Category: community

Facing the Middle East’s Dark Side for a Path of Healing and Reform

by Weam Namou, posted in Books, chaldeans, Communication, community, Consciousness

I was on a cruise trip with a group of friends and family members when, the day before our trip ended, we saw on TV horrific acts of terrorism against Israeli civilians. We looked at each other and, shocked, said, “This is just like ISIS.”

The majority of those in our group had experienced some type of violence or oppression while living in Iraq. One man, during the early 70s, was snatched from his home and, without trial, condemned to execution for purchasing binoculars. He, a Christian, was accused of working as a spy with the Jews. He was able to convince the sergeant he’s not a spy and that he’d purchased the binoculars for personal interests. His wife remembers her school being forced to witness the hanging of the Jews at the public execution. A Muslim Kurdish woman was beaten by her three brothers for falling in love with a Christian man and went into a coma for a week. She ended up escaping out of Iraq and marrying the man.

There used to be a saying in the Middle East “After Saturday Comes Sunday” which meant, after we get rid of the Jews, a successful campaign in Iraq, then it’s the Christians’ turn, which was 90% successful so far. That region’s dark side is its inability to look within for a solution rather than point fingers. It has so many issues regarding diversity, women’s and children’s rights, and human rights. People rant about colonization when Muslims and Arabs colonized the entire Middle East over 1500 years ago, when the majority of the people were Christian and spoke Aramaic. Since then, the average Jew, Christian, and Muslim has tried to find ways for us to live together but extremist groups in those regions always ensured that does not happen.

What truly saddened many of us is seeing worldwide rallies passionately and immediately cheering the slaughter of people. Interestingly, no such groups came out when ISIS was killing Christians, Yazidis, Shias, and other minorities in Iraq in 2014. When ISIS attacked our ancestral land, I wrote a book called Iraqi Americans: Witnessing a Genocide and addressed all the groups who suffered at the hands of the terrorist group, or during the US invasion, such as the Sunnis. Why? Because my heart bled equally for all of them!

Palestinians deserve to have their own land, but these tactics are, to put it mildly, not wise and they are actually hurting the people in Gaza. The perpetual patterns of violence in the Middle East will continue without serious introspective. No peace will be experienced otherwise. War and vengeance are not the answer, not for the Palestinians, not for the Israelis, not for anyone. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing, expecting different results.

The same week that Hamas brutally attacked Israelis, my 16th book came out, The Oneida Man: Conversations with my Native American Friend. Chapter One of the book begins with the day I attend with my young children a neighborhood protest against the 2014 ISIS attacks. Since then, Iraqi Christians, Yazidis, and other minorities have faced significant challenges and continue to struggle with the aftermath of the mass killings, abductions, and forced conversions. Like Native Americans, the indigenous people of Iraq have suffered a great deal and have lifelong traumas. The difference is that my birth country has done little, if anything, to help heal these wounds.

Years later, I wrote a book called Pomegranate, which went on to be an internationally multi-award winning feature film, to help bring forth dialogue about tensions between the Christian and Muslim community in American as well as showcase the beautiful side of the Arab world. The Detroit Free Press featured it in its Entertainment Section, but the Muslim community cancelled the book talk organized by an interfaith organization.

The film has won over a dozen awards from around the world (France, New York, Italy, India, Sweden, Amsterdam, and elsewhere). It was currently chosen as an Official Selection World Independent Cinema Awards (Los Angeles). You can purchase tickets until Oct. 17 to get one week access to the film.

During my apprenticeship in Lynn V. Andrews’ mysticism school, I was asked to look at my dark side. In shamanism, the concept of the “dark side” typically refers to the shadow or hidden aspects of oneself. It represents the parts of the self that are repressed, denied, or considered negative or unacceptable. These can include unresolved traumas, fears, desires, or aspects of one’s personality that are considered undesirable. This was a tough thing to do, but also it was necessary in order to heal the traumas associated with my birth country, Iraq, and transform.

In these extraordinary times characterized by violence and destruction, there is an urgent call for us to engage in deep introspection for personal and collective growth and transformation. But to do that, we Middle Easterners must look at our dark side and have honest conversations.

