Day 9 of the presentation tour of the book Silo’s Message in Turkey June 11, 2012
Hello
friends,
Yesterday
there was no report because the bookstore was closed and we took the day off to
rest a little bit.
Today, June
11th, was again an intense day full of interesting and inspiring
chain reactions.
We started
at 12:15, setting up materials and billboards, distributing invitation flyers.
We talked to many people and 14 people left their personal contacts to stay in
touch. We invited all of them to ceremonies at 20:30. But we still didn’t have
a place since the hotel didn’t want Turkish persons coming who weren’t living
there. So we asked Talat for some help, a young boy who had come to the hotel
and whom we knew already and whose family owns some shops close to the
bookstore. Very amiably he found us a space in one of the shops with some free
space. So we were happy and we indicate the place to all who want to attend.
But it seems that, almost at the end of the day, Çagri, a nephew of Talat who
had participated in the meeting Saturday, came to tell us he had found a better
and bigger space, belonging to his uncle close by. So we went to see it. It is
a magnificent space, full of Turkish, Persian and other carpets, a very
inspiring space. Furthermore, because Eduardo told us that once Silo had told
him “and when you go to Izmir, surely you will be in a place of carpets.” So also somewhat mysterious.
We asked Çagri
to call the persons who only speak Turkish to indicate to them the new place.
During the
day, Alvaro filmed 4 short interviews. 3 were testimonies of two new friends,
Hakan and Talat, talking about their experiences with the Book and the
ceremonies, and Carmen, and her testimony of the experience of the tour. The
fourth interview was of Çaner, our friend of the World March.
There were
also some very intense conversations who expressed their internal needs and
their need to find a way out. One of them went to the internet, after having
received the flyer to download the Healing of Suffering in Turkish from the
internet and came with the printed text. His name is Sükrü, he is a notary and
he explained that he was looking for a long time and had read many things of
Mevlana Rumi, he thought it had helped but it wasn’t enough because he didn’t
know how to advance. So we talked a lot, about the Book of the Message and the
ceremonies. He was more and more animated and asked if he could record the
ceremonies of Service and Well Being and after listen and follow them and we
said, of course. He went on to say that maybe his wife could read the text
while he concentrated on the experience or the other way around, and we said of
course, and so on, entering more and more. It was an experience of reciprocity
and giving the best of one’s self, him and us. At the end he bought the book,
left his contacts and we gave him our calling cards and he left happily. The
other person was another one of Çagri’s nephews, a lot older than him,
introduced to us by Çagri, who explained his nephew had a mental illness. The
man talked English pretty well and so we could chat. He explained that his
illness was depression and he had to take lots of medicine. He wanted to know
if the book of the Message could help and we said yes. That there are lots of
people suffering from depression and that, if he made an effort to meditate on
what was in the book, the book would help to understand many things and have
liberating experiences. We also invited him to participate in the ceremonies.
He also bought the book and we saw him sitting down in a small café close by,
reading the book and highlighting phrases.
Other than
these two very intense experiences, we had very good experiences with a good
number of persons. The good thing was that the kids in the area come over ever
so often from their jobs in the shops close by. Hakan also came in the
afternoon and stayed until the end for the ceremonies.
Even though
only 3 persons bought the book today, between today and Saturday, 15 copies
were sold. There were also many persons who didn’t have the money today but
wanted to come back tomorrow to buy the book. So we are very happy.
Eduardo
talked a lot to Çaner who wanted to know about the calendar of the Eastern
tour.
At around
20h we all went to the place of the carpets. Talat, Çagri, his nephew, Altug,
Hakan, a very amiable lady who speaks English well, in total 7 Turks and us
12.
We started
by explaining in English, minimally, how the ceremonies work and they
translated into Turkish for Hakan who only speaks Turkish. We did the 2
ceremonies in Spanish and Turkish. Well Being with Eduardo and Hakan
officiating and the Service with Eduardo and Çagri officiating. It was again a
very strong and intense experience and everyone was fine and thankful.
We told
them we would be back if they invited us to continue with the Message. It seems
that there is a desire that we come back.
We think
there is a very good possibility that something can continue in Izmir. All very
beautiful and smooth persons, open in the relationship.
In the
meanwhile, during the 2nd ceremony, a friend of Altug’s came who he
had announced in the afternoon. His name is Memet. Memet wanted to meet us and talk. Another person came and invited us
to go to his office who was close to our hotel. At the same time the amiable lady
invited us to go to her house, also close to the sea, to meet her husband and
sons. So we divided into 2 groups. Judit, Aurora, Zoë and Alvaro went with the lady
and the rest of us went with Memet and his friend.
