David Daniel's Blog, page 18
December 28, 2019
Dream Big in 2020
As 2019 winds down leading us into 2020, I write today with feelings of immense gratitude for the past year. Dreams that I didn’t even know that I had manifested in a way that I could have never seen coming. My beloved, Adi Bachan Kaur, and I developed and filmed the very first season of […]
December 4, 2019
I Am
I Am. Could there be two more beautiful words that in conjunction with one another define our very existence on this celestial plane called Earth? People often ponder the mystery of life by asking the questions, “What does it all mean?’ or “Why are we here?” The answer lies in two simple words. I Am. […]
September 28, 2019
The Magic of Sadhana
The Magic of Sadhana “What is sadhana? It’s a committed prayer. It is self-enrichment. It is not something which is done to please somebody or to gain something. Sadhana is a personal process in which you bring out your best.” —Yogi Bhajan I remember the first time I ever heard the word “Sadhana.” It sounded […]
September 5, 2019
Ho’oponopono
Ho’oponopono. The word itself meant nothing to me until recently when I discovered that this Hawaiian practice of forgiveness. I had never heard an uttering of this word before and knew nothing of its origins—a Hawaiian practice of reconciliation and forgiveness. I feel blessed that this beautiful practice has been presented to me as a […]
June 3, 2019
We’ll Always Have Paris
Paris! Could there be a more beautiful city in the world? If there is, I am not aware of it and nor have I seen it. Paris has always held a very special place in my heart. It is the city I rediscovered myself after a painful divorce and several years later it was the […]
May 2, 2019
Through Gratitude We Can Change the World
As Thanksgiving approaches and another year winds to a close, I find myself incredibly contemplative, pondering all that I have been given. It is so easy to get wrapped up in what is “wrong” with our lives that oftentimes we fail to celebrate what is incredibly “right” with our lives. For me, there are so many things that have aligned perfectly and I understand that all of these things that are bringing me so much love and joy are also former intentions of mine that have manifested into my material world.
Seven years ago, I vowed to change the my life and the way I thought about it as I embarked on a path to reclaim my destiny. It wasn’t easy. I was faced with major life decisions that were incredibly difficult to implement. I struggled to end a marriage that wasn’t working for either of us. We both knew our hopes and dreams were no longer in alignment and we worked very hard to separate in a way that was loving and kind to everyone involved and to make the transition as easy as possible on our two children. One of the proudest achievements of my life is that we did this successfully and we now co-parent two children and we do it with almost no drama and very little disagreement.
My journey didn’t end there. I still had an enormous amount of self-work to do as I embarked on a new life as a single man. I did all of the things that newly single people do to try to matriculate back into the single scene. I dated, drank wine, sat lazily around in the afternoons on my balcony overlooking the city with very little ambition to achieve anything, and generally reveled in this newfound freedom I had desired for so long.
It was all necessary. I needed it. I longed to find my true self again and part of that process was to disengage from many of the things I had been doing in my life and to carve a new path. It literally took a couple of years. I would rise in the mornings and go to have my morning coffee while I read every spiritual text I could get my hands on and I would write. I wrote a novel while I would sip my morning cup of coffee and I people-watched and drank in the experience of feeding my soul. After finishing my novel, I discreetly placed the novel in a drawer to sit for nearly four years (The Blue Pearl will be out Christmas 2018) as I contemplated my next steps.
I began practicing random acts of kindness through an initiative my daughter, son and I started called the Secret Blue Butterfly (www.secretbluebutterfly.com). Once a day we would do a random act of kindness for someone and then leave a Secret Blue Butterfly card letting them know the Universe left them a special gift because “they are loved and admired by the Universe.”
We created a website and began showcasing our secret acts of kindness on social media channels and before we knew it people in more than 60 countries began writing in to receive their free butterfly cards so that they too could spread love and kindness. By creating this initiative and moving into a place of gratitude and giving my life started to change. An entire universe opened up to me as I had the honor of witnessing people from all over the globe participate in changing the world by doing random acts of kindness in their corner of the world. And through it all I discovered that by doing kind acts for strangers it was I that began to heal.