Watch recent interview about Pomegranate And don’t miss out on the opportunity to watch and vote to show your support and help it reach even more people. Let’s amplify its impact and inspire a wave of transformation around the world. 🗳️🌊

Making Dreams Come True

by Weam Namou, posted in Communication, community, Consciousness, Pomegranate, Spirituality, writing

Written by (guest blogger) Gethen Christine

https://youtube.com/@GethenChristineMorris

A Once in a Lifetime Opportunity – how many of those do we receive on this Path of Heart? Several. How many do we see? Some. How many do we seize? Very few. For me, this particular opportunity revealed one of my most cherished, and secret, pleasures in life. One that almost slipped through my fingers. One that I had to earn my right, and discover my worth, during an intense period of Hollywood deadlines, being pregnant and raising babies during lockdown, and answering the most important questions: How can I step into my power and put myself first?   

My dearest friend Weam Namou and I met during the beginning of my apprenticeship with Lynn V. Andrews through the Mystery School. Weam was my destined mentor, when we quickly recognized our longtime soul-connection, and evolved as co-creators with our Acts of Power. She invited me to participate in a special part of her first feature film, Pomegranate and weaved my talents where I excelled most.

Knowing my secret dreams of being a singer/songwriter on a large scale, she asked me if I had any music she could listen to? Embarrassingly, I searched for decade-old music files to appease her curiosity, and unexpectedly she was profoundly moved. She asked my permission to include me in her 14th book, Pomegranate with my name and lyrics from her favorite song as someone the main character Niran can relate to, an underestimated and aspiring artist.

The paramount process of making her film pursued, and Weam inquired if I would want to write a song for a specific scene. I nervously agreed to the task, wondering would the song be good enough? Could I actually do this? She gave me a 24-hour window to watch the scene. So, I stilled the mind, grabbed my guitar and played a melody that had been stalking me for months. My point of view transported into Niran’s feelings during those whirling moments, and the song composed itself. I didn’t exactly know what to think of it, being new and freshly birthed, was this going to be an “ugly baby” or one of those babies with a perfectly shaped head?

To my shock and elation, this baby was a perfect fit, but parents are always biased. After she accepted the first draft, the next steps were uncertain. Like a novice, I began my search from without, as opposed to within. In those coming months, I experienced invaluable connections to the film and music industry, drawing upon professional resources, and created a music publishing agency in my limited liability corporation (LLC) to best represent my future career in music with media.

I went on to invest in myself, equipment and software to record and produce music for Hollywood quality films. As I tried to conquer skillsets that require undivided attention and inexhaustible time, I realized my expectations were unrealistic with a brand-new baby and toddler. I convinced myself I could manage this new music experience while the babies slept.

This resulted in sub-par results that I ignorantly thought multiple revisions would render a different answer. Weeks before the last possible deadline passed, Weam informed me that if I did not hire professionals to finish the song it would be rejected. Thank goodness for her candidness, and my resiliency. After that call, I collapsed on my knees and cried the loss for every time in my life I didn’t step up to the next level. Though my past choices were unconsciously stemmed in self-sabotage, this time was different and afforded me the mirror to heal deep wounds.

My husband helped me off the floor and I was determined to fulfill this dream. Within an hour, I found a professional studio down the road from my house that had the urgent availability and high standards this hour-of-need beckoned. My husband composed a bass line, the studio manager offered his skills on drums, and I played acoustic guitar and sang vocals. The day I went to record was the first time in 20 years, and I met the sound engineer for Third Angel Productions in Colorado Springs. Nonchalantly, he divulged he is the House Sound Engineer for the Pikes Peak Performing Arts Center. The city’s central hub for the most prestigious musical and theatrical performances in the country. In that moment, I knew GODdess was guiding me to get my music “Off This Ground” (also the song title).

The feeling of self-accomplishment and -worth continues to soar with me and successfully shattered any limitations I once carried. In the midst of chaotic unknown, I stepped into my power and put myself first. Thank you, Niran for being a fan and especially to Weam who saw the potential and professionalism in me that was always there… waiting to be birthed.

Recently, I was gifted a very special scarf, one of the hijabs from the making of the film, Pomegranate from Weam as a thank you for my song and participation in the film. It is a deep royal purple and signifies the creativity of the actors wearing it on set and director making the film. This is a cherished gift and I wear it knowing the blending of cultures is truth and beauty.