In the case
of the lady, our friends had a very good experience as narrated by the pictures
and ended up doing a ceremony with the lady, her sons and a friend of her sons.
All went very well.
In the case
of Memet, who has a language academy and who speaks Spanish very well, it wasn’t
very clear to us what he wanted. In any case it was a kind of comparison
between a wise Turk of another time who is very inspiring to them and Silo,
somehow insisting that there is a higher power who fixes everything. So after a
while, we said it was late and we still had things to do, but if they want, we
can come back in another moment with more time to continue the interchange.
Again,
friends, it is difficult to summarize in a report everything that happened
today. But it was a very luminous day and we were surely accompanied by the
intention of the Message.
Tomorrow at
9:00 we are leaving for Antalya, where we will arrive at around 17h.
A big
hug,
Eduardo, Judit, Carmen, Aurora, Nacho, Alvaro, Zoë, Ariane, Ismael, Salva, Isabel y Peter
Day 7 of the presentation tour of the book of Silo's Message in Turkey June 9, 2012
Hello friends,
Today, June 9th, was a very interesting interesting day.
In the morning we bought the tickets to Antalya to relax this issue.
At
13:30 we went to the bookstore and the owner and his helpers greeted us
warmly. They immediately set up the poster and billboard where we
wanted. Already the books were displayed in noticeable places.
Furthermore, they told us we could start right away and stay all day
until 19:30. He gave us chai all day and didn't want to us to pay.
There was also a small table with chairs in front of the bookstores
and the bookstore was open towards the street. So people passing by can
stop, see the books without having to go inside the store. There was
another big table with two benches to talk to those interested.
They also told us that Sunday the bookstore is closed. So we have 2 days for the presentations and not three.
We
started distributing flyers at the entrance of the bazar where there
were lots of people. During the whole day they came and we talked a lot
to many of them. The result of the day is 12 books sold. The store
personnel also talked to people they knew showing them the books and
many bought it. A young boy called Hakan, who helped Eduardo and Judit
on the bus yesterday giving them bus tickets because they couldn't be
payed with cash, without wanting the many back. At the end of the report
we will give more details about what happened on the bus and then in
the bookstore.
Also the shop owners around the bookstore bought the book after talking to some of us.
At
a certain point there was a very young girl and her father reading the
book. The girl read out loud to her father and convinced him to buy it.
One of the shop owners bought the book because principle number 5 at the
back of the flyer touched him deeply. There was also a very old man who
stayed a long time reading all the press kit and parts of the book and
then bought it. Hakan also bought the book and after a long conversation
between them (Eduardo and Hakan), Eduardo put the video The Experience
on his laptop. Hakan was totally absorbed by the video. There was also
one of Judit's contacts from Istanbul who lives in Izmir and also bought
the book. After this there were many situations like a chain reaction.
It was like a happening in front of the books. There were persons
speaking French, some Spanish or English. The majority only Turkish, but
we had lots of fun trying to say something in Turkish. Eduardo signed
many books and that was also fun. The people were very happy.
At the end of the day came 2 men who recognized Eduardo and Judit from the bus, the day before.
And
now we will tell you what happened yesterday. When Eduardo and Judit
went in the bus at the bus Terminal, they couldn't pay for the bus
ticket with cash. The driver said they had to put the card on the
automat. Eduardo said they didn't have one and the driver answered to
ask the passengers if someone can give their card. So Eduardo did this
asking out loud and a person a bit far away raised his hand and gave the
card. His skin was a bit darked and moved with difficulty due to a leg
problem. He didn't want to accept money from Eduardo and they started
talking and exchanged phone numbers and emails. He introduced himself as
Hakan. Eduardo asked where they had to get off to arrive at the hotel
and he said he knew the stop. But when the next stop arrived he didn't
tell them to get off, people close by started saying out loud that they
had to get off, that that was the stop and they shouldn't believe Hakan
who wasn't trustworthy. When Hakan and Eduardo and Judit got down at the
next stop, two other men started saying bad things about Hakan and
again told Judit and Eduardo not to leave him with. At this point Hakan
said good-bye and that he only wanted to help and offer them something
to eat but now it was better for him to leave. Later on Eduardo received
a message from Hakan explaining his good intentions. Eduardo answered
that it was allright and not to worry and invited him to the bookstore
the next day. This is what happened yesterday on the bus.