I had the honor of traveling overseas to Europe and the Balkans to perform a USO Tour for the United States Military. Seeing the sacrifice that these men and women make each day so that I could live my life in complete freedom was humbling. I came to a clearer understanding that life was not about me, life was about “us.” For the first time in my life I began to see the importance of serving others while at the same time giving myself everything I needed so that I had something to give.
This is where I think a lot of us misunderstand giving. We have been told for a long time that we are supposed to give to others at the expense of ourselves when in fact, it's just the opposite. We give first to ourselves and we feed our souls of all that we need SO THAT we can then give back to others. I have always equated that giving is a lot like the oxygen mask speech flight attendants give before taking off before a flight. “Place your mask on your face first and then help others with their mask.” Why do they say this? Because if we can’t breathe then we will pass out and not be able to help others. Just like giving: we give to ourselves first and be able to breathe BEFORE we can give back to others.
My heart began thawing after years of keeping my guard up and before I knew it divine synchronicities
began occurring. I met my true twin flame, Adi Bachan Kaur, on a magical first date in Paris at the end of my USO Tour (soon to be told in my new book We’ll Always Have Paris). Adi opened up my heart even more and not long after we met she encouraged me to begin practicing Kundalini Yoga, playing the gong, and eventually teaching yoga classes with her to give people the skills to claim their most beautiful life.
If anyone had told me any of this would happen even five years earlier I would have told them they were crazy, but it did happen. And it happened because I began thinking about how I could make someone else’s day just a little bit brighter by being more loving and kind to them. I began thinking about how one kind act could change someone’s world and by doing so I changed my world. It’s not a stretch to see that this is how we can change the entire world.
The only thing that is necessary is that we take the first step. We hold the door open for someone, smile at someone, buy someone a cup of coffee, give a compliment, or we do the most beautifully human thing anyone can do for another human—we LISTEN to someone when they need it. We don’t listen to respond, we listen to truly hear them.
Through the people who loved me the most, oftentimes when I felt wasn’t completely deserving, my heart thawed, and I was exposed to a new way of looking at life: How can I serve? This one question, when truly investigated, is the gateway to a new way of living. This one question is the liberation we seek. By giving, we receive and usually the dividends are far greater than the initial investment. This is a Universal Law. I don’t understand it fully, but it is a reality that fuels our advancement.
I am thankful. Thankful for the journey—every morsel of it—the good, the bad, the indifferent. Each stage was necessary, every person a beautiful co-star or featured extra in our movie called Life. May each of you have a blessed Thanksgiving and may the light of love shine on the road to your destiny.
Sat Nam!
Seven years ago, I vowed to change the my life and the way I thought about it as I embarked on a path to reclaim my destiny. It wasn’t easy. I was faced with major life decisions that were incredibly difficult to implement. I struggled to end a marriage that wasn’t working for either of us. We both knew our hopes and dreams were no longer in alignment and we worked very hard to separate in a way that was loving and kind to everyone involved and to make the transition as easy as possible on our two children. One of the proudest achievements of my life is that we did this successfully and we now co-parent two children and we do it with almost no drama and very little disagreement.
My journey didn’t end there. I still had an enormous amount of self-work to do as I embarked on a new life as a single man. I did all of the things that newly single people do to try to matriculate back into the single scene. I dated, drank wine, sat lazily around in the afternoons on my balcony overlooking the city with very little ambition to achieve anything, and generally reveled in this newfound freedom I had desired for so long.
It was all necessary. I needed it. I longed to find my true self again and part of that process was to disengage from many of the things I had been doing in my life and to carve a new path. It literally took a couple of years. I would rise in the mornings and go to have my morning coffee while I read every spiritual text I could get my hands on and I would write. I wrote a novel while I would sip my morning cup of coffee and I people-watched and drank in the experience of feeding my soul. After finishing my novel, I discreetly placed the novel in a drawer to sit for nearly four years (The Blue Pearl will be out Christmas 2018) as I contemplated my next steps.
I began practicing random acts of kindness through an initiative my daughter, son and I started called the Secret Blue Butterfly (www.secretbluebutterfly.com). Once a day we would do a random act of kindness for someone and then leave a Secret Blue Butterfly card letting them know the Universe left them a special gift because “they are loved and admired by the Universe.”