Currently, Pomegranate is touring film festivals. You can watch the trailer HERE and purchase the book HERE. Also, we’ve been adding interviews with the actors which you can watch on my YouTube channel (see link below)

Upcoming Interviews for this month

Articles I Wrote this month

Celebrating Our Chaldean Heritage

From Stage to Film: Heather Raffo’s ‘Nine Parts’

Check out my YouTube channel where you can watch the interviews live and subscribe. Be sure to set reminders/alerts so you can stay updated on Live and uploaded content.

You can also now find me on Tik Tok, where I’m letting loose and sharing morsels of my life.

My Native American Friend

by Weam Namou, posted in Books, chaldeans, community, Consciousness, Spirituality

I’m currently working on a book about conversations I’ve had with my Native American friend. Conversations about non-typical topics. He would visit the video store where I worked for twelve years and chit-chat. Mostly, he did the talking. I listened, trying to understand the purpose behind his presence.

He said things that often stimulated my creativity and led me to write a poem or two, or to simply rethink history. To consider how our histories – me as a Chaldean and he as a Native American – were related. He transferred plain ideas into unique and priceless treasures. He is a matter-of-fact type of guy, a simple man living a meager existence. But then, little by little, he reveals himself as a profound person. Through these conversations, we see his wisdom and his willingness to admit to uncertainty. His humor and playfulness, wry judge of character and his offbeat sense of humor, is intriguing.

One of his visits resulted in this poem that was published by SNReview over ten years ago. https://www.snreview.org/0210Namou.html

Love, Justice, and Turtle Soup

A Native American man with long hair
walked into my place of business one day
and verbally handed me a recipe,
though I did not cook at the time –
and now that I do cook, I doubt
I could follow the instructions he gave to me,
though I’ll never forget the recipe.

He said, nonchalantly:
“If you want to make homemade turtle soup, you have to be careful and you must wait.. You’d want to catch a sea turtle because you get thirty or more pounds of meat from it – depending on weight. You need help too. A couple of men would do, to place the turtle inside a garbage barrel filled with fresh water. Close the lid and leave it there to starve.

It sounds brutal, I know, but there’s no other way to do it if you want to have homemade turtle soup. Sea turtles can live up to a hundred years, so it takes a while for them to die. If someone tried to slaughter them, they’d release a poison into their system that would kill anyone who ate from it. One must therefore keep the area surrounding the garbage barrel quiet so the turtle doesn’t think it has been caught by anyone but itself….

Turtles have a bad memory and will forget they were trapped.”

People trap each other like that and call it love.

Elephants, on the other hand, don’t forget.
If someone tried to hurt them, they come back in a hundred years to step on them.

People avenge each other like that and call it justice.

Interview about my latest book

“Little Baghdad”

Upcoming Interviews for This Month

Check out my YouTube channel where you can watch the interviews live and subscribe. Be sure to set reminders/alerts so you can stay updated on Live and uploaded content.

You can also now find me on Tik Tok, where I’m letting loose and sharing morsels of my life.

Pomegranate Trailer is Out!

by Weam Namou, posted in Books, community, Iraqi American, Pomegranate

Happy New Year! Hope you had a magical Christmas season.

Last month was quite exciting with holiday celebrations and completing projects I’ve been working on for years. I completed my 15th book, Little Baghdad: a Memoir about an Endangered People in an American City, which will be released on January 15, 2023, Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. Around the same time I’ll begin submitting the feature film Pomegranate to film festivals. And I’m excited to announce that the trailer was just released click HERE to watch now.

This film for me is special and unique for countless reasons, one of them being that it’s the first Iraqi American feature film and led by women talent. The main character, Niran, is influenced and inspired by Enheduanna, a princess, priestess, poet, and the first recorded writer in history from ancient Mesopotamia. In the story, Niran channels Enheduanna’s sense of power, creativity, and individuality through poetry.

Eneheduanna’s disk was discovered in 1927 yet she is hardly recognized in the world. Myself, I have raved about her in all my talks and several of my books since I came across her name over a decade ago. I dedicate a chapter on Enheduanna in my book Mesopotamian Goddesses: Unveiling Your Feminine Power.

