Yesterday and today, March 20 and 21, 2013 in Ankara



 
Hello friends,
 
Yesterday the trip to Ankara went well. I wrote to everyone to remind them of the meeting and time.
 
I met Yüksel at 5:00 pm in the house, he told me he had to go to work but would soon be back. I went to buy some things for these days and at 6:30, Yüksel was back with his son, we were having tea and getting organized to go to the bank tomorrow and on Friday to the Ankara book fair. He has a stand there and we’ll go together.
 
Zehra came soon after and we continued having tea and talking. On my way to Ankara, both Mehdi and Sena told me they were working but would try to pass by. Sena said she would try but if she couldn’t manage, we’ld meet on Thursday at Hacibaba cafe. Aylin also called to say she was working and although she said she would come, she ended up calling back to say she still had to work Yusuf wrote to say hello.
 
Later, Murat came and we waited until nine. Then, the four of us did some beautiful ceremonies, very warm, of Service and Well Being. We had tea at ten and they left, half an hour later. First Yüksel, then Zehra and Murat. We also agreed to get together with Murat again.
 
So I hope to see Yüksel tomorrow, perhaps Mehdi and Sena (she wrote saying she wanted to have coffee but she didn’t know if she’ld make it today), so we’ll see.
 
This morning, first we went with Yüksel to the bank, early in the morning and stayed there all day, in a buracracy loop. The paper Huseyin gave us was invalid, then we passed from one worker to the next, they told us we had to send a fax with the new contract, so we went to the agency, waited there while Yüksel visited with many friends along the way. At the end of the morning, he said that when the agency sends the rent fax, everything will work out. Yüksel had to write another text and when he did, the worker said that some information was missing, so the worker did it again. Like I said, a big loop, but I hope it’s allright.
After had to write another text and when he did, the worker said that some information was missing, so the worker did it again. Like I said, a big loop, but I hope it’s all right.
After, Yüksel went to do his things to prepare for the book fair that starts tomorrow.
In the afternoon I exchanged several messages with Aylin, Mehdi and Sena.
 
I met with Sena at Hacibaba and soon Mehdi came, so they met each other and we talked, while Sena ate something.
Later, Sena invited us to go see her friends from a Portuguese table, with Turks, so we followed her with Mehdi. Aylin and Aysu came and we agreed to meet tomorrow to eat together with Mehdi, Aylin and Aysu.
 
Sena and I will write to each other and I will send some pictures of Punta de Vacas, of the works and experiences we do there.
 
Tomorrow morning Yüksel will invite him to go with him to the Ankara book fair and at noon I hope to see the other to eat together, nurturing the relationship.
A big hug
Eduardo

report from Istanbul trip




Dear friends we are in Istanbul since friday but it seems a lot of time.

At our arrival we met Eduardo and some friends, Husseyn from Istanbul and Peter and Lory arriving directly from Ankara

On saturday we accompanied Peter and Lory to the boat and in the evening we had the weekly meeting at the salita followed by the italian agape with pasta.
On sunday we and Eduardo woke up at 6 in the morning for the organized tour to Garipce (on the Black Sea) with some friends coming from Turkey, Armenia, Pakistan and Singapore.

And it begans our surrealist day…

We waited for everybody at the windy and rainy meeting point where, the temperature was 2° and finally we went… in 7 people in a car, one was in the trunk.
After having breakfast with tipical Borek in a tipical cafè and buying the necessary for the outdoor barbecue, we went to Garipce. A very beautiful village with a castle on the Black Sea.

After a windy and rainy walk on the mountain and a windy and rainy chai we finally reached the castle where our enthusiastic friends organized the barbecue in the underground of the castle. Unbelievable! With a wonderful view on the Black Sea and eating windy and rainy skewers J

It was a great oppotunity for us to get involved with new people in a new situation destabilizing our body and spirit.
Omer, one of these friends, joined us today at the salita. We spent good time together talking, eating, laughing and watching videos. He knew also Anna, Eduardo’s daughter. and Gigi, Iaia, Mariella and Carmen that came for a short visit..

Doing this kind of experience we realized how the Message is alive, passes trough the doors and expresses itself in the world with force and joy.