We created a website and began showcasing our secret acts of kindness on social media channels and before we knew it people in more than 60 countries began writing in to receive their free butterfly cards so that they too could spread love and kindness. By creating this initiative and moving into a place of gratitude and giving my life started to change. An entire universe opened up to me as I had the honor of witnessing people from all over the globe participate in changing the world by doing random acts of kindness in their corner of the world. And through it all I discovered that by doing kind acts for strangers it was I that began to heal.
I had the honor of traveling overseas to Europe and the Balkans to perform a USO Tour for the United States Military. Seeing the sacrifice that these men and women make each day so that I could live my life in complete freedom was humbling. I came to a clearer understanding that life was not about me, life was about “us.” For the first time in my life I began to see the importance of serving others while at the same time giving myself everything I needed so that I had something to give.
This is where I think a lot of us misunderstand giving. We have been told for a long time that we are supposed to give to others at the expense of ourselves when in fact, it's just the opposite. We give first to ourselves and we feed our souls of all that we need SO THAT we can then give back to others. I have always equated that giving is a lot like the oxygen mask speech flight attendants give before taking off before a flight. “Place your mask on your face first and then help others with their mask.” Why do they say this? Because if we can’t breathe then we will pass out and not be able to help others. Just like giving: we give to ourselves first and be able to breathe BEFORE we can give back to others.
My heart began thawing after years of keeping my guard up and before I knew it divine synchronicities
began occurring. I met my true twin flame, Adi Bachan Kaur, on a magical first date in Paris at the end of my USO Tour (soon to be told in my new book We’ll Always Have Paris). Adi opened up my heart even more and not long after we met she encouraged me to begin practicing Kundalini Yoga, playing the gong, and eventually teaching yoga classes with her to give people the skills to claim their most beautiful life.
If anyone had told me any of this would happen even five years earlier I would have told them they were crazy, but it did happen. And it happened because I began thinking about how I could make someone else’s day just a little bit brighter by being more loving and kind to them. I began thinking about how one kind act could change someone’s world and by doing so I changed my world. It’s not a stretch to see that this is how we can change the entire world.
The only thing that is necessary is that we take the first step. We hold the door open for someone, smile at someone, buy someone a cup of coffee, give a compliment, or we do the most beautifully human thing anyone can do for another human—we LISTEN to someone when they need it. We don’t listen to respond, we listen to truly hear them.
Through the people who loved me the most, oftentimes when I felt wasn’t completely deserving, my heart thawed, and I was exposed to a new way of looking at life: How can I serve? This one question, when truly investigated, is the gateway to a new way of living. This one question is the liberation we seek. By giving, we receive and usually the dividends are far greater than the initial investment. This is a Universal Law. I don’t understand it fully, but it is a reality that fuels our advancement.
I am thankful. Thankful for the journey—every morsel of it—the good, the bad, the indifferent. Each stage was necessary, every person a beautiful co-star or featured extra in our movie called Life. May each of you have a blessed Thanksgiving and may the light of love shine on the road to your destiny.
Sat Nam!
May 1, 2019
The 12 Universal Laws
“Master the 12 Universal Laws and you will master life.” I was deep in a meditation when this was whispered to me and it intrigued me to think that life truly is this simply. By understanding 12 important laws we have the ability to align with our destiny. When I mentioned this a friend recently, […]
March 22, 2019
The Three Gates
Before you speak, let your words pass through three gates:
At the first gate, ask yourself, “Is it true?”
At the second gate ask, “Is it necessary?”
At the third gate ask, “Is it kind?”
~ Rumi
The great Sufi Poet, Rumi, once postured that when considering speaking allow your intended speech go through three gates first: “Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?”
Rumi was on my mind on a recent Wednesday night as Adi and I prepared for our full moon gong bath in Keller, Texas. Twenty-two aspiring light workers joined together to heal the planet through intentional prayer and the powerful primal sound of the gong. Whenever Adi and I get the privilege to introduce the powerful healing modality of the gong to a new group of people we always talk about how important language is. What we say aloud soon becomes a physical reality in our daily life. Be mindful of the words you choose because one day those words will manifest in physical form that you will have to live with.