If you still haven’t read the book Pomegranate, click HERE to check it out! (available in print, eBook, and audiobook)

Click the images below to read my articles that were published this month for the Chaldean News

CHALDEAN CATHOLICS IN INDIA Built in 1814, Marth Mariam Cathedral is a Chaldean Syrian Church—the oldest church in Thrissur, a town in Kerala in southern India. This is where people from the Middle East settled long before St. Thomas arrived at its coast in 52 A.D. to spread the Gospel. They came because it was an international trade center. It was known for its natural resources, such as black pepper, which was highly in demand in the West because it was used as an antibiotic.
INSIDE IRAQ - A TALE OF THREE MAYORS This article includes an interview with Iraq's first woman mayor Lara Zara. She recently escaped a bomb explosion intended to kill her. “The plan succeeded but it didn’t accomplish its goal of killing me,” she said. “It raised my resistance.”

Every month, I interview remarkable individuals on a weekly basis for the Virtual Discussion Series in partnership with Unique Voices in Films, the Chaldean Cultural Center, CMN TV and U of M [Detroit Center]. Below are the upcoming interviews for January.

Check out my YouTube channel where you can watch the interviews live and subscribe. Be sure to set reminders/alerts so you can stay updated on Live and uploaded content.

You can also now find me on Tik Tok, where I’m letting loose and sharing morsels of my life.

Living Tribal in a Democracy

by Weam Namou, posted in Books, chaldeans, Communication, community, Consciousness, Iraqi American, writing

“You’ve moved away from each other. You’ve torn apart your families, disassembled your smaller communities in favor of huge cities. In these big cities, there are more people, but fewer ‘tribes’, groups, or clans where members see their responsibility as including the responsibility for the whole. So, in effect, you have no elders. None at arm’s reach in any event.”

Neal Donald Walsh

I grew up dismissing the value of what my ancestry had to offer me, which was overshadowed by a patriarchal system that defines women from that point of view.  I was influenced by a young and modern generation that assumed they had life figured out, and as a result, tended to ignore the older generation’s way of thinking.

But shortly after I became a mother, things changed. I began searching into my personal genealogy and quickly became fascinated by what I discovered about my ancestors’ cultural identity, my “tribe” whose tribal ways date back thousands of years. Within a decade, I awoke to answers I’d been looking for: Who am I?  Who are my people? I already knew where I came from – Iraq, but the physical distance between that place and myself and the human misery associated with it, kept me from truly understanding and appreciating its ancient history, culture, and language.

My mother and I

My research shed light on my people, the Chaldeans, an indigenous Aramaic-speaking group whose lineage dates back to ancient Mesopotamia, and it shifted my views. In television and movies, tribal lifestyles are stereotyped as backwards or romanticized as mysterious and belonging to uncontacted tribes. I soon realized that if not documented, the rewarding side of this ancient tradition will be wasted. So in 2007, I began filming a documentary that included interviews and archival footage. I  interviewed my mother, sisters, nieces, cousins, and uncle’s wives about how it feels, as women, to live tribally in a democracy. They shared their perspectives, how, despite their assimilation to the westerner lifestyle, they continue to be connected to their instinctual tribal ways that most people repress in civilized life. They embodied an East-West wisdom that we are all in need of today. I called the documentary Living Tribal in a Democracy. 

Over a decade has passed since I began the documentary. Between raising my children, working on various creative projects, and caring for my elderly mother who lived with us, I worked on it sporadically. After my mother passed away in February 2019, I screened and discussed a ten-minute segment of my documentary at Wayne State University at an event called Creative Many. The story received positive feedback and the organizers encouraged me to continue with the project. That’s when I realized it was time to revisit and complete the work. The community’s cultural identity endangered, I felt it especially important to systematize the memories of its people and heritage.

This is when I realized that the story also needs to be written into a book that, similar to the documentary, explores the role that ancient Mesopotamia played in the birth of our contemporary culture. In this book, I show that, although women played a major role in building the cradle of civilization, the rulers of that region tried to destroy/hide that knowledge. This great loss has had consequences for the world. 

The book raises the following questions, which I myself, as someone living tribal in a democracy, struggled with for decades and went to great lengths to find the answers: Are tribal societies models for future societies? How can tribalism and democracy coexist? Would it do the world good to return to some of the old ways, with smaller communities, a higher regard for feminine sacredness, the family system, and the elderly? How can we learn from the ancients, who are often romanticized as warriors or noble savages and we assume live in faraway or remote lands, in the jungles of Peru or in restricted areas such as Indian reservations, and neglect to see their presence in our backyard? Are we aware they do live with us here today? What was the role of women in ancient Mesopotamia, where once upon a time, kings attributed their right to rule through their official marriage to the goddess?