Here you can find a selection of photos of these days

Emanuela C., Francesca I. e Tommaso C.
Istanbul, 18/03/2013

Today, March 14, 2013 in Ankara


(leer en español) 

Hello friends,

Today, March 14th was the last day of Peter and Lory’s stay in Ankara and a very lovely day.
We had dates with Mehtap and Sena at Hacibaba Cafe at seven and eight in the evening.
Before this, we sent a message to Murat to know how he was and if he wanted to come to Hacibaba as well. Ten minutes before leaving, Murat called to say he wanted to pass by our house with Ayca and Asli and we told him we were on our way out and invited him to Hacibaba Cafe.
When we arrived at the Cafe, it was full, but Raif, a waiter and friend, asked us to wait for 5 minutes that he would go inside and look for a table. Mehtap and her friend (whose name, unfortunately, we can’t remember, were waiting and soon after another friend of Mehtap’s arrived. A very nice girl called Ögün, which means heart. Soon they found a table for 5 for us in the back terrace. So we went there and quickly started to talk about how we felt and talking of interiority and the importance of being able to express how one feels. It was very beautiful. Ögün and the friend wanted to know about the Message and the ceremonies so we talked about that. It was all very relaxing and Mehtap translated. All three of them will go to the meeting next Wednesday.

Sena came at eight and she was very happy to see us and to meet other friends. Peter talked with her a lot, also about experiences and change, while Lory talked to Ögün with Mehtap translating. It was very beautiful, we were all happy in a very happy and connected atmosphere.
At 8:45 pm Murat arrived with Ayca and Asli, the three glad to see us. We continued talking while Mehtap’s friend had to go. Asli said that the Message is very good and she liked it a lot. Sena was glad to meet other friends with whom she could talk to openly.
Peter went to Mehdi’s house at ten. He was waiting there because he couldn’t go to the Cafe. With hugs we transmitted positive charges among each other we said good-bye. Lory stayed with our friends until eleven thirty. At a certain point, while reading coffee grounds for others, like we do here, doing divinations. They had lots of fun. Also Sena, Murat, Ayca and Asli confirmed they will be at the Wednesday meeting. Tomorrow we will pass all of the names to Yüksel so he can keep the house open.

Peter arrived at Mehdi’s and showed him the pictures at Hacibaba Cafe and talked a little about those there.
Then we had a great conversation, deepening the issue of the healing of suffering. Mehdi was reading the text of the 1969 speech, which he liked very much. We had çay and ate fruits and talked more and more. It was great. Mehdi will also continue going to the weekly meetings.

So, in this last day we met 6 friends and 2 new friends, having lots of time and giving us the opportunity to strengthen and deepen the relations among us and themselves. We are very happy.
Tomorrow Yüksel and Murat are coming home to take us to the metro so we can go on our trip back to Istanbul.

In general, in this long stay in Ankara gave us many new experiences and the chance to meet new and beautiful friends. We are very happy with the atmosphere being created by everyone and we will surely continue comunicating from afar and we are confident they will continue with the weekly meetings. Everyone knows Dennis and Christophe are coming to Ankara in mid-April.

Clicking on the photo, today’s photo album will open.
A big hug to everyone,
Lory, Yüksel, Mehdi, Murat, Ayca, Asli, Mehtap, Sena and Peter

