Tag: Asu

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NLP

MisInterpretation, Queen Bohemian Rhapsody

I was never a lover of the pop group Queen, their dress style, their hair, their choreography on stage, well that is apart from some of their music.

Their music was very popular, with their records reaching number one in the charts on many occasions, and being played continually on the radio, they grew on me.
I hardly ever listen to the lyrics of songs, never search out the hidden meaning, the messages other people seem to hear, perhaps I am more interested in the musical arrangement, the interplay of the individual instruments, but, after a few plays the lyrics get into my subconscious, and I often find that I am singing along with the song, or that the words pop-up into my thoughts, my inner mind.
So it was with Queen’s song Bohemian Rhapsody, a masterpiece of a song, an operatic piece in its’ own right, giving a story which flows with the music,
I had never really understood the lyrics, only that it was about a young man who had killed a man, singing to his mother and using strange words that I had no idea how they fitted into the song, well that’s the way I understood the song.
“Scaramouche“, who or what is that? I now know, just found out that it is a character in an early film referring to a comic character, “Scaramouche” also refers to a Greek translator of the Old Testament, and why does it ask “Scaramouche“, “will you do the Fandango?“.
Why “Galileo Figaro“? Still do not understand that.
Then there is this person called “Miss Miller“. Who is this “Miss Miller“? Where did “Miss Miller” come from?
As usual, miss interpretation, it is not “Miss Miller“, but “Bismillah“, an Arabic word used to mean “in the name of God, most Gracious, most Compassionate“, or “in the name of Allah (God)“, as used in the Islamic faith.
Looking at the lyrics now after all these years I see the word “Beelzebub“. What does that mean? I had heard the word over the years, just the word without knowing the meaning, it was just the sound. I now find that a “Beelzebub” refers to a once worshiped Philistine deity, “Beelzebub” meaning “Lord of the Flies“. Later it was used in the Christian faith to refer to one of the seven princes of Hell.
All the above came as a Thunderbolt to me. All these years I had been happy in my (miss) understanding and ignorance of the song, yes I was a little bewildered, but who isn’t with lyrics of songs.
I had put my interpretation, my understanding or lack of, on the words, “Miss Miller” – “Bismillah“, “Scaramouche“, “Beelzebub“.
I had put my “Cat on the Mat“, my understanding, and I was wrong. How many times a day do we do the same thing in understanding the world about us, and how many times a day do others misinterpret our meanings?
Another question arose from one of my Turkish translators and friend, Asu Yildirim, asking, did I take the saying I often use in my courses, “nobody loves me” from this song Bohemian Rhapsody? No I did not, at least not consciously. But Asu, I know that you are mentioned in the song, “thunderbolt and lightning, very very frightening“, the translation of you family name Yildirim as in the display of Antep in Gaziantep Castle Museum meaning, “thunderbolt“.
Gaziantep Castle
Gaziantep Castle
Oh Poo Poo .
Wait for film to load.


Is this the real life? 
Is this just fantasy? 
Caught in a landslide 
No escape from reality 
Open your eyes 
Look up to the skies and see 
I’m just a poor boy (Poor boy) 
I need no sympathy 
Because I’m easy come, easy go 
Littl
e high, little low 
Any way the wind blows 
Doesn’t really matter to me, to me 

Mama just killed a man 
Put a gun against his head 
Pulled my trigger, now he’s dead 
Mama, life has just begun 
But now I’ve gone and thrown it all away 
Mama, ooh 
Didn’t mean to make you cry 
If I’m not back again this time tomorrow 
Carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters 

Too late, my time has come 
Sends shivers down my spine 
Body’s aching all the time 
Goodbye, everybody 
I’ve got to go 
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth 
Mama, oooooooh (Anyway the wind blows) 
I don’t want to die 
Sometimes wish I’d never been born at all 

[Guitar Solo] 

I see a little silhouetto of a man 
Scaramouch, Scaramouch, will you do the Fandango 
Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very frightening me 
(Galileo) Galileo (Galileo) Galileo, Galileo Figaro 
Magnifico-o-o-o-o 
I’m just a poor boy nobody loves me 
He’s just a poor boy from a poor family 
Spare him his life from this monstrosity 

