On the (Inevitable) Liberation of Iran
+ You can't rush your healing
Dear Reader:
For those interested, my next book — In Trudeau's Kitchen: My Unexpected Journey with Sophie Trudeau : Power & the Politics of Intuition — is now entering the wider publishing world for pre-order. If you are interested in ordering a copy, here are some Amazon links:
In Trudeau's Kitchen Amazon USA
In Trudeau's Kitchen Amazon Canada
In Trudeau's Kitchen Amazon United Kingdom and Europe
In Trudeau's Kitchen Australia
It is also a great help if you ask your favorite library or bookstore to order it in. Customer engagement is the best way to get it into their consciousness and to give the book a shot to grow a solid following. To make it easier, they may need to know that the ISBN Identifier for the book is 978-1634245326 and it is published by Trineday Press and distributed by IPG.
I am also about to sign an audiobook deal for both 'In Trudeau's Kitchen' and its related predecessor, 'Where is God in all of this? A Conversation', which will be recorded the same week in Oregon. The God Book gently sets the stage for ITK, and then ITK takes the story to the next level.
Because the journey to this point has been so harrowing — and so very much that means something to me feels lost — I am having a difficult time finding my smile. But getting this book into the world is a good step forward. It bridges me back to humanity after tremendous isolation, and inspires me to never abandon the inner Lion that saved me. No matter what the evildoers detailed in the book attempted, I never lost my ROAR. Never lose yours, either.
ON THE BLESSED LIBERATION OF THE IRANIAN PEOPLE
Speaking of Roaring lions,
In 2022, I asked a US-Iranian friend if she could arrange an interview or dialogue with a woman currently living in Iran. I was horrified by what had happened to Zhina Mahsa Amini, and I wanted to understand more of the world she inhabited. This was my inquiry:
"I am interested to know more of her experience of feeling historically subjugated there, particularly as a woman. And her view of recent events, the morality police, and what has to happen before a true and complete liberation can occur in Iran."
My friend then connected with her friend—an Iranian man—and he made this inquiry of a female activist, living in Iran. She answered in Farsi, and my friend’s mother provided the translation. I want to share this with you, both because her voice must be heard, and because the mainstream media is simply not bringing enough attention to the horrors that are perpetuated in Iran. In fact, some are currently suggesting that it would be better to leave the IRGC in place. We mustn't…
In the words of this brave, sacred activist:
“Summary of the life of a twenty-two year old female in Iran.
Imagine this, you were born into a liberal family in Iran, post-Iranian Revolution, where Regime laws were immediately set in place.
At age seven, you're forced to wear a headscarf, that not only covers your hair, but must also cover your neck, in order to attend school and receive an education.
From that day on, gender segregation permeates every aspect of your life; you will never be in the same classroom as your male friends. Unbeknownst to you, gender segregation is driven by higher institutions.
When you turn twelve-years old, your school organizes an event to celebrate "women" reaching the age of maturity, known as, "The Fest of Duty" (Jashn-e Taklif).
This religious ceremony is designed to instill Islamic beliefs and values in young girls upon the age of twelve. As of that day, you are told that you must prepare yourself for the daily prayers, and attendance of your institution's prayer room. If you fail to abide by this rule, then your grades will suffer, and there will be consequences.
Any male figure whom is not part of your immediate family is not allowed to see you without a headscarf, as they can have sexual intentions upon you after this age. Your favorite uncle, is now considered a threat to your modesty. Within this doctrine, you are told that if you do not abide by God's command, then you shall face his wrath. In Hell, you will be hung by your hair, with flames burning underneath your feet.
Despite this being a forced law and social norm, most families (varying from different religious backgrounds and values) do not always follow this.
In every classroom, an authority figure attends, whom is known as a "Minister of Education" (Moaleme Parvareshi) who assists in overseeing and teaching Islamic values in the classroom (K-12). This tactical position of Ministers in the classroom, controls one's comportments, beliefs, and general demeanor in society; particularly within the Islamic Regime of Iran. Such figures are placed in these classrooms to "prevent" students from deviating from the "correct" path within society.
Finally, at the age of eighteen years-old, you are now able to attend University in the same classroom as men; to be clear, this is the first time you've attended school with the opposite sex. Considering that this is a progressive feat, Government Officials continue to push gender segregation agendas to Universities, claiming that it will contribute to the progression of science and knowledge. Given such beliefs, cafeterias continue to remain segregated in universities.
Once you enter into society, you unfortunately realize the disparate distinctions of Rights between Men and Women. Some of which, can be seen as the following:
· If you get killed, your killer's wergild (also known as man price or blood money where a monetary value is put on a person) is 1/2 of a man's wergild. If the killer has issues with you or your brother, the consequences of killing you is much less than killing your brother
· If you witness a crime and want to speak in court, your witness is counted as 1/2. That means it takes 2 adult female to testify compare to 1 adult male.
