Living in Courage against all odds can seem daunting, yet Aaron Cohen leads the way. This book is a must read about one man’s global quest to free victims of human trafficking. Aaron transformed his life from drugs, partying like a rock star, with rock stars and all that goes with it, to a spiritual awakening that led to a new journey. There may be as many as 27 million people enslaved today with around 800,000 new victims trafficked across international borders each year. Around 17,000 of these are brought annually into the U.S. Aaron Cohen has dedicated his life and his new book Slave Hunter to the victims of human trafficking and modern day slavery. Aaron is one person who is out there proving that each one of us can make a difference when we follow our heart.
Human Trafficking is the world’s fastest growing and most deadly enterprise. Why? It is more profitable than drugs, guns and jewels. Aaron Cohen is on a global quest to free victims of human trafficking and the slave trade. His new book Slave Hunter tells his remarkable story in detail. Few people have the courage to walk this road. I have unspeakable admiration for Aaron and the work he is doing around the globe. Going from living the life of a rock star, years of drug addiction and party life to spiritual awakening was the beginning of this long journey. Aaron Cohen has walked this journey with his longtime friend and business partner Perry Farrell (Jane’s Addiction), as well as many other amazing and courageous people.
Young Slave Baby with Aaron Cohen
There may be as many as 27 million people enslaved today with around 800,000 new victims trafficked across international borders each year. Around 17,000 of these are brought annually into the U.S. Aaron Cohen has dedicated his life and his new book Slave Hunter to the victims of human trafficking and modern day slavery. Aaron is one person who is out there proving that each one of us can make a difference when we follow our heart.
Please read this article written by Christine Buckley who collaborated on Slave Hunter. It gives you a taste of a life that few of us are familiar or comfortable with. Click here for the article - Aaron Cohen: Sex Slaves, Drug Trade and Rock N’ Roll
I recently attended a Human Trafficking event in Laguna Beach where I met Tony Nassif. Tony told me about the Preventing Abuse Conference he is organizing (details in flyer below.) There is nothing acceptable about human trafficking, slavery, or these predators who abduct people for profit. It take courage not to turn a blind eye to a subject this disturbing to contemplate. This conference is a way to educate yourself and others about preventing abuse. It is time for us as a united people to say no, these horrific violations are not acceptable and will not be tolerated. Don’t forget the main targets are children. This happens in every city in the world. I for one was not aware how prevalent human trafficking is in the U.S.
I posted this story here at Living In Courage last year. This is a powerful message by General Douglas MacArthur. Who is not concerned with aging? Most people would prefer to stay young, energetic and healthy. How much is in the body? How much is in the mind? I talk to people all the time in their 60′s, 70′s and 80′s who say they feel very young inside. This is a tribute to true youth, no matter the physical age.
Youth is not a time of life, it is a state of mind. It is a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease.
Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People grow old by deserting their ideals. Years wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, doubt, self-distrust, fear and despair, these are the long, long years that bow the head and turn the growing spirit back to dust.
Whether seventy or seventeen there is in every beings heart the love of wonder, the sweet amazement of the stars and the starlight things and thoughts, the undaunted challenge of events and the childlike appetite for what’s next, and the joy and the game of life.
You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt, as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear. So long as your heart receives messages of beauty, cheer, courage, grandeur and power from the earth, from man, and from the infinite, so long you are young.
I received a comment today one of my Living in Courage readers Mary, asking for an update on Randy Pausch’s wife Jai and the children. It has been almost a year (July 25th 2008) since his passing. During Randy’s illness with pancreatic cancer, I had frequent updates (archived in Courage and Archived Video’s) here at Living in Courage Online. For the entire journey go to Randy Pausch Updates which ended the day of his passing. We continue to send love to the Pausch family. Our hearts go out to them at this time. You will find a photo and article below from People Magazine online.
