Healing Lebanon With Hands And Heart

There is a conscious awakening occurring on the planet that has slowly been evolving over the decades, and is currently moving at an accelerated rate. Being in service to humanity is often a selfless role that requires patience, determination and total faith in the process. The world is undoubtedly still full of poverty, disease, and suffering, but there are many inspiring stories of social and humanitarian service all over the world. This work often goes unrecognized, never quite making the headlines on a regular basis. It’s the sort of work that has the capacity to elevate our minds, hearts and spirit and there are countless opportunities for social service everywhere you look. It’s a way to give something back to humanity and surely keeps that positive energy circulating. The Wellness Project had the opportunity to meet one charming, loving woman, Nawal Fleihan, who’s been of great service to others in Lebanon in her own unique way.

Nawal’s story began upon her return to Lebanon back in 1995. She left a very idyllic life in North Carolina where she focused her energy on raising three children for almost twenty years. Everything changed when her children requested to return to Lebanon. Once Nawal began this new chapter in her life, she fell into a deep depression, primarily questioning what she could now do to be of service to society. Her children were older and busy with their own lives, but concerned. It was her 16-year-old son that pointed it out to her. “Mom, I miss your smile, you no longer seem happy and barely leave the house,” he remarked. She turned inwards in prayer, asking for direction on “what are the next steps to take.” She felt that there had to be something more to her existence and finding it was her greatest struggle.

To keep herself busy and to be of some help to others, she started volunteering at the St. Jude’s Hospital. Her primary role was to assist children and young teenagers in any way possible. Often, it was to simply read books, entertain them and offer some motherly love while they were facing extremely difficult challenges. She continued to volunteer while searching for her purpose and role in the world, simultaneously dealing with her own melancholy. Everything took a nosedive when one of her patients at the hospital, a youngster who was about 18 years old, suddenly passed away. She was devastated as she became quite attached to him through her volunteer work in the hospital over the course of a year and half. This only magnified her internal, emotional world and she turned inwards once again, searching for the right teachers and guidance to bring her out of these states without the use of medication.

One day, her daughter introduced her to a very inspiring professor named Dr. Christine Crumrain who was teaching meditation at AUBMC (Medical Centre). Her daughter felt that this woman would be an encouraging mentor to Nawal. In fact, she became the very catalyst she needed. Christine was a powerful woman who focused on conflict resolution and finding new ways to work with forgiveness on a global level. Christine had the ability to uplift people to a higher level and knew the art of oration. She also practiced many different healing modalities such as meditation, Reiki, and reflective forgiveness as a method for healing. Nawal, in her state of depression, began her own healing journey with Christine.

The primary tool Christine taught her was meditation, encouraging Nawal to go deeper into her sadness to discover what the story was behind those hidden, profound feelings of anguish. Nawal took her journey seriously, determined to shake off the discomfort through meditation and began receiving Reiki sessions, a Japanese form of hands-on healing, from Christine. The path of self-development became her mission. She began her own intense healing on a physical, emotional, and mental level. By 2004, she studied and practiced Reiki on clients, discovering that she too had healing abilities. She was also studying other therapeutic modalities alongside this. Christine always told her: “Trust yourself, you’ve done this before, just allow your intuition to guide you. Always remember the love of ‘the mother’ and with that, you can hold the whole world in your arms.”

Nawal walked her path, coming out of her own depression while learning to channel her emotions and purpose in a completely new fashion. Throughout the course of her studies, she had the opportunity to meet many well-known spiritual teachers such as Louise Hay, Wayne Dyer, Brian Weiss, Marianne Williamson, Sai Baba and John of God. She became a Reiki and Karuna Master, learnt Crystal Therapy, Laughter Yoga, Past Life Regression, Trauma Healing, and Meditation. She offers Reiki certificates here in Lebanon and gives Meditation Classes at AUBMC, together with private sessions in various therapies.

 Nawal with her students

Her latest project, Nafas (breath), was launched January 2018 with a goal to visit one village a month in Lebanon. I had the opportunity to volunteer and offer gentle sound healing at her event in Hasbaya. Each time she visits a village, she offers yoga, meditation with breathing techniques and prayer. She is accompanied with her Reiki students who are all volunteers. There were over 80 people in this particular village and it was beyond moving to say the least. Nawal has the ability to share her own story of depression and, in a motherly fashion, can hold an audience in the palm of her hands.

  Nafas event in Hasbaya

Everything is kept simple: meditation is focused on the breath and developing inner listening. The entire occasion opened hearts, released repressed emotions and many tears were wept, as countless people had never been exposed to this kind of work before. There are many people who are living in horrific conditions or just suffering through our common issues of stress, anxiety, trauma and depression. With just a few techniques to uplift them from these states, change is possible. Don’t we all need a little help navigating the stress of daily life?

Nafas has been successful with only one event cancelled this year. It requires a space to host the event with many volunteers that act as a support system and aid in the organization of it all. As Nawal states, “we need to share what we know with others, and if those tools can help them find new solutions to old problems, then something will positively shift.”

We hope this story inspires and moves you, encouraging you to find new solutions to any problems that you might be experiencing. And remember, helping others is a very fulfilling role that may uplift you and those around you. You can find further information on Nawal on her website or her Facebook page.

Here are a few reactions by participants in various villages:

References:

All images are taken from Nawal’s Facebook page

https://nawaldfleihan.wordpress.com

https://www.facebook.com/NawalFleihanReikiandKarunaMaster/