07-25T09:15:00.002+03:00

"My first thought, when I heard that Amy Winehouse had died, was how sad that such a gifted powerful woman was no longer here and that her death would impact us as much as her life did. Many people will look at her short life and think of her as another hopeless addict, too messed up to take control of her life but that is not what she was. Amy was part of a generation whose purpose is to show us our pain and dysfunction, which they often do by mirroring it themselves. If she made people uncomfortable, or if her music touched us deeply it was because her life, addictions and pain were, in some way, ours too.

It is easy to judge people like Amy Winehouse, and the thousands of other gifted young people we know who appear to waste their lives and their talents. We think 'if I had a gift like that I would make better use of it' or 'if I had that ability I wouldn't be wasting my time and energy on drugs and alcohol.' We love, hate, criticize and judge them because they are such great mirrors of us and our pain. We love them because we can connect and relate to them; we hate them because they remind us of our pain and weakness. And we judge and criticize them because they speak a truth we are afraid to hear.

They seem to be 'driving with their eyes closed', crashing into the walls of society with no regard for themselves. I believe they are highly empathic and can't tell the difference between our pain and theirs, so they take it all in. Everything hurts, all of the time, and drugs and alcohol numb the pain. They try to fix the world by showing us our darkness and dim their own light in the process. They do not know that the easier way is to shine their light brightly but they are too afraid that we will get the wrong impression, so they become a caricature of their truth and hope that by inspiring us to pity and cry with them, that we will get the message.

It is not easy to be part of this transitional generation who have come to change the world and who are so talented that we hold them to a higher standard. So when they try to connect with us through our humanity, by mirroring our pain, we think they are just being stupid. But the situation is much more complicated than that and we, although we don't realize it, are blessed by their life, no matter how short it is, as well as by their passing. One day we will no longer need these kinds of teachers and we can celebrate them, their talent, empathy, gifts and their lives in happier ways."

Jennifer Hoffman

Last week in Bodrum

2011-07-24T12:39:00.001+03:00

Not much to say after a relaxing & uplifting week in Bodrum, Torba. Unlike Cesme I think I could spend the whole summer in Bodrum...even sitting at the beach and doing nothing gives me a feeling of peace and also excitement...very energizing and inspiring..
We stayed in one of the boutique hotels in Torba Bay called Casa dell'Arte, a place that was originally designed as an art gallery and then was turned into a family resort & residence a few years ago. There were interesting art pieces all over the place, some very beautiful, some rather ugly or let's say "interesting".
The really nice ones are being displayed in the residence building which is more suitable for families with older kids (12+) but I couldn't find the time to go and take some pics there..

Here are some of the "pieces" in the family resort & and some beach pics..

Bon Jovi Rocked Istanbul

2011-07-11T22:34:00.006+03:00

I wasn't able to go to their concert in Istanbul last Friday but even the below recordings were enough to take me back to my early teenager years, 25 years ago! (woww, that's tooo long!) I wish I could've been there...hopefully next time!
Isn't he cute :))

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http://www.youtube.com/embed/eadWjVqBktg</a>" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>

And tho not a concert recording here's one of my favorites..

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Summer weekending

2011-07-10T21:58:00.001+03:00

Every summer in July/August Izmir turns into ghost town, esp. at weekends everybody escapes to a nearby coastal place like Cesme, Foca, Ozdere, Kusadasi, Ayvalik, etc...
We are going to spend most of our weekends in Cesme, as usual, at our traditional location, Sisus Hotel in Dalyankoy. Except next week when we will spend a few days in Bodrum with my aunt from Germany and the following week a few days in Istanbul due to my brother's wedding.
Here's what our weekends in Cesme will more or less look like...

KRYON: The Quantum Factor

2011-07-06T18:21:00.001+03:00

...

The first energy ever discovered that won't allow to be weaponized...that has attitude...

Even to this day, science does not see the obvious, that 90% of DNA is quantum and 3.5% is linear...

Then the next obvious question will occur: "What information is in the ninety percent of DNA that is quantum?"

You're starting to see those who will not allow the old systems. You will no longer have dictators.
...

Click here to read this channeling...

PROPHECY Last Message Part 1

2011-07-01T13:19:00.001+03:00

PROPHECY Last Message Part 2

2011-07-01T13:18:00.001+03:00

Tomorrow's Solar Eclipse

2011-06-30T21:08:00.000+03:00

If you're also feeling the intense energies of tomorrow's eclipse you might want to know what's going on...

http://gaiahealing.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=infoonwhatishappening&action=display&thread=1268&page=1

http://celestialspace.wordpress.com/2011/06/18/solar-eclipse-new-moon-in-cancer-on-july-1st-2011/

Carrot Cake Recipe

2011-06-25T09:55:00.001+03:00

Upon request here's my carrot cake recipe :))

4 eggs
300 gr flour
1 pk. baking powder
250 gr butter
250 gr sugar
1 pk. vanilla powder
3 big carrots (grated)
1 teaspoon baking soda
little bit of salt (1/4 tsp)
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
100 gr ground walnuts (or whole walnuts)
100 ml apple juice (very important!)

For the cream cheese:

60 gr butter
250 gr Cream cheese, softened (it's a Philadelphia-like cheese specially for cakes)
250 gr powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla powder

**Thoroughly grease a round cake pan, mix eggs, butter, sugar and vanilla powder...in a separate bowl mix flour and baking powder and slowly add to first mixture...then start adding salt, baking soda, carrots, cinnamon, walnuts and lastly apple juice, mix for 5 min. and pour into cake pan.
Bake at 175 degrees for about 45 min (depends on oven).
For the cream cheese mix all ingredients, put into fridge for 1-2 hrs and cover the cake when cake has cooled and back into fridge. (You can also cut the cake into half with and put cream inside but I usually don't bother and just cover it with cream)

Bon Appetit!

It's been two years...

2011-06-23T12:44:00.000+03:00

...since Ela was born,
...since my life took a deep turn on its path
...since we became a real family

I'm still amazed about the hugeness of love one can feel for another human being...sometimes it still overwhelms me and then comes the fear that this huge love will cause me to worry too much, to want to keep her safe and to not give her enough space to freely explore the world. Freedom was something I felt I didn't have when I was a child, constant worries, constant restrictions, constant limits...
I hope I will be able to balance my desire to provide a safe environment for her and at the same time give her enough freedom to nourish her desire to find her own path, to make her feel free and to learn by making mistakes.
She has changed in the last few days, as if she's feeling that she has grown and has reached a certain milestone on her path. We had a little celebration yesterday morning with a few playgroup friends, and for the first time she had a problem with sharing her things, she cried many times and was quite frustrated. This is a new experience and a good example that it's hard not to intervene as a mom and to just let her figure it out herself. I promised myself that I will try hard to be consistent so that she can learn to handle such situations on her own.
Tomorrow we are going to (slowly) start with potty training. I don't like the word training, in fact, and I won't be really training her, but our new rule will be no nappies at home, just training pants, a potty in every room and regular visits to the toilet. A friend gave her a lovely and very relevant present yesterday, "Girl's Potty Time with special reward stickers" (in Turkish), she likes to read/look at books anyway when on the potty so this will make it more meaningful I guess :))

my usual, traditional carrot cake :)) don't think will be able to get away with it next year :s

after-party with Elis & Alisa

Metabolism boosting tea

2011-06-18T09:28:00.001+03:00

Summer has arrived and it's time again for bikinis and shorts...since I couldn't do as much sports this winter as I'd have liked to I decided to try another shorter way to get in better shape..
I'm drinking a special tea three times a day, one hour before meals and tho I've just started I can feel that it's working, this drink is supposed to boost your metabolism but I have the feeling it's rather decreasing my appetite esp. for sweet things...probably because of the cinnamon sticks...

Here's how the tea is done:

- 1 apple (cut into 4 pieces)
- 1 lemon " " " "
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper corns
- 5-6 cloves

* put all ingr. into 3 lt water, make it boil till just half of it is left, put in the fridge and drink one cup one hour prior to each meal

Eckhart on finding balance

2011-06-10T21:53:00.000+03:00

http://spiritlibrary.com/eckhart-tolle/eckhart-on-finding-balance

Balance

2011-06-10T09:01:00.002+03:00

Balance - Wolfgang Christoph Lauenstein - 1989 SezerAymaz

'The Wise' Magazine

2011-06-06T22:48:00.000+03:00

I'm very pleased to introduce a new digital & spiritual magazine: "The Wise"

Welcome to “The Wise” Magazine

The path to knowing yourself is a long, winding road full of obstacles. On our chosen road, we should never forget that we are souls inhabiting this planet. We can neither detach ourselves from the world we live in nor can we detach from our own souls. Hence, The Wise aims to combine spiritual teaching with the experience of daily life while employing both the mind and soul. Just as in life, we welcome all of you to this journey of “The Wise” with topics on spiritualism, esotericism, mysticism, and other consciousness-raising media and discussions. “The Wise” expects to embrace mankind all over the world through mutual issues and pay tribute to our journey which began seven years ago in the lands of Anatolia.

“The Wise” is a bi-monthly magazine published on digital media.
Here are some topics from our first issue and ways to follow “The Wise”:

- 2012: The End or The Change (by Burak Eldem)
- 2012: The Big Awakening (by Aycan Saroglu)
- An Individual Path to Spiritual Transformation (by Nil Gun)
- How to Find Your Soulmate with Feng Shui (by Sonsuz)
- What is Enlightenment? (by Berna Koker)
- Nostradamus: Beyond the Soothsayer (by Burak Eldem)
- Lost Labyrinth of Egypt (by Sonsuz)
- Beware of Your Prayers, They May Come True (by Cem Sen)
- Create Your Own Paradise (by Hakan Arabacioglu)
- Own a House for No Reason (by Pinar Derinbay)
- Astral Projection (by Mehmet Aslan)
- UFOs UFOS Everywhere (by Sonsuz)
- And many more…

“The Wise” Website

http://www.thewisemag.com

“The Wise” Amazon Kindle Version

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004YCQ9VE (US)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Wise/dp/B004YCQ9VE (UK)

“The Wise” PDF Version (Free for promotion)

http://issuu.com/thewise/docs/the_wise_-_issue_1

“The Wise” PDF Direct Download

http://www.thewisemag.com/how-to-read/download-directly

We release new articles about different subjects on our website, not found in “The Wise” Magazine issues. You can follow “The Wise” web articles by joining our Facebook and Twitter pages. Also you’re invited to join our community and our newsletter from our website.

“The Wise” on Facebook
http://www.thewisefacebook.com/

“The Wise” Twitter
http://www.thewisetwit.com/

“The Wise” is waiting for you.

Hasan “Sonsuz” Celiktas
The Wise Publisher and Editor In Chief

Just some music...

2011-06-03T21:29:00.001+03:00

Words of Truth

2011-05-25T12:37:00.000+03:00

Just wanted to share a motivating, inspiring and enlightening article I just read...I needed these words of truth today, maybe you do, too ;))
...

All things that come to you are gifts from the Creator that you choose not to unwrap, or acknowledge. Goodness is easy to see and find in the long hours of the day but what about all your experiences that are not as easy, not as pretty, and not as fun. All parts of the universe are walking into your world because you summoned them, you put out the clarion call, and you issued a decree – “Come forth into my life Teach me, Show me. The learning’s come whether by pleasure, by pain, by goodness, by badness, by dark, or by light. It does not matter.” You called forth everything that happened to you on this day and yesterday and tomorrow from the very second of your birth to the very second of your death. You called it all into existence. You called to the good guys, you called to the bad guys, you called the lack, and the prosperity. You beckoned it by your thoughts, your words, and your energies.

We say it over and over again; your world is a giant cosmic etch-a-sketch. You are drawing the very blueprints, of your existence. You beckon it forward with your likes, your dislikes, your angers, your loves, your hates, your wants, and your needs. Deny nothing that comes to you. It is all in Divine proportion.
Look to your world for the divinity that you seek. Your world reflects the divinity that you seek. You want angels – angels shall come. You want the Easter bunny – he shall be here too. Whatever on Earth that you ask for – is given to you –you are the favorite children of the Creator! You are the chosen people yet you see it not.
The quickening is upon you, for you, beside you, in you, beneath you, and above you. We are all family members in the heavenly realm, but you were the last-born and the favorite of the Father. Everything was given to you, but like a spoiled child you do not appreciate the gifts. You who are the favorite children, need to remember and choose yourself. Why do you think it is a planet of free choice and free will that you reside upon? Everything revolves around choice, chosen, choose –What will you choose? How will you choose? Who will you choose? You wait energetically for others to choose you, for God to choose you, when all along it has been your choice. You chose, you create, you manifest, from the inside out!
Become the Chosen, the One who chooses the highest Light. Stop denying your divinity. Every minute of your day, every action with every person and every situation -- is divinely instructed and orchestrated what songs are you playing to others? You break bread with the Creator every minute of every day with every breath, every choice, every situation – you are breaking bread with the Divine. Sit at the table of Light and sup upon what has been given you.

