This is me. I am Damla Aktekin. I was born and raised in a tiny town in Turkey, went to undergrad in Istanbul, then to Germany for my graduate studies (my MBA), then to Washington, D.C. to finish my MBA. My name (Damla) means a water droplet in Turkish and the name of my business A Drop Of Om, came to me in a dream. This is the story of how I got to that dream.
It was while I was working in the corporate world in the US when I had my first healing crisis. In 2005, one day after being in the office until 9pm, I woke up in the middle of the night with an unbelievably painful headache and started to slur my words. We ended up in the emergency room and I was administered an erroneous spinal tap resulting in the leaking of my spinal fluid. I had to be on my hands and knees crawling on the floor for two weeks (if I didn’t, everything hurt). I was literally brought down to my knees by life, something had to change. So began my yoga journey, buying every book, taking endless workshops, attending many teacher trainings, managing a studio, and filling my life with all things yoga.
The more I dove into yoga, the more I got fascinated not by the movement, but the philosophy and the depth of the paradigm shift it was offering me. Before then, I lived in my head (hence the headache), and had no means, knowledge, or training to give attention to my body, which was a revelation. This is also the time that I discovered meditation and slowly fell in love with it.
My second healing crisis came in 2012 when I gave birth to my daughter through an emergency C-section. I lost all my connection to my body and the deliciousness I had experienced through movement and meditation. I had to discover new ways of finding a connection with my soul. It was through mantras first, then crystals, EFT, and tuning forks that I began to dive into not just my mind and body but the vibrational field around me and around all of us that is meant to an integral part of our lives here on Earth. I devised my own crystal healing method Chakra Bliss Healing, simply because I needed it. Through experimentation, I realized that I was getting glimpses into my vibrational reality really strongly with the help of crystals.
People usually ask me where I got trained to be a Healer. The truth is I didn’t get any formal training if you don’t count the three days I received my Reiki attunements between 2005 and 2012, which honestly felt like receiving energy healing from three different strangers. At the time I was receiving them, it never occurred to me that I might be using my hands for offering healing sessions. I don’t call what I do Reiki because what I do isn’t simply repeating something I was taught. Every time I am working with someone, I am diving into the landscape of their vibrational field, sometimes with my tuning forks, sometimes with my hands and the help of crystals, and sometimes simply by listening to them speak. I am not following a script or a prescribed set of movements and steps. We are co-creating an experience where what needs to be heard, seen, understood, and released is coming out to the surface safely and lovingly.
The reason I call myself a Healer is because every time I connect with someone’s energy field and stay with it and help that person discover a knot that they unfold and release, it feels like they are becoming who they are meant to be. I am not someone who aims to cure you, but someone who is here to help you be even more you, even deeper you, a more vibrationally healthy you. Sometimes the pain is part of it like it had been with the start of my migraines. I strongly believe that that ailment was my body’s way of awakening me to own who I am. When I get migraines I now know that a part of me needs to change and I need a new perspective in life.
The other part of it is that you can hear the call, but it takes a while to answer the call. At least it was for me. It took me falling down on my knees again through the journey of becoming a mother, to own who I am, and really, truly accept the call. Because there was no other way for me. I could no longer ignore it when my intuition spoke to me (louder and louder). I could no longer pretend to be happy in an office job and try to fit in. I could no longer put my time and energy into things that didn’t matter to me.
The journey continues. Now we collectively find ourselves in an awakening. What matters is to stay true to yourself and leave what doesn’t work for you and invite more of what feels good, authentic, and true to you, now more than ever. Your needs matter during this time as we are all carrying and feeling the heaviness of our collective trauma. These wounds can heal, as all wounds can. We all need a little more courage, a little more presence, a little more resilience.
I know from experience that these are the perfect times to lean into our tools. Tools like mantras, crystal healing, talking to a friend, a loved one, being out in nature, or simply taking a day or an afternoon off when you can be with and listen in to your vibrational reality. If you need help with that I am here for you.
With a huge hug and lots of love,
Damla
P. S. If you are looking for a simple tool to help you during this time, check out my new publication 40 Days Of Shanti Mantra Journal. It was made for these times, to help you begin to get connected to the peace that lives deep within you.
Photo taken by my 8-year-old daughter in our yard