· Until the rest of your life you don’t have the permission to leave the country without the agreement of your father and post marriage the agreement of your husband.
· If you get married, your father must come and allow in documentation. You cannot get married without the physical presence of your father.
· If you want to divorce your husband, you can only do so with a judge's order, while your husband can receive one, just be verbally declaring it.
· Your husband has the right to be engaged to a maximum of three women, however, if you commit infidelity during marriage, you will be stoned to death.
· If you end up getting divorced the court gives the custody right to the father or if the father is not present the rights is given to the fathers family.
In this Patriarchal society, you are considered a second-class citizen, and one-half of a person.
You are now twenty-years old, and you begrudgingly know your position in society. One day, you walk on the streets of Tehran with your brother, and a black van suddenly stops in front of you. You quickly realize, this type of van only belongs to the Morality Police, in other words, the religious police.
Upon separation between you and your brother, they arrest you—you are now a criminal.
Your crime?
Showing more hair than what is allowed in public.
You enter a dark space, filled with other fearful eyes looming on you, while hearing the degrading shouting of, "Bitch, "Whore," and "Shame to your family.” Immediately, they take your phone away — you cry, you fear for your life, and what is to come. The Morality Police then tell you that it's okay, and give you a statement of your crime, and take you to the Police station. You have no choice but to comply, even if you tell them that you will not commit the crime again.
You've now arrived at a detention center; your family, friends, and brother have no idea where you are. The officers then take a mugshot of you, in order to build a case against you. In those hours, nobody else knows what becomes of you, except a routine disciplinary lecture reminding you of your "crime." This was the fate of Zhina Mahsa Amini. Had it not been for her brother, she would have died without a name.
This is not an isolated issue—in fact, this is a typical scenario for any woman living under the Islamic Republic. Zhina Mahsa Amini's death was one to have gone viral, particularly due to the power of social media. If it were not for the influence of social media, the support and solidarity of men, tenacity and strength of women, and outrage from all Iranians, this murder would been concealed, and considered another tragedy, outside of one's control.
For other women to not suffer the same fate as Zhina Mahsa Amini, we must rid Iran of the Islamic Republic, and start anew with the flourishment of Human rights; especially Women's right's.”
In 2023, I interviewed Iranian activist-sacred dancer-living legend Banafsheh Sayyad. Banafsheh’s father is the legendary Iranian filmmaker, theater director and actor, Parviz Sayyad. Hailed as the Charlie Chaplin of Iran, he is the most famous Iranian of his time.
In our time together, Banafsheh shared details of her Iranian background, the loss of Mahsa Amini and the revolutionary aftermath, the way that religion has disembodied and disempowered us, the courage that was taking root within Iran. And we talked about the kind of ReBraving and ReEmbodiment that must happen so that we can see through abuse of power and humanifest real change.
Listen here: Jeff and Banafsheh
The Iranian people will be free soon. The Rising Lion cannot be stopped.
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Write with me, in July!
We are going back into the writing cave at Soulshaping Institute beginning Wednesday, July 16th. Join us, if you feel ready to write your way home. Whether you are working on a book, or simply curious to explore writing as an expressive and/or healing path, this course will ignite you. I am convinced that honest self-expression lives at the heart of our healthiest transformation. This course helps to free it from its repressive chambers. Every syllable written brings us one step closer to liberation. If you’re ready to write, check out the course description and sign up here:
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WHERE IS GOD IN ALL OF THIS? (Free Chapters)
As part of the buildup to the publication of ‘In Trudeau's Kitchen’, I will be offering two free chapters of 'Where is God in all of this?' to paid subscribers of this page every week from September 16th. I am organizing it this way so that you will have read the whole book, before ITK is published. Interestingly, ITK formally publishes on December 9, 2025. That week in December is particularly significant with respect to the events described in the book. It was the week when the journey began with an illegal phone interception days after I attempted to disconnect from Mrs. Trudeau in 2020, and the week that I initiated my second Federal Court Privacy Act Appeal in this matter. Neither experience was gratifying — three times lucky?
In addition, I will be regularly sharing a series of videos that relate to the content of ITK. There is an abundance of themes to dig into from this experience. I am genuinely curious about how all of you will respond to it. It's a wildly fascinating story that longs to be shared.
You can't rush your healing
All too often, we want to rush a healing process, as though our will alone can get us there. It certainly helps to be passionate about our healing, but it truly can’t be rushed. Depending on the nature of the issue and the severity of the trauma, it can take a lifetime to reach a place where we are at peace with what we have experienced. This wouldn’t be a problem if we lived in a world that moved at a humane pace, but we live in one that moves at a pace anti-thetical to depthful and sustainable transformation. And so, we often end up stuck somewhere in between—longing to heal, but lacking the space (and the pace) that makes it possible.