...

Here's the full article.

www.livinginturkey.net

2011-05-23T13:09:00.002+03:00

Two dear friends decided to create a website for foreigners, expats, visitors that is people who somehow ended up in Turkey or are planning to move to this part of the world. The main focus for now will be on Izmir but soon other cities will be added to the list. I would def. have loved to have a guide like this when I first moved to Izmir. Although I'm not a foreigner it felt like changing countries after a life in a big city like Istanbul.
I want to make their voice heard here and, therefore, would like to continue with their own words and introduction. I hope they don't mind :))
Here's what Sheena Nap-Brooks and Isla Selupucin would like everybody to know:

"Helping you live in Turkey happily"

LIVING GUIDE AND IZMIR GUIDE

The mission of our site is to help you transition to your new life in Turkey as easily as possible by offering realistic advice, honest articles from experienced "Yabancis" (foreigners) as well as providing an information source on Life in Turkey and how to set up your life here.

TURKISH LIVING

The Living Guide topics will relate to the whole of Turkey. It will provide information and articles in the Living that aim to be invaluable in the settling in process examples include How to get...
*Residence permits *Bring your pets here* Renting properties as well as
*Customs regulations *What to do in an emergency and articles on *Turkish Language/Religions and Culture (these are just a small sample of what the site plan to provide)

IZMIR GUIDE

As we live in Izmir it is only natural that we would want to create a comprehensive guide to living in Izmir for expats and foreigners. The Izmir guide aims to bring information about Izmir that is otherwise hard to find as a foreigner whether you have just arrived or are planning to move to Izmir in the near future. You will find information and articles on

*Where to live (with expat recommendations')
*Activities in Izmir
*Expats Clubs and groups
*Being a mum in Izmir
*Learning the language here as well as the practical information that is explained in the living guide but details that are relevant to Izmir like *how to get a residence permit here *who to contact in an emergency

The Izmir guide will be continually updated with new articles and we look forward to inviting guest authors to contribute articles.

Sheena says:
"LivinInTurkey.net is the brain child of two stay-at-home motehrs living abroad in Turkey. Away from family and friends we have had to find a way to make ourselves whole again. We found each other and became good friends. After the birth of my preemie son I knew we would be friends for life. In our attempts to make friends and discoveries for ourselves, we found limited resources in English about Izmir where we live. We were both lucky to be married to Turkes but that is not always the case for other foreigners living in or visiting Turkey. We hope that creating this website can provide some light to situations that might otherwise seem impossible.

At the moment our website has five major functions. The Classifieds which help you buy and sell your stuff, post jobs and sell vehicles and homes. The Izmir Guide which gives information about living in Izmir. Turkish Living Guide is mainly to provide information relevant to all of Turkey. Fourth, the Izmir Directory lists out stores, business, restaurants, and shops in Izmir. Last but not least, the Expat Journal which will have monologues from foreign friends living in Turkey. We will continually be updating the articles on our site and expanding the Izmir Directory.

We want to wish you the best of luck during your time in Turkey. Whether it is long or short we hope to make it better.

www.livinginturkey.net

GOOD LUCK SHEENA & ISLA!

Song Of The Day

2011-05-09T18:49:00.000+03:00

From the album Mano Suave by Yasmin Levy.

There's also a documentary with same title by Ruth Behar. More on that here.

Jennifer Hoffman - 'Mother's Day'

2011-05-09T12:53:00.000+03:00

Sunday, May 8 we celebrated Mothers' Day in the U.S. And it's a day that we can have mixed feelings about because maybe our mother was not the loving, considerate, thoughtful greeting card model. Instead, she may have been abusive, jealous, mean and inconsiderate. She may have betrayed or abandoned us, not loved us enough or have given her child up for adoption. Yet our mother is our most important karmic relationship and the contract between child and mother is a sacred promise to bring a new life into the world so its healing journey can be completed.
No matter how much we glorify or idealize the idea of motherhood, it is the vehicle through which we all enter the world. We choose a mother and father who have the energies, karmic history, soul group connections and emotional DNA we need to embody in a lifetime and they become our parents. What happens after that is part of our journey of healing and reconnection and we can use that information and those experiences to heal and transform or allow them to become another karmic cycle for us.
We expect our mother to be the paragon of perfection that we believe is the definition of motherhood and think we have been short changed if she isn't. Then we grieve for the missing 'good enough mother', who loves, protects, supports and nurtures us. But who has a mother like that? In my experience, most Lightworkers do not. What we need to ask about is our contract with them and theirs with us, what lessons they held for us and how our time with them has allowed us to grow in body, mind, emotions and spirit. What is the healing we can to complete with our mother, her energies, the mother/child paradigm she taught us and how can we do things differently?
Our generation, those of us who have had children since the 1970s, has to change the mother/child paradigm. And it was through our interaction with our mothers that enabled us to do things differently with our children and be the mother to them that we wanted for ourselves. On this Mother's Day celebrate your life, your presence and your purpose, reflect on the healing and transformation you have done in your life and thank your mother for bringing you here. Then release any anger, regret, sorrow or guilt so you can look at your mother without blame and see her as she is, another presence on the journey that is your lifetime. Use this day to also celebrate the feminine energy, which we all embody and whose expression, in the spiritual sense, is the embodiment of perfect and unconditional love. The feminine energy represents our capacity to give unconditional love and forgiveness to everyone, which is the highest aspect of the feminine energy. And we should take a moment to celebrate Mother Earth, the beautiful planet on which we live, which nourishes and sustains us all.

Where am I on Mother's Day?

2011-05-08T18:30:00.000+03:00

I started 'my' day with a run and James Blunt asking me to "ask myself the question, Where Am I Now??"
Good question. Where am I now? Compared to last year? Three years ago? Or yesterday?
Now, I'm right here, being a mom, also a daughter, a sister, a wife, a woman, sometimes a child, a teenager, a lover, a worker, a healer, a traveler, a friend, a student, a spiritual soul, a curious person eager to learn and explore life as it is.
Looking for balance, peace, divinity, pleasure, wholeness, love, joy, laughter and fun.

Mother's Day is nothing special in my eyes, just like all other "special" days. It's a day on which I struggle to decide whether I have to call mother-in-law just because she would be offended if I didn't or if I should just do what I really want and not call since she is just not a relevant person, I don't see her as a mother figure (in Turkey you're supposed to call your mother-in-law "Anne" that is mom and I have a prob with that, I think it's an unnecessary act of fake behavior). In the end, I still called her since I just didn't want to deal with her offended attitude for the next few weeks (not that I see her very often, but still).
My husband didn't call my mom, on the other hand, and neither I nor my mom would ever show any kind of reaction to that.
I have a problem with things you are "supposed to do."

I want to close this post with some calm & peaceful piece of music. The song is called resistance and I would like to stop resisting to all sorts of things. Resistance causes trouble, you can't achieve what you want, you can't attract what you want, by resisting you block the energy and feel bad. I let go resistance.

Opening up

2011-05-04T22:05:00.000+03:00

I just read an article about relationships in the new energy, it really appealed to me, made me realize that I'm still slightly reluctant to receive help or love, esp. the following sentence made me smile; "being able to receive or even ask for help when we need it, accepting compliments, and allowing our partner to nurture us are some of the ways we can be open to receive"
I've been working on opening up, asking more often for help, accepting love and compliments...but there must be a reason why I came across this article...and I sensed it while reading. I'm still quite closed.
So today I'd like to declare that I want to open the back of my heart chakra as wide as possible. I want to accept and receive what I'm willing to give.

"...In all the years I’ve been a healer I’ve noticed that those on the spiritual path have an easier time giving then receiving. The front of the heart chakra is wide open to giving love and of themselves, however, the back of the heart chakra located in the middle of the back tends to be closed due to difficulty in allowing others to give to them. In order for any relationship to be in balance it is essential to give and receive equally, though not necessarily in the same way. We give what we have and what the person may need at the time. Being able to receive or even ask for help when we need it, accepting compliments, and allowing our partner to nurture us are some of the ways we can be open to receive.

Love has the power to heal away all of our old hurts and wounds. We have all been wounded in many ways through our life experiences. Being vulnerable and opening up to a beloved partner can be healing to the soul. I’m not referring to a co-dependent relationship where we lose ourselves in another person and expect them to make everything better for us or for us to fix them. It’s about taking the relationship we’re in to the next level or entering one and experiencing a mutually loving and nurturing partnership."

Here's the full article.

Akashic Records for May 2011

2011-05-03T07:49:00.001+03:00

http://spiritlibrary.com/akashic-transformations/akashic-records-for-may-2011

An article I Iiked...on quantum thinking and more

2011-04-24T21:44:00.001+03:00

Our last 2 days in Istanbul...it's been a lovely week. And today I had this strange feeling that this visit wasn't just about meeting family and having fun. I had to be here. I had to learn something. This Mercury Retro was again mainly about letting go and in my case I think it was letting go the childish anger against my mom that I thought I had let go before. I realized that it wasn't actually anger but the desire to take revenge. I wanted to pay back for my early years as a child and esp. teenager when she was so strict and I couldn't really reply and had almost zero connection to her. Now I could reply and I could say she was wrong and I could criticize her and I could show my anger and I could even tell her off. Just to make up those early years.
My ego was so determined that even the slightest comment or move made me tense. My higher self, on the other hand, was determined to stop feeling tense and work this out somehow. They (false self&true self) were having constant rows and fights but eventually managed to sort it out and now that I've named it, as revenge that is, I can deal with it more easily and the ego's voice is diminishing more and more. I can hardly hear it anymore....

Anyways, I wanted to share a link to an article I liked about creativity and quantum thinking. In fact, it's quite irrelevant but when I started to post I had the urge to share my current emotions and feelings. Please click here to read the article.

Love and light from Istanbul.

Earth Wobble - Earths New Vibrational Signature by The Group (Steve Rother)

2011-04-20T21:17:00.000+03:00

http://spiritlibrary.com/lightworker/beacons-of-light/earth-wobble-earths-new-vibrational-signature

At Home

2011-04-19T13:01:00.001+03:00

I realize, it's nice to have a place you can go back to and call home. To escape, to return and to miss the current daily life. Our days in Istanbul are pleasant, esp. for Ela..she's enjoying her time with Oma and Opa. And I'm amazed to see how different my mom is with her than she was with me. Our not so close relationship probably suffered from her being busy with work& study when I was little and coming home tired. She did her best and I simply thought she could do better. I made peace with this quite a while ago and can clearly see that she wants to use this chance to show her motherly affection and compassion (which she skipped on me) to Ela.

Of course, there are moments when I can feel that they would like to comment on things like half an hour ago when Ela refused to nap in her cot and had a mini-tantrum and after a while my dad came in and asked what's wrong, couldn't she sleep later, blabla...but I'm prepared, I'm determined to be patient and still not give in and do it my way. And they are obviously determined to be respectful enough so the tension is bearable in such situations.

Weather-wise it's like winter these days, dark, wet and cold...but I don't mind, during the week I have lots of work to do anyway and it doesn't hurt me to spend our free times in shopping malls (it does hurt my wallet tho!)

It looks like sunny days will be back on Thurs so I made some nice plans for the weekend...

Off to Istanbul

2011-04-15T10:23:00.001+03:00

In a few hours Ela and I will head off to Istanbul. I'm happy and excited!
The next 10 days will bring new routines, experiences, relaxation, fun, family time, maybe also some stress, different places, lots of shopping (just in time for Shopping Fest :p), more time for work, lots of love & playtime for Ela and the good feeling of being home again.
But this will be the very first time that I'm really going to miss Izmir, our friends, our meetings, our chats...this is a totally new feeling for me (missing Izmir that is) and I truly like it. It's one of the gifts that came with Ela; coming closer with precious people, having more opportunities to socialize, having the desire to make the best of the time I have.

How I feel these days...

2011-04-09T22:17:00.000+03:00

Flowery, summery, excited, happy, curious, sometimes overwhelmed, busy, social, interested in the new, open, colorful, supported, needed, ready to travel, talkative, rooted, healing.....