So, at the end of the day two young men come to the bookstore and
recognize Eduardo and Judit from the bus yesterday and see Hakan sitting
in front of the computer. They were the very two men who had said not
to trust Hakan, that he was a bad person. They didn't really know him, a
simple act of prejudice and also wanting to protect the tourists. They
were very surprised to see Hakan and us and Eduardo seized the
opportunity to talk to them that it had been a misunderstanding and that
Hakan was a good person. They recognized their mistake of prejudice and
all well. The surprising thing is that both of them bought the book.
So Hakan and the two of them bought the book. How to explain this
coincidence in a city as big as Izmir, that two men and their object of
agression (Hakan) meet again in front of a bookstore where there is
Silo's Message and all 3 buy the book?
We like to think that the Intention of the Message manifests in
unexpected ways and moments. We are also doing askings that people
recognize the Message inside of them and who knows, maybe both go
together.
One of the persons who bought the book was talking and reading the book
with Judit and asked when there would be a ceremony so we decided to
invite him to the hotel at 20h to participate in a ceremony. After we
found out that others were also interested.
So at 19:30 we went back to the hotel with Hakan and Judit's
friend. We had set a date with others but at different time because we
hadn't made arrangements before.
So in the first ceremony
(Well Being) were Hakan and the young boy. Hakan officiating with
Eduardo (Spanish-Turkish) and he did it very well. Both had a very good
experience. After at 21h two other boys came and fortunately one knew
English and could translate the conversation. We did the Service, again
officiated by Eduardo and Hakan. At the end of the Service, Eduardo put
the video of the Experience, with Turkish subtitles so that the 2 new
people could see it. In the meantime, other 2 boys came and it appears
that 4 are nephews of a family and sons of the shop owners around the
bookstore. All had interesting registers for them.
It was a day full of good moments and we are very happy.
We
invited all of them to another ceremony this Monday and they can bring
their friends. Hakan, who is a bread maker like his dad, already
confirmed he will come back to the bookstore to help us divulge.
When all three said good-bye and we finished the meeting, our 3
friends from Spain arrived, Salva, Ismael and Carmen. So we are now 12
people going to Antalya.
This is it for today a synthesis of many events and rich experiences.
A big hug,
Judit, Aurora, Ariane, Zoë, Isabel, Eduardo, Nacho Alvaro y Peter
Day 6 of the presentation tour of the book of Silo's Message in Turkey, Trip to Izmir June 8, 2012
Dear friends,
Today, June 8th, we
travelled to Izmir, the second city of the presentation tour of the book
of Silo's Message in Turkey. We left at 8:15 in the morning from
Kadikoy on a shuttle that brought us to a big bus. The bus left at 09:20
and after an hour and a half we arrived at a ferry which takes the cars
to the other side of the Marmara sea, we travelled for an hour over the
sea under a shining sun, accompanied by big sea gulls. On the other
side we continued to Bursa where the bus stopped for 15 minutes. Then
there were other short stops so we could go down various times to move
around. We passed through beautiful landscapes and were comfortable. On
arriving at the bus terminal in Izmir at 17:15, a shuttle took us to the
center of the city. We tried other things, like a dolmus, dolmus tax
and public bus and it took a while. Finally some of us decided to take a
normal taxi and others a public bus. We arrived at the hotel more or
less together. A very small and charming hotel with very friendly
personnel ready to help us in anything we needed. When we arrived at the
hotel, Caner was waiting for us. He is an old friend from the World
March and is always very helpful and willing to accompany us. We greeted
him warmly and he was happy to see us.
After having settled in and having chai we went with Caner who
wanted to show us the bookstore. So we walked through charming streets,
bazar-like, and once in a while he asked directions to people and called
friends in Istanbul who spoke English who Eduardo knows to tell them
about the tour. We finally reached the place but it was closed. But it
seems like a nice place with a big patio and cafés all around. Tomorrow
we will see how it will go with the owner.
Caner really wanted to see us because he had a date with some
German friends on the week end but he told us he had cancelled it
because he wanted to be with us all three days. So very good, Caner is
very animated and wants to come with us in July as well.
After the bookstore we went for a walk on the seaside and finally
on a pedestrian street in the center, where we ate something and Judit
gave Caner a book of the Message.
It was a beautiful day and Caner being with us was super, he helped us take a taxi back to the hotel.
Not much more but we hope many things will happen on the next 3 days with the Message.
A big hug
Judit, Aurora, Isabel, Peter, Nacho, Alvaro, Ariane, Zoë y Eduardo,
Day 5 of the presentation tour of the book of Silo's Message in Turkey. June 5, 2012
Hello friends,
Today, June 7th, was a calm day and came in handy to rest a little bit
before travelling to Izmir, Antalya and Ankara.