My mother and her great grandson, Mateo

Some of this material became the topic of my book Mesopotamian Goddesses. The rest I bundled up in my upcoming book Little Baghdad: A Memoir About an Indigenous People in an American City, which will be published by the end of this year. As for the documentary, the completion and release of that project is still to be determined.  Meanwhile, it’s shelved among my umpteen projects that want to bring to memory the wisdom and importance of ancient ways which revered nature, feminine sacredness, and community. 

Once someone asked me why I felt I needed to write so many books. I thought it was a strange question. Would someone ask a surgeon why there was a need to perform operations on a regular basis or a teacher, or any other profession? Still, I reflected on that question and realized that part of the joy in writing my stories is the self-discovery that occurs in the process. How can you connect to the power of your own lineage and discover the richness, beauty and wisdom as well as the wounds and traumas that lie there? Your lineage doesn’t have to be physical heredity, but can be a spiritual lineage. Looking at your heritage will help you come to terms with and understand who you really are, what role you play in the story you’re in, and how to change, if you so desire. 

Every month, I interview remarkable individuals on a weekly basis for the Virtual Discussion Series in partnership with Unique Voices in Films, the Chaldean Cultural Center, CMN TV and U of M [Detroit Center].

Check out my YouTube channel where you can watch the interviews live and subscribe. Be sure to set reminders/alerts so you can stay updated on Live and uploaded content.

You can also now find me on Tik Tok, where I’m letting loose and sharing morsels of my life.

Walking in Balance 

by Weam Namou, posted in Books, community, Consciousness, Spirituality, writing

When my neighbor has guests, and they gather in the backyard during warm weather days, she will often bring me a small cup of Turkish coffee. She hands it to me over the fence. Sometimes placed on the saucer, next to the small cup, is a stick of chocolate, dried mangos, dried apricots, walnuts, dates, or zlabia, the Middle Eastern equivalent to funnel cakes. When she sees that my husband is home, he too receives a cup of Turkish coffee. We both feel nourished by the hospitality of our Middle Eastern traditional ways. 

I drink the coffee. The bitter but delicious taste is strong and rich. I hear Aramaic words from the neighbors’ home. They sound like birds singing. This ancient language has me traveling to my ancestral land. I journal, read, and remember those who have passed; my mother, my father, one of my precious mentors, and most recently, my dear teacher, Lynn V. Andrews. 

Lynn passed away on August 17 at 4:44 pm. She was a mystic and the bestselling author of the Medicine Woman series. Her four-year Mystery School changed the lives of thousands of her students, particularly women. As such, it ended up influencing the lives of countless men and women, since we all affect each other. For decades, Lynn dedicated her life to the path of writing and healing Mother Earth, the mind, and the heart through ancient practices of the ancients. She had us raise the question, “What did they know that enabled them to live successfully on this Earth for so very, very long… that we have forgotten in such a short span of time?” 

From her and her unique and intimate circle of women, I learned to walk in balance, with one foot in the physical world and another foot in the spiritual world. I learned to heal and transform my life with one act of power after another. I learned to continue to learn on a daily basis. I learned that we have all we need, right where we are. All we have to do is look; then appears the right story, the right job, the answered prayers, the perfect neighborhood and neighbors. 

It was when I was looking that Lynn and her magical world appeared to me. I ended up becoming an apprentice in her school for four years, and later, the mentor for her apprentices. I ended up writing a four-part memoir series about the experience, which later expanded into workshops and classes to pass on the teachings that brought me from dark to light. This has led to many inspiring projects and groups, including this very blog and community called The Path of Consciousness. 

Read more about my experience in the Mystery School.

Here’s an interview I did with Lynn V. Andrews:

Just a reminder, the online lecture series on the “Memoirs of a Babylonian Princess” begins this Saturday, September 10, 2022. If you’d like to register you can email info@chaldeanculturalcenter.org or use the QR code below.

Every month, I interview four remarkable individuals on a weekly basis for the Virtual Discussion Series in partnership with Unique Voices in Films, the Chaldean Cultural Center, CMN TV and U of M [Detroit Center].