April Forecast by Susan Miller

2011-04-04T15:17:00.000+03:00

http://www.astrologyzone.com/forecasts/

Akashic Records For April 2011 (by Jen Eramith MA)

2011-04-04T14:53:00.000+03:00

What energies and experiences can we expect in April 2011?

The feeling this month is similar to the feeling of going down a roller coaster. The collective energy speeds up so that time will seem to pass more quickly, and you may feel as if you cannot keep track of things very well. For many of you, it is going to feel like things are metaphorically “going downhill” in your life. It is important this month, to stay calm and to remind yourself every day to trust and to be loving with yourself and with others.
Many people are going to feel like their lives are out of control this month. It feels that way, but what is really happening, if you look at the big picture of the year, is that you are learning where you need more structural support in your life. It is so important this year that each of you does the work you need to do in your life to set yourself up for success. It is so important that you build structures in your life that support you, that you build relationships that are supportive, and that you set up routines in your life that are supportive. It is time to take care of everything and fix the things that are not working. It is so important that you do this, this year if you are going to be ready for what is continuing to happen through 2012 and the years to come.
Anything in your life that is not stabilized yet, anything that you are not taking care of yet, is going to start moving very quickly this month in order to bring your attention to it. For some of you, this month might feel like hitting rock bottom. If you need to hit rock bottom in some pattern in your life, this will be the month that you hit it. It is so important to be gentle with yourself, to be nurturing. The more you are willing to step up and take care of yourself and rebuild the parts of your life that need rebuilding, the more easily this month will go by.

How can we find the greatest benefit from this energy?

The way to find the greatest benefit this month is, first and foremost, to keep remembering to trust and to love. But, second to that, it will really serve you to be organized and to take the time needed to back up and start again when things are not going well. If you start a process and part way through you realize it is not working well, it is better this month to stop and go back and start again than it is to try to stick with it and just close your eyes and get to the end of it. Any challenge coming up right now, is there so that you will rebuild the structure. So it is not going to serve anyone to close your eyes and barrel forward this month.
The whole reason that this energy is set up is to encourage you to stop and slow down and start again and fix things as you go. So be organized, make lists, look around your home or your office and just think about how things work. Are belongings placed in a most beneficial location? Are there certain objects or belongings standing in your way? What offers daily frustration and how can you change it so that frustration is no longer part of your daily routine? These are the questions to ask yourself. Do the same thing for relationships. What are the relationships that continually feel blocked? How can you back up and start again? Can you change your expectations with this person? Can you change the way you communicate with them? Find ways to change the structures in your life to make them work better.
This month is going to feel like it is going by really fast and so you are going to feel a tendency to want to just close your eyes and just keep moving forward. But you are meant to stop and start again every time you find something not working.

Jen Eramith MA

Visual Update

2011-04-02T09:50:00.000+03:00

Hey!!! This ban has kind of forced us to give a break and there's sooo much to catch up but unfortunately no time so a quick visual update with pix of the last few days...

We're all very well; very busy with work, social life and preparing for our Istanbul trip on April 15.

Nice to finally have the mild spring weather, even the rain doesn't bother too much...

E.'s best friends Elis & Alisa...they truly suffer if they don't see each other every day...this is our new playground...in front of the Tally Weijl shop in Alsancak...to prevent any complaints by shop owners we buy a T-Shirt in turns once in a while ;))

Fave Time Of The Year Approaching

2011-03-12T22:07:00.000+02:00

Today I felt it, spring is around the corner...very soon birds will be heard more, flowers will be blooming, people will start smiling again, senses will awaken, freshness will be in the air.
I love this time of the year.
It's also the time I was born (April 23)...maybe a re-birth kind of experience for me every year.
A busy week is coming, a full schedule that makes me feel good, complete and whole.

Here some shots of Ela while I was having my early dinner at a nice Italian restaurant called MiCasa in Alsancak.

Street Entertainers - Living Statues in Izmir

2011-03-11T22:23:00.000+02:00

I met these living statues in Barcelona for the first time, in front of the Sagrada Familia.

They looked so beautiful and I wanted to photograph them, but they suddenly hid their faces from me. It took me a few seconds to figure out that they wanted a few coins. Only then I got my shot and a nice smile :)

For the last 2 years a group of street entertainers in Izmir have also been performing this interesting form of art in Alsancak. Here's today's performance...

The last few days...

2011-03-07T22:06:00.000+02:00

...have been busy, cold, fun, sweet, lovely, surprising, tense, sparkling and full with firsts.

Where to start? Well, blogger is obviously still working, I was just cut out once or twice and I'm glad I didn't have to move to Wordpress. Work is busy but still entertaining and energising. I guess I've passed the test, having surrendered to somebody else for the last few years in terms of financial status and thus having found the feminine elements in my being by releasing the thought that I, myself, and nobody else, can or should take care of me and also my family. Thank you Alper, for teaching me that.
Ela is growing, not only in size, but the last few days were like a shift. She suddenly started to call me Mama/Mami (instead of the Turkish 'anne') and funnily started to call her Baba, Babi, to make it rhyme to Mami I guess ;)) She suddenly wants to do everything on her own, putting on her socks, her boots, her pants, her nappies(see pic below), etc..she simply says "Ela" and wants me to step back. Sometimes she decides on her outfit, her meal, her activities,...
It's not easy sometimes but I like her new desire for independence.
She also developed a tantrum-like nervous-breakdown kind of thing, when she wants s.th. and I don't get it or can't do what she wants, she starts to scream as loud as she can and gets so upset that she either bites her toy, her clothes, or, of course, me. She bit me in the shoulder a few days ago and it still hurts!
For now I'm just watching her, w/o reacting, I actually don't know what I could do at such moments to calm her, so I just let her scream it out and if there's s.th. I can do I try to at least change the position or s.th.

And me, I spent the last ten days watching the first three movies of the Twilight Saga and then reading the last book Breaking Dawn. The whole fuss about this series caused me to be reluctant to read or watch any of the books/movies. But now that everything has cooled down I just had to get to know these New Age Vampires, as a huge vampire lover, that is. I think I was 9 or 10 when I first watched a vampire movie. Black & white, with Klaus Kinski as Dracula. I always loved or almost adored these dark, cool, sexy and powerful creatures. But Twilight gave me much more...Vampires that weren't scary but more romantic, more loving and more beautiful than any human could be. I loved it. This I guess is the part of me that decided to stay in her teenage years.
And then there's another movie I watched. The Black Swan. I can't find the right words to describe this movie. I'm still thinking of it sometimes. Deeply affected.

New address: http://journeysofthespirit.wordpress.com

2011-03-01T19:29:00.001+02:00

I don't have much time to write but quickly wanted to let everybody know that (for now) I'll be using a wordpress blog because of a ridiculous ban in Turkey. More about that here.

I've moved all my posts to: http://journeysofthespirit.wordpress.com/

Hope to see you soon here since although I might get used to wordpress currently I'm not a big fan.

Love,

Jan

Did anyone see me do that?

2011-02-25T10:01:00.002+02:00

Two weeks ago I had this strange experience of suddenly feeling sick and having to vomit almost every half an hour...my first attacks came when I was with my boss and one of them was extremely disturbing (right in the cab).
I thought a lot about why I had lived such an experience, because when I started to feel bad I was thinking about excusing myself, but somehow just didn't do it. Why?
And afterwards I thought to myself, "If this had happened a few years ago I would have felt soooo ashamed and bad and so small...
But now, I simply felt nothing. Zero.
Then I read s.th. yesterday which made me smile and understand...

Did Anyone See Me Do That? by Jennifer Hofman

If you're one of my Facebook fans, you read my post a few days ago in which I described a funny incident that happened to me. I had gone to the gas station to fill my car and then went inside the kiosk to get a cup of coffee. As I walked out of the kiosk, I was thinking about what I was going to do when I got home, the calls I had to make, and about how much I had to do in the rest of the day. I walked to my car, opened the door, started to get in and stopped.
There was something wrong with the floor mats, which were plastic (I remembered that mine were gray carpet). So I looked up towards the steering column and it didn't look right-I thought mine was dark gray and this one was black. I started to look around and met the eyes of a woman who was staring at me. There was definitely something wrong here, no one was sitting in my car when I had left it parked in front of the kiosk. I felt like I had just stepped into the twilight zone.
Just then I heard a voice ask me if I needed something. I turned to see a man holding a cup of coffee, just like mine, standing next to me, holding a set of car keys in his hand. I'm sure I looked as confused as I felt so I said that I thought someone was at the wrong car. Then I looked around and saw my car, parked next to his, which was the same make, model and color as mine. We laughed, he got in his car and I went to mine. When I opened the door I saw the familiar floor mats, everything looked the same and there was no one sitting in the passenger seat.
When I posted this incident on my facebook page many people wrote to say that they had done similar things and one of the comments that was shared was 'I hope no one saw me do that.' One woman had done this at the grocery store, put her groceries in the car, sat down and tried to start the car but the key wouldn't work so she knew that something was wrong. She said that she quietly got out of the car, took her groceries and went to find her own car, hoping that no one had seen her.
I know that the reason I had walked to the wrong car because I was so distracted-but from the outside it looked just like mine. I had even noticed the shiny Nissan emblem on the front grill because I had to replace mine a few months ago. Distractions aside, as I was looking inside the car, I could not see anything that looked familiar and I was so confused that it did not dawn on me that I was at the wrong car. I had never done that before and because nothing felt familiar, I could not think, gather my thoughts or find another reason for this.
Finding ourselves in unfamiliar territory, as we are now, can do that to us. We can find anything that looks like we think it should so we're confused, unable to think and spend time looking for what is comfortable and the same. We have to get over the confusion before we can find new options. But there is something that stops us, which was pointed out by the facebook comments.
Doing something that we believe makes us appear foolish brings up our many fears related to what others will think of us. Will they think we're stupid, doing something strange, will they question our judgment, intelligence or sanity? With these thoughts we shame ourselves and then we're blocked from pursuing other options because our energy is focused on trying to resolve the shame instead of simply moving ahead. We try so hard to be competent, successful adults but do so by not being incompetent and unsuccessful, based on what others think. And this interferes with everything we do. Beyond that, our preoccupation with others' opinions blinds us to the messages we may be receiving.
If what others think of us is so important to us we make every decision through a 'what if' filter. What if they think I'm stupid, incompetent, incapable, etc.? By trying to avoid shame we use the fear or possibility of shame to push ourselves into a very narrow path so everything we do is beyond reproach. But there are two things that we can't avoid. First, everyone will have their own opinion of us and of what we do and we have no control over that. Second, everyone has their own shame issues that they are dealing with and those who we think shame us are actually reacting and/or responding from their own shame. But when we're in this shame cycle, we attract the shame we are trying to avoid and until we release our fear of shame, all of our decisions and choices will be filtered through it.
While getting into the wrong car is a funny and innocent act and fixing it was easy, other things are not quite so innocent or easy to fix. But the bigger picture here is when we are in this shame cycle, everything we do is affected by its energy. So with every decision and choice we look at all of the people in our lives and ask 'what will they think', 'did they see me do that', 'what are they going to say' and this robs us of our confidence and slows down our momentum. When we second guess every decision, we have trouble making any decisions, big or small, important or unimportant.
The question is, does it matter what anyone thinks of us? Is it really that important because our lives are ours to live, our lessons are ours to learn and while others may participate in them, we are the ones who must cross that finish line by ourselves. To see whether you are using the shame filter in your life, do a self check by asking some simple yet important questions:
Is there someone in your life you try to impress?
Does it matter to you what this person, or others, think about you and what you do?
Is it so important to you that you spend time second guessing yourself to ensure that you do not do anything shameful (in their eyes)?
Are you missing the messages and meaning that may be answers to your questions or the guidance you have been asking for because you are more focused on not being shamed, rather than being open to your own soul's growth?
Then don't despair because you are at an important crossroads where you can change your thinking. In fact, as you are called to new ways of being, your thinking has to change because you may do things that are out of character or habit for you. Making big life changes will cause others to question your motives, judgment and perhaps your sanity. Releasing your shame issues and cycles is an important part of that process if you are to make choices that are right and best for you, no matter what anyone else thinks of them. And you will be seeing every situation with a level of clarity that will allow you to see the meaning and messages that are your special gift.
Remember who is the important person in your life - you - and who is living and learning your lessons - you are - and who ultimately has to cross that finish line, you do. You can do that with your head held high, knowing you have done your best, or looking around, wondering if anyone saw you do that. (And I'm sure I gave that man and his wife a good laugh, which they may have needed).