May 25, 2009 Vol. 71 No. 20 Jai Pausch Life After Randy By KRISTEN MASCIA
Almost a Year After Randy Pausch’s Death, His Widow Opens Up About Her Loss—and How She’s Rebuilding Her Life with Their Three Children
At Disney World last February, Dylan Pausch, 7, smiled triumphantly as he wrapped his arms around a giant stuffed animal, his reward for scoring in an arcade game. His passion for winning cuddly creatures brought tears to his mom Jai’s eyes. “That was something,” she says, “Randy loved to do.” Randy, of course, is Randy Pausch, the contagiously optimistic professor who died of pancreatic cancer at 47 but who left the world a moving legacy in the “last lecture” he delivered at Carnegie Mellon University in September 2007—seen by nearly 10 million people on YouTube—and his bestselling book. Now, 10 months after his death, Jai, 43, is making her way, even as she copes with still-raw grief. “The knot in my chest has subsided,” she tells PEOPLE in a rare interview, speaking partly in response, she says, to the many letters she gets from strangers asking her how she’s doing. “The pain is there, but life is going on for us.”
Not without a struggle: Still fresh in her memory is the excruciating moment on July 25, 2008, when she broke the devastating news to the children—Dylan, then 6, Logan, 3, and Chloe, just a baby. “I said, ‘Daddy didn’t want to die; he loved you very much,’” Jai recalls. “It was awful.” Their reactions were heart-wrenching. “Dylan said, ‘Well, I’m the next to die in the family,’” Jai recalls. “I had to reassure him, ‘You’re not gonna die.’”
At first she made a daily habit of watching Randy’s lecture about his childhood dreams and what he’d learned about life. “I needed to see him, watch him move, hear his voice,” says Jai, who was earning her master’s in comparative literature when she met Randy, a guest lecturer, at the University of North Carolina in 1998. “But it was like tearing the scab off every time. I had to stop doing it.” These days she channels her energy into fixing up their Virginia home, where they moved shortly before Randy’s death to be closer to her family. “I’ve ripped out the vanity, wallpapered—I need something to squirt me in the face,” she says with a chuckle. “When I’m depressed, I’ve found plumbing really works for me.”
Her greatest joy is watching her children march forward, as children do. “They’ve been so resilient,” says Jai of Dylan, a budding scientist; Logan, now 4, a Batman enthusiast; and the proudly toilet-trained Chloe, 3. Recently, with Jai’s help, they planted a garden. “Jai’s doing what Randy knew she’d do: raise them right,” says Randy’s coauthor, Jeff Zaslow. “She’s one of the strongest women I know.”
And one of the busiest. Despite her hectic schedule, she has recently taken up tennis—”I have to be engaged, so I can’t think about making dinner or the anniversary of Randy’s death”—and has started making new friends. Some years from now, when the kids are ready, she’ll show them the lecture. “It’s Randy in a bottle,” she says. “They’ll get to see their father at his finest. That’s a wonderful gift.”
I think of what we could have had and wish it would have been —JAI PAUSCH
I recently met an amazing woman named Sheila Ulrich through a mutual Facebook friend. Sheila inspires people by living her authentic life, and has an important message to share. I call that Living In Courage. Sheila helps create a bridge between fear and life. If you are in fear, take her hand and let her walk you to the other side. As I have talked about often at Living in Courage Online, fear is a pesky illusion that the altered ego loves to trip you up with. Do not give it any power. By using the power of love, anything is possible. Sheila’s story “Facing Death, I Found Life” follows.
It wasn’t the familiar voice deep within, the physical exhaustion, or the collapsing career and relationships that got my attention. No, for me it was an ultimatum, live or die. But somewhere at the back of my mind, I had felt it coming; a lingering doubt, a faint premonition, whispers of a tragedy. Facing my own mortality, I woke up, I found myself again, and I found life.
Eleven years ago, I was diagnosed with cancer. Stage IV melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, invaded my body. In an instant, my life changed forever. My three young children stared in horror as their mother collapsed in fear. That pain in their eyes almost paralyzed me. Through inconsolable sobs, my heart ached with their pain. They needed me, their mother, to help guide and teach them and share their lives. Even in the shock of the moment of crisis, a piece of me knew the opportunity ahead. My responsibilities as wife, mother, career woman, socialite, and friend had consumed me and I was spinning out of control. The conflict within had surfaced now in disease. I knew this was my opportunity to transform my life. I made a decision, a choice, I chose to live! The urgency to teach my children about life and death sent me searching in multiple directions. I was searching for the answer to save my life and to save my children from living a life of fear.