In the morning Judit, Eduardo and Peter went to buy the plane ticket
Istanbul-Antep for Judit and pay for the bus tickets to Izmir for tomorrow.
Passing by the hotel where our friends are staying, we met Alvaro who came with
us to the agency.
After fixing this issue, we went to have chai and talk a little bit
about what is happening in Europe and the world and how the universal human
nation will arise.
After we bought some good stakes to cook at home. Coming home we met
Nacho, Avaro and Huseyin and we cooked together. Nacho did a good salad, Peter
and Judit took care of the rice and Eduardo the meat. Our other friends took a
day off to visit an island. After the meal we took a nap, the first in a week.
Meanwhile, Alvaro went to photocopy the flyers for Izmir and there was a
misunderstanding on the quantity. Instead of 200, they understood 2.000. Thank
goodness Alvaro realized the copies were too many and cried “stop!”. But there were already
1.400 copies. So we have a total of 3.600 flyers to invade Izmir.
At 19:30 Husyein asked to do a Service and Well Being before his trip to
China for his job. Isabel had arrived so we did the ceremonies, in English with
Eduardo, Judit, Isabel, Huseyin, Alvaro, Nacho and Peter. Husyein’s experience
was very good and he told us that something very good occurred, like a step
ahead and as if a door had opened. He appeared very luminous, energized and
happy. We asked for a friend of his who was put in jail for political reasons,
for Attila and his mother.
It was time to take Husyein to the boat who would take him to Ataturk
airport. We went with him and there was time to have chai close to the boat stop.
We took many pictures also of the red/orange sky over the Western part of the
city and Haya Sofia.
At 20:45 we said good-bye to Husyein with hugs and caresses and he
almost danced he was so happy.
Meanwhile, Ariane and Zoe called they were back from the island and we
all went to eat something by the sea. Very good climate with lots of joy for
being so happy and with such good friends.
Tomorrow we are leaving for Izmir at 18h, there will be 2 friends to
welcome us at the bus station. So tomorrow will be the first report from Izmir.
We are all well with wishes to continue this beautiful tour of constant,
new experiences.
A strong hug,
Judit, Nacho, Aurora, Ariane, Zoë, Eduardo, Isabel,
Peter and Alvaro
Day 4 of the presentation tour of the book of Silo’s Message in Turkey June 6, 2012
Hello
friends,
Today, June
6th, the temperature was more pleasant after some very hot days. At
noon we all went to the big terrace close to the sea to arrange for many things
on our trips to Izmir, Antalya, Ankara and Eskeshir.
We agreed
with Yüksel that he would concentrate on contacting distributors to see who is
willing to distribute the book in various cities. We will offer 60% for each
book. The first distributor Yüksel called wanted us to send the text of the book
through internet so that he can read it and then decide if he is interested. Yüksel
also called the director of the IMGE bookstore of Ankara, who is his friend, to
ask for help with the distributors. The director will tell Yüksel how it goes.
In the
meantime, Husyein arranged for hotel reservations in Izmir, very close to the
bookstore and at a good price. It was OK and the reservations are confirmed.
We also
called a friend in Izmir who wants to see us and receive us at the bus station,
together with another English-speaking friend so that we can understand each
other. He wants us to spend some time with them on Friday because he is leaving
on Saturday.
Yüksel
called various time the bookstore in Izmir to explain what we wanted and so it
appears we can do the same thing we did in Istanbul on all 3 days and the
bookstore has a garden with tables and chairs. So Saturday we will talk to the
owner directly to see if we can use the garden for the presentations of the
book.
Later on, Yüksel
informed us he had talked to Tufan in Antalya and it is confirmed we can use
the Alevi association space on all 3 days to make presentations and they will
inform their members to see if they want to come and attend.
Yüksel also
has a friend in Antalya who will look for a bookstore willing to receive the
books and give us the opportunity to present it or set up a little table like
in Istanbul.
Well, these
were all the steps ahead we managed today and we have clearer images of what
will happen in Izmir and Antalya.
It is also
great that Mehtap will come to Izmir this week end. So we will be able to talk
to her about the presentations in Ankara and she will have her first experience
of an activity with the book.