I remember a time when, not only did I not know this, I wouldn’t have believed it had someone told me this. I came to understand that words have power. Intentions have even more power. Belief is the most powerful of all. Words activate our innermost intentions and belief powers those words and intentions to create our very existence. And much to many people’s dismay and chagrin, planetary alignment has an activating power to coordinate our intentions into existence. What does this mean? There truly are times when it is more fertile to start new projects or to simply send healing energy to the world to create a more loving and kind world.
How and where the planets are aligned have an effect on our planet here on Earth. People will discount this, but the moon affects the tides of the oceans therefore it is nearly impossible that the moon doesn’t affects the tides within our personal beings. We are connected to the greater Cosmos and the greater Cosmos is connected to us. The moment we recognize the interconnectivity of all things is the moment when we can take steps to create our greatest lives. When we recognize the unity in all things, we begin to see that a word or action spoken against someone is a word or action spoken against ourselves. Grace offered to another is grace offered to ourselves.
It was under this auspice that Adi and I held our monthly Full Moon Gong Bath. Twenty-two powerful people (19 women, three men. These numbers unfortunately are more the norm than the exception to the rule) joined together to do our part in helping to heal the world. Cynics may say that 22 people can’t change the world, but if no one ever tries then how will we ever know. Science has proven that whenever a small number of well-intentioned people joined together to send healing energy throughout the world the impact is far greater than anyone could ever expect. So, we show up each month to do our part and then we all do our very best to remain mindful in our daily lives.
This leads me back to Rumi and the three gates. I am becoming more and more aware of the negative effects of gossip—not only the gossip spoken about me, but more the “harmless” gossip that I may utter about another. So often we fall into talking about other people simply because we are uncomfortable talking about ourselves. Maybe we are unhappy with our own lives, so we project our discontent on to others by talking negatively about someone we love.
Again, it may seem harmless:
“I was just giving an update about what was going on in the family.”
“I’m just telling you about my day at work.”
“Can you believe that he/she did that?”
How many times have you found yourself uttering one of these phrases to justify the gossip that you are spreading? I certainly have. No matter how many times I’ve justify my efforts to talk about someone I always feel just a little bit worse for having succumbed to the temptations of gossiping. I am changing the way I gossip now. My “gossip” will elevate those around me:
“Did you hear the great news? She got a promotion!”
“I’m so proud of him, he just got two A’s and three B’s on his report card.”
“What a wonderful parent they are!”
“Isn’t she so kind.”
If we know that what we say about another is in reality how we feel about ourselves, wouldn’t we want to utter only the kindest and most beautiful things about those we love?
There are three gates our words should pass through before we choose to utter them.
At the first gate, ask yourself, “Is it true?”
At the second gate ask, “Is it necessary?”
At the third gate ask, “Is it kind?”
If your words pass through these gates you can be assured that you are aligned with your Highest Self. If your words pass through this simple test you will be an inspiration to everyone you encounter. If your words meet these criteria, you will forever alter every person you encounter. We need only be the gatekeeper to the words we speak, allowing only the most loving and kindest of our words to be heard throughout the world.
This is how we heal the world. This is how we become the change we so long to see. Twenty-two people joined Adi and me—twenty-two people vowed to become the gatekeeper of their words—if each of us encounter ten people a day with our gatekeeper watching over our words then 220 people will encounter a more loving world and if those 220 people watch over their words the numbers will soon affect thousands of others.
Elevate those around you with the things you say. We have the capacity, through the power of our words, to change the lives of those we interact with. Our words have power. Our belief in those words can activate a change in this world that would make Rumi proud. Be the gatekeeper of your words.
At the first gate, ask yourself, “Is it true?”
At the second gate ask, “Is it necessary?”
At the third gate ask, “Is it kind?”
~ Rumi
The great Sufi Poet, Rumi, once postured that when considering speaking allow your intended speech go through three gates first: “Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?”
Rumi was on my mind on a recent Wednesday night as Adi and I prepared for our full moon gong bath in Keller, Texas. Twenty-two aspiring light workers joined together to heal the planet through intentional prayer and the powerful primal sound of the gong. Whenever Adi and I get the privilege to introduce the powerful healing modality of the gong to a new group of people we always talk about how important language is. What we say aloud soon becomes a physical reality in our daily life. Be mindful of the words you choose because one day those words will manifest in physical form that you will have to live with.