Check out my YouTube channel where you can watch the interviews live and subscribe. Be sure to set reminders/alerts so you can stay updated on Live and uploaded content.

You can also now find me on Tik Tok, where I’m letting loose and sharing morsels of my life.

Traveling the World From Home

by Weam Namou, posted in community, Consciousness, Spirituality

When I was younger, I traveled to Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Tunisia, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Israel, and many other countries to see the world. I was passionate about life and what’s out there. 

For over a decade, I enjoyed the beauty that other lands, traditions, and cultures had to offer. I took long walks in regal towns with colorful houses and flower-adorned alleys, sat on floors of Bedouin homes to drink delicious, minted tea and eat tanoor baked bread, rode donkeys and horses, buses, and trolleys, all while reflecting on the wonders of life. The process filled my heart with love and life, and it cleansed me of many preconceived notions, prejudices, and beliefs. It also helped me understand other’s points of view, including animals, trees, and nature.  

At an event in Morocco (late 1990s)

During my last few trips, something changed in me. I realized that I no longer needed to travel far to experience the wonder and beauty of other cultures. It’s all right here, just around the corner from home. Coming to this realization, I feel the same excitement as when I used to travel regularly. I meet the most wonderful people and visit the most fascinating places on a regular basis whenever that desire comes up  – no need to look for travel dates and tickets!

Just recently,  I visited the Arab American National Museum with colleagues, where we learned  about the Mandaeans, an ancient people that I had researched but not extensively.  Afterward, we enjoyed lunch at a Yemini restaurant followed by coffee at a Yemini café. Not long ago, I attended a gathering at a nearby church where a spiritual teacher, Ashwin Kapadia, PhD, who is visiting from India, gave his discourse in Integral yoga. In July, I had the pleasure of interviewing indigenous minority communities from Iraq: the Yazidi, Mandaean, Marsh People, and Kurdish. Why did I highlight their communities? Because I love celebrating others’ heritage as much as I do mine! 

Learning to celebrate and honor your heritage is important, but it’s just as important to do so unto others. This teaching, which is prevalent in America’s focus on diversity these days, has brought much richness and value to this country.

What richness is around the corner of your home that you can travel to this week?  

In Prague while studying poetry through the University of New Orleans (2001)

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There’s a lot of exciting things happening and I’d love you to be a part of it. I’m particularly looking forward to a new book club by a UK-based art historian and author, Emily Porter, and the first annual Beth Nahrain Conference which will focus on writers of Mesopotamian descent. See below for details!

Partaking in Others’ Act of Power

by Weam Namou, posted in Audiobook, chaldeans, Communication, community, Consciousness, Pomegranate, Spirituality, writing

I have been enjoying listening to audiobooks for years, imagining the day one of my fourteen books would be available in this format. Then one day out of the blue, my niece Sandy asked if she could create a sample audiobook narration  from my book Healing Wisdom for a Wounded World: My Life-Changing Journey Through a Shamanic School. I thought this was a lovely idea and gave her the go-ahead. When she sent the audio for my approval, I was surprised. I wasn’t expecting her voice to be so engaging and professional in its delivery. 

Through our conversations, I learned about her earlier interests in theater and acting and her current desire to shift careers from a yoga instructor to an audiobook narrator. The stars having aligned, as they say, I asked if she would like to narrate Pomegranate.  She was excited about the opportunity but had her reservations, since she hadn’t yet narrated an entire book and there was a lot involved, such as numerous male and female characters of various age groups and ethnicities. But I have a knack for discovering talent – it’s all around me actually – and I said, “Let’s give it a try.”

The time, effort, coaching, proper recording space and equipment, and the ability to self-direct as well as receive direction from me, created a priceless experience for both of us and a lovely audiobook. What was amazing is that ACX, the Audible.com platform, approved it from the first get-go which says a lot about Sandy’s professionalism. (Tune in on June 30th when I’ll be interviewing Sandy and she’ll discuss the process – see info. below). So far we’ve had wonderful feedback, the story resonating with listeners because it’s funny, it’s real, and it asks important questions. 

One of the first things I learned from my four-year apprenticeship in Lynn V. Andrews’ mystery school is the Act of Power, a transformation practice to help you reach your dreams. This practice propels all my projects, but particularly Pomegranate. The most magical part about it is that when you help another with their Act of Power then the blessings are doubled and tripled – as was the case with me and Sandy working together. 