In the
afternoon, Peter called Özgen, the woman publisher who bought the book
yesterday to meet in her office to talk and have tea. We went, Eduardo, Judit,
Alvaro and Peter and spent more than 2 hours with her, talking about the book
of Silo’s Message, of publications, of the situation in Turkey and all this in
a very informal and relaxed atmosphere. We have her a booklet of the
Commentaries, the video of the Sage of the Andes, a press kit and a poster. We’ll
see how it goes. Anyhow, she is interested in staying in touch and will inform
her friends in Izmir, Antalya and Ankara to see if someone is interested in
meeting us. She asked for the calendar of the tour. She will be in Ankara when
we are there and said she would call. She seemed very open and with good vibes.
We also
found out that in the IMGE bookstore in Kadiköy, Silo’s Message is among the “bestsellers”,
the most sold book in the moment (22 books). So now it is very visible.
Another
activity we did was to call our friends and the persons who left their personal
data in the bookstore to invite them to the house/salita in the afternoon to
have chai and do a Well Being ceremony. Jöntürk, Ömer (the young man who was
with us yesterday) and Selim, and of course, Yüksel and Huseyin where there as
well. So 5 Turkish friends and us. We asked for Attila and his mother, for Jöntürk
who has problems with his back. The ceremony went very well and everyone was
very recharged and happy. Then there were beautiful situations in the terrace,
in the salita, in the kitchen, accompanied by sweets made by Yüksel and chai.
At a certain point Alvaro showed everyone the video of the first days of the
tour and they liked it a lot. Final applause for Alvaro!
At
midnight we took Yüksel to the bus back to Ankara. He left very happy and charged with our good
wishes. We closed the day with a walk and a light dinner in a restaurant open
at night (Pahlivan).
The
pictures narrate the tale.
A big hug,
Eduardo, Huseyin, Yüksel, Nacho, Ariane, Zoë, Aurora, Alvaro, Judit y Peter
Day 3 of the Presentation tour of the book of Silo’s Message in Turkish June 5, 2012
Hello
friends,
The first part of today, June 5th in
Istanbul was dedicated to making arrangements for plane and bus tickets. We
bought Istanbul-Antep tickets for Eduardo, Isabel Torres, Maribel, Peter and
Lory for July 5th and we reserved 9 bus tickets for our trip to
Izmir this Friday. We also arranged for other flights to be free from these
issues.
Yüksel went to Izmit to organize everything in
the bookstore for days 6 and 7.
Some friends went to visit Topkapi and we met
again in front of the bookstore at 17:30 at the café. We fixed our small table
and poster and this time we also put a poster on the window overlooking the
street. It was very hot and we felt it very much in our bodies, but we started
giving out flyers and inviting people to our table. It wasn’t a very busy day
but some people came in to talk and to look at the book. We met again a lady
who bought the book yesterday and it appears she is a publisher as well. We
invited her to have tea and to come talk at our home/salita later on but she
said she had to work until late. She invited us to go to her office and have
chai and chat tomorrow. Her office is on the same street as the bookstore.
We didn’t sell any books and finished at 17:45,
having something to drink and a snack in the café in front. We agreed to go to
the salita/house to do ceremonies. Meanwhile a young friend of Jöntürk, Ömer, had
called Eduardo to find out where we were. He went home with us and stayed. It
was his first experience with the ceremonies. Nothing much happened to him
during the service, guided by Aurora (Spanish) and Huseyin (Turkish) and during
the pause for tea we talked to him about our experiences with the ceremonies to
answer his questions. During the Well Being guided by Peter (Spanish) and Yüksel
(Turkish) something happened to him, because, listening to other friends
expressing their askings for loved ones, he also expressed himself. When he
left he expressed his thanks and wants to come back and bring friends who might
be interested. Good.
After the ceremonies, we decided to see
together what is the situation with the Western tour and we asked Yüksel to
tell us how things had gone in Izmit. It seems that the books were returned to
Ankara and the bookstore didn’t want them. So Izmit is cancelled. We decided to
use the following days to organize
Izmir, Antalya and Ankara better. With Husyein’s translations we managed to
understand each other well. The result of this interchange is that we will use
tomorrow to settle the issue of the hotel and the bookstore in Izmir and have
more information about Antalya. It seems that Tufan is looking for a hotel for
us there, but we will call him on the phone tomorrow to arrange this issue as
well as having an image on how the meeting with the Alevi in Antalya will be
and to do a presentation of the book with ceremonies.
As you see, not everything is going as we
expected but we’re taking this experience like a new adventure which will
certainly produce many positive surprises.
A big hug,
Eduardo, Judit, Huseyin, Yüksel, Peter, Nacho, Aurora, Ariane, Zoë, Alvaro y Isabel
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