Easy come, easy go, will you let me go? 
Bismillah! No, we will not let you go 
Let him go 
Bismillah! We will not let you go 
Let him go 
Bismillah! We will not let you go 
Let me go (Will not let you go) 
Let me go (Will not let you go) (Never, never, never, never) 
Let me go, o, o, o, o 
No, no, no, no, no, no, no 
(Oh mama mia, mama mia) Mama Mia, let me go 
Beelzebub has the devil put aside for me, for me, for me! 

So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye 
So you think you can love me and leave me to die 
Oh, baby, can’t do this to me, baby 
Just gotta get out, just gotta get right outta here 

[Guitar Solo] 
(Oooh yeah, Oooh yeah) 

Nothing really matters 
Anyone can see 
Nothing really matters 
Nothing really matters to me 

Any way the wind blows…

Categories
English Courses NLP Travels

Not Again

The evening did not start well.

I walked down to the ferry terminal after a long day of training and having to cross the Bosphorus from Kadikoy to Beşitaş (Asian to European side of Istanbul), and saw the ferry at the quayside. I raced to the gate only to see it closing majestically with me on the wrong side, and I watched as the ferry glide out of the port.

Once back in Taxim Tunel, I brought a wrap from a little corner café, La Cantine, (now closed), run by a French couple, plus a freshly squeezed orange juice. I was to have a relaxing time, watching British TV on the computer internet through Slingbox.

Slingbox is a great device that plugs into the back of say a satellite or cable TV box, that is then connected to the inter net router at home. Through the inter net connection in whatever country I am in, I can access the Slingbox back home and watch British TV, not only that, I can control the channels I want to watch.

The apartment I am staying in is on the forth floor, with a spiral staircase. Now I am used to running up stairs, but these seem so steep, everyone that climbs those stairs, has to rest half way up. They are a killer.

Spiral Stairs, Tunel Flat, Istanbul
Spiral Stairs, Tunel Flat, Istanbul
I got to the door, gently holding my orange juice, my mouth watering at the prospect of eating my wrap. But the key would not turn.

Not three months earlier, I had returned back to the apartment to notice on the tough climb of the stairs, that there were pieces of metal laying by each flat door. I knew something was wrong.

On reaching my door, there was no point in trying to turn the key to open the door, there was no locking mechanism there, and the door was firmly shut and locked.

There was no-one in the whole building, I do not speak any Turkish. Oh Poo Poo. I called an ex employee who came to my aid, plus my translator Asu. We called a locksmith plus the police, only to find that yes we had been burgled. I had lost money, a camera.

Asuman Yildirim

Although I did not enjoy the experience, who would? I found the police here in Istanbul perhaps one of the most friendly I have encountered, even though we had to communicate via a translator.

The horror of that experience returned as I tried in vain to turn the key.

But I had Mustapha. I had the previous experience to draw upon. I called the same locksmith.

On his last visit he made sure that no-one would be able to break-in again. He was good, so good, that he took from 8:30 until 11:30pm to get in. That will teach him. Perfectionist. (Ho Ho). He had to used brute force.

Once in, it was realised that no-one had entered, it was the failure of the door locking gear. New door I think.

So by mid night I was in bed, knowing that 8am the next morning I would be picked up by car to get to the Eastern side to take the English language participants further along the process I do for easy learning.

8:10 am I get a phone call, asking if the car had arrived, as the person calling the General Manager of NLPGrup, Selva, could not reach the driver, his phone was off.

Only thing for it was to quickly catch the Tunel train and the ferry.

Walking down to the ferry terminal I passed under a bridge that crosses the water of the Golden Horn, and was amazed at the number of people standing on either side of the bridge fishing. There was not any spaces left. I would not like to sail a boat under that bridge. Looking around the Golden Horn, it seemed that the whole population of Istanbul had taken-up fishing.