Doctors, tests, and surgeries became my way of life. The medical community had little to offer for treatment or preventative care. My bodily pain was unbearable, but more than that my spirit was disguised beyond recognition. I felt confused, walking through an unending nightmare. With so many questions and very few answers, I was determined to find another way. Then in a glimpse of a moment the whole world stopped, no sounds, no movement, and complete stillness. The message filled my entire being, “Heal the Whole, Body, Mind and Spirit!” A sense of peace and knowingness so profound no words can describe followed. It was then that my journey into self began. I realized that my inner voice, that hadn’t been listened to for a long time, was screaming to be heard. Little did I know, my journey began at that moment, to find my spirit once again.
Alternative healing methods were introduced to me and a whole new world of hope and possibilities opened up. I tried everything available; homeopathy, naturopathy, spiritual healing, kinesiology, yoga, etc. Through each modality experienced, another piece of me was unveiled. All my painful emotions and experiences, not expressed and discarded, were carried with me as an expression of who I was. Each step along this journey led me to uncover more and more of my life experiences I was defining as me. Who am I anyway? One by one, I began to release all the good and ugly experiences of my life I had carried so long. I began seeing the light once again of who I really was beyond this physical body.
I was transforming me, my life, while my family and friends clung to the old. Many messengers along the way guided and encouraged me to continue. With faith and barely the strength to get through most days, I put one foot in front of the other and continued the journey. As another year went by with no evidence of cancer, I was certain I was traveling the right road. Uncovering layer by layer of this old self was excruciating. It was a journey through the deepest pain and the darkest hell. When would this misery end? When would I be whole again? So many times, tired, angry, and alone, I wanted to quit. With little courage to battle alone, something inside nudged me forward. That still, small voice that had been forgotten was still screaming to be heard. The world had distracted me long enough and I began opening to the infinite knowingness within. The pain became joy, the loneliness peace. I saw clearly how I had created the pain and disease in my physical body to wake up and remember who I really was and my infinite potential. This growing awareness was an outward expansion of me. I saw how I had created the roadblocks and limitations in my life that imprisoned me and how these roadblocks held me back from experiencing the joy, peace and happiness I had been searching for. I began watching myself create the suffering in relationships and experiences, and then knew that it was only in my mind, not me. My mind was creating my suffering. To let go is freedom. I clung so tightly to past experiences and emotional pain because I thought it was me, but the me inside was really free.
The journey that I began to save my body from death became an integration of body, mind and spirit and a gift of awakening. Every moment, I continue my healing journey; a journey back to self, a journey that never ends. Every moment I create my life and continue to remember who I am and why I chose to come. My life has changed forever and I will never be the same again. I experienced death; death of my old self and a rebirth into the infinite creation of life. The experience of truly living each step of this journey was a gift so I could walk others across this bridge of life. I share this gift with you, so you too can find LIFE! Many walk through time feeling a void or lack of purpose and meaning in their life. Don’t wait for a tragedy to hit to wake up and live your dreams. Even in the darkest moment, there is a glimmer of light; a light shining bright enough to lead you to your next step. What is holding you back from expressing who you really are and living your life in joy?
Truly Alive with Sheila Ulrich Radio Show is all about HEALING.
Healing is restoring and becoming whole to live life fully. Together we can heal no matter where we are in our life cycle or what our life circumstances. Listen to our experts as we lead you on a journey of healing ALL of you. Sharing amazing stories of healing and living life fully will inspire you to be Truly Alive. Most importantly connect with friends who remind you, you are never really alone. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Sheila-Ulrich
I want to talk to you about my courageous friend Jack Hennings. He has a miracle story, which speaks of Living In Courage to me. In 1993 Jack found out he had Leukemia – Chronic Lymphatic Leukemia throughout his whole body. At one point his bone marrow was 98% impacted, with only 2% viable and functioning. Jack also had a 6 lb. mass of lymph nodes in his abdomen. Emergency chemo helped shrink the mass. In one more week, his kidneys would have exploded. He had to sign a waver that the emergency chemo that night could kill him. This was a significant night in Jack’s life, he did not know if he would live or die. He lived.