Weekly meeting of the Message in Ankara, March 13, 2013



Hello friends,

Today was the day of our weekly meeting of the Message. During the day Lory and Peter went shopping for groceries to prepare the friendly food for after the ceremonies.
At 7:00 pm, Erkan came, Yüksel’s cousin who came to the house last Friday. He is a very sensitive person who is living a failure, looking for another kinds of human relationships. We talked a lot about this, he speaks English pretty well, so we could understand each other. It was quite good. At 7:20 pm, Yüksel arrived and 10 minutes later, Mehtap. We were happy to see her after so long. Mehdi came at 7:40 with biscuits and we were all ready for the meeting. Zehra couldn’t come because of an Alevi sema which was very important to them. Aylin and Murat were sick at home.
After some çays, biscuits and chats in the kitchen, we moved to the salita.
Yüksel guided the service and, at the end, we asked our friends if they had trouble feeling the Force. Mehtap and Erkan said the had problems so we proposed to do the ceremony of laying of hands for those who wanted to receive the Force. Everybody wanted to receive it.
We asked Mehdi if he could read the text and we explained that during the reading, everyone connects internally and tries to follow the steps once more and that, at a certain point, Peter would do the laying of hands. It was very beautiful and this time everyone felt inner calm and force.
The Well Being followed and we asked for Mehtap’s grandmother, Mehdi’s parents, Erkan’s old father who is in the hospital and for Lory’s nephew whom we found out has terminal cancer.
Again we helped a little bit before the ceremony to help our friends connect internally with their feelings for their loved ones, very close and then imagine them in a better and more luminous state. Mehtap guided the ceremony and the atmosphere was full of luminous charge. In the end, heartfelt hugs and a soft, moving emotion.

We went to the kitchen to share the wonderful food that had been prepared before and talked in a beautiful friendly mood.
At ten, everyone said good-bye and we agreed to meet Mehtap tomorrow at 7:00 pm at Hacibaba Café. She will be bringing a friend of hers and at eight, at the same café, we’ll be seeing Sena (we had scheduled with her before), Mehdi and Yüksel. We’ll see if we’ll manage to say good-bye to Murat and Aylin if they’re feeling better.

Clicking on the picture, a photo album will open.
A big hug for all,
Lory, Mehdi, Erkan, Yüksel Mehtap and Peter

Today, March 12, 2013 in Ankara

Hello friends,
Today, March 12, Lory decided to clean the walls of the entrance hall to the house. A new color emerged because there was lots of black dust stuck.
After having bought bus tickets for next Friday and having a wonderful walk together, with a çay and sweets break, we went back home and Yüksel came to have çay and talk. The conversation transformed into an English lesson for him. He already speaks some English and we had lots of fun. Next month he will start an English course. We invited him to eat with us but since he had already eaten, Lory and Peter did so while he continued with his English and dictionary.
At 7:45 pm the three of us went to Hacibaba cafe to meet with Aylin and Mehdi. None of them came, Aylin because she was sick and Mehdi because he had to study for tomorrow. Right when we sat at our table it started pouring rain and a strong wind started blowing. Something which, according to Yüksel, never happens in Ankara. But since we are Dutch, we are very used to this sort of weather and we stayed in the covered terrace and had some Turkish coffee, Kurdish coffee and chocolate. We continued talking quite well, using a small dictionary and laughing a lot. At a certain piont, Peter wanted to take a picture and leaned back with his chair more and more, until he almost fell on top of the table behind him were some very nice young men were sitting and burst out laughing. One of them offered to take a picture of the three of us and we laughed with them, all very lovely and fun.
At 9:15 pm we went home, Yüksel on his way because he was going to visit his son and we went our way. And again it started pouring so we got home and were all wet.
It was very nice spending time with Yüksel and he was quite happy.
We also talked to him about continuing with the weekly meeting, together with Zehra, and he accepted to guarantee that.

Tomorrow there will be a weekly meeting and then a shared dinner which we will prepare during the day.

A strong hug to all,
Lory, Yüksel and Peter





Wonderful days in Ankara with friends, March 9, 10, 11, 2013

Hello friends,

In the last days, March 9, 10, 11 we met with Aylin, Mehdi and Yüksel in different situations and we had a long conversation with Murat on facebook, since he was sick at home. These days were rich in conversations, exchange of cultural and historical information, especially about Iran, of music and tales about Mevlana Rumi, Shams of Tabriz and much laughter in relaxing atmospheres among friends at Mehdi’s place, Hacibaba Cafe, at The Others Cafe and in a beautiful park called Alti Park. All these situations gave us a lot of opportunities to deepen our human relations among ourselves and reinforce our friendship.
Many intangible things happen, that are difficult to described but are felt by all. It goes from eye to eye, heart to heart, producing joy and intense connection.

