Pour olive oil into large pot, and warm on the stove over medium heat.
Add the onion and saute until fairly soft. Add a little bit of water to scrape the bits off the bottom if needed.
Add the garlic cloves (they can be whole, as you will blend the soup later).
Rinse the lentils and add them to the pot.
Add 6 cups of the water, leaving 2 more to add later.
Add the juice of the lemons and the salt. Bring it all to a boil, then turn down to a simmer.
When lentils begin to fall apart, turn off the heat. Stir in a handful of parsley.
Using an immersion blender, blend the soup as desired (you can leave it chunky if you like!).
Add remaining 2 cups of water if desired (the soup will thicken quite a bit as it cools).
Serve with pita bread or basmati rice. Enjoy!