Do you want to partake in our act of power? Since we just announced the release of the audiobook on May 25, it would be so meaningful if you can take a listen to the 5 hour 25 minute book on Audible – the 525 is pure coincidence 🙂 – and leave an honest review. It would be a great help in getting the word out. You can click the image or link below to get to it.

If you don’t have an Audible membership, you can get the audiobook for FREE with a 30-day Audible trial.

Just CLICK HERE TO GO TO AUDIBLE, start the trial process, and get the Pomegranate audiobook!

Thank you so much in advance and we hope you enjoy the book!

And if you listen and enjoy it, please tell a friend or two about it!

Every month, I interview four remarkable individuals on a weekly basis for the Virtual Discussion Series in partnership with Unique Voices in Films, the Chaldean Cultural Center, CMN TV and U of M [Detroit Center].

Check out my YouTube channel where you can watch the interviews live and subscribe. Be sure to set reminders/alerts so you can stay updated on Live and uploaded content.

You can also now find me on Tik Tok, where I’m currently running a series on Mesopotamian Goddesses.

HERE’S THE GUEST LINE-UP FOR JUNE 2022:

Honoring Other Narratives

by Weam Namou, posted in Communication, community, Spirituality, TV Interviews

For Women’s History Month, I interviewed women of various backgrounds who are making changes for themselves and others as they use their voices and make their dreams come true.  They included: 

Zilka Joseph – an Indian American and Bene Israel poet whose new book, “Our Beautiful Bones,” was nominated for a PEN and Pushcart prize. Watch the interview

Zoe Moore – an independent Hospitality EDI Strategic Consultant who engages leaders of organizations through her speaking, writing, educational courses and consulting. Watch the interview 

Vicki Dobbs – the founder of Wisdom Evolution and head cheerleader for The You First Revolution. Watch the interview

Natally Boutros –  a first-generation Chaldean American born Actress who was raised in Michigan and co-stars in my upcoming feature film, “Pomegranate.” Watch the interview

Some time ago I was looking for a quote on the freedom of speech, and I came across this:

“I may not agree with what you have to say,

but I will defend to death your right to say it.”

I thought this quote, cited as something written by the French writer and philosopher Voltaire, was perfect! As I dug a little deeper, however, I discovered that the quote was actually misattributed to Voltaire. “Again?!” I thought to myself. This is not the first time a quote written by a woman was attributed to a man. The phrase is that of an English author named Evelyn Beatrice Hall. She wrote it in her book “Friends of Voltaire” (1906) as she imagined what Voltaire might have thought.  

This powerful phrase not only shows the importance of the First Amendment, our right to freedom of speech, but it’s interesting how sometimes we take a quote, a history, a narrative and run with it – only to discover years or decades or thousands of years later that it is not entirely true. A good example of this are the legendary women of ancient Mesopotamia, whose stories were buried, literally, until archaeologists began to dig them up in the 1900s. 

One such story that emerged was that of Enheduanna, who historians now recognize as the first writer in recorded history.  She is dubbed the “Shakespeare of Sumerian literature” and wrote and taught about three centuries before the earliest Sanskrit texts, 2000 years before Aristotle, and 1,700 before Confucius. Yet hardly anyone has heard of her, aside from those historians that take the accuracy of history seriously. What a missed opportunity for our educational system not to be aware of Enheduanna’s works and include them, like Shakespeare, into their curriculum. 

I wrote extensively about Enheduanna and other ancient women and goddesses of that region in my book, “Mesopotamian Goddesses: Unveiling Your Feminine Power.”

This disk was found in the temple of Nanna's consort, Nin-gal (Great Lady), and dates to around 2300 BCE. It depicts Enheduanna, the world's first recorded author, daughter of Sargon of Akkad and high priestess of the moon god at Ur.
This disk was found in the temple of Nanna’s consort, Nin-gal (Great Lady), and dates to around 2300 BCE. It depicts Enheduanna, the world’s first recorded author, daughter of Sargon of Akkad and high priestess of the moon god at Ur. 