Today we managed to talk to Sena, a very nice person, in contact with Eduardo from the Ankara Spanish table. We are going to meet next Thursday at 8:00 pm in Hacibaba Cafe and surely other friends will also come, since it will be our last day in Ankara.
Tomorrow there will be another meeting with Mehdi, Aylin, Yüksel and who knows maybe some others, Wednesday in the weekly meeting of the Message.
We’ll tell more!

Here are some pictures of today. Unfortunately, we forgot to bring the camera.
A big hug to all,
Lory, Aylin, Mehdi, Yüksel and Peter




Today, March 7th in Ankara


(leer en español) 
Hello friends,
 Today, March 7th was also a day full of meetings and good experiences.
We started the day meeting with Hulya and her parents at noon at Hacibaba Cafe. Her parents are very nice and sweet persons and we thanked them for giving us the opportunity of meeting them. In the middle of many conversations on different issues and çay and food, her parents invited us to a village 50 km away from Tunceli and who knows, we might spend a week end with them in June, together with Hulya. At 3;30 pm we said good-bye and hugged with lots of human warmth. We agreed with Hulya that she will come to the next meeting of experience. She was happy for spending so much time with us.

Walking home, after buying Isabel and Donatella bus tickets for tomorrow and having bought some sweets, a 100 m away from home, we met with Murat, his friend Ayca and his photography teacher, Asli in the middle of the street. They had just passed by our house to meet us. What a wonderful coincidence to meet on the street. Of course, we all went back home for çay and sweets. Murat's friend, Ayca, is a very beautiful and sensitive person, she speaks English and helped us a lot in the conversations. Asli is also a very sensitive person and after having suffered depression, decided that life is very beautiful. So, two persons in an interesting and open state. Murat taught them the texts which are posted on the walls of the salita and Asli took the book and started reading, while Peter and Donatella prepared çay in the kitchen. Lory and Isabel talked with the three of them in the salita and it was all very lively, while Murat took pictures.

When çay was ready we all went to the kitchen and talked for a long while in a very happy atmosphere, with lots of attention. We invited Asli and Ayca to the next meeting of experiences, next Wednesday. Murat was very happy to meet with us. They left at 6:00 pm and we had a short nap, before the date with Aylin and Zehra at 7:30.

Before, our nap Yüksel arrived with his son Shiar, while he played on the computer, Yüksel talked with Isabel who wants to practice Turkish. A while later, Yüksel's cousin, Erkan, arrived. A young and very nice man with whom we had çay, sweets and chats until 8:00 pm. In the meantime, Aylin warned us that she was sick and couldn't come. Neither could Zehra. Mehdi let us know that he was waiting for us in his house to do a small celebration and a well being ceremony. So, at around 8:30, Lory, Isabel, Donatella and Peter went off to his house, while Yüksel brought his son home to his Mom and Erkan stayed at home waiting for Yüksel. Before we left, we invited Erkan to the next meeting and also to come to Mehdi's house with Yüksel.

When we got on the bus in Kizilay, the driver told us it was a bus with cards and we couldn't pay with coins, so we had to wait for the next one to pay with coins. But, a man stood up and told us to get on and that he would pay with his card. We thanked him and wanted to give him the coins, but he said no, that it was ok. We got sweet looks from various persons who nodded in consent and looked at us aimably. There was and old man who wanted to give us his seat, but we said no and thanked him. There was a very special and soft atmosphere in the bus in this moment. When the man who payed for our tickets was about to leave, we said good-bye and thanked him again and the old man touched his arm and said he had done a very good thing. It was all very interesting, a moment full of this new sensitivity expressed by all who were on the bus. Something soft, of shared goodness.
We reached Mehdi's house and he was waiting for us with çay, cookies, chocolate and fruit and welcomed us with his special human warmth. After a while, Yüksel also arrived, without Erkan, who according to Yüksel had gone to visit his family but would be back next Wednesday for the meeting.
After some great conversations, listening to some beautiful Iranian music, Mehdi showed us the pictures of his family, especially his mother and the love he feels for his family was very obvious. We chose a beautiful picture of his Mom, to repeat the well being ceremony for her, we had agreed to do.
We went back to the living room, for the ceremony, guided by Peter in English but in a freer way, accompanying closely and something strong and beautiful arose, asking for Mariam, Mehdi's mother and each one also for the persons very dear to them. Finishing the ceremony, the living room was charged with well being and something else and we hugged with intense softness. It was a very special experience, charging Mehdi's house with our best wishes, together with 6 friends. All were moved and thankful.

