David Daniel's Blog, page 19
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 […]
January 25, 2019
2019: Devil or Divine
A shift is occurring. Many people are feeling it. Time feels like it is speeding up and depending on a person's perspective either chaos is unfolding or divine opportunity is upon us. Everything in this life is perspective and as we move into 2019 it is becoming increasingly clear that how we look at life undoubtably becomes a reality in our physical existence. In short, what we think we become. See the grace in all situations and grace shall be yours; see the chaos in the world and chaos will be yours.
Consult almost any astrologer or numerologist and you will hear that the year of 2019 is "Devil or Divine." 2019 will either be exceptionally challenging with many setbacks or it will be a time of fertile manifestation and growth where our wildest dreams can become a reality. The way we can assure ourselves that our year will be a year of Divinity is by creating a spiritual practice that grounds us internally in our highest spirit which provides a pathway to grace and peace. Many people ask me all the time, "What does a spiritual practice look like?"
For years I've kept my spiritual practices a secret for fear of judgment from those closest to me. I would devote myself to my practice in secret and go about my day and not try to evangelize others to do the same. I always felt it was best to allow people to come to a spiritual practice on their own. However, now I can see that so many people are struggling. So many people feel they have nowhere to turn and I have witnessed people feeling not only scared but somewhat hopeless.
To those people I say, the practice of Kundalini Yoga has the ability to give you the strength and resolve to weather even the most challenging storms by strengthening your central nervous system, glandular system, and by aligning your mind and spirit to work in harmony with one another to find your highest purpose. Each morning that I awaken, I take the first hour and commit myself to my Kundalini Yoga practice. Yes, this means I have to arise an hour before I traditionally would to get my day started. Yes, it would be easier to stay in bed and sleep the extra hour and not take the time to do this. Yes, most people don't want to do this. Yes, the postures, mudras, and mantras may look strange, but as I tell my children all the time when they say, "It doesn't look normal." I say to them: Do you want to be "normal" or do you want to be exceptional? I would say to anyone willing to listen: Don't you deserve your very best life? Who else is going to do it for you? Give yourself this gift!
Yes, it is work. I'm going to repeat that. It is work. You will want to quit. Your mind will tell you that you don't need this. Your ego will find every reason to tell you to stop because your ego does not want to let the light in because then your Spirit will be in charge and the beautiful secret that no one mentions is that when your Spirit becomes alive your destiny unfolds synchronistically before your eyes, heart, mind and soul. You become in alignment with the Source of All Love and you become the highest version of yourself.
Kundalini Yoga is challenging. It forces you to confront your shadow self and is oftentimes uncomfortable, however if you have the bravery to face the darkest aspects of yourself you will find that the things you feared the very most were never anything to truly fear to begin with. When we have the capacity to shine the light of consciousness on the darkest aspects of ourselves we attain the ability to become in alignment with our Highest Purpose. This is what we were intended to do. This is how we make 2019 a "Divine Year." Without facing ourselves we subject ourselves to the potential turmoil of the coming year.
There is an answer to facing our fears. We are our own answer. We have the ability to undertake a dedicated spiritual practice that will give us the tools to reshape our lives into the masterpiece it was meant to be. I decided I could no longer keep my spiritual practice a secret. It was my duty to share it with the world because Kundalini Yoga is such a beautiful and transformative practice and I know in my heart that these tools are exactly what are needed for those seeking their way through the darkness. This was a gift given to me by my beloved, Adi Bachan Kaur, and it is a gift that we both are now sharing with the world.
To learn more about my personal journey into Kundalini Yoga consider reading my book, White Tantric Yoga: 40 Days to Divinity. It is a deeply personal account of my daily spiritual practice, with Adi as my leading lady. I hope in some small way this effort will help to make your 2019 the Divine Year it was meant to be.
Sat Nam!