I remember a time when, not only did I not know this, I wouldn’t have believed it had someone told me this. I came to understand that words have power. Intentions have even more power. Belief is the most powerful of all. Words activate our innermost intentions and belief powers those words and intentions to create our very existence. And much to many people’s dismay and chagrin, planetary alignment has an activating power to coordinate our intentions into existence. What does this mean? There truly are times when it is more fertile to start new projects or to simply send healing energy to the world to create a more loving and kind world.
How and where the planets are aligned have an effect on our planet here on Earth. People will discount this, but the moon affects the tides of the oceans therefore it is nearly impossible that the moon doesn’t affects the tides within our personal beings. We are connected to the greater Cosmos and the greater Cosmos is connected to us. The moment we recognize the interconnectivity of all things is the moment when we can take steps to create our greatest lives. When we recognize the unity in all things, we begin to see that a word or action spoken against someone is a word or action spoken against ourselves. Grace offered to another is grace offered to ourselves.
It was under this auspice that Adi and I held our monthly Full Moon Gong Bath. Twenty-two powerful people (19 women, three men. These numbers unfortunately are more the norm than the exception to the rule) joined together to do our part in helping to heal the world. Cynics may say that 22 people can’t change the world, but if no one ever tries then how will we ever know. Science has proven that whenever a small number of well-intentioned people joined together to send healing energy throughout the world the impact is far greater than anyone could ever expect. So, we show up each month to do our part and then we all do our very best to remain mindful in our daily lives.
This leads me back to Rumi and the three gates. I am becoming more and more aware of the negative effects of gossip—not only the gossip spoken about me, but more the “harmless” gossip that I may utter about another. So often we fall into talking about other people simply because we are uncomfortable talking about ourselves. Maybe we are unhappy with our own lives, so we project our discontent on to others by talking negatively about someone we love.
Again, it may seem harmless:
“I was just giving an update about what was going on in the family.”
“I’m just telling you about my day at work.”
“Can you believe that he/she did that?”
How many times have you found yourself uttering one of these phrases to justify the gossip that you are spreading? I certainly have. No matter how many times I’ve justify my efforts to talk about someone I always feel just a little bit worse for having succumbed to the temptations of gossiping. I am changing the way I gossip now. My “gossip” will elevate those around me:
“Did you hear the great news? She got a promotion!”
“I’m so proud of him, he just got two A’s and three B’s on his report card.”
“What a wonderful parent they are!”
“Isn’t she so kind.”
If we know that what we say about another is in reality how we feel about ourselves, wouldn’t we want to utter only the kindest and most beautiful things about those we love?
There are three gates our words should pass through before we choose to utter them.
At the first gate, ask yourself, “Is it true?”
At the second gate ask, “Is it necessary?”
At the third gate ask, “Is it kind?”
If your words pass through these gates you can be assured that you are aligned with your Highest Self. If your words pass through this simple test you will be an inspiration to everyone you encounter. If your words meet these criteria, you will forever alter every person you encounter. We need only be the gatekeeper to the words we speak, allowing only the most loving and kindest of our words to be heard throughout the world.
This is how we heal the world. This is how we become the change we so long to see. Twenty-two people joined Adi and me—twenty-two people vowed to become the gatekeeper of their words—if each of us encounter ten people a day with our gatekeeper watching over our words then 220 people will encounter a more loving world and if those 220 people watch over their words the numbers will soon affect thousands of others.
Elevate those around you with the things you say. We have the capacity, through the power of our words, to change the lives of those we interact with. Our words have power. Our belief in those words can activate a change in this world that would make Rumi proud. Be the gatekeeper of your words.
The Three Gates
Before you speak, let your words pass through three gates: At the first gate, ask yourself, “Is it true?” At the second gate ask, “Is it necessary?” At the third gate ask, “Is it kind?” ~ Rumi The great Sufi Poet, Rumi, once postured that when considering speaking allow your intended speech go through three […]
February 22, 2019
Blue Pearl
A Voice in the Night _________ Ever since he was a little boy Santino felt the presence of his paternal grandmother with him. She had passed many years before he was born, but there was always a perpetual guiding voice that led Santino through even the darkest of times. On this night, he was begging […]