Good Books, Good Times!

2011-02-18T21:27:00.000+02:00

Ela chose an English book tonight at bedtime (very appropriate since today was her Studio English class :p), and below is the poem I read to her (just half of it, of course, till she decided to explore the rest of the book...)
I guess I liked it more than she did.

It's a poem by Lee Bennett Hopkins from the book Reading Street (which I used to promote at Pearson Ed.)

Good Books.
Good times.
Good stories.
Good rhymes.
Good beginnings.
Good ends.
Good people.
Good friends.
Good fiction.
Good facts.
Good adventures.
Good acts.
Good stories.
Good rhymes.
Good books.
Good times.

Bye Bye TV

2011-02-18T10:14:00.000+02:00

Last week, when both Ela and I were a little sick, I decided to be more relaxed with Ela watching a little bit of TV during the day although my initial plan was to wait till she's at least 2 or so. But her attitude and behavior has changed so much till then that no matter if there really is a connection or not I decided to stick to my initial plan for now. I know, it might be a coincidence, but her tantrum-like behavior, constant wake-ups at night and aggressiveness in general, forced me to take some sort of action and the only change that occured in her life is actually having watched TV. And I must say, that yesterday, her first TV-free day, she was much more herself, calmer and less aggressive, with no tantrums and better sleeping patterns.

Instead, she finally decided to like coloring & painting; she was obviously waiting for a paint brush...stupid Mama!

Human Unconsciousness

2011-02-16T10:11:00.000+02:00

I'm currently doing some quantum practice with somebody and was therefore skimming through Tolle's 'A New Earth' to refresh my memory on ego-work with his wonderful examples. I'd like to share the following:

There is only one perpetrator of evil on the planet: human unconsciousness. That realization is true forgiveness. With forgiveness, your victim identity dissolves, and your true power emerges - the power of Presence. Instead of blaming the darkness, you bring in the light.

The current energies all point to the direction of balancing the masculine and feminine elements in everything/everyone. This has been going on for a very looong time but now the deadline is approaching. You have to find a way to truly balance the two, otherwise struggle and pain are inevitable.

To give you an idea, how you might do that, I'd like to share first the qualities of each (these are quite obvious, of course, but sometimes one needs a reminder :p) and secondly a little practice, that is, affirmation to create balance.

Masculine/Male/Animus Elements:

- Toughness
- Leadership
- Power
- Decisiveness
- Patience / Determination
- Strength
- Reason/Senses/Intellect
- Abstract Thought

Feminine/Female/Anima Elements:

- Softness
- Warmth
- Compassion
- Mercy
- Grace
- Order / Constructiveness
- Fertility
- Senses
- Intelligence

Affirmation:
I accept and embrace the masculine and feminine elements of my soul as a whole."

Have a blissful and balanced day!

Marmorkuchen Recipe (Marble Cake)

2011-02-12T10:56:00.000+02:00

To Eva and D. with love...

3 eggs

1 pack. vanilin sugar

250 gr sugar

250 gr margarine

1 pack. baking powder

400 gr flour

1/4 milk (or as much as you need to make the dough softer)

50 gr cacao (I usually use more since I like the cacao part to be dark and rich)

*grease the cake pan, mix eggs, vanilin, sugar and margarine (I usually melt the margarine before) till it becomes a soft and smooth dough, then mix the flour with baking powder and slowly add to dough, add milk to soften dough again, pour most of the dough (2/3) into the cake pan and add cacao to the rest of it, mix well and pour it into the cake pan, too. Put into oven at 160-175'degrees (whatever your usual baking degree is) and after 15 min use a knife to make a straight line into the middle of the cake, it should be ready in 50-60 min but check with a toothpick before taking out.

Nice Things About Being Sick

2011-02-10T20:52:00.000+02:00

- Husband staying at home to look after Ela. Jan lying and sleeping on sofa all day long.
- In my case, losing at least 2kgs in just one day.
- Being relaxed and not bothering at all about untidy kitchen, toys spread all over living room, no food being cooked but instead just ordered in, TV being open for hours,....
- Having an excuse to work less (still couldn't totally stay away from Outlook)
- Preparing Ela for bed earlier and being free at 7:40pm.
- Finding time to read.
- Just rest, rest, rest for a change.

A rather tasteless story

2011-02-10T12:37:00.001+02:00

Yesterday I had a meeting with my boss and we were planning to attend a meeting together very close to the office. While speaking to her I had a herbal tea and started to feel slightly sick afterwards, but didn't really think it was anything serious so we left the building and took a cab. The assistant manager was also with us. Half-way I suddenly felt so sick that before I could understand what happened I was vomiting right into the cab and myself of course. Very, very bad and ugly.
Anyways, I cleaned myself and felt actually good enough to continue. What a wrong decision that was.
We arrived, the meeting started and after 10 min I had the same strange feeling again. We were meeting a young lady and a man, I told the lady I urgently needed to visit the loo and although she was very prompt the fact that their toilet had a special key and that it took their security guy ages to find it made me almost throw up on the toilet door. Luckily, I made it.
I returned, sat there for another 10 min. and when my boss realized I wasn't in a very good condition she said I could leave if I want since the meeting was far from over. I could have kissed her.
On my way down the strange feeling started again, I threw myself out of the building and had a last act of vomiting in the middle of Kordon. How nice.
Ela was with Alper in the office and when I told him what happened he said I should go straight home.
There, I had another crisis every 30 min. and felt weaker and weaker due to dehydration. Couldn't eat or drink anything.
All this was very interesting for me when I watched myself from the outside. It happened for the first time in my life and I hadn't been sick for a long time, in general.
My quantum mind started to work immediately, of course :p
And then I remembered s.th. I had read recently. Steve Rother's latest message that was talking about less water consumption and less need for fluids in general. Was my body just trying to get rid of the waste negative remains that the water in my body were carrying?
I also wasn't able to drink a lot of water lately, for instance.
I don't know. Today I feel better, just weak of course.
BTW, here's the article.
I wish everybody healthy days!

To drink or not to drink coffee

2011-02-08T13:33:00.000+02:00

I didn't like coffee as a teenager, at least not the dark filter coffee my mom used to have in Germany. But then I discovered the Lattes and Cappucinos and Macchiatos and Frappucinos and couldn't have enough of them.
I stopped to drink coffee during pregnancy and the first few months after Ela arrived. And that was ok. I didn't crave and didn't find it difficult at all. Then I started again, though with lighter and decaf versions...
But for the last few weeks I've been feeling sick after drinking more than one cup per day and somehow had the urge to reduce my coffee consumption which I actually did by drinking more herbal teas and Chai Tea Latte at Starbucks, for instance.
And then I met my dear friend Alexandra last week who gave me the final push by telling me about a recent article she read about coffee which you can read here.
I guess I heard what I wanted to hear. I was looking for a "reasonable" reason to drink less coffee and there it was. Right or wrong....I don't care...I know there are hundred of other articles that claim the opposite and tell about how healthy coffee can be.
Maybe I should try and find organic coffee?

Backe, backe Kuchen...

2011-02-06T22:35:00.000+02:00

Sunday mornings I'm trying to spend some fun time in the kitchen with Ela, letting her play with ingredients, baking things and enjoying the nice smell.
I'd like her to remember this smell later...
She's kind of hesitant with new things though, and doesn't like to make a mess...she also asks me to clean her fingers every single time she dips her fingers in finger paint, for instance.
I really hope she's not gonna be hygiene obsessed!

very, very careful...

that's gonna be quite salty!

Ela's favorite cheese muffins

Mama's favorite 'Marmorkuchen'

The Zeitgeist Movement Responds to Egypt

2011-02-05T08:11:00.000+02:00

Akashic Records for February '11 (by Jen Eramith MA)

2011-02-03T13:52:00.000+02:00

What energies and experiences can we expect in February 2011?

Click here to find out...

February!

2011-02-01T23:10:00.000+02:00

Wow...time's really flying. Already the second month of 2011 :o
Here're the Feb. astrological energies: http://spiritlibrary.com/lynda-hill/focused-energy-or-tunnel-vision-februarys-aquarius-new-moon

And here's Ela on the first day of the new month :)

Studio English Experience

2011-01-28T22:35:00.001+02:00

Long before I had a baby I decided that German would be the language I'd use. Both because it feels more natural to me and also because it's such a difficult language to learn after a certain age. Besides, I want Ela to be able to communicate during our stays in Germany.
Concerning English I thought it would be best to start when she can talk properly and is ready to "learn" something. Probably around the age of three I thought.
But the fact that in our weekly playgroup everybody speaks English and Ela also hears me speaking English all the time since most of my friends are Eng.-speaking, I didn't give it a second thought when Isla told me that Studio English, a place in Alsancak, had made our group a special offer.
We started last week and today we already had our third "lesson". There are two lovely teachers, one American and one English, and a young Turkish girl, taking care of the kids, playing, singing, having fun with them.
The kids aren't really learning anything, or let's say, they aren't really being taught anything. I don't think any of the moms in this group has such an ambitious goal. But it would be nice, of course, if after a few weeks they could sing along some songs or so. For now they are just doing free play.

This was today...

Being more relaxed...or what?

2011-01-27T18:54:00.000+02:00

Right now we're sitting in front of the TV with Ela and watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
Yes, this week we 'officially' started to turn on the TV sometimes! All my strictness and firmness re. this matter has suddenly softened and I'm fine with her watching stuff once in a while. She's not obsessed with TV and is very picky and her attention span is also very short, of course.
I also gave her a little bit of dark chocolate the other day, another noo-noooo! She didn't like it anyway so I don't think this one time will turn into a habit anytime soon.
So why the sudden change of attitude? I have no idea...maybe I'm just too distracted and focused on work now that I simply don't want to take things too serious anymore.
In fact, I like myself being more relaxed. Saying "whatever" more often...

One of E.'s favorite activities (for now)

ZEITGEIST: MOVING FORWARD

2011-01-26T22:41:00.002+02:00

A Morning with Axl...

2011-01-23T12:59:00.000+02:00

I try to go jogging at the fair every Sunday morning and my favorite music is usually s.th. jazzy on Sky Fm or a mixture of Stacey Kent and Norah Jones. But for the last 2 weeks I remembered an old, big love from my teenager-years and had my best jogs ever :))

I'd like to share my favorite songs of the day...

Civil War

"What we've got here is failure to communicate.

Some men you just can't reach...

So, you get what we had here last week,

which is the way he wants it!

Well, he gets it!

N' I don't like it any more than you men." *

Look at your young men fighting

Look at your women crying

Look at your young men dying

The way they've always done before

Look at the hate we're breedingLook at the fear we're feeding

Look at the lives we're leading

The way we've always done before

My hands are tied

The billions shift from side to side

And the wars go on with brainwashed pride

For the love of God and our human rights

And all these things are swept aside

By bloody hands time can't deny

And are washed away by your genocide

And history hides the lies of our civil wars

D'you wear a black armband

When they shot the man

Who said "Peace could last forever"

And in my first memories

They shot Kennedy

I went numb when I learned to see

So I never fell for Vietnam

We got the wall of D.C. to remind us all

That you can't trust freedom

When it's not in your hands

When everybody's fightin'

For their promised land

And

I don't need your civil war

It feeds the rich while it buries the poor

Your power hungry sellin' soldiers

In a human grocery store

Ain't that fresh

I don't need your civil war

Look at the shoes your filling

Look at the blood we're spilling

Look at the world we're killing

The way we've always done before

Look in the doubt we've wallowed

Look at the leaders we've followed

Look at the lies we've swallowed

And I don't want to hear no more

My hands are tied

For all I've seen has changed my mind

But still the wars go on as the years go by

With no love of God or human rights

'Cause all these dreams are swept aside

By bloody hands of the hypnotized

Who carry the cross of homicide

And history bears the scars of our civil wars

"We practice selective annihilation of mayors

And government officials

For example to create a vacuum

Then we fill that vacuum

As popular war advances

Peace is closer" **

I don't need your civil war

It feeds the rich while it buries the poor

Your power hungry sellin' soldiers

In a human grocery store

Ain't that fresh

And I don't need your civil war

I don't need your civil war

Your power hungry sellin' soldiers

In a human grocery store

Ain't that fresh

I don't need your civil war

I don't need one more war

Whaz so civil 'bout war anyway????????

My absolutely favorite cover of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"...

And here my absolutely favorite ballad...

My New Earth...