We continued to watch some short videos on historical place and ancient Persians, among them Persepolis. Very inspiring.

At midnight we said good-bye and went back to our house and left Mehdi super happy with shining eyes and we were also happy.

We got back home and talked until 2:00 am.

Another day full of good experiences, again contributing to strengthen and deepening our relationships and opening new ones.

Clicking on the picture, you will open today's album.

With a big hug for everyone,
Isabel, Donatella, Lory, Mehdi, Murat, Yüksel and Peter

Today, March 6, 2013 in Ankara



(leer en español) 
Hello friends,
today March 6th was very rich in experiences and meetings.
It started with meeting Huseyin Boztepe, a student whom we met during the book tour in Antalya in June 2012. We met at Hacibaba Cafe at 2:00 pm and after some calls because he couldn't find the cafe and with help from a waiter who explained in Turkish how to find the place, Huseyin arrived and we talked for an hour and a half about the Message, internal experience, of what happens to people who need a deep change. It was very interesting talking to this young friend, 19 years old, open and receptive and we will meet him again in the next days. He couldn't come to the weekly meeting because he had a date with his family, but it was very nice meeting him again after almost a year.
Before we went to meet him, we prepared some good food for after the ceremonies.
At 5:00 pm we had a meeting with Mehdi, also at Hacibaba cafe. Lory stayed home because Isabel and Donatella were due to arrive at six.
At 6:30, Mehdi and Peter arrived home and found Isabel and Donatella. A while later Yüksel came, and then other friends. Aylin, Murat who brought a friend called Abdula, Zehra with a friend of hers, Cengül. So we were with 7 friends from Ankara, Isabel and Donatella and Lory and Peter. Eleven persons total.
In the kitchen, some very beautiful conversations took place, very animated and the atmosphere was very warm and joyful among everyone, together with çay and sweets.
At about 7:45, we went to the salita where the two new persons were well included in this beautiful atmosphere.
After a brief explanation of how the service is, made by Zehra, she guided the ceremony in an excellent way, as usual. The experience was very intense for all those who participated, and the salita was surrounded by the atmosphere of light produced by everyone.
In this wonderful atmosphere we did the Well Being, guided in a very heartfelt way by Aylin. We asked for Mehdi's mother, who is called Mariam, for our friend Zeinep who is still taking care of her mother, a friend of hers, a doctor who caught a virus at the hospital, for Cengul who suffers from depression and to Abdula, whom Murat said needed some well being.
The Well Being was also very intense and luminous. Everyone felt so and commented on it at the end. Many intense hugs to transmit the best and thankfulness.
Something very good is gaining strength among our friends from Ankara and we agreed with Zehra that she will continue the weekly meeting when we will leave, giving permanence to the meeting for all our friends, until Christophe and the others arrive.


We quickly reorganized the salita, putting two tables so we could eat together the food that had been prepared. We continued this well being in a friendly atmosphere, sharing food, çay and sweets. We laughed a lot because a spontaneous Turkish lesson took place, with the help of Aylin and Mehdi. We agreed to an English/Turkish lesson tomorrow with Aylin, Zehra, Medhi, Peter, Lory, Isabel and Donatella. 
Besides this, Mehdi invited us over to his house tomorrow to do a small celebration, accompanied by çay and something to eat and he asked us to do a ceremony in his house on that occasion.
We agreed to meet with Murat and Abdula on Friday to talk some more. 
Tomorrow at noon, we will meet Hulya and her parents at Hacibaba cafe. She was supposed to come to the meeting, but she told us that she had a meeting at work and wouldn't arrive on time. So we will meet her tomorrow.
It was a day full of good things and experiences which ended with long talks of experience between Lory, Isabel, Donatella and Peter in the kitchen.
Here are some pictures to show what we commented. When you click on the photo, the album appears.
A big hug to everyone.
Lory, Isabel, Donatella, Peter, Mehdi, Zehra, Aylin, Yüksel and Murat

Today, in Ankara, March 4 and 5, 2013


(leer en español) 
Hello friends,
today, March 4th, Lory and Peter travelled back to Ankara from Istanbul. Lory arrived in Istanbul on Saturday, March 2th, together with Isabel and Donatella from Italy. We spent the night and a very beautiful day with  Eduardo, Huseyin, Ana and Jöntürk.

