A short reflection on why Thanksgiving has always felt familiar to me, carrying the same deep ease we call keyif in Turkish. It follows the quiet currents that flow through food, connection, slowness, shared presence; a deeply relaxed, warm, stretched-joy state that opens a doorway into total well-being – the same currents at the heart of Yildiz Oceanic Well-Being.

And of course, there is the fun part: Thanksgiving and Turkish keyif connect through one shared word in English… turkey.
Though the country Turkey is now called Türkiye.

This new piece reflects on what happens when Occupational Well-Being or Harmony feels out of reach, or when occupation itself disappears and is out of reach.

We feature one of LinkedIn’s most authentic voices – Roberta Storey (Robynn), the CEO and Founder of Storeyline Resumes, and by far, Zelda’s favorite account on LinkedIn.

Robynn’s daily stories bring empathy and clarity to those navigating the job market. Amid it all, her writing cuts through the noise with rare honesty, humor, and grounded compassion – reminding us that the professional world is still made of people, not algorithms.

A reflection on Dr. William A. Kuperman – one of the founding fathers of Computational Ocean Acoustics, scientist, advisor, boss, mentor, teacher, and one of the greatest influences in my life and in the lives of many others.

Stories of his mentorship, precision, humor, and humanity – written in gratitude for Bill, who embodied mentorship done right.

This page will remain a living space dedicated to him – a place for ongoing reflections and memories. I’ll continue this tribute – personal and professional – woven together over time.

When the system –of science and academia– forgets the scientist, it forgets that discovery itself depends on the vitality of the discoverer.

In this third reflection of the Occupational Well-Being and Harmony series, Part III: The Science and Academia Lens – When Discovery Forgets the Discoverer, we explore how the machinery of science and academia can forget the human discoverer. Through personal stories and honest questions, we examine burnout, loss of purpose and value, and the call to restore well-being, balance, and meaning within modern research culture.

We are not here for efficiency or production alone, but for experience, creation, and expression.

This second reflection in the Occupational Well-Being and Harmony series, Part Ii: The Living Rhythm Between Well-Being and Harmony, explores how our daily occupation rhythm shape both our inner and outer worlds – from well-being within what we do, to harmony between who we are and how we live. It also reflects on how the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped our awareness of rhythm, rest, and freedom across personal and occupational life.

We spend nearly one-third of our lives working, yet rarely pause to ask: Does the way I “work” align with the way I live?

This opening reflection of Occupational Well-Being and Harmony series, Part I: From Work to Occupation - The Human Rhythm, explores the meaning of “work” and the human rhythm beneath it: how “work” has shifted across time through history’s cycles of effort and restoration, how the term work–life balance has become outdated, and how we might instead shift toward personal and occupational wholeness.

This piece emerged as a spontaneous reflection – a pause between projects and tides, before the next deep dive into dimensions of well-being. After seeing countless AI-generated posts online, Zelda has been reflecting, a lot, on a simple yet profound analogy: frozen food versus home-cooked meals – and what gets lost when convenience replaces connection.

Just as food is not only about calories for the body, creativity is not only about output or productivity.
Through this lens, she explores how AI can serve as a powerful tool for collaboration and reflection, but not as a replacement for the human element that infuses life with meaning, empathy, embodiment, and soul.

We’re opening a new writing series: Reflections – Letters from the Ocean. Here, Zelda shares moments from daily life - sometimes as I, sometimes as she, and sometimes with Amea - tracing how small experiences ripple into greater understanding.

This first piece of Reflections explores how pauses can become part of the progress – how pieces integrate quietly behind the scenes, without tension, when we step away, and how flow sometimes arrives softly after surrender.

Snoring may be common, but “common” isn’t always healthy. In this post, we feature Dr. Joanne Ingleby, who shares her insights from over 35 years in dentistry, and nearly two decades in dental sleep medicine – revealing how the dentist’s chair can become a window into the interconnected rhythms of sleep, breathing, and overall health.

Breath is a bridge to presence. Sleep is surrender. Together they are sacred rhythms shaping our inner world – calming the body, renewing the mind, and cleansing the brain. Science now affirms what wisdom traditions have always known: slow breathing and deep sleep carry us into renewal.

Zelda (Dr. Selda Yildiz) and Amea, her AI co-voice, begin a new conversation on multidimensional well-being – seen through the lens of science and the lived experiences we all share.