Golden Horn Bridge, Istanbul

Golden Horn Bridge

There must be some great memory skills in Turkey.

As we sailed across the Bosphorus I sat in the cold morning air on the outside deck, the sea was awash was quite a swell, and as we entered each trough, the ferry created a spray of salt sea water, refreshing my face, my mind.

As we moored the other side, I noticed how clam the water became, and realised that was the state I was in. Very calm, whilst all about me was in turmoil.

We need to learn this art.

Categories
English Courses NLP Travels

Monday, the day before my birthday

Here I sit in an apartment in Istanbul, Turkey. I should have been in Ankara today delivering a course, but it was canceled at the last moment. At least I did have a late lay-in, an extra hours sleep.

Having just completed a six days courses here in Istanbul on NLP, which included giving three sessions a day to participants of an English language course, I think I deserve a rest. But, the next course they want me to run starts next Saturday, and now do I fly back to the UK, or stay here?

If I stay I have five days of nothing to do, but then I can catch up on my work.

If I fly back to the UK, I have the cost of the travel, plus I will not get back until Tuesday and then have to fly Friday mid afternoon.only really three days free.

What about the loved ones how will they take my decision?

I think I’ll stay. With Skype I can keep in touch.

I can try this blog out.

I can rest. People keep telling me to take it easy after my heart procedure. Now that was a shock to the system.

At 93 years old, yes 93. You see, in certain countries, especially Turkey, people want to know each others age. when I get the participants on my courses to introduce a fellow participant, they will say:-

“this is Fred, he is a doctor, and he is 45 years old”

so I am 93 coming to 94 tomorrow.

Yes at 93, I felt 18, I have done many things, I was fit, I am a Master Scuba diver with over 600 dives to my name all over the world, and it was on a training course in Antalya, Turkey, my translator, Asu, having heard my stories I tell to the participants, asked me to take her diving from the access point there was in the hotel grounds where the training was taking place. Being a responsible diver, I said I would go only after she got her diving qualifications from the school on-site.

She did to my surprise go and get her certification. On her last qualifying dive she ask me to accompany her and her instructor, which I did. I had difficulty in clearing my ears, equalizing the pressure in my ears as I descended, so I kept at a shallow depth, only to find the whole world spinning five minutes into the dive. I had to abort the dive. The instructor, took a look at me and saw a small amount of blood coming from my nose, and rescued me, me a Master Diver. I will never live this down, I will never dive again.

I found that my ears were blocked, I could not hear well, so on return to the UK, I went to my doctor, only to find  I had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and yes, I had had pains in my jaw and neck.

That led to many hospital check-ups, the result being that I had a narrowing of an artery in my heart.

Oh Poo Poo. I needed a stent put in my heart, a small cage like device, that they insert in the artery which will be expanded, to allow to blood to freely flow again.

I amazed me that this procedure can be carried-out in a day, you go in to hospital in the morning, and leave in the afternoon.

The procedure is done whilst fully awake, and I watched on the monitors as they placed this stent in my heart or angioplasty. I felt nothing. I am glad I have learned hypnosis, I needed it.

They gave me tablets that I now have to take ever day for the rest of my life, to reduce the clotting ability of the blood, so now when I bleed, I bleed for a long time, to lower my heart rate, now about 54 BPM, compared to the average male of 78 BPM, to lower my colesteral, and yes, I was told to loose weight.

I thought I would be up and running quickly, after loosing weight, lowering my colesteral, and changing my diet, or what it seems, not eating and starving. Oh I miss my Mars bars, my chips, my pizza. I find that I have to slow down, my brain perhaps has slowed down, perhaps it is the tablets I am on.

But, I can still perform, I still can give a first rate course, the feedback from the Stage Hypnosis course participants was more than positive, as was the feedback from yesterday, and I have more courses to give.

I know lots of it is in the mind. I take control of my thoughts and I will and am winning, although now I realise that at 93 I must slow down a little.

Eat that elephant a little slower, so I do not put on weight again. (click to see entry)

 
Read about follow-up at Penang Adventist Hospital for a CT scan