After a couple of days of traveling from Rome to Milan, staying in Luga with Gianni Golfera, meeting many people and having great experiences which I will write about soon, I find myself with a bad chest infection and a sore throat, which makes my voice like a mouse, but the PhotoReading and Mind Map course must go on.
Thank you for all your birthday messages. So now I am 96, but I will still be 95 at heart.
It was very tight in getting to the PhotoReading and Mind Map course in Rome last weekend. I had half an hour to spare upon reaching the hotel venue, the nH (formally the Jolly Hotel) Leonardo Da Vinci, until the start of the course in fact many participants were already waiting.
But, I was in state, sleep was not good on the overnight flight from Gaziantep Turkey, were I had finished a course the previous evening.
Some 23 participants attended the PhotoReading and Mind Map course in Rome, which gave a fantastic atmosphere. I believe there will be even more in Milan in a couple of days.
PhotoReading and Mind Maps, Rome
PhotoReading and Mind Maps, Rome
Tonight I have finished a coaching course here in Gaziantep with a fantastic group of participants.
I now take the 4:45 am flight out of Gaziantep to Istanbul, and then on to Rome, arriving at Fiumicino Airport at 10:30 am. A train ride into Roma Terminal Station and a quick taxi ride to The Jolly Hotel, Leonardo Da Vinci, will see me arriving just in time to start the PhotoReading course at 2:30 pm.
I hope I get some sleep on the aircraft.
The course has gone by so quickly, and it was so good to see so many people I knew from my previous courses eager to learn new ideas.
Thank you all for a great experience.
So not to show bias to one country against another with regards to food, I had better put the record straight, I will eat anything as long as I like it, and as long as it is not fish, peppers and apple pie, apart from those I will normally eat what is put in front of me and enjoy it.
Whilst here in Gaziantep in Southern Turkey, giving an NLP Practitioner course, a Coaching course and a talk to the Gaziantep Chamber of Industry, my host Mehpare of GAP Consultancy, has taken me to many restaurants, to savour local dishes.
Today I was taken to Semazen Et Lokantasi, (Gazimuhtarpasa Bulvari No: 69). This restaurant serves Konya cuisine, in a clean, light and airy atmosphere.
To finish, a plate was presented with the inevitable wet towel, a much needed toothpick, and dried cloves, in Turkish the name is Karanfil.
The dried cloves confused me somewhat. What should I do? I had only seen them placed on food as it was cooking.
Mephare took one and place it in her mouth, and said it is traditional in Turkey as it refreshes the mouth, like brushing the teeth. Apparently you should keep it in the mouth until it become soft enough to swallow, but the taste for me was too much, and it stayed in my mouth for a few seconds only.
Today I came across more information published on msnbc about migraines and a possible link between strokes, heart attacks and migraine.
Although not fully proven, there seems to be a higher risk of a person suffering a heart attack or stoke, twice or three times greater, for a sufferer of migraines which have the aura effect.
The aura effect is where the sufferer when having a migraine attack, may get flashing lights, hallucinations, vision which is impaired, auras, as in my case, vision which is missing, that is as I look at a persons face I may see the left eye but the right eye is missing, although I know it is there.
As stated in other articles I have written, see below, other symptoms may exist or be experienced, nausea, sensitivity to light and or sound, extreme headaches, for me extreme pain in one of the eyes, slurred speech, feeling hot or cold, there are many symptoms. But, it is those who experience auras research has recently shown, that the risk of cardiovascular problems, heart attacks and strokes is higher.
My previous research indicated that migraines could be caused by a change in neurotransmitters, including include ions, glutamate and nitric oxide, and or perhaps a cortical spreading depression or “brainstorm“, or electrical discharge. See article .
This new research indicates two new chemicals, or neurotransmitters may be also involved Substance P and Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide (CGRP) being released, which causes inflammation and pain in the blood vessels surrounding the brain. This could be verified by myself when having a migraine attack, by the pronounced blood vessels to the sides of my forehead or temples.
Researchers suspect that the repeated presence of the neurotransmitters Substance P and Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide (CGRP), and the inflammation they cause, may weaken the blood vessels throughout the whole body, causing ruptures or blockages, that may result in heart attacks or strokes.
It is also thought that migraines could be caused by just the blood supply or vascular system alone and not neurotransmitters, contracting and expanding abnormally, being disfunctional, perhaps due to emotional and physical stress.
Although the above is still not proven, it fits into my experiences, and especially as I was to have an coronary angioplasty, or stent placed in the heart. See articles, click here.
Oh how little we know about our body and brain.
Previous article. The start of my migraines.
Next article. Migraine, an understanding, a cure
To the side of the whispering gallery or Palazzo del Podesta, and to the north side of Piazza Maggiore, is Piazza Nettuno.
In the Piazza Nettuno is the 16th century bronze statue by Giambologna of Neptune and his Attendants who in Roman mythology is the god of water and the sea.
I was told that the fountain statue was commissioned by Charles Borromeo (the Cardinal Legate) to celebrate the election of his uncle as Pope Pius IV. His rooms were the top right rooms in the building to the left of the statue in the above photograph, so he could look down upon it.
It was said that in the original design, Neptune’s manhood was rather large and the Pope objected to it, so it was sculptured very small. Or could it be that it depicts Neptune just leaving a cold sea?
In the photograph above you can see Neptune’s left hand pointing forward.
From the window of the Pope, because of the angle, all that can be seen is a pointing finger, which can just be made out in the photograph below against the background of the brickwork of the Basilica di San Petronio.
The fountain of Neptune and his Attendants, Piazza Nettuno , Bologna Italy.
On my last trip to Bologna, Italy, to give the first two days training for the NLP Master Practitioner for NLPItaly, I was able to explore a little of the town and especially Piazza Maggiore, and what a wonderfull place it is.
The streets leading up to and around the Piazza Maggiore, are full of shops and cafés, arched covered walkways or footpaths with marbled floors, and some of the ceilings having beautiful coloured decorations to them.
One of these buildings is the Basilica di San Petronio, or the Cathedral of Saint Peter, reported to be the fifth largest church in the world, with building starting about 1390, and has a history to its’ self. The facade of the Basilica remains unfinished, because I was told the Pope of the time objected to the building being better than his own church not far away and certainly not bigger than St Peter’s in Rome.
As you look at the Basilica, the bottom half of the building is faced with white marble, and the top half is just brick. Within the Basilica is said to be some great works of art and sculptures, but unfortunately I did not have time to venture inside.
Another fine sight nearby is the bronze statue of Neptune in the Piazza del Nettuno.
Today, Sunday, is a day off for me in Gaziantep, Southern Turkey.
It is not that I like Italian food above any other countries food, or that I would seek Italian food before English, Chinese, Indian etc.
Today I received great news.