We arrived in Ankara at 6:00 pm and we found out neither the phone, nor internet were working. After some calls to Huseyin in Istanbul, he managed to make Telecom promise they would send a technician. We went shopping and prepared food, we sent some of our friends, messages in Turkish, one of whom was Zehra. At 8:30 pm, we decided to go to Hacibaba cafe to have çay, thinking of our friends. After a while we were looking at the entrance and Zehra and Huseyin arrived, very happy to see us. It was a beautiful surprise and a somewhat mysterious coincidence, reinforcing the fact that thinking of dear persons, they can appear where you least expect them. We passed some very nice moments. Huseyin translating to Zehra all the while. She was very happy. Huseyin reaffirmed the importance of his experience his participation in the meeting last week and confirmed he would be there tomorrow. At 10:00 pm we said good-bye and went back home where neither the phone, nor internet worked.
And we arrived today, March 5th, without internet. We decided to go out to buy gas for the heating which was about to finish. We didn't want to wait for the Telecom technician. But when we came back, at exactly 1:30 pm, two joyful youths appeared and introduced themselves as the Telecom technicians. One of them spoke English well. So we let them in and they quickly checked the phone and saw it was broken and that we could throw it away. We said we didn't use the phone but only used internet. So they showed us how to put the cable directly on the modem without passing through the phone. But it didn't solve the problem. So they explained that we had to go to the Telecom office close by, take the phone and modem and that they would fix everything. One of them writes some sentences in Turkish on a piece of paper ad tells us to show the Telecom people so that they will know what to do. They were very kind.

They leave happily and we go to Telecom but... arriving there we see the building is being renovated and it was closed. We saw two workers and a young couple. We ask if any of them speak English and the young woman starts speaking perfect English and tries to explain to us where we must go. We couldn't understand, so she said that she is going there with her husband and we can go with them. And so we went, walking all four of us and talking all the while, with a good mood and lots of jokes, we went our way. It was quite a long walk and it finished close to Handan's house, asking directions along the way.

The atmosphere was very nice and open, she told us she is an English teacher, as well as French, he told us he is in the army although he doesn't like it so much. She is of Greek origin but comes from Anatolia, from Izmir. They asked what we were doing in Ankara and when we said something about a volunteer project on a new spirituality and the meaning of life, the reacted very well saying it was very good. Arriving at Telecom we thanked them and they said we musn't thank them, that they had a good time taking us. We insisted it was important to thank them for their company and for having guided us to this place. We gave them a Message card with our contacts and web pages. She said that she will write us surely and to call her if we need help in Ankara. They helped us by showing the paper to the doorman, who showed us to a desk behind him. We said good-bye to our friends with lots of human warmth and we went to the table. The man received us very nicely and in a short time fixed everything. Another nice man came close and told us we must change the password so that the new connection will work. We talked for a while later and said good-bye amiably. It was like a guided experience that brought us to our destiny.

Coming back, everything worked perfectly, so the problem with internet is solved.
After a while, Yuksel came and we had çay and hugs and information on the internet connection. He stayed us for a while and said that he would be back tomorrow at six with Aylin to receive Isabel and Donatella.

At seven we talked to Mehdi and agreed we will see him at Hacibaba cafe at eight. It was another very nice meeting which gave us the chance to deepen the issues of the Message. We spent two hours together and before we left one of the boys who works there asked us what we did and we repeated it and gave him a card. We'll see how it goes.

Tomorrow at 2:00 pm we have a meeting with Huseyin, a student we met during the book tour in Antalya. He is happy to see us again. We are also in contact with Bertug, anothe student and contact from Antalya, who will try to come tomorrow to the meeting, or else this Friday.
We are well and inspired.
A big hug to all,
Lory and Peter