Consult almost any astrologer or numerologist and you will hear that the year of 2019 is "Devil or Divine." 2019 will either be exceptionally challenging with many setbacks or it will be a time of fertile manifestation and growth where our wildest dreams can become a reality. The way we can assure ourselves that our year will be a year of Divinity is by creating a spiritual practice that grounds us internally in our highest spirit which provides a pathway to grace and peace. Many people ask me all the time, "What does a spiritual practice look like?"
For years I've kept my spiritual practices a secret for fear of judgment from those closest to me. I would devote myself to my practice in secret and go about my day and not try to evangelize others to do the same. I always felt it was best to allow people to come to a spiritual practice on their own. However, now I can see that so many people are struggling. So many people feel they have nowhere to turn and I have witnessed people feeling not only scared but somewhat hopeless.
To those people I say, the practice of Kundalini Yoga has the ability to give you the strength and resolve to weather even the most challenging storms by strengthening your central nervous system, glandular system, and by aligning your mind and spirit to work in harmony with one another to find your highest purpose. Each morning that I awaken, I take the first hour and commit myself to my Kundalini Yoga practice. Yes, this means I have to arise an hour before I traditionally would to get my day started. Yes, it would be easier to stay in bed and sleep the extra hour and not take the time to do this. Yes, most people don't want to do this. Yes, the postures, mudras, and mantras may look strange, but as I tell my children all the time when they say, "It doesn't look normal." I say to them: Do you want to be "normal" or do you want to be exceptional? I would say to anyone willing to listen: Don't you deserve your very best life? Who else is going to do it for you? Give yourself this gift!
Yes, it is work. I'm going to repeat that. It is work. You will want to quit. Your mind will tell you that you don't need this. Your ego will find every reason to tell you to stop because your ego does not want to let the light in because then your Spirit will be in charge and the beautiful secret that no one mentions is that when your Spirit becomes alive your destiny unfolds synchronistically before your eyes, heart, mind and soul. You become in alignment with the Source of All Love and you become the highest version of yourself.
Kundalini Yoga is challenging. It forces you to confront your shadow self and is oftentimes uncomfortable, however if you have the bravery to face the darkest aspects of yourself you will find that the things you feared the very most were never anything to truly fear to begin with. When we have the capacity to shine the light of consciousness on the darkest aspects of ourselves we attain the ability to become in alignment with our Highest Purpose. This is what we were intended to do. This is how we make 2019 a "Divine Year." Without facing ourselves we subject ourselves to the potential turmoil of the coming year.
There is an answer to facing our fears. We are our own answer. We have the ability to undertake a dedicated spiritual practice that will give us the tools to reshape our lives into the masterpiece it was meant to be. I decided I could no longer keep my spiritual practice a secret. It was my duty to share it with the world because Kundalini Yoga is such a beautiful and transformative practice and I know in my heart that these tools are exactly what are needed for those seeking their way through the darkness. This was a gift given to me by my beloved, Adi Bachan Kaur, and it is a gift that we both are now sharing with the world.
To learn more about my personal journey into Kundalini Yoga consider reading my book, White Tantric Yoga: 40 Days to Divinity. It is a deeply personal account of my daily spiritual practice, with Adi as my leading lady. I hope in some small way this effort will help to make your 2019 the Divine Year it was meant to be.
Sat Nam!
2019: Devil or Divine?
A shift is occurring. Many people are feeling it. Time feels like it is speeding up and depending on a person’s perspective either chaos is unfolding or divine opportunity is upon us. Everything in this life is perspective and as we move into 2019 it is becoming increasingly clear that how we look at life […]
December 23, 2018
Winter Solstice
As Winter Solstice descends upon us and the end of 2018 nears I am in a divinely contemplative state. The end of one thing and the beginning of another allows us to take stock in our current stage on our journey through life. Solstice is a beautiful time of year, a time when old chapters close and new glorious chapters arise like a phoenix rising from the ashes of our past experiences. The fertile soil of possibility awaits the planting of the seeds that will sprout the dreams of new tomorrow.