2011-01-21T22:28:00.000+02:00

Every day I'm planning to write s.th. but time's just not enough right now...days are passing with Ela's old&new playgroups, meet-up with friends and, of course, work (mainly in the evenings).
All is going very well, very busy...sometimes tiring...but mainly lively, and energizing.

No time to write more now, instead would like to share some quotes by dear Eckhart Tolle;

Meditasyon Daveti by Burcu Cedetas (Gyan Heera)

2011-01-18T08:33:00.001+02:00

2011 Metal Tavsan Yilina Hosgeldik

Subat 2011de baslayip 22 Ocak 2012de bitecek olan Tavsan yili, eylemlerimizin dogrudan karsiligini alacagimiz, kendi realitemizi yaratacagimiz onemli bir yil. Sevkatin, toleransin, estetik ve yumusakligin kalplerimizde yer bulmasi halinde, bu degerleri arttirarak hayatimiza zenginlik katacak keyifli bir yil olabilir. Korkular ve kaliplara bagimliligimizi surdurdugumuz taktirde, verimsiz bir yil olarakta gecebilir.

Su Ejderinin hayatimiza girecegi 2012 oncesi niyetlerimizi berraklastirmak ve hayatta gercek isteklerimizi belirleyerek faydasiz yuklerimizden kurtulmak icin Tavsan yilini iyi degerlendirmeliyiz.
Kaplanin bizi hirpaladigi 2010 yilindan sonra, diplomasinin, toleransin ve anlayisin guclenme ihtimalinin bulundugu Tavsan yili hepimizin imdadina kosacak. Yeterki biz Tavsanin olumlu ozelliklerinden faydalanacak gonul acikligina sahip olalim.
22 Ocak 2011 Cumartesi gunu gereksiz yuklerden arinmak, ic huzurumuzu ve sagduyu berraklagimizi tekrar kalbimizde bulmak icin meditasyon yapmaya davetlisiniz.
Yer: sisli (adres icin mail atiniz)

10:30-11:00 arasi toplanma
11:00de meditasyona baslayalim. Sohbeti meditasyonun ardindan kalanlarla yapariz.
12:30-13:00 arasi paydos

Bireysel Kaia Taslarinizi getirin lutfen, hem meditasyonun etkisini arttirir, hem de bu vesileyle taslarinizin durumuna bakariz.

Calisma ucretsizdir. Dikkate alacaginiz noktalar:
1. 11den sonra kapi acilmaz. en gec 10:50de gelmis olmaniz gerekiyor.
2. Geldiginizde tuvalet ve su ihtiyaclarinizi karsilayip, rahat bir oturma yeri bulup meditatif duruma gecmenizi rica ederim.
3. Meditasyonun yapilacagi alanda ozel bir enerji alani olusuturulmus olacak, bu nedenle sessizlik icinde meditatif kalmanizi ve kendinizi meditasyona hazirlamanizi rica ederim. Ayni sebepten dolayi cep telefonunuzu mekana girmeden kapatin ve her turlu canta, esyanizi giriste birakin.
4. Her turlu konusma ve sohbeti meditasyon sonrasinda yapariz.
5. Rahat etmeniz icin acik renk-pamuklu-yunlu gibi dogal kumaslardan kiyafet secin.
6. Dileyenler yanlarinda getirdikleri kiyafetleri burada giyebilirler, bu durumda 10:40da gelmeye ozen gostersinlerki gecikme yasamayalim.
7. Bayanlar naylon corapla gelecekseniz, yaninizda med sirasinda giymek uzere pamuklu corabiniz olsun.
8. Med yapacagimiz alan sicaktir, fazla kalin giyinmenize gerek yok. tisort ustune hirka gibi bir seyler yeterli olacaktir.
9.Kendi mekanimda yaptigim icin alan kisitli, gelecek olanlar lutfen isim bildirsinler, yer kalip kalmadigini iletebilelim.
10. Evde su bardagi kisitli, kucuk bir su sisesi getirirseniz yaninizda sevinirim. Uzerine de isminizi yazin lutfen ki med sirasinda karismasin. Bosalan siselerinizi dolduracaginiz kadar cok suyumuz var :)

Sevgilerimle

Burcu Cedetas

http://www.burcucedetas.com/

Babies

2011-01-09T22:25:00.001+02:00

I hadn't yet watched the baby documentary "Babies" when I read Evren's post today were she gives a link to the trailer. And because I had time and was in the mood I googled and found the documentary here, in case you also want to follow the first years of four cuties in Mongolia, Japan, Namibia and the United States.
Amazing to see the huge differences so clearly and also inspiring to see how perfect all of them still are despite the differences.

New year, new energies, a very social first week...

2011-01-08T22:33:00.000+02:00

What a fast-paced start to the new year! 2011 will obviously be a companionable year...lots of social gatherings, meet ups with friends, parties, playtime, fun time...
Here're Ela's first days in 2011..

Ela & Beyza

Ela & Tuna & Ege

Ela & Derin

Ela & Elis & Alisa

Ela & Selena

Ugly...very very ugly

2011-01-07T22:28:00.000+02:00

I don't have much to say about this. It just makes me feel sick.
Blogcuanne, a well-known Turkish mommy blogger posted today about the last issue of French Vogue where little girls-little children were used as models. This is disgusting. Equally disgusting is how some parents turn there tinly little girls into fashion icons and make them wear high-heel shoes or even consider plastic surgery! to make their children "prettier and better"(I saw it on an American TV show, moms were ready to do everything to make their girls get the leading role in a crap TV commercial...I still hope it wasn't for real)
Some fashion sites claim that this shoot could be the reason why editor Carine Roitfeld was fired.

further updates...

2011-01-05T21:14:00.001+02:00

Ela's finally becoming more chatty...
Asser = Wasser (= water)
Nein = No
Mama
Baba
Dede = Grandpa
Dayi = Uncle
Dasche = Tasche (= bag)
No Yo = New York (this one requires explanation I guess, she loves Jayz's song Empire State Of Mind and asks for it a hundred times every day: No Yooooo :p)
Hei = Heidi
Naa = Nar (= pomegranate)
nass = wet

I'm trying to set up a new routine for us...with enough time for my work, for Ela and also myself...and Alper. Not easy but I need a few days, maybe a week or so I guess. Business started very fast, it's a logistics company and after New Year all new shippings and bookings and rate requests are pouring in, of course. And although I'm not truly involved yet it feels overwhelming but exciting at the same time.

I have the feeling that that's how we will feel in 2011; overwhelmed but excited!!!

Jennifer Hoffman about being non-judgmental...

2011-01-05T10:30:00.000+02:00

"Can you go an entire day without judging anything about yourself, and see yourself as perfect in every way, which is how the Universe sees you? Can you refrain from judging every person you encounter and see them as perfect in every way, which is how the Universe sees them?
I would like to challenge each of you, for one day, to look at yourselves in the mirror and tell yourself that you are gorgeous, talented, special and accomplished, to see yourselves in the same perfection that the Universe sees you with. Then look at everyone around you and refrain from judging anything about them, send your challenging life mates a special blessing and remember that they are doing the best they can in this moment, just like you. And then see how you feel at the end of the day. If you feel great, then do it the next day. Imagine what the world would be like if we didn't judge anyone or anything... "

Jennifer Hoffman

update...update...update..

2011-01-04T22:45:00.000+02:00

I closed the year with a new job, a busy schedule, a short trip to Istanbul, two lovely weeks with favorite auntie and an eager-to-start-to talk toddler. Tomorrow Omatante Saadet will fly back to Germany and both Ela and I will miss her a lot. She literally was Ela's Santa Claus this Christmas...a whole suitcase full with all kinds of amazing gifts. I couldn't believe that she had carried them all the way from Germany. I took photos of each present and was planning to list them here because I wanted to keep a record for later but then I decided this to be quite inappropriate, after all. Although we didn't give them all at once Ela was still quite overwhelmed and, of course, didn't quite get the concept :) Some of them (like pens, a pencil case, a jewelry box, coloring books, hair accessories, a bracelet, a necklace, rings, English books) I put away. Firstly, to prevent any damage and secondly, because she wouldn't really appreciate them now.
And I made an agreement with Omatante; no more full suitcases with gifts! This time Ela was too small to understand but soon she will get the idea and the last thing I want is a spoiled child who can't get enough and doesn't value anything in the end. Only 1-2 gifts for special days like birthdays, Christmas, etc. and if she brings more they will be given at a later date.
What else did she get?
Well, still not sure if appropriate to list but anyways; an Aqua Doodle XXL, a magic drawing board, around 7-8 German books (fairy tales, Heidi, funny stories), 2 swimsuits, 1 bath towel, 6 body suits, Hello Kitty stuff (accessories, a bag, a book), Lillifee stuff (a bag, a mirror, a comb, a utensils bag for her room), bath stuff, 2 toycars (to have something non-girly :p), and other things I can't remember now...

Here's Ela with her Omatante...

A Snow Tale...Bir Kar Masali

2010-12-29T21:56:00.000+02:00

I wasn't able to write any "real" posts lately since I've already started to work inofficially (officially nxt Mo) plus my auntie is keeping Ela and me very busy :)

But I couldn't miss the chance to share a wonderful book project I found out about today.
Three very talented Turkish mommy bloggers (who actually didn't know each other at the beginning) came together and created a heart-warming, inspiring, enjoyable e-book called "Bir Kar Masali/A Snow Tale". Pls click here to read or look at the lovely illustrations.
Currently, there is no printed version but that might change soon ;)
Very soon there will be a free application for iPhones/iPads tho!
And will somebody pls correct me if I'm wrong but I think I've read somewhere about an English version!?!?

Jingle bell time...

2010-12-24T07:52:00.000+02:00

How To Deal With Eclipses

2010-12-18T12:08:00.001+02:00

A total lunar eclipse will take place on December 20/21 and according to astrologers with a major effect on everybody.
For those who are interested in eclipses here's an article by famous AstroGuru Susan Miller...

What are a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse?

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon stands between the Sun and the Earth, cutting off the light of the Sun. A solar eclipse is always a new moon and in astrology tends to mark new beginnings.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth stands between the moon and the Sun, cutting off the light of the Sun from the moon. A lunar eclipse is always a full moon and usually marks endings or culmination points. They bring up memories, dreams, and emotions, so they often pack a big punch.
An eclipse of the Sun will more likely focus you on a prominent male in your life (father, husband, boss, or other key man).
An eclipse of the moon will center more on the prominent women in your life (mother, wife, or female boss, for instance). This is not always the case, but you will find this will be a good rule of thumb.
Solar eclipses work somewhat differently than lunar eclipses, and emphasize beginnings - that is why they are so exciting. Most of the time they make us happy! (Occasionally something may end too, but the accent will be more on the start than the finish.) The changes could come gradually or suddenly. Still, the news or timing of those changes often comes as a surprise. If a solar eclipse falls on or within a few days of your birthday, you will certainly feel the effects of it over the course of the year. Changes will be complete by the time you reach your next birthday.
Although most solar eclipses are almost always positive, if they form hard angles to other planets, the effect on you can be jarring and difficult. This is not usually the case, but it can be at times. As you see, eclipses are not like other aspects, for they can work in a variety of ways. I will let you know if I see something you should watch in your monthly report on Astrology Zone. Keep in mind that all eclipses are there to help you mature and grow, and that the eclipses are ultimately on your side.
Eclipses come in pairs, always as a new moon and full moon two weeks apart and come up every five-and-a-half months in one family of signs, for example Cancer-Capricorn, or Leo-Aquarius.
Each family of signs lasts approximately 18 or 24 months before moving to the next family of signs, moving, say, from Cancer- Capricorn to Gemini-Sagittarius.
Events that follow an eclipse have more weight than events brought on by a normal new or full moon. In fact, an eclipse is like a new or full moon on steroids! The events brought on by an eclipse often pack much more punch and may even bring on an event that seems "fated."
Now let's review the points to keep in mind about eclipses so that you can better deal with them should any touch you in an unexpected way.

Susan's 29 Points to Consider when Dealing with Eclipses

1. Eclipses are dramatic "wild cards" in our horoscopes that we don't see coming. They shake us up so that we can move from one level of maturity to another, very rapidly. They will provide whatever we need to get moving - a competitor, a rival or critic, a benefactor, funding, or some other force - that get us to think, decide, or change.
If we have become complacent or took someone or something for granted, chances are that we won't after an eclipse is over and has delivered its message. An eclipse will always give you precisely what you need to advance and evolve. They look for weak links in all circumstances and instantly and urgently bring information so that you can decide what you want to do.

