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' - by Gil Dekel

‘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

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