For the first time in my life, I have shifted my focus from what I would like to receive for myself in the coming year and instead I am thinking about what I hope to give the world as my gift to humanity. As I contemplate what I would give to each human being if I were given the power to bequeath the world with one gift, one prevalent hope comes to mind: if I could give the world one thing I would choose the most glorious gift anyone could ever receive—inner peace.
Isn’t this what we all long for? Isn’t this the purpose of all the “striving?” We strive for ourselves, our family, our dearest love ones and even for our community at large so that we can feel a sense of security, a sense of peace and tranquility or generally a feeling that everything is going to be alright. We all—every single one of us to the person—want only to belong. Even those that appear to be the most hostile and aggressive want nothing more than to be part of the group collective. Our hope, everyone’s hope, is to belong and contribute.
We have the erroneous notion that money will bring us peace, or fame, or stature in our community and the saddest amongst us feel that acquiring “power” might be the answer. Unfortunately for everyone striving for these things, they are never the answer because what we learn is that the only way to achieve inner peace is to give it to ourselves. This is our domain.
We are the peace that we seek, yet we search for it outside of ourselves. We seek for peace in all of the places where it doesn’t reside. We seek through romantic relationships, a job, a friend, religious institutions, political power structures, or our communities yet we never, not even once, find any true sense of peace in any of these things. What we all will eventually discover is that this elusive treasure that we all seek is really not as elusive as we all think—every morsel of goodness that makes up inner peace resides beautifully in our own hearts.
Peace reside in the recognition of the beauty of a flower, peace lies in the tranquility of the setting sun, peace rests in each heartbeat that we so long ago quit listening to, but most importantly peace happens simply when we acknowledge ourselves. When we take the briefest of moments to recognize that we are nothing short of a miracle that was created by a God that loves us more than we could ever love ourselves and that Divine Source would do anything in Her majestic power to get us to understand just how perfect we all are. For how couldn’t we be? We are a piece of God. We were all created in Her image and when She was done with the final brushstroke on the masterpiece that She called “My Perfect Child”, She stepped away and exalted Herself for Her own brilliance. The Heavens lit up each time another of Her masterpieces was created, a choir of Angels sang, the Earth expanded welcoming each of us to Her playground and the Universe exalted each and every one of the children that the Divine Source created, celebrating the very fact that another child of God had the opportunity to understand inherently what it felt like to be a “God” in their own right.
This is what the Divine Source intended for each of us. She wanted only for each of us to understand how incredibly powerful we all are. She wanted nothing more than to say, “Go Child and be my prodigy—light up the world with your own special majesty. You are Me, I am You, and We are the Universe.”
This is how we remember once again what inner peace feels like. Inner peace comes from the knowledge that God has created us perfectly and there is absolutely nothing that we have to “achieve” because what can be achieved when we are already in a state of perfection? We are in perfect harmony with a Universe that is aligned to bring us whatever we want, whenever we want it and with whomever best serves our spiritual evolution. We are a masterpiece in the making on a constantly evolving canvas called “life.” We are complete and incomplete at the same time. Complete because there is nothing to achieve for we are perfect as we are—incomplete because we are always evolving, just like our ever-expanding Universe. Each day we continue to expand into our own perfection with each new brushstroke that gives texture to our lives in the shades of light and darkness, for each is necessary. We need shadows in our lives in order to show perspective because a painting with no shadows appears two-dimensional. It’s the shadows, the darkness, that makes life come alive in this 3D reality and knowing this allows us to understand that everything is necessary—and from this understanding we can come to a place of peace.
This is where inner peace lies. Every morsel of your life was necessary to bring you to the place you are now. Every detail was Divinely created by you in conjunction with the Source of All Love. Every brushstroke on your canvas was necessary to create the painting that is the masterpiece of your life. When we come to realize that we have chosen every bit of it, every trial and tribulation, every joy, every failure, every triumph—each of these we co-created with God in order to evolve our consciousness and to one day remember we are One with God. We always will be. Nothing separates us. I am you. You are me. We are love. Love is us.