2. Eclipses work from the outside in. In that I mean that an outside event that has nothing to do with you, and over which you have no control, will often act in a way that affects your life in a powerful, direct, and lasting way. The outside force can be a small, casual event or comment - it need not be a big - but yet it can have monumental influence on our life anyway.

3. Eclipses bring news of big life events that you long remember. You may sell a house or buy one, or start a new business or close one. You may get a major promotion or a new client, or be given enviable publicity, or be downsized. You may meet someone new to date, or get engaged. Or, on the other hand, an eclipse may "eclipse out" someone from your life, as is the case in a breakup or divorce. Often at eclipse time, we are very aware of the passage of time, and that can make us a bit wistful even when the news is very happy.
You may suddenly be expecting a baby or get news that the adoption you had hoped for is suddenly coming through.
You may come in to a lot of money, or lose an important source of income. You may sign a big business deal or walk away from one. You might have surgery or win a marathon and be on TV. You may acquire a new pet, or sadly suffer the loss of one. Alas, as you see, not all news on eclipses is happy, but eclipses do mark major life events that make us value the good parts of life even more.
Eclipses often change the status of a situation. While an eclipse will always seek out the weak link in a situation to expose it to you, they are just as capable of helping you in a positive way, such as to help you find new love or be asked to interview for a big position. The luck you uncover can be the change in status you will receive. Check your monthly report on Astrology Zone for how I see the eclipse affecting you.

4. Keep your eye on your health at eclipse time, and doubly so if the eclipse is near your birthday, is in your birth sign, or is six months away from your sign (i.e., opposite). If you need to address a health or dental issue, get advice and help so that you can get back to feeling tip top again soon!

5. You may feel like you are walking across a bridge to a new land at eclipse time. You are - with no ability to go back to the place you started. In that sense, after you start moving toward the new situation (by enforced changes or by your own volition), the bridge will collapse - there will be no way back. While you can't go back to the good old days, you wouldn't want to. You are ready for more. The universe wants us to embrace all that is new, not go back to what is tried and true.

6. The ancients always wrote that if you act under an eclipse, especially a full moon eclipse (lunar), the plan would not work out quite the way you expected. It's better to consider the ideas of others at eclipse time but not to make proposals or announce decisions of your own at that time. Instead, bide your time and act a few weeks later when there will be less cosmic dust in the air and things are more settled. You'll have more information after an eclipse has spoken too, another reason to wait.
Here is the rule: it is better to listen and react rather than set forth dictums under an eclipse. Try to allow some space of a week or more between the eclipse and the date you act.
Sometimes it is not possible to put things off, so do your best. Never make an empty threat, like "Leave her or I will leave!" If you don't mean it, don't say it. The situation could blow up in your face when your partner calls your bluff and says, "OK, then, leave!" Issuing ultimatums under an eclipse rarely work well.
Let's say you need to decide whether to change your job. It is OK to accept a new job, but might not be wise to quit one at eclipse time. You didn't initiate that offer to go to a new job - someone else did - which is why you are safer to accept an offer, rather than initiate an action on your own, most likely impulsively.
If you want to have a major talk with your sweetheart over grievances you have been harboring, do so weeks before the date of the eclipse or else table your talk for a few weeks later, when the atmosphere won't be highly charged. When you act at eclipse time, you may be surprised at the outcome - things could backfire or create an effect that you had not anticipated. Still, admittedly, it may be really hard to put off saying something at a full moon eclipse. Truth tends to surface like a geyser at these times! See how you feel!

7. Eclipses will always play with our sense of time and change it by compressing it and speeding things up. They bring events to bear today, ones that you assumed would happen months or years into the future.
Let's say a couple decided to marry in two years, and in the meantime save up for a down payment on a house. An eclipse comes by and one of the partners in the couple gets a big promotion and a chance to work in the London office. Suddenly the couple decides to tear up their old blueprints and instead get married immediately so that they can start their life together in London right away. Indeed, timetables often change dramatically under eclipses.
Also, at eclipse time, if one of your planets will be touched by the eclipse, you may feel your life moving on fast forward, at greatly accelerated speed. What you'd normally do in three years gets compressed into six months! Time moves so fast, you can almost see the hands on the clock spin around!

8. Eclipses can help you do things you never thought you could do, overcome fears, and show yes, you CAN do it! Consider this little metaphysical story I devised for you to illustrate this point.
Let's say you are in a new area on vacation and feel like riding a horse for a couple of hours, and because your friends would rather swim, you decide to do this on your own. You are not an experienced rider, so you ask the horse trainer for a gentle horse. He suggests the perfect one for you, a horse that is even-tempered and experienced. He also suggests an appropriate path for you.
Before you set off on your trail, you were told by the trainer that you will need to jump a stone fence five miles down the road but that the horse is capable of doing the jump. You start out on the path the trainer suggested. Distracted by the gorgeous scenery, you forget about the fence until it looms suddenly in front of you.
You don't feel ready to jump that fence and besides, it is so much higher than you imagined it to be! You probably would have never taken this path if you knew how big it was. You cannot imagine going over that and surviving it! Yet, it symbolizes something you want to do but are terrified to do, so you feel conflicted (fear vs. wanting). Perhaps as you ride toward it, you try to stop the horse, but in your hesitation, you don't send strong signals to the horse in the way he understands, so before you know it, he jumps!
The horse has been trained to jump, so he is fine - it's you who is scared, not him! Before you can pull on the reins, you find yourself flying through the air on his back and much to your horror and yet giddy amazement, you are flying over the fence. Much to your astonishment, you land perfectly. The horse is fine and so are you - but you feel shaky and count all your fingers to be sure you are all in one piece!
It all happened so quickly! You knew the fence was coming up, but being distracted by the scenery, you didn't expect to see it so soon on the road ahead. (Timetables are moved up at eclipse time.) You had no time to think! Now, however, you feel quite accomplished - proud of what you did, and rightly so! It is a great moment! Had you had time to think, you may not have had the courage to try. But you did react, and you succeeded. Welcome to the effects of an eclipse. This won't be the effect all the time, but many times eclipses DO show us capabilities and strengths that surprise us.

Here's the rest of the article.

Paris vs New York

2010-12-17T20:41:00.001+02:00

One of my favorite fashion & design blogs Schongeist wrote about Vahram Muradyan's latest work ONE today - illustrations of a comparison between Paris and New York.
As a lover of New York it was interesting (and funny) to follow the art work of a lover of Paris.
To see the illustrations click on Schongeist and/or PARISvsNYCblogspot.

Family Time

2010-12-17T12:40:00.000+02:00

On Wed Ela and I came to Istanbul to visit my family and give them the chance to spend time with their granddaughter whom they've been missing very much...the last time they saw her (apart from video chats) was in August,which is a long time considering the fact that we're actually quite close; just an hour away by plane. I do feel sorry for these long separations but traveling with a small baby was just not my thing. I promised them that now that Ela's older our trips will be more frequent (also because it'll be easier for me to concentrate on work from here :p). Yesterday we spent a nice afternoon at Forum Istanbul, my initial plan was to also visit the aquarium Turkuazoo, which is part of the mall, but a friend, whom we were going to meet there, said it's not worth it - at least not now with a small kid that won't really enjoy it. That's why we had a nice Starbucks break instead and then a little shopping tour at H&M, the shop that everybody here had been waiting for for years...now there are two of them in Istanbul (second branch at Istinye Park).

Today I'm planning to take Ela to one of the Play Barns (the one in Atakoy) when she wakes up from her nap. She gets bored when we stay at home the whole day so I want to give her the chance to have some fun and socialize, because that's what she's used to back home. Before going to bed, Ela played with her 'Oma' and they made her first origami flapping bird together :) The older she gets, the more she will experience the benefits of her Oma being a former Kindergarten teacher...

Let it snow...let it snow...let it snow!

The Akashic Records On Past Lives (by Jen Eramith MA)

2010-12-14T22:08:00.001+02:00

How do past lifetimes affect us? Is it useful to remember or relive past life memories?

The ways that your past lifetimes affect you depend on who you are. Some of you are very tied to your past lifetimes -- your present life is deeply connected with what you have been doing before and deeply embedded in an overarching story that includes the lives you lived before. Others of you do not have very many past lifetimes. Some of you have not lived very often in this world, so that what you are doing now is not very deeply tied with past lifetimes, but instead is more deeply tied to who you are as a soul at a higher level. There are so many different variations in regard to how people interact with their past lifetimes and how each of you has set up your contracts for what your life is about now. So it really depends on who you are.
We can say that many people do live now, or have lived, through what you might call a karmic cycle. As some religions or religious paradigms have outlined, it is possible to enter a karmic cycle in which you set up an agenda for certain things you want to experience or learn as a soul, and then you cycle through lifetime after lifetime in order to explore and achieve that agenda. You can create a karmic cycle based on any different theme, such as Love, Deception. Emotional Intelligence, or the Natural World – there are countless possible themes for karmic cycles. Once you enter the karmic cycle, you do not let yourself out of it until you have completed the plan that you originally set in motion when you began the karmic cycle.
The thing that is not true about karmic cycles is that it is not true that every human being goes through those kinds of karmic cycles, and it is not true that there is a preset or predetermined group of things that every human must learn. When a soul enters a karmic cycle, it is always by choice at a higher level and it is always based on a contract that the soul creates. Every karmic cycle contract unique according to the soul who wants to experience it – it all depends on what you want to accomplish in the cycle based on your soul’s higher purpose.
Depending on who you are and what your contract is with your past lives and what you are trying to achieve in this current life, it may be very useful for you to remember and relive some of your past life memories. Or, for others, it may not be useful to worry about past lives. How much past lifetimes matter to you will usually become apparent – often simply by whether you feel interested in past lifetimes or not. If you are very interested in your past lives or if you find yourself having a sense that you are connected to things that you have never done in this lifetime so you think it must be from a past life, you can assume that your past lives are applicable to what you are doing now. There is something for you to gain by paying attention to those.
If, on the other hand, the ideas of past lives does not really make sense to your or it is not very interesting, it very well could be that you do not need to gain anything from remembering your past lives. It is even possible that you have not lived a past lifetime before. It depends on who you are and the best way to navigate this is to follow your interests and to follow your intuition. If you feel drawn to past lifetimes, allow yourself to notice when you are sensing something and just gently ask the question, “Does this feel like something in my life or does this feel like something from before? What do I need to remember?”
Sometimes you might find yourself connected to a country where you have never visited, or feeling a sense of homesickness for a place that you have never been. Sit down and explore what you feel. What are the emotions that are arising? What are the ideas? What are the thoughts? See what comes to you through your intuition and explore your past lives as ideas of what you carry with you. There are many different tools and techniques that people have developed to perform past life regression. If you feel interested in those, go right ahead. It is important to stay grounded in the fact that you will naturally be drawn to the things that you need -- that your brilliant mind will bring to you the information that you need whether you are seeking it or not.
Do not let yourself get desperate about trying to calculate past lifetimes. The fact about your past lifetimes is that they are only relevant as far as they are affecting you now. They are only relevant as far as they can help facilitate what you are doing now.
The thing about time is that it is not linear and therefore, every moment that you pass becomes nonlinear. It dissolves into the full collection of who you are. That full collection of who you are is with you all the time. You do not need to calculate, you do not need to track, and you do not need to put in some sort of order the past lifetimes that you have lived before.
Trust that anything you need from those lifetimes is with you now. It is in your cellular memory. It is part of your subconsciousness and it will come to you as you need it. One of the reasons it can be difficult to track the order of your past lifetimes is that time is nonlinear. In the same way that each moment passes by and just becomes part of the universal whole, or the Akashic records, so too does every lifetime.
As soon as a lifetime has been lived, it is no longer packaged in chronological order. It becomes packaged according to its usefulness. Depending on the theme that you are exploring now, different past lifetimes will come to you -- they will occur to you. Your past lives, just like all information in your Akashic Records, is stored based on its usefulness to you in the present moment. It is not stored in chronological order. (Dec 2010)

Jen Eramith MA

http://spiritlibrary.com/akashic-transformations/the-akashic-records-on-past-lives

Winter has finally arrived! And so much more...

2010-12-13T22:06:00.001+02:00

I've been desperately waiting for the winter season this year. Not only because I like cold weather but because I had this strange feeling that as soon as winter arrives s.th. big and unexpected is going to happen. About myself. About my life.
And that's why I really got impatient and was bored of still having 25 degrees in December.
But suddenly -at last- the temperatures dropped and everything fell into place! I got a call from my former boss who made a perfect offer and now I'm preparing to become a working mom :)
I'd love to share more details but I'm so tired at the moment that I want to do that later, maybe after I've started and can give a clearer picture.
It was freezing today, even snowing earlier in the day. But we still went out with Ela and I even took her to the park for a short swing-swing.

