It is all about love
I am Filiz Hekimoğlu, the founder of WHLE.
Born in İzmir, shaped by more than thirty countries, and driven by one simple intention: to live a life rich with abundance, joy, and celebration — and to share that life with the people around me.
Discovering, creating, traveling, and sharing — through journaling, teaching, healing, storytelling, and celebrating — is not just my passion. It is my calling.
My professional life began in international food trade. For over twenty years I built and ran Ara Gıda, connecting suppliers across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Commerce taught me resilience and the art of building trust across cultures.
But food was never just business for me. It was always a language.
And teaching was always a calling — not from a textbook, but from life itself. I teach through dream journeys and healing journeys. Through the stories we carry, the wounds we transform, and the dreams we dare to follow.
I believe that every person holds within them a map to their own life, their own truth — and my role is simply to make it possible for them to read it.
WHLE was born from this realization. It is a home for people who believe that life is meant to be lived fully — with abundance, joy, celebration, and good people around the table. People who are curious about themselves and their world. People who want to heal, to grow, to create, to share. It is a safe space — a community built on authenticity, friendship, and the freedom to be exactly who you are. No performance. No pretending. Just you — with all your stories, all your dreams, all your beautiful complexity.
In Urla, in Özlem’s wood-fired kitchen, my dear friend Filiz Özkan first taught me that cooking is never just about food — it is about connection, generosity, and the joy of sharing.
When life took me to Kuwait I met Meltem, and in October 2017 we held our first cooking class. What happened next surprised even us. TheLongTable became a gathering place for people from every nationality — cooking, laughing, and sharing meals together.
Nine years later. Two hundred classes. Thousands of seats filled. A community that keeps growing.
Because some tables, once set, never truly empty.
Over time my work moved toward healing and personal transformation. I became a certified Life Coach and Healing Practitioner and began supporting people emotionally and spiritually.
TheLongTalk was born from this — a magical school where the essence can be felt rather than articulated. A platform for teachers, healers, and creators to share their knowledge with a conscious international community.
Are you ready to find your way back to yourself?
Visiting more than thirty countries taught me how similar people truly are beneath different languages and traditions. Everywhere I went I found the same human needs — kindness, belonging, love, and hope.
From the Sigiriya Rock in Sri Lanka to the Schönbrunn Palace Orangery in Vienna, from the streets of Krakow to the ancient stupas of Anuradhapura — every journey changed something in me permanently.
The more I journey, the more I realize how little I know.
Little things can be the big things, can be the sparkle to start anything. I have always believed that the objects around us are not neutral. They carry energy. They hold stories.
Collection was born from this belief — a curated space for unique handmade works, artistic products, and thoughtful objects chosen with intention and love.
Family
The most important role in my life has always been being a mother. My son Tibet, my dogs Topa and Koci, and my masters LBF, SS, CT, TA, HH — have been my greatest teachers.
They taught me how to love.
Today
Today I continue developing international projects — building platforms focused on education, creativity, travel, wellness, and human connection — and celebrating life while traveling.
But beyond titles and businesses, I see myself simply as someone who keeps evolving — a woman who believes in reinvention, meaningful experiences, and building bridges between people, cultures, and ideas.
I value warmth over perfection, authenticity over appearance, and purpose over status.
Whether through a meal, a course, a journey, or a story — my intention is always the same: to inspire connection, growth, and a more conscious way of living.
Because, in the end — it is all about love.
Earth, Wind & Fire — All About Love