I am writing this one on my way to my beloved Izmir and reading it in a quiet corner I found at the airport. If you get a chance to visit Turkiye, I want you to see Izmir.
Don't have time to read? Listen to this email.
In this lifetime, my soul chose to be born into a country where it is neither west nor east, and Izmir is precisely that.
Neither west nor east.
And into a family I was born, where I could live two completely different views, traditions of the same country and Islam.
One grandmother knelt down to pray to God while I spied on her, mesmerised, watching her devotion. Prayer beads in one hand, she ran her wrinkly farmer's hands through my hair after, making sure I was protected, loved by her God.
"Nene", which means Grandma!
"Isn't this our garden? Why don't we take all the apples home?"
"We took what we needed, my dear", she smiled.
"The rest is for the animals, the fox, the insects, the bees, wildlife... We don't know who visits at night. Who might be hungry?"
"The rest is for the animals, the fox, the insects, the bees, wildlife... We don't know who visits at night. Who might be hungry?"
She knew that the trees, the land, weren't hers and that she was a passenger on Earth. Her goats had shiny coats, her cows were friendly, and her chickens were happy. In fact, they slept on the ground floor, and we humans slept on the first floor of her wooden house. I used to watch the cows at night from the little openings on the floor.
...
The other grandmother danced in a circle to pray next to other men and women, one hand on her heart, the other hand on her people as if she was spreading her love, whirling like a dervish in the presence of sacred melodies, hence why my name is "Ezgi" (Melody).
"Love and respect all people, Ezgi", she said.
"Always treat everybody with equality and justice, regardless of their status, gender, race or age. Be willing to burn on this path if you have to. Speak the truth, express yourself freely, and be a giver on this Earth."
"Always treat everybody with equality and justice, regardless of their status, gender, race or age. Be willing to burn on this path if you have to. Speak the truth, express yourself freely, and be a giver on this Earth."
The news said that they don't like each other. Choose your side! Who are you? Who do you belong to?
Choose my side? Why? For what purpose? Whose agenda is this?
I am unique the way I am, thanks to them.
One taught me what it means to love and respect nature. The other taught me to love and respect every human in the middle of a conflict zone.
I am a mosaic of this country thanks to them. I am not choosing any side. My religion is love. Love of nature, love of humanity. When I walk the streets of Izmir, I see both of them around every corner. Neither east nor west.
Now, a little skincare talk;
From almost no sun in London to full sun in Izmir, I came. I have my Sun Elixirs with me. I will swim with my dad from tomorrow, and I will use the Sun Elixir with Zinc Face and Body as my umbrella.
Because Zinc will not be absorbed by my body, it will sit literally like an umbrella while I am out on the beach. But the plants inside? They will enter my body and help me adjust to this extreme sun.
They know that I need it. My body needs sun to make its own Vitamin D and EZ water to energise every cell in me.
When I come home, I will remove the Zinc with a shower and my flow set. And then I will make sure to apply the Sun Elixir face and body with no zinc. So they repair, nourish and heal the skin that was under extreme sun.
At the end of a week, I will have a beautiful tan and an energised body and zero chemicals in me from a generic sunscreen. Which means I will bring the Sun into my London, where I live in peace with every religion, every race, every age and every colour...
The new meditation "Eternal Now" is now available as a download instead of a Spotify link.
Download Here
Meditation changed my life, and here is why I want to inspire you to meditate.
The eternal present moment is when your past or your predictable future no longer exists.
What a relief!
Why?, you might ask?
Let me tell you something I learned about this brain of ours that changed my life.
There is a mode in the brain called the "Default mode network". Its work is to constantly look at your past memories, perceptions, beliefs and predict the future based on this data. And it consumes enormous amounts of energy to do this job. But here is why this is not a good idea for a human being who isn't living in the jungle anymore.
Let's say you had a trauma in the past or just bad experiences about something, then your brain, the Default Mode Network, will always be on the lookout for a small sign to protect you from the same event happening.
"Same Event"
That's the key.
If you don't train your brain to stay in the present moment, your brain will prepare you for the same life because that is what it knows. So you can't blame the brain.
But I believe we all should be immensely grateful to live in an era where we now know that this is the case. It's not only the gurus, the masters of the past, who have access to this incredibly vital information.
So, do you want to change your life? Do you want a better future? Aren't you fed up with repeating the past?
"Every man is a narcissist.
Every woman is a mystery.
Everyone wants honesty, until it’s about them.
Nobody listens, but everyone has an opinion.
Every company says ‘we’re a family’ until you ask for a raise.
Every landlord says ‘quiet building’ until the neighbours throw a party.
Every relationship starts with ‘I’m not like the others.’ They’re all like the others."
Stop.
That is your brain and what it knows. That is what you have experienced or witnessed. And the only way to change this is to find the present moment and stop all the programs you keep running in the background, which are only calling nothing but the same life.
"Free Will".
This beautiful universe always respects free will. Unless you stop all of these programs, your "free will" calls in the same life.
With your thinking brain, you might say, "Wait a minute! I am not asking for these things. I am not doing anything to attract the same life."
What a relief!
Why?, you might ask?
Let me tell you something I learned about this brain of ours that changed my life.
There is a mode in the brain called the "Default mode network". Its work is to constantly look at your past memories, perceptions, beliefs and predict the future based on this data. And it consumes enormous amounts of energy to do this job. But here is why this is not a good idea for a human being who isn't living in the jungle anymore.
Let's say you had a trauma in the past or just bad experiences about something, then your brain, the Default Mode Network, will always be on the lookout for a small sign to protect you from the same event happening.
"Same Event"
That's the key.
If you don't train your brain to stay in the present moment, your brain will prepare you for the same life because that is what it knows. So you can't blame the brain.
But I believe we all should be immensely grateful to live in an era where we now know that this is the case. It's not only the gurus, the masters of the past, who have access to this incredibly vital information.
So, do you want to change your life? Do you want a better future? Aren't you fed up with repeating the past?
"Every man is a narcissist.
Every woman is a mystery.
Everyone wants honesty, until it’s about them.
Nobody listens, but everyone has an opinion.
Every company says ‘we’re a family’ until you ask for a raise.
Every landlord says ‘quiet building’ until the neighbours throw a party.
Every relationship starts with ‘I’m not like the others.’ They’re all like the others."
Stop.
That is your brain and what it knows. That is what you have experienced or witnessed. And the only way to change this is to find the present moment and stop all the programs you keep running in the background, which are only calling nothing but the same life.
"Free Will".
This beautiful universe always respects free will. Unless you stop all of these programs, your "free will" calls in the same life.
With your thinking brain, you might say, "Wait a minute! I am not asking for these things. I am not doing anything to attract the same life."
Sometimes these programs in the brain blind us so much that even though we may call in a new life, we might not even be able to see it. This is the hardest one.
But the way out is "Present Moment". I hear that you are tired. I know I was, too.
Come with me. Let's meditate. Let me help you find the present moment where you let yourself call in a new life. And if your mind wanders in the meditation, keep bringing it back to nothing. You may have to do this 100's of times in an hour-long meditation. But that is the work. That is how you stop the "Default Mode Network", so you let yourself receive this new life.
with all my life,
Ezgi