That was yesterday...

Feeling Christmassy...

2010-12-11T14:30:00.000+02:00

In prep for the famous terrible twos'

2010-12-09T21:49:00.000+02:00

One of the hottest topics lately on Nurturia is about moms discussing differences between Turkish and foreign moms/parents. Whether there're cultural advantages/disadvantages, countries/people that have just found the right approach and raise perfectly disciplined kids, or if we just tend to see the good examples in others and that there are undisciplined, spoiled, naughty kids basically everywhere.
There were comments I found quite judgmental and opinionated, and others which couldn't describe better what I felt and thought. I'd have loved to translate and share them here but my laziness hasn't gotten any better ;)
Instead, I want to direct you to a link which was shared there by one of the moms. It's and article called "Who's in Control" by Jean Liedloff, famous author of The Continuum Concept.

Here's my favorite part;

Put simply, when a child is impelled to try to control the behavior of an adult, it is not because the child wants to succeed, but because the child needs to be certain that the adult knows what he or she is doing. Furthermore, the child cannot resist such testing until the adult stands firm and the child can have that certainty. No child would dream of trying to take over the initiative from an adult unless that child receives a clear message that such action is expected — not wanted, but expected! Moreover, once the child feels he has attained control, he becomes confused and frightened and must go to any extreme to compel the adult to take the leadership back where it belongs.

When this is understood, the parents' fear of imposing upon their child is allayed, and they see that there is no call for adversariality. By maintaining control, they are fulfilling their beloved child's needs, rather than acting in opposition to them.

Click here to read the whole article.

And here're some quick shots from our first Christmas celebration with Ela this year:

Mum's Christmas Dinner 2010

2010-12-08T22:57:00.001+02:00

A belated post about our first Mum's Dinner which took place at Rouge Restaurant/Bar Alsancak last Wed.
I went out for the first time in 12 months (OMG!)...the previous one was also an IWAI Christmas Dinner.
Going out after 8pm felt strange but very liberating and exciting! We should defo go out more often...not necessarily every week but a quarterly mum's dinner would truly give our sometimes challenging and exhausting lives a nice touch.

Last year's IWAI Xmas Dinner...with lovely Burcin, Isla & Nath.

2010 Mum's Xmas Dinner...with lovely Jenny, Lisa, Sheena, Defne, Elif, Mickie, Louise, Claudia, Jenny. Evrim, Silke & Nihan.

The Unsuspecting Role of our Parents

2010-12-07T21:21:00.000+02:00

I just read Lee Carroll's (Kryon) latest message and esp. the following paragraphs touched me deeply. Apparently, I still had such feelings re. my parents.
...
Many of you have parents who are not awake to the possibility of a personal, loving God, as you are. Some of these parents are still alive and with you, and some have passed. Oh, they may love God in their own way, all in appropriateness, but they have no awakening to the quantum Creator inside. They would not be in a meeting like this, would they? But you have awakened to a "quantum system" and you're starting to help the planet with it. You're building a bridge to a future quantum culture. Linear worship has no calling to you.

You have a profound spirituality without a prophet, a book or buildings to worship in. You've created a beautiful energy of love and creator-companionship within yourself, and before you're finished on Earth, millions will awaken around you to the same idea. The idea is not the one you were taught. Instead, it's a new spiritual paradigm of truth - that you were created magnificent, that you have power over your own physical bodies, and even nature itself bows to your collective mastery. You are a beautiful creation in a beautiful garden that was made for you, and you're going to have the wisdom to take care of it for the first time in Human history.
Perhaps some times you look at your parents and you say, "I wish they had what I have." Some of you will say, "It appears they're stuck in an old way." And when they pass over, you'll say, "I wish they could have known what I know." So let me rewrite this linear thought into a quantum concept for you, and in the process expose the incredible system and the love of God.
Come with me within the mind of God for a moment and I will take you to the Wind of Birth of your parents. In a timeless state, they meet you, their potential children, and you listen to what they have to say: "Dear ones, we're going to come to Earth in an old energy. But the potentials are there for things to happen on the planet in your generation, not ours. We're going to give you birth and life. We're going to bring your soul into the planet at the right time so you can make the difference. In Humanism, we may not help you awaken the way you think we might. Instead, we may actually give you puzzles that will force you to find God within, but this is the way the old energy interfaces with the new. We will, indeed, bring you to a place where you will have light that we just can't have within an older energy."
So I ask you, dear listener and reader, who is the Lightworker here?
...

Click click for full article.

Akashic Records for Dec. 2010 (by Jen Eramith MA)

2010-12-06T22:22:00.002+02:00

...In December 2010, it is as if the angelic army is coming for 2012. They come in stages and the next installment of angels is entering the planet in December of 2010. Those of you who are sensitive to energy, to light, or to angels or other beings -- you are going to feel it this month. You are going to really have a sense that there is more going on just under the surface than ever before. You are going to have a sense that you are not alone, you are deeply supported by the higher dimensions. Some of you will see angels out of the corner of your eye, some of you will get messages from the most unexpected places. Be aware that there are more angels on the planet this month than there ever have been before. Many of those angels are reflections of you, of those of you who are human angels. This means that this month is an important time to do a few things. One is to choose to act as a human angel. Regardless of what your spiritual lineage may be, choose to act as an angel on this planet. Every one of you can assume that if you are here, then you are here to help, you are here to bring more Love. Help and Love are the things that angels bring. Go ahead and act as if you were an angel. Look for ways to bless the people around you, look for ways to make things easier for them. This is a perfect time for random acts of kindness to be executed by you every minute of every day. Look for something kind to do for someone around you all day long. If you are occupied doing this, you will be right on track in December 2010.

Click here for full article.

More of Ela...

2010-12-05T20:15:00.001+02:00

Kind of too late for teething rings but seems to like it...

Waiting for mommy who's having a look at new Mango collection

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum...

"I like it up here!"

Newest Shots

2010-12-04T22:12:00.000+02:00

I'm kind of lazy lately, no desire to write, read, make research...maybe because the 'shadow phase' of the forthcoming Mercury Retro which starts on 10th Dec. (more on that here) has started last week. So far I've experienced the famous delayed communication and breakdown of phone part. Hope that'll be it!
As I said before, no desire to write...so here're a few new shots of Ela instead:

lovely lovely friends...

very thoughtful....

Plant A Dream Seed...

2010-11-30T12:45:00.000+02:00

Home

Waking up to a croupy child

2010-11-27T14:16:00.001+02:00

After a very normal day I put Ela to bed last night and was suddenly woken up at 5am in the morning by a very loud barking cough and a crying Ela. She could hardly breathe and found it impossibe to go back to sleep. Opening the window and letting her inhale some cool, fresh air seemed to help a bit but the whole situation was too stressful and we definitely had no control over it. Although I don't like to run to the doc as soon as Ela doesn't feel or look well (Alper usually wants to go immediately), this time I was the one who decided to visit the ER of a nearby children's hospital.
Diagnosis: Croup
The young female doc at the hospital told us to use the humidifier in the other room twice with a half-hour break in between and then she had a last look and sent us home with a prescription for an antibiotic called Macrol...which I didn't give straight away, of course.
A few hours passed and I called Ela's pediatrician who asked for a throat culture the result of which we will get on Monday and if there should really be anything bacterial we will start to use antibiotics then. Croup is caused by a viral infection most of the time. Or it can be caused by an allergy.
Right now, Ela's napping, I opened all the windows at home and lifted up the head of her cot. We will also use a humidifier three times a day.
They say the first croup attack is always the worst (esp. because you're not prepared at all and think your baby is suffocating).
I hope this was also our last attack.

Another 'Mim', that is 'Sobe'...

2010-11-24T10:11:00.001+02:00

Here's another 'mim'sobe' sent to me by Asli, the Blogger.
(I wrote about "mims" here)

It's a questionnaire about nurseries...

At what age did you or are you planning to send your child to nursery? Is there any other factor apart from age you're waiting for to send him/her to nursery?
In fact, I'd be fine with her going to nursery tomorrow but that would obviously be a very selfish decision :p
I don't know to be honest...I started kindergarten when I was three. That's how it used to work in Germany. But if Ela seems ready I'd like to start our nursery adventure next year in Sept. when she's 27 months old, half-days, 2-3 times a week. Till then the playgroups we're attending (and maybe some new ones according to what I heard from Isla) will probably suffice.
What's your most important criteria when choosing a nursery for your child? Something that's crucial and if not provided would cause you to prefer in-home care.
I touched this topic before (again in my first 'mim' post here) but very briefly I want to express my dislike for private schools. So many reasons for that like price, students' that is parents' profiles, academic objectives even at very young age, etc.
I want a place that won't be a burden to me, where Ela has fun and enjoys herself & makes some nice friends, teachers are warm & friendly, children are not pushed to 'learn' and their creativity is not going to be killed.
I just found out that vocational schools for girls usually also have a nursery/kindergarten where students who want to become pre-school teachers do their internships and their teachers also work there. I liked this idea and checked out if there's one where I live. Luckily, there's one with quite a good reputation but where you might need to find a contact to get your child in but that shouldn't be a problem since in small places there's always somebody around who knows the right people ;)
The price for half-day is 265 TL and for full-day 350 TL. Perfect.
Is there any kind of application you haven't seen in Turkish nurseries but would like to see?
I can't really comment on that since the only experience I have is my own time at the kindergarten which was just an ordinary place. I mean, we played games, sang songs, had a huge playground (hmm, maybe this is lacking in many nurseries here, our playground was really big) but nothing extra-ordinary.

Any applications you've frequently come across in Turkish nurseries and find ridiculous?
Too much focus on language teaching. I went to some kindergartens in Istanbul where they even offered two(!) foreign languages. Of course, they're not really teaching anything. Just simple games, songs, role plays and stuff. But I'm still disturbed by the way they promote their institutions; as if before entering primary school the kids would be able to write an academic essay.

If your child goes to nursery, what was the most challenging aspect? If not, what do you think will challenge you most?
I don't like to think about challenges before actually facing them :p

If your child goes to nursery, what's the most positive development you observed in your child? If not, what do you think will nurture his/her development most?
We're spending the biggest amount of our time together with Ela so she will probably become more independent then. Spending time with other kids in a more structured environment will make her become better in sharing, showing respect for others, finding her way, etc. I guess (playgroups already nurture this but nursery will be more effective I suppose).

Today at Saysen...

German Christmas Bazaar in Izmir

2010-11-21T20:35:00.000+02:00

The traditional German Christmas Bazaar takes place on 27th November from 12.00 onwards at the Guzelbahce Theater in aid of IZMIR SOKAK COCUKLARI (street children in Izmir).

Der traditionelle deutsche Weihnachtsmarkt findet statt am 27. November ab 12.00 Uhr im Theater von Güzelbahçe zugunsten IZMIR SOKAK COCUKLARI (Strassenkinder in Izmir).

Geleneksel Alman Noel Bayramı Kermesi 27 Kasım saat 12.00'dan itibaren İZMİR SOKAK ÇOCUKLARI yararına Güzelbahçe Tiyatrosu'nda yapılacaktır.

The Jewel Of Awakening

2010-11-20T22:03:00.003+02:00

Teachings and Meditations on Natural Freedom

Click on the image below or go to this link for free download of The Jewel of Awakening

Awesome Books to read online!

2010-11-18T12:28:00.000+02:00

Check out the following two online books:

An Awesome Book!
An Awesome Book of Thanks!

Both were designed for ipad but you can still read them on any screen. Here's more info on The Awesome World Foundation.
Books like this make me want to introduce English to Ela right now although I decided to wait till she's at least 2.5-3 and focus on German till then.
Thanks to Gokhan btw who wrote about them on Nurturia.

PS: Adults should read these books, too!

What was happening in your life in 2002? (Jennifer Hoffman asking)

2010-11-17T20:37:00.001+02:00

The Cycle of Worth and Value

Earlier this month I wrote about the current Venus retrograde cycle, which ends this week. This cycle is important because it is recycling energies and lessons of 2002, as the retrograde sign and degrees are very similar to those that occurred then. What were you doing then, what was happening in your life, what were some of the challenges you were facing and are they repeating themselves at this time? Chances are that you can find similarities in what you are experiencing now and what was happening then and make some profound changes with that information.