We can use our efforts to silence peoples’ voices, but it will return in different forms and be ten times more powerful. Or we can learn to listen, to truly listen to others, to the sun and the moon, and to our animals. Listening is not a chance to interject own views, or to force or manipulate someone to think, speak, or act the way we perceive is “correct.” Our views and feelings are not always “correct.” There is a lot in the universe that we can learn from, but we won’t be able to do that, to grow and evolve, if we prevent others from speaking, and instead constantly interject our rights and wrongs. 

When we truly listen, we give ourselves an opportunity to hear the things we are afraid of, so that we may heal ourselves and those around us, so that we may transform our relationships and experiences into something beautiful. 

Exercise: 

Choose someone you disagree with and write down ten of their good qualities. If your mind automatically jumps to, “This person doesn’t have ten good qualities, no way!” Ask yourself what are you resisting? Why are you afraid to look at their other side?  

After you do that, write ten things you dislike about yourself and why. When you complete that list, decide how you will change at least one of those ten things so that you can live a healthier lifestyle – physically, emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually. 

This exercise will help you realize that each of us has a lifetime of work on ourselves let alone trying to change someone else. In focusing on what we are thinking, saying, and doing, we are listening to the most important person – ourselves – and then we will have mastered the art of listening to others. 

Each one of us has an inner power which can be honored through listening. True listening involves actively paying attention to the words and sounds that you hear, to absorb their meaning and understand the speaker’s narrative and story.

Check out my YouTube channel to learn about this week’s guest, who I’ll be interviewing live. Subscribe to my channel and set reminders/alerts so you can stay updated on Live and uploaded content.

We are celebrating Arab American Heritage Month during April.

Here’s the guest line-up for April:

Communication as Art & a Tool for Change

by Weam Namou, posted in community

In the month of February, I interviewed the following talented and inspiring people:

* Jamal Ali, documentary filmmaker and aircraft engineer who was awarded the Outstanding Refugee Entrepreneurship Award by the Minnesota Department of Human Services. Watch the interview  

* Jan Hadley, a Christian grandma and author committed to sharing the Lord’s love.   Watch the interview

* Majid Aziz, an Iraqi-American who escaped extremists twice through poetry.  Watch the interview

* Yasmine Mohammed, an author and activist who had the courage to escape her abusive life, tell her story, and help others.  Watch the interview

What do these people have in common, aside from talent and hard work? Courage. The courage to use communication as both an art and a tool for change. 

Some of my readers have described my books as a “recipe for life.” My former New York agent, Frances Kuffel, and an Iraqi American critic, said about my writing for my first book The Feminine Art that the style resembled that of Jane Austen. For Austen, the novel was her chosen tool in the struggle to reform humanity. While she mixed satire with tenderness, she focused on the emotional authenticity of her characters. She didn’t write in a way that would alienate people with intimidating language or lofty morals and themes. Through her novel, she attempted to make people less selfish and more reasonable, more dignified and sensitive to the needs of others. Her stories were about recoiling from greed, arrogance and pride and being drawn to goodness within ourselves and others. She was a true feminist way before “Feminism” even existed. She made women “think.” So I see how we are similar.  

From early on in my career, I have followed Dr. Joseph Murphy’s three steps to success (written in The Power of Your Subconscious Mind):

  1. Find out the thing you love to do, then do it.
  2. Specialize in some particular branch of work and know more about it than anyone else.
  3. You must be sure that the thing you want to do does not rebound to your success only. Your desire must not be selfish; it must benefit humanity. 

There are a lot of big issues happening in the world right now, most of which we have no creative control over. We have the choice to work on what we can control, which is ourselves, and to plant seeds of beauty and joy, in order to create a new reality, one that is absent of the continuous patterns of war, violence, and conflict.  Unfortunately, many people today are choosing to silence or even punish and hurt anyone who opposes their opinion – even if it’s a type of artform – rather than communicate with them. This type of behavior is dangerous, and it leads to loss of relationship, inner turmoil, trauma,  violence and potentially even war. 

Words have power; verbal as well as nonverbal communication are both vital, both healing art forms.  I encourage you to use them to transform your life and the lives of others. 

Check out my YouTube channel to learn about this week’s guest, who I’ll be interviewing live. Subscribe to my channel and set reminders/alerts so you can stay updated on Live and uploaded content.

We are celebrating Women’s History Month during March.

Check out the guest line-up for March: