CHAPTER 1

Life Is Simple

Birdsong brings reliefTo my longing.I am just as ecstatic as they are,But with nothing to say!Please, universal soul, practiceSome song, or something, through me!

—Rumi

This book is my song, which I am singing to you through writtenwords.

I have written this book so that you can open any page atany time and be inspired to take an effortless little step to changeyourself in any way you want. As Mahatma Gandhi said, "You mustbe the change you wish to see in the world." In my life's journey, Ihave discovered that just a word, a sentence, or a heartfelt sharingcan magically resonate with another. Through such heart-to-heartconnections, others are convinced that they can easily transformtheir lives. I have lived many such moments. I have seen friends,family, and clients experience phenomenal shifts. I sincerely hopethat, through reading this book, you also will be inspired to bravelywalk the path to reach your potential.

I have always believed in simplicity. This was clear when Istarted my work life, but looking back, I can see that I alwaysvalued this virtue. Last year, my yoga teacher, Vandana, who isof Indian origin, taught me some basic yoga positions in suchsimple ways that suddenly I had a realization: everything that isnot simple is most likely bundled with ego! Ego tends to makethings complicated. Simplicity, on the other hand, is very effective.Therefore I have chosen to make this a simple book for people toread and find tips about how to change their lives if they arecalled to do that.

Through years of practicing hypnotherapy, I found out thatpeople always need to change. Whether the problem is big or small,something is always bugging them. Joy is somehow reduced in theirlives. The discomfort might feel very small, or it might involve abig physical problem. People often look for quick ways to change,to leave behind something or even everything. I would like to showyou how this is possible with simple, small steps. This is a very easy-to-readbook. Its aim is to share with you effective tips to transformyourself and live a more joyful, effortless life.

Why, then, are people stuck? If life is so simple and change is soeasy, what is the missing piece, the trick people haven't discovered?

The trick is to recognize the big picture, the one beyond thephysical life that we experience with our five senses through thevisible world. Seeing this starts with opening your mind to thepossibility. Life is all about the use and manipulation of energy.Energy works on you, but you cannot see, touch, smell, hear, ortaste it. However, you are inevitably a part of it! Once you recognizethis bigger picture, you will find it much easier to identify andchoose your path.

The energetic world is where everything happens, but we seeenergetic changes only when they create our reality. If you areunaware of the unseen plane of energy, you are more likely to feelstuck. Connecting the dots is difficult, since the information youhave through your five senses is incomplete. You may exhaust allyour brain's energy and still not find an explanation. For example,if you have an illness or an accident, you may struggle in vain tofigure out why it happened.

Been there, done that!

I spent years trying to learn why people are the way they areand why things happen the way they do. My efforts produced nosatisfactory explanation.

However, when I surrendered to discovering the unknown, Iwent through a huge paradigm shift. I realized that illnesses andaccidents happen as a result of unbalanced energy. Such unbalanced,unhealthy energy accumulates over time and finally makes itselfvisible. This is a signal from the universe that you need to transformyourself quickly. Without change, bigger and stronger signals andmessages will be on their way! It is time to seek your truth and findyour path. Everyone has a unique path to walk.

* * *

One of the main reasons people resist change is because theydon't want to be forced from their comfort zones. Usually theyare supporting others, and they feel sorrow or pity for close familymembers or friends. It is interesting that they feel those they helpcannot do without them. Our sessions, like the one I will share inchapter 6, show that just the opposite is true—that people must helpthemselves and that the will to change can come only from within.

Recently, someone said to me, "Esra, I have a friend whoneeds this therapy very much but doesn't believe such change ispossible. However, I still feel I should grab her and bring her toyou. Do you think this would work?" I replied, "This is not howit works. People have free will, and you cannot and should not tryto change anyone. All you have is yourself, and you must start thechange there, taking even tiny steps, altering your energy field insuch a way that the people around you will also start shifting andadapting—even without knowing it. Of course, it might come toa point where they separate their world from yours, and maybethat is best for everyone in the bigger picture."

I have found that detaching from the hardship and sufferingof others is most difficult in parent-child relationships. Duringour sessions, each time we ask the Superconscious how we shouldbetter deal with our children or how we can ensure that they dowhat we feel is best, the answer is, "Just love them unconditionallyand set them free." This answer indicates that the new agechildren (the so-called indigos, crystals, and rainbow children)have already arrived, fully adapted to the shifting consciousness.They have expanded awareness and are enlightened teachers. Sowe are the ones who have the harder task to accomplish in termsof adaptation and transformation. Therefore we are advised to setour children free and let them find their own paths.

Another obstacle is being mired in new age jargon and saddledwith things we think we must do. These imperatives includechecklists detailing how to ascend, how to clean karma, and howto have a wonderful merkaba (the energy body aligning mind,body, and heart). But we will not be able shift our awarenessunless each of us takes this path. Ultimately, one can do nothingmore for others than share experiences, which is my aim here.The shift in consciousness will not happen with knowledge orchecklists. It is important to detach from all these prerequisitesand avoid attending one course after another, constantly lookingfor your truth outside of yourself.

One of my favorite quotes is from Hermann Hesse's masterpieceSiddhartha. The title character tells a friend, "You, O worthy one,are perhaps indeed a seeker, for in striving toward your goal, youdo not see many things that are under your nose." (Hesse, 108)You can certainly open key doors by getting information and helpand experiencing energetic shifts while working with therapists andteachers who resonate with you. All this helps. Your awareness willbe expanded, and you may start seeing familiar things differently.Then you are on your own in contemplating this new, elevatedperspective, incorporating it into your life, and applying what youhave learned. The process is all about experiencing and stayinggrounded. As the Superconscious always reminds us, "After yourcurrent life, you will come here anyway. Live your life there whileyou are there!"

Inner work awaits you here and now.

I have also seen clients who receive all the answers from theSuperconscious (through our conversations with their higherselves), and as always, I ask them to go back and listen to therecordings of the sessions. But the next time we talk, I may learnthat they have not done this. That is like hearing the answers,reaching that sacred space, but choosing not to do anything withthose pearls of wisdom. We always have choices, don't we?

Another pitfall is doubts about the messages relayed duringthe sessions. I will always tell a client that no other human beingcould have seen, said, or experienced exactly the same things hedid. Therefore this message is uniquely for him and from him.It is his own consciousness, his own energy talking. Still, peoplehave free will to choose what to believe.

The doubting person might be someone you love very much,but it is still nearly impossible to make that person do or believeanything. You can only let the person be. To do otherwise maybe counterproductive. For example, telling an overweight personnot to eat too much might have the opposite effect. One of thebiggest lessons learned in a recent session (detailed in chapter 8)was acceptance and trust. The Superconscious said, "If you do notaccept things—in this case, the death of a much-loved brother ina past life—you cannot live with joy." We always think we knowbest, but the mind is actually setting traps to keep us captive.

Finally, a major reason people claim they cannot change is theirgenetic heritage. The gene myth is so much promoted that peopleeasily give away their power, and in doing so, play the victim. Tounderstand the fallacy of this myth, read (or listen to) Bruce Lipton.A biologist, he explains why we are free to change. He notes that"genes and DNA do not control our biology; that instead DNA iscontrolled by signals from outside the cell, including the energeticmessages emanating from our positive and negative thoughts." Inhis groundbreaking book The Biology of Belief, he discusses theincredible power of the mind and details the insights on mind-bodypathways that his research on cells has produced. He alsodiscusses the conscious mind versus the subconscious mind (thebasis for hypnosis). The conscious mind creates positive thoughts;the subconscious mind, however, is like a computer—it continuesrunning programs, some implanted at conception. Emotions in theconscious mind produce signals that trigger the cells to do theirwork following subconscious programming.

Lipton's synthesis of the latest and best research in cellbiology and quantum physics is being hailed as a majorbreakthrough showing that our bodies can be changed as weretrain our thinking. "We can control our lives by controlling ourperceptions," he says.

"I was exhilarated by the new realization that I could changethe character of my life by changing my beliefs," Lipton says. "Iwas instantly energized because I realized that there was a science-basedpath that would take me from my job as a perennial victimto my new position as cocreator of my destiny."

Deepak Chopra mentions in his lectures that 98 percent of thebody renews itself within one year and the remaining 2 percentwithin two to three years. Echoing Lipton, he says, "You can freeyourself from aging by reinterpreting your body and by graspingthe link between belief and biology." He also says, "The physicalworld, including our bodies, is a response of the observer. Wecreate our bodies as we create the experience of our world."

* * *

I would like to share some definitions that are at the core of myjourney:

Consciousness is defined as awareness.

Its synonyms are cognizance, mindfulness, realization, andrecognition.

Transformation is defined as complete change.

Once transformed, you cannot return to your previous state ofbeing. Transformation is represented by the element of fire. It is saidthat Sufis burn with the fire of love. Sufism awakens the lamp ofdivine light within the heart.

Transformation's synonyms are metamorphosis, shift, switchover,and transmutation.

"According to Vedanta, there are only two symptoms ofenlightenment, just two indications that a transformation istaking place within you toward a higher consciousness," Choprasays. "The first symptom is that you stop worrying. Things don'tbother you anymore. You become lighthearted and full of joy. Thesecond symptom is that you encounter more and more meaningfulcoincidences in your life, more and more synchronicities. Andthis accelerates to the point where you actually experience themiraculous."

* * *

This book is about my song, my journey, and about sharingmy experiences on this journey. It is written from my heart andincludes highlights of the many hours of hypnotherapy sessions Ihave had with numerous clients over the years. I emphasize quality,not quantity, so it is short, direct, and selective. My aim is to spreadthe light I have discovered in myself and have helped others findin themselves. Reading this book, you will learn about the energygame and start to play it if you choose. I hope you will enjoy thegame as much as I do. After all, this is why you chose to be here onGaia right now—to create with her at this historically critical timeof consciousness transformation.

CHAPTER 2

Speaking My Truth

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and whatyou do are in harmony.—Mahatma Gandhi

The first time I heard about "speaking your truth," I felt free asa bird.

I had nearly completed my thirteenth year in corporate life. Ifelt hollow, almost robotic. In fact, since the first days, corporatelife felt confining. I felt I did not belong, but I did not know whatto do about it.

I was recovering from a potentially fatal illness and startingto regularly practice Ashtanga yoga. I call this my first contactwith my soul. So much was going on for me, both physically andemotionally.

I was looking back and trying to connect the dots. This nonstopprocess was very tiring. I kept asking, Why did all this happen to me?What did I do wrong? And more important, what should I do now? Isthere any hope of turning my life around?

I have been a very curious person all my life. Seeing behindpeople and events was something of a hobby. I was particularlydrawn to deep subjects that were not easily comprehensible atfirst glance. Because I was always hungry for knowledge, I read,researched, studied, and learned extensively. Reading one bookafter another made life bearable for me, since this opened the doorsto other people's lives. I hoped to find the truth by reading aboutothers' experiences. What else was there to do?

Gaining knowledge is certainly key to knowing oneself, but thejourney within is largely an experiential process. Everyone has hisown path to walk and his own choices to make along this path. Justas no two pieces of turquoise have the same pattern, each of us isunique. We can explore that individuality.

We are here to live and to learn.

Experiencing Corporate Life

Like most people, I was brought up in an achievement-orientedenvironment. I was born in Istanbul, Turkey, and I attended acompetitive American high school and university there. I majoredin business administration.

I worked part time while studying at the university. A strongvoice inside me kept saying that the real world was out there andnot in additional degrees at school. I was able to squeeze in a greatdeal while studying and working. Meeting new people was the realbonus. I worked with tourist guides, top-level executives, owners ofpublic relations agencies, high-flying managers at top audit firmsand banks, musicians, photographers, and accountants. With theextra cash, I joined and led international volunteer work campsin Turkey and in Europe through a youth organization calledGenctur.

Though I knew what I did not want to do, I had no clue whatI wanted to do!

I saw that managing time and recognizing priorities were theways to optimize life. I had to do my best at this or I would fallbehind in the race. I knew that I needed to keep ahead of the gameas much as possible.

One day during my senior year at the university, my fatherhanded me an ad he had cut out from a local newspaper. It read,"European Financial Seminar in Paris." Knowing I loved to travel,he thought I would be interested in this chance to visit Paris atno cost. Procter & Gamble was offering the seminar and invitingstudents to go through an intensive interview process. I immediatelyaccepted the challenge and was on my way to Paris six monthslater.

That week in Paris was a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Twodozen top students from twelve countries were selected to attendthe event. We all had great ambition, but my expectations were low.I was simply enjoying the trip. Shortly after returning home, I wasoffered a job as a financial analyst. I had officially kicked off mynineteen-year corporate career.

During the interviews, I was asked the cliché question, "Whyshould we select you?" I thought for a few moments and then replied,"Perhaps I can look at things differently than you." I intuitively feltthat the company was hindered by too many templates and thatsuch a giant worldwide conglomerate always needed fresh blood.This is exactly how I feel about the world today, and that is whyI have written this book in which I share awakenings to my truththrough a series of synchronicities.

From the moment we are born to the time of our transition, wehave endless opportunities in front of us. Our souls choose just theright pathways for our evolution. You may ask how I am so sure,and if I am right, what is the guiding star to follow to take theseopportunities.