On the morning of Saturday, September 30th, at the beautiful Clark County Library, WFWP Las Vegas hosted a dynamic and thoughtful event entitled "From Fear to Faith," presented by WFWP’s partner and friend, Aimmee Kodachian, talk show host of AKandtheexpertstv.com.

Aimmee led everyone through an engaging two hour workshop talking about fears and how they creep into our lives hindering our growth and success. This was a profound experience for many in the audience who had the opportunity to share their fears.

Stephanie Thompson, a singer, songwriter, and actress from Las Vegas as well as a host on “AK and the Experts,” wrote a lively and positivity charged song especially for this gathering and sang it enthusiastically. It was catchy and allowed everyone in the room to open their hearts and be present and comfortable with one another.

Aimmee showed a PowerPoint slide of how fears keep us locked in a box inside our heads, and asked us to think about how good it would be to get out of that prison. Aimmee was encouraging and energetic as she elicited the responses from the crowd and led us through her presentation. The two main points were: 1) fear has an addictive nature, even more insidious than substance abuse; and 2) fear comes from control and becomes control. After Aimmee guided all the participants in sharing, our fears were listed on the whiteboard and we collaborated in helping each other strategize how to combat them.

Then Aimmee drew a red box in the center of the whiteboard and asked, "What is connected to all these fears? What goes inside that little red box? Please write down the word ‘control.’” She went on to explain that there are so many things over which we do not have complete control: success, failure, other people's driving, and other people’s thoughts and expectations. We become afraid of those things, of not being able to control the outcome, of not having any guarantees. Those fears that came from "control" in turn become controlling. They determine a lot of the emotion in our relationships with the people around us. The participants were given time to share, and although they felt like they could have talked longer, hopefully they now have the confidence to continue discussing these important issues.

WFWP Las Vegas Co-Chairwoman Sera Hirano presented a short video and infomercial for the Lunis Kinderworld school project, which is being supported by WFWP USA. The event provided the opportunity for leaders and founders of various organizations to network together and promote their upcoming activities. They also had the chance to visit the information booth and learn about WFWP and Lunis.

Other organizations represented were: Aimmee Kodachian's AKandtheexpertstv.com, Dr. Reeta Thukral's Global Charity Foundation, Raluca and Mohamed's Discover You services, author and speaker Judi Shine, author and speaker Cynthia De Boer, Lydia Compton (representing Family Federation for World Peace and Unification who gave a greeting from Rev. Doo), Kay Yamaguchi from American Christian Leadership Council, Lesley Rigney from Universal Peace Federation, Ambassadors for Peace Jay and Angela Gambino, and Jeffrey Silerio from the Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles.

We were tremendously grateful that each person took the time out from their busy schedules and chose to attend this event. They gained new insight for themselves and for their organizations through their participation. We felt a great sense of unity for the sake of Las Vegas and are grateful for the many people who desire to work with us. Thank you to everyone who helped with the event and for all those who attended.

As I write this I cannot help thinking of the terrible tragedy that happened the very next night. I broke down in tears when I learned of its happening. It is truly a time where we must move beyond our fears and into faith and freedom because it seems that fear is intent on trying to intimidate people's lives more than ever before in history. This is the greatest time to be hopeful, yet it seems there are those who want to crush that hope. The terrible incident from which this city is reeling is all too vivid proof of that.

Testimonies and reflections:

Mary Hida - Co-chairwoman of Las Vegas Chapter

I was grateful that the two authors I invited, whose books I have read, Cynthia De Boar and Judy Shine, gained so much from explaining their fears, especially Cynthia, who is legally blind.

Aimmee’s presentation instilled the room with a spirit of greater control over our fears: although we have many, we now have better tools to deal with them.

Her teaching style allows us to realize things for ourselves, so that we can each take ownership and begin to overcome some of our most common fears.

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Raluca Heim - Psychologist, Hypnotherapist, Teacher, Workshop Facilitator

I intuitively knew this was the workshop for me. It more than met my expectations. I've never heard a facilitator take the words right out of my mouth and realize that she had gone through the exact same reactions, feelings, experiences in her fears as myself and most of the participants at the workshop. Thank you, Aimmee, for creating an open and safe space. I love your directness! Thank you.

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Mohamad Al-Gazzali-Walters - Management Consultant, Certified HeartMath teacher (Las Vegas)

I came into this experience as a whim and fully ready to back out. I've been in a dark, fearful place for a long time and wanting to get out of it, but not knowing how. I was in fear that I wouldn't be able to deal with my fears. After two hours, I felt that I have the tool to start my journey on becoming fearless by releasing all my control on life. This has been a life changing experience and I look forward to learning more about releasing fear and helping my wounded self to become more loving.

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Lydia Compton - member of WFWP Las Vegas and wife of the director of the International Peace Education Center (IPEC) in Las Vegas

I realized that fear can debilitate a person as much as a drug or alcohol addiction, and this gave me a very different perspective on fear and on my life. I now know that I sometimes use my fears as excuses for my behavior, and some of these fears have become habitual. It will require great effort on my part to change and overcome them.

I left the program with a certain amount of skepticism, but with a much clearer understanding of the ways fear has held me back from being my best self. This has put me on a new path towards self-realization.

I’m very grateful to WFWP for sponsoring this seminar and especially to Aimmee for creating it and making it happen.

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Cynthia De Boar - author and guest

I was honored to be in attendance with so many amazing people. I was also excited to be invited by Aimmee to be on her show. Thank you so much and I look forward to seeing you soon!