Emmanuel Dagher Interview with Natalie Dekel, MPhil (part 2 of 2)
Part 2. Back to part 1.
Natalie: I understand that you had difficult experiences before becoming a successful healer. Can you explain how difficulties brought you to where you are now?
Emmanuel: I believe everyone has experienced challenges in their life. Personally, I don’t see it as difficult experiences I look at it as challenges. Life offers us a challenge and it is up to us how we react to it. We have a choice of a myriad of completely different choices of reactions to the same challenge. You can have someone who overreacts and sees it as the end of the world or you can see it as an opportunity to become even more of your true self; more loving, more kind. So for me, I’ve always looked at challenges as an opportunity to grow and expand.
Having said all of that, I have had a few challenging experiences. The first formative years of my life, I grew up in Lebanon during the civil war that lasted from 1975 to the early 90’s. The first ten years of my life I was in that environment every day, witnessing very tragic experiences where you lose loved ones and you live in fear and all of that.
I remember amidst all of that, praying, that if I was able to move out of this situation, that if my mom and I were going to be safe from this experience, that I would commit the rest of my life to helping humanity in some way; that I would serve in some way for the greater whole – and that’s what I’ve stuck to.
We did manage to escape the war and moved to the United States. The relocation has really helped heal a lot of things for me because it’s interesting that I moved from Lebanon and came into the Midwest, which is all very farm-like and very open space. It was a very big shift in environment so I felt that my teen years got to experience that peace and that ease in my environment situation that I never had before. But because of my first ten years, I did have post-traumatic stress and for me not only was it in the mind but it was also in the body and it manifested in my spine; I had scoliosis and I actually didn’t speak for several years because of everything that I saw.
‘The Mist of Love’ (photo by Gil Dekel)
That was part of the healing that I had to do and overcome. Everything that has occurred in my first formative years has really shaped me and the challenges that I had to overcome. For example, I used to have a stutter as well when I started speaking because of my experiences. Once I was able to overcome those challenges, the scoliosis, and everything else, and was able to heal it naturally – no surgery, from a 29.5 degree curve to maybe a 0.5, which is nothing. I was able to now use my life and share and speak and communicate the message of love with others and empower them to be the best version of who they want to be… then everything healed. That’s how it all brought me to what I do today.
How does one communicate the message of healing and love to other people?
The first step to communicate it with others is to communicate it with yourself. Make it a priority to love, accept and honor yourself – and we’re not talking about ego-ic love, we’re talking about reverent Love. You are loving yourself because you are recognizing that you are the Divinity in the flesh. You are the Universe, you are Spirit, God, source energy, whatever you want to call it. You are that which created you. It’s there within you.
So by loving yourself, accepting yourself, honoring yourself, being gentle with yourself, nurturing yourself, pampering yourself, often making yourself a priority- you’re going to not only honor the universe but you’re also going to show up whole, happy, complete, content, satisfied. And then you’re going to start not needing things outside of yourself to fill a void. Then you’re going to start to overflow with the Divine Love by filling up the lives of your family and your relatives and your children, instead of looking for them to fill something within you to create that love. That’s how I would say is the first step to communicate your message of healing and love – is to be that for yourself.
Then again, I would also add the compassion component; so not feeling sorry for others when you see a commercial on television and they’re showing little dogs and cats looking for help. What happens is, when we feel sorry for someone or something – because the media people know what they’re doing – we’re actually continuing and contributing to that story for those little dogs and cats. But when we can see the truth of the fact that these dogs and cats are whole complete, divine, sacred beings and they just happen to be in the situation at this time, and if I’m going to give money or whatever they’re seeking in order for them to get saved, I’m going to give it from a place of compassion rather than feeling sorry for them. Because when I give it from a place of compassion, I feel good about it. I feel like I’m giving this to them because I would like to contribute to their comfort, to their safety, to finding a good home. Not being in that space of “Oh, I feel sorry for them, they’re broken…” no. What’s going to happen is that we’re going to keep creating more of that story.
Emmanuel Dagher – by Natalie Dekel
I would say compassion is also being able to love to such a degree that we see beyond the story and the illusion, and this is a great way to communicate the message of healing and love.
Some people may argue that physical ailments or dramatic events in one’s life have nothing to do with lack of love or emotions. Rather, things ‘just happen’. What is your view?
Nothing ‘just happens.’ If we are to say “Well, that just happens” then we are not taking responsibility for our life. We are choosing to be the victim of our life. If someone is happy and content being the victim of their life, that’s fine. We have to honor that journey; we have to respect that. But what happens is that over time they start creating so many challenges and hardships in their life that they get to a point where they say, “Enough is enough. I’m over this; I’m ready to take responsibility.” When they’re ready to take responsibility, that’s when the true healing happens.
Every physical issue has a root emotional cause. The sooner we acknowledge that, the sooner we can heal.
What would you recommend for people to do as a first step in their process of healing or self-evolution?
Self-love, taking good care of yourself, nurture yourself, don’t judge yourself too hard. Understand that your mind is just a very super-high intelligent computer. It is just running programs in the mind that it knows and is familiar with. What we need to do is release some of those programs and add the new ones.
In order to do that, we have to be gentle with the mind. We have to take it easy. We don’t want to judge the mind because when we do, it will resist back.
So be easy with yourself, take good care, self-nurture, all of those things. Make it a priority to be in love with who you are and then everything else will start to unfold and you will start to heal.
Emmanuel, this is so empowering! Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and path with us. I am sure many people will find your words uplifting and inspiring to help them become their own Light and Authentic Self. And there is so much knowledge and wisdom given here on such a deep level that perhaps people will want to re-read it several times to allow it to sink in. Thank you so much! Even from your words alone I sense a strong energy of Love and compassion flowing outwards, so people will receive healing even as they read this interview. And I am truly grateful and honored to have been part of this process of bringing Love forward.
Part 2. Back to part 1.
3 Feb 2015.
Exclusive publishing rights © Natalie and Gil Dekel. Illustration of Emmanuel © Natalie Dekel. Interview conducted via emails and voice-recording correspondences 27 Dec 2014 – 28 Jan 2015. Emmanuel is based in Los Angeles, California, USA. Natalie is based in Southampton, UK. Emmanuel’s website: EmmanuelDagher.com
- Reading with Natalie, book here...