Kidnapped at the age of eight, and trained to kill by the age of ten, Emmanuel Jal is a former child soldier for the Sudan People’s Liberation Army. After a harrowing journey to freedom, he’s now living a fresh new life in Canada, sharing the story of his country and preaching empathy through music. He says he always wanted to be part of the solution:
I believed that I am in this world for a reason. Everything happens for a reason. This past made me stronger.
The hip hop artist shares his thoughts about the healing and transformational power of empathy.
Any human being that doesn’t practice empathy will lead a very empty life, because empathy is what makes us human. It’s like a call to our purpose.
In this episode, a moving story with powerful life lessons for all of us. And we bring you the best of a panel discussion recorded at the Spirit Festival in Byron Bay, Australia, exploring the meaning of true wellness.
About our Guests:
Emmanuel Jal was born into the life of a child solider on an unknown date in the early 1980s in the war-torn region of Southern Sudan. Through unbelievable struggles, Emmanuel managed to survive and go on to emerge as a recording artist, achieving worldwide acclaim for his unique style of hip hop with its message of peace and reconciliation born out of his personal experiences.
On the Panel: UPLIFT’s very own integrative health practitioner, Dr. Oscar Serrallach, psychologist and yoga teacher, Dr. Lauren Tober, Native American Lakota John, healer poet Maha Lakshmi and doctor of Alternative and Chinese medicine Jonathan Dao.
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thank you
bookmarked this to read later. Mr. Emmanuel Jal sounds like an amazing person. i see piece in his eyes. i’m glad he was able to overcome such extreme human experience.