The mass was decreased in size and Jack took chemotherapy on and off for 10 years after that. During that 10 year period there were two other times Jack almost died. After 10 years he had exhausted all chemo resources. Radiation was not an option because the cancer was in his bone marrow and lymph nodes. A Stem Cell transplant was the only option to save Jack. The Stem Cell transplant was done in 2003. Jack’s brother Sam Hennings was a perfect match as a donor. One in 35 Million!
After the transplant there were complications. The new immune system Jack developed was his brother Sam’s, which was too strong for Jack’s ailing body. He had to be on immuno suppressants for about a year to allow his body to develop the strength to handle his brothers immune system. Jack became stronger and stronger. The cancer has been gone 6 years. Jack believes that the Stem Cell transplant was a miracle that saved his life. Jack’s doctor was Dr. Lenard Sender at UCI Medical Center in Orange, CA.
Jack and his beautiful wife Debra are happily living a dream life. Their new website coast2coastinteriors is in development and will be up in July 2009. Jack has a great vision for his life and will share it soon with the world. It is a joy to be around Jack because he is joyful gratitude in motion – alive and vital. Courageous Hero’s come in many forms. Jack is my Hero, as is his brother Sam.
Below is a video of Dr. Lenard Sender who is a leading advocate for a neglected demographic: young adults with cancer. He joined some of his patients at a recent Young Adult Cancer Awareness Week at UC Irvine.
I love people who do courageous things. They are usually people who are controversial, yet they get things done. I admire what Madonna has done for children in Malawi and Africa. I see that as Living in Courage. The next time you want to judge another persons action – Don’t. It will only come straight back to hurt only you.
I am recommending an amazing book “I Am Because We Are” written by Madonna and photographed by award-winning photojournalist Kristen Ashburn . This beautiful and powerful book is about Madonna’s 7 year journey and work with the children and people of Malawi and Africa. I quote from the blog:
“The title is derived from the concept of “Ubuntu,” an idea in African spirituality that states that all of humanity is connected, that we cannot be ourselves without community, that an individual’s well-being is dependent upon the well-being of others. These heart-wrenching stories are a call to action. In Malawi, a country of 13 million people, over one million are orphans. Looking into the hearts and minds of children who have endured unimaginable suffering, the book provides an unflinching view of life at the center of the global AIDS crisis. This is not just a story about orphans in Malawi, but about global responsibility and human interconnectedness.”
If you are interested in the documentary film, visit I Am Because We Are blog about the film.
I have met a wonderful woman on Facebook this week. Her name is Jane Monica Tvedt and she is a wonderful artist who is assisting in an Art Auction for the Children of Malawi on June 11th 2009. Living in Courage would like to support this endeavor for the children by spreading the word online.
The well known Erik Thorstvedt will be in charge of the auction. Behind the auction are independent distributors of Nourish The Children product. The aim is to get money to support as many children as possible one year ahead. They are already setting a goal to have one art project a year to raise money for people who are suffering.
I am posting two You Tube Video’s (click on Read More below to view) from “Empire of Heart Norway” about the auction and the children of Malawi. The paintings in this video will be at the art auction June 11, 2009. The sale of the painting will go to the children in Malawi.
If someone would like to put in a bid on the art, please contact Inger Elise – Lege
Mail: hel.se.hel@gmail.com
TED talks is a gathering of some of the greatest minds, mathematicians, and action oriented people from around the globe. Each speaker gives a 20 minute talk or presentation. I find TED talks insightful, courageous, full of wit and inspiration. Visit the TED website to watch archived videos.
In late 2006, a Malawian newspaper first wrote about a remarkable young man William Kamkwamba. Being from a remote rural village north of the capital city makes his story even more amazing. This is the story of a young student turned inventor. A true story of Living in Courage. William will be one of the speakers at TEDGlobal this year. I quote “TEDGlobal is TED’s twin annual conference. It will feature four days of provocative talks, relevant discussions, technological boldness and amazing performances that will take us beyond the obvious. The program is designed to explore and make visible “The Substance of Things Not Seen” — this year’s theme.
Watch the video below (click on Read More) to see William Kamkwamba’s story of courage in action.
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Endorsements
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the #1 Self Improvement Website on the Internet
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