And from these realizations come the most important gift we can ever receive; it is the Divine Gift of the Universe, the ultimate present on this Winter Solstice—inner peace. To each of you on this Winter Solstice I offer you the greatest gift I could ever give to anyone. I offer you remembrance. I offer you the remembrance that WE ARE ALL ONE. We chose this. We chose to come here together and remember that each and every one of us in One With God. And once remembered, we will all reside in a state of inner peace and this is how we heal the world. This is how the struggle ends and harmony is restored.
Through the grace of inner peace, we can heal the world. We can’t buy it, we can’t join a group to obtain it, we can’t achieve it, we can’t wield power in order to take it from another person—we must only give it to ourselves. So, after all is said and done, inner peace is not a gift that I can give the world, it is a gift that each of us must give to ourselves and by doing so we show others the way towards living a life in grace. My gift then becomes illustrating inner peace in action—to show inner peace. This is the legacy we must show to those closest to us. We live in peace so that our friends and loved ones can see what peace looks like and then they can find their own way to peace. We show our children how to live in peace, our spouse, our friends, the people we work with, neighbors or the strangers we pass on the street and from our example peace spreads throughout the world.
We are the peace the world seeks. We are the love that the world seeks. We are the Teacher that was sent to show the world there is a better way to live. You are love. You are light. You are the Savior that you have been seeking. And once remembered, we all harmonize once again with the Source of All Love.
On this Winter Solstice I send each of you love and light today. Thank you for taking this journey with me. Without you, the ride would not be the same. Without you, my canvas would be missing the necessary brushstrokes that make up my masterpiece called “David Daniel, A Life Well Lived.” God bless each of you. I give thanks for you. Sat Nam and have a very blessed Winter Solstice Season.
For the first time in my life, I have shifted my focus from what I would like to receive for myself in the coming year and instead I am thinking about what I hope to give the world as my gift to humanity. As I contemplate what I would give to each human being if I were given the power to bequeath the world with one gift, one prevalent hope comes to mind: if I could give the world one thing I would choose the most glorious gift anyone could ever receive—inner peace.
Isn’t this what we all long for? Isn’t this the purpose of all the “striving?” We strive for ourselves, our family, our dearest love ones and even for our community at large so that we can feel a sense of security, a sense of peace and tranquility or generally a feeling that everything is going to be alright. We all—every single one of us to the person—want only to belong. Even those that appear to be the most hostile and aggressive want nothing more than to be part of the group collective. Our hope, everyone’s hope, is to belong and contribute.
We have the erroneous notion that money will bring us peace, or fame, or stature in our community and the saddest amongst us feel that acquiring “power” might be the answer. Unfortunately for everyone striving for these things, they are never the answer because what we learn is that the only way to achieve inner peace is to give it to ourselves. This is our domain.
We are the peace that we seek, yet we search for it outside of ourselves. We seek for peace in all of the places where it doesn’t reside. We seek through romantic relationships, a job, a friend, religious institutions, political power structures, or our communities yet we never, not even once, find any true sense of peace in any of these things. What we all will eventually discover is that this elusive treasure that we all seek is really not as elusive as we all think—every morsel of goodness that makes up inner peace resides beautifully in our own hearts.
Peace reside in the recognition of the beauty of a flower, peace lies in the tranquility of the setting sun, peace rests in each heartbeat that we so long ago quit listening to, but most importantly peace happens simply when we acknowledge ourselves. When we take the briefest of moments to recognize that we are nothing short of a miracle that was created by a God that loves us more than we could ever love ourselves and that Divine Source would do anything in Her majestic power to get us to understand just how perfect we all are. For how couldn’t we be? We are a piece of God. We were all created in Her image and when She was done with the final brushstroke on the masterpiece that She called “My Perfect Child”, She stepped away and exalted Herself for Her own brilliance. The Heavens lit up each time another of Her masterpieces was created, a choir of Angels sang, the Earth expanded welcoming each of us to Her playground and the Universe exalted each and every one of the children that the Divine Source created, celebrating the very fact that another child of God had the opportunity to understand inherently what it felt like to be a “God” in their own right.