We are generous with ourselves when it comes to our life lessons and have many opportunities to experience them, sometimes from multiple angles. Our choice of people and situations is never random and always reflects the lessons that are part of our life path. Although they can be a surprise when they come up, they are simply lessons that we are recycling so we can arrive at another level of understanding. These are the cycles of our lessons and they never vary, even though it is often hard for us to identify them when we are in the cycles.
All of our lessons arise from the core healing that is our life purpose. Whether it's betrayal, abandonment, power, self love, acceptance, or forgiveness (and there are many others), everything in our life is designed to introduce us to some aspect of this lesson. And now that we are at the forefront of energies whose purpose is global transformation on a scale we have never before realized, we have cycles that support our healing and growth (isn't the Universe nice).
What was happening in your life in 2002? What issues were you working on and who was part of them? This Venus retrograde period has been difficult for those who are not aware that a cycle is repeating, less so for those who have noticed the similarities and are using them to complete this cycle. What is different about 2010 versus 2002 is that we can complete these cycles now because the energies support that. So what do you have to do to complete your cycle? How can you release everything that does not support your belief in your power, that you deserve to have everything you wish for and are worthy of joy? This is the time to resolve and let them go. And you can complete a cycle to step into a new and different life path.

Jennifer Hoffman
http://www.urielheals.com/

Ela's First Zoo Trip

2010-11-16T21:34:00.001+02:00

Today was the first day of Eid al-Adha, a four-day religious holiday...and since everybody usually spends the first day visiting relatives and older family members, I saw this as a great opportunity to introduce Ela to the animals at Izmir Dogal Yasam Parki , the relatively new big zoo in Sasali and celebrate our Bayram there . (Alper's parents will have to wait till tomorrow I'm afraid)
We were lucky with the weather, perfectly mild and dry, 21 degrees and partly cloudy. The park is located on a huge area outside of the city.
Some facts:
- there's a lot of space for the animals which is nice for them but not so nice for the visitors since it's hard to spot them.
- there're not too many animals, usually just two of each species...(compared to other zoos I've been before, eg. Frankfurt Zoo)
- the gardens in the zoo are beautiful
- Ela will like it more when she's a bit older, she's not a big fan of park walks (city girl!) plus the distance between animals and the fact that some of them were too far for her to see slightly bored her.
- the entrance fee is so low! Just 2 Liras...one can't help but think how they manage to survive. The costs of feeding and caring for the animals must be enormous, they probably have very big sponsors.
- cafes could be better
- there're too many playgrounds, which, of course, attract the kids but kind of ruin the zoo trip since kids find it more interesting to swing or slide rather than seeing the animals.

It was a nice day...

beauty queen...

leave me alone!

other beauties...

this one wants to play...

and here's the king...

children's area...

hi!

let's go...

this is fun!

brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?

About Ela

2010-11-15T22:19:00.000+02:00

I think it's time for an Ela-Update :))

Ela is an almost 17-month-old toddler now and although everything's still pretty much about sleeping-eating-playing habits I can see that my little angel is growing and slowly turning into a little person.

Sleep patterns are still not ideal but she's usually sleeping from 19:45 till 06:30 with one wake-up sometimes (just to make sure I'm there). Eating is ok, she likes simple things; oatmeal, cereals, all kinds of cheese, toast, pasta, chicken (esp. boiled), meatballs, french fries (oven-baked), grapes, plums, bananas, sultanas and sundae ice-cream...but no veggies :(

She's able to play more independently now and is also learning to play nicely with other kids thanks to our Iwai playgroup and the new Saysen playgroup.

About Alper & Jan:
I asked Alper for more support since I'm a bit overwhelmed with having Ela all the time and also dealing with all the housework, shopping and cooking stuff. He's ready to do this and just wants me to be specific with the things I want or need. We also decided to spend every Friday evening really together which means no Internet, no dozing off on the couch, no watching silly stuff on TV but having proper conversations, watching nice (new) movies, enjoying ourselves, basically having fun together again. (I'm especially disturbed by the amount of time I'm spending in front of the computer. And that's why I'm ending this post now :p)

In the mood for love...

2010-11-11T22:32:00.001+02:00

No, I'm not looking for a new man.

I just fell in love with a fragrance I discovered a few days ago...
In the mood for love.....by Ferre.
Smells are important to me. Always have been. My favorite aunt in Germany bought me my first perfume when I was around 12 I guess; White Linen by Estee Lauder.
This interest for nice smells probably relies on the fact that my olfactory senses (just like my visual ones) are more dominant.
I very much dislike the smell of air fresheners, eau de cologne, room perfumes and alike.
But I love my perfumes...and interestingly, I can't use the same fragrance twice. When I finish a bottle, I have enough and look for a new love. And I don't just use them before going out, but also before going to bed (which Alper finds quite wasteful btw).
I also love the smell of coffee, freshly mown grass, rain, mandarin oranges, fresh flowers and Ela :)
Here are my most favorite fragrances;
Cerruti 1881
Idole d'Armani
Pleasures by Estee Lauder
Flowers by Kenzo
Mademoiselle by Chanel
Addict by Dior

We like playgroups!

2010-11-08T22:13:00.002+02:00

I know that there are different views about playgroups for babies and toddlers. Some say it's vital to teach them how to socialize from the very beginning, others claim it's just a trend and not that much beneficial. I'm actually quite positive and started to take Ela to our IWAI playgroup on a frequent basis when she was 7-8 months old. Last month we also joined a more professional place called Saysen&Partyhouse once a week and Ela really enjoys herself more and more every week and I can also see that this experience is gradually making her more independent (finally!). When I say professional btw I don't mean it's a highly educational care center with top quality teachers who're doing sophisticated activities with the kids. There're many many things that could be better; like being more attentive to how kids react to activities, whether they're bored or show interest and act accordingly rather than changing them every 5 min. even if the kids are having fun. But what's important to me is that Ela is enjoying herself and playing nicely for the whole 90 min. and then showing me the leaflet the whole week to tell me she wants to go back :))
I like our playgroups and I'm grateful that we have them. Both for Ela and myself!

Connections, Cooperation and Co-Existence: November's Scorpio New Moon

2010-11-06T14:11:00.000+02:00

Click here for Lynda Hill's article.

Beautiful pictures for your kids' bedroom walls

2010-11-05T21:17:00.000+02:00

A very talented Turkish mom and artist has just opened a space where she's going to sell her lovely pictures for children's bedrooms (or anywhere you want!) For now it's just within Turkey...but who knows what happens ;))
All pictures are beautiful but my favorite is actually her blog header (weren't able to copy it here).
You can ask for all kinds of animals, characters, colors, favorite toys, etc....
You will also be sent a preview for approval.
Orders to be sent to: cocukodasiresimleri@gmail.com
Prices vary between 20 TL - 40 TL for pictures on sale now, but it really depends on the size and how much time and effort is spent.
Frames are not included since she's currently living in a city where this is unfortunately not available :)

Do spiritual teachers really practice what they preach?

2010-11-03T12:24:00.001+02:00

During the last ten years I've met many so-called spiritual teachers and/or gurus and a few of them were really wise, knowledgable, enlightening and purifying. But even those "real" gurus, or maybe especially the real ones still tend to keep or even develop a very high ego and start to do or say things that are so out of line.
When you are such a guru and decide to share your wisdom and knowledege with others and start offering courses and classes (at very expensive prices) and call these courses "Blablabla-Practitioner" courses you should be prepared that some of your students decide to follow your path and become a "guru", too.
A real teacher, in my opinion, should be happy to see such a development and encourage it rather than trying to prevent any attempts of this kind.
I'm not talking about myself (yet), since I've just started to work on what exactly I want to do in the future (spiritual guidance), but I'm hearing many things about my quantum thinking technique teacher, for instance...about how he treats people who attend his certified courses and then decide to make use of the given information and techniques...how he goes to them and says "You can't use this, you don't have the right.." Why is he so afraid? What causes the big fear that others might become as 'big' as him?
I guess, the answer to that is not that difficult. It's the vicious cycle of earning more and more money the 'bigger' you become. In the course of time, money becomes the main goal and the fear of losing even one customer(!) is enough to become an ego-driven person.
I'm still very thankful. I believe he's a special man and can't be grateful enough for the things I learned. I wish he had stayed the same person though but this is his path I suppose and he probably should have a closer look at the people he's surrounded with and their effects on him.
Here's another article on this subject.

My first "Mim"

2010-11-02T21:10:00.002+02:00

There's this nice tradition among Turkish mommy bloggers to "mim" each other (mim literally means putting the finger on sb but here it's about getting to know other bloggers more and it actually stands for asking a question or opening a topic and then choosing other bloggers to answer the question or write about the same topic. It's like chatting among blogs :p)
My first mim's question is "If you had an extra 10.000 TL , how would you spend it for your little one?"
(10.000 TL roughly makes $ 7000)
First of all I'd keep the money for another few months, maybe years, since currently there's no need to spend any money for Ela. I'm not planning to travel anytime soon nor can I send her to any class or course since she's too little. BUT when she's 2.5-3 years old, I would spend the first few hundred Liras for our first trip to Germany and buy her the fanciest and newest things for kids that I wouldn't be able to get in Izmir. And then I would plan for another trip...and another...and another...
Traveling is one thing I really want to do a lot with Ela when she's a bit older since I believe that it teaches and develops children (just like adults) in so many ways and gives them the sense of being global, seeing and learning about new cultures and simply different places and people (and languages).
Secondly, if any money is still left (which I doubt) I would spend it for sports and art classes/courses since I decided a long time ago that I would like to send my child to a state school at primary level. And state schools here, more or less like everywhere actually, unfortunately, don't offer too many of these. So I'd start with a gymnastics course when she's three, then maybe ballet, an instrument she likes, horse-riding, etc. etc....anything she shows interest in and is also talented in, of course.
The decision not to send her to a private school might change, of course. But when I was working for Pearson Longman, I had the chance to visit almost every single private school in Turkey and also all state schools teaching English and/or German and according to this experience private schools focus so much on language teaching (but unfortunately mainly on grammar rather than speaking and writing) that in the end, most of the students, even after several years, can't speak or write it properly. They also tend to neglect the other subjects and there's also the fact that private school teachers have one-year-contracts which means they change very quickly which is not very good esp. for younger students. In fact, in one school which is supposed to be one of the elite schools in Turkey I had to translate for a teacher when we visited them with a book author(!) Interestingly, this doesn't apply to German or French schools but the ones in Izmir are either too far or too expensive.
State schools, on the other hand, lack all the rich activities, of course...and can also be very crowded. That's why I will look for "Pilot Schools" where there's a maximum number of 24 per classroom, better facilities, better teachers and education, in general.

The last few sentences have been totally irrelevant to the subject of this post, I know ;)) But I guess I had the urge to write about it right now!

Here are a few shots from today's Saysen Playgroup...

Never give up, it's such a wonderful life

2010-11-02T10:23:00.000+02:00

What's going on?

2010-11-01T22:06:00.000+02:00

For the last two weeks I have heard about so many accidents (traffic accidents, bike accidents, father-in-law falling and breaking his hip)and illnesses (esp. diarrhea and stomach problems) that I'm pretty sure there's a certain reason for all this.
The last news was from my dad in Istanbul. He also had a stomach problem yesterday and couldn't/didn't eat much the whole day. Then, when he woke up to pee at night he passed out on the corridor and fell hard on the floor (interestingly, my mom had removed the carpets yesterday). My mom was shocked to see some blood on his head and more importantly he wasn't conscious. She called a neighbor and luckily he woke up soon. He refused to go to the ER and, strangely enough, he woke up this morning feeling better than he did in a long time. As if he needed to pass out.
That's how I felt when I fell a few weeks ago, too. As if I needed a shake.
Is that what it's all about?
Being shook, being gone & coming back, being re-born???
There are several astrological/spiritual/metaphysical ideas/claims/reports/stories.
I also have the feeling that this is about balancing male & female energies.
November will obviously be an interesting month!
PS: According to Quantum Thinking stomach problems are caused by fears.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?

2010-11-01T12:19:00.001+02:00

On one of the blogs I follow (click) I just saw a link to the story behind the famous children's book "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" Ela is still just looking at the photos and likes it when I sing the song but I'm looking foward to when she can actually sing and read it herself. I liked to hear this story, esp. because one could easily think it's just a simple book.

Shadow Work In Eight Easy Steps

2010-10-31T21:45:00.000+02:00

This article also gives detailed info and easy-to-apply practices on shadow work.