This is what the Divine Source intended for each of us. She wanted only for each of us to understand how incredibly powerful we all are. She wanted nothing more than to say, “Go Child and be my prodigy—light up the world with your own special majesty. You are Me, I am You, and We are the Universe.”
This is how we remember once again what inner peace feels like. Inner peace comes from the knowledge that God has created us perfectly and there is absolutely nothing that we have to “achieve” because what can be achieved when we are already in a state of perfection? We are in perfect harmony with a Universe that is aligned to bring us whatever we want, whenever we want it and with whomever best serves our spiritual evolution. We are a masterpiece in the making on a constantly evolving canvas called “life.” We are complete and incomplete at the same time. Complete because there is nothing to achieve for we are perfect as we are—incomplete because we are always evolving, just like our ever-expanding Universe. Each day we continue to expand into our own perfection with each new brushstroke that gives texture to our lives in the shades of light and darkness, for each is necessary. We need shadows in our lives in order to show perspective because a painting with no shadows appears two-dimensional. It’s the shadows, the darkness, that makes life come alive in this 3D reality and knowing this allows us to understand that everything is necessary—and from this understanding we can come to a place of peace.
This is where inner peace lies. Every morsel of your life was necessary to bring you to the place you are now. Every detail was Divinely created by you in conjunction with the Source of All Love. Every brushstroke on your canvas was necessary to create the painting that is the masterpiece of your life. When we come to realize that we have chosen every bit of it, every trial and tribulation, every joy, every failure, every triumph—each of these we co-created with God in order to evolve our consciousness and to one day remember we are One with God. We always will be. Nothing separates us. I am you. You are me. We are love. Love is us.
And from these realizations come the most important gift we can ever receive; it is the Divine Gift of the Universe, the ultimate present on this Winter Solstice—inner peace. To each of you on this Winter Solstice I offer you the greatest gift I could ever give to anyone. I offer you remembrance. I offer you the remembrance that WE ARE ALL ONE. We chose this. We chose to come here together and remember that each and every one of us in One With God. And once remembered, we will all reside in a state of inner peace and this is how we heal the world. This is how the struggle ends and harmony is restored.
Through the grace of inner peace, we can heal the world. We can’t buy it, we can’t join a group to obtain it, we can’t achieve it, we can’t wield power in order to take it from another person—we must only give it to ourselves. So, after all is said and done, inner peace is not a gift that I can give the world, it is a gift that each of us must give to ourselves and by doing so we show others the way towards living a life in grace. My gift then becomes illustrating inner peace in action—to show inner peace. This is the legacy we must show to those closest to us. We live in peace so that our friends and loved ones can see what peace looks like and then they can find their own way to peace. We show our children how to live in peace, our spouse, our friends, the people we work with, neighbors or the strangers we pass on the street and from our example peace spreads throughout the world.
We are the peace the world seeks. We are the love that the world seeks. We are the Teacher that was sent to show the world there is a better way to live. You are love. You are light. You are the Savior that you have been seeking. And once remembered, we all harmonize once again with the Source of All Love.
On this Winter Solstice I send each of you love and light today. Thank you for taking this journey with me. Without you, the ride would not be the same. Without you, my canvas would be missing the necessary brushstrokes that make up my masterpiece called “David Daniel, A Life Well Lived.” God bless each of you. I give thanks for you. Sat Nam and have a very blessed Winter Solstice Season.
Winter Solstice
As Winter Solstice descends upon us and the end of 2018 nears I am in a divinely contemplative state. The end of one thing and the beginning of another allows us to take stock in our current stage on our journey through life. Solstice is a beautiful time of year, a time when old chapters close […]
