I didn't get into this work by accident or beacuse I thought it would be cool. I got into it because I was suffering.
I was suffering from depression since the age of 12 and by the age of 17, it was so bad I was seriously considering ending my life just there. I’ve been through the lowest of lows and I found a way out (more on that below).
“Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future.”
My passion is to guide people out of suffering and into creating a life that they are passionate about and love. I help people move from surviving to thriving so that they can stop being prisoners of the past and move into becoming the pioneers of their future and enjoy the present moment. I help them do that through powerful tools, techniques and mostly through the dynamic and insightful explorations that happen in our one on one work together, no single session is the same. I principally work with beliefs and changing negative beliefs, and the focus is to do whatever it takes to let go of whatever beliefs are holding you back so that you can begin living powerfully. We then focus on creation, taking practical steps in your life to manifest new relationships, new career opportunities, to change whatever you want to be changed, and create whatever you want to be created.
Most importantly, I do that with unconditional loving-kindness and acceptance, I mirror unconditional love to you so that you can learn how to mirror it back to yourself. Unconditional love for self and others is the most powerful force there is.
A personal note about my journey:
Ever since age 12, I have hated myself. I was embarrassed by who I am, depressed, and not wanting to go to school, afraid to be judged, and ashamed of who I am and how I look.
Sometimes it got better for a little bit but I never had any sense of grounding in myself and deep depression and shame in who I am was the norm for all my teenage years.
I had(and have) amazing parents, I had kind friends, yet not only was I unhappy, but I was also deeply depressed and miserable.
By age 16, I was crying daily from all the emotional pain I was experiencing and I also became very good at hiding it and pretending to be “happy”.
I didn’t think there was a way out, I thought that it’s just “me”, it’s just my genetics, it’s just who I am, I am just a sad pessimistic, and depressed person and I truly believed that I was doomed to that for my entire life.
By age 17, I was thinking about suiciding every day. The pain was so big that I just couldn’t bear it anymore and wanted it all to end.
It was just too painful to be alive, any sliver glimpses of happiness that I used to have before were rarer and rarer, happy memories and positive hopes from the future were fading, all that I could imagine is me feeling this way for the rest of my life or even worse because, from 13 to 17, it just got worse.
I decided to give myself a chance
Until I made a decision, it was in October 2016: “I am going to try everything I can to be happy and if I don’t see improvements, I may just end my life then”. There we go, the start of a powerful journey, I didn’t know where it would take me, but it’s the most amazing journey I’ve ever could have imagined.
I started doing everything I can to be happy: Going to different therapists, trying yoga, reading self-help books, reading philosophy, googling “how to be happy” on the internet, mindfulness and meditation, exercising more. You name it – I’ve tried it.
A lot of things didn’t work and progress seemed slow, but I could sense after 4 months that things were getting better. After 6 months I could see more growth and when the entire year passed, while I was still very unhappy, I could honestly say my depression was GONE, I was much more functioning and calm. There was still a lot of work to do, but now I knew that something I’m doing is working and I should just keep on doing it, keep on exploring, keep on trying!
One of the most powerful changing agents for me was reading “The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz and then subsequently reading all his other books and books written by his 2 sons. I would read the books and try to understand what they were talking about, really diligently practice whatever practices they recommended, looking deeply into them and reading them several times. I was also meditating daily which seemed to be very helpful and one of the therapists I worked with really really helped as well.
Now my goal wasn’t just to get out of suffering, because I did a lot of that. I wanted to learn what it means to be happy, what it means to be at peace, what it means to be satisfied in life. In other words, a new phase of the journey had begun
Going Deeper and Finding a Teacher
I was looking for someone who was teaching whatever I was reading in Don Miguel Ruiz’s books when I found the work of “Gary van Warmerdam”, my mentor and a former apprentice of Don Miguel Ruiz. I was hooked and started reading his books, doing his course, and practicing the practices he recommended for at least an hour a day! At the same time, I was still with my therapist, I was practicing many other things, reading many books, studying spirituality, psychology, self-growth, coaching, taking courses, whatever I could get my hands on! Results were growing and growing and I just kept being happier and happier in my life, my relationships were improved, my productivity had improved, I was calmer and I was shedding plenty of old negative beliefs about myself and feeling much more happy, confident, and powerful. Eventually, I decided that I wanted to expedite my growth, I decided to work with Gary one on one in private coaching.
Explosions of growth and living a happy life
Working with Gary has expedited my growth 10x a fold. I was feeling like a new person every month as I was changing and changing and everybody around me started to notice. I was not the same “Daniel” anymore and depression seemed so far away that it was like depression was an underground cave somewhere on earth and I was already flying high in space.
I kept on exploring and practicing, working with different teachers, studying different things, working with an amazing Zen Life Coach in Alex Mill who I feel compelled to mention and am so grateful for(Love you, Alex!). Changes were expediting and magic was happening everywhere I looked. As I look back on what I’ve learned and the changes that have been happening, it’s hard to sum up an entire journey in one post. Yet, I could sum up what you get from such a journey, and it’s not really what you get, but you recover.
You recover your integrity and authentic self. Yes, authenticity, that word. It may seem like a cliché and you may wonder what that is. It seemed like a cliché to me, a word that everyone just throws around that is empty of meaning and that may not even exist or have any sort of relevance to me! Yet here I am today mentioning it(and in my own website!). What I recovered is who I was behind all those negative beliefs and conditioning, who I am behind all that noise of negative thoughts and emotions of fear. I recovered that childlike joy, that openness, that inner wisdom, that happiness and curiosity that we are all born with.
WE ARE NOT BORN ON THIS PLANET TO SUFFER, We are here to dance and enjoy life! To create, to have fun, to experience whatever it is we are here to experience. This life CAN be amazing, so much more than I’ve ever believed! That authenticity is where I live today. I walk with a quiet mind, with inner calm, with love for myself and others, and an open heart. Yes, there are challenges, life is challenging. Yes, I still have old negative beliefs to shed that are holding me back. But I’m not depressed anymore, I’m not unhappy, I look at those negative beliefs with calm, knowing that they are about to change as well. I look at challenges with calm, grit, resilience, and excitement, knowing that I am resourceful and can stand everything that comes my way and even grow more from it.
I can get how it may sound cliché and if it does that’s ok, but to me, it’s truth. The truth of my experience and what the experience of life can be for you too, and for everyone on this beautiful planet earth.
A desire to Share and Teach
Somewhere on that journey, a desire to share the changes that I’ve made came up. I knew that I’ve made big changes and that other people are suffering and not receiving the help and support they need. Because I’ve been there, I also knew what works and what doesn’t work, what’s effective, what’s ineffective, and what can be helpful in some cases yet not in others.
I got the “HOW” of making personal change and how anybody can create those changes in their life – Inner and outer. I went on to study coaching, teaching meditation, and sharing my experiences with others. As time passed, people were drawn to it and I officially started coaching and teaching, this is what I do today. People were getting amazing results and sharing them with others, so I just kept on going.
Learning and growing, sharing love and insights with others, there’s nothing I love more than seeing how my clients change and them letting me know the amazing changes happening in their lives. It’s so deeply rewarding in so many layers. In many ways, I teach and coach for my younger self, for all those people who are unhappy and feel lost or who want help and are excited for creating a life they enjoy.
Many people come to me feeling like I’ve felt, that they are incapable of change, that they are stuck, that it’s “just the way they are”. I tell them that it’s ok for them to think that way, I tell them I believed the same and that many do. I invite them to open-mindedly explore and work with me and see if they can change or not, if maybe, just maybe they are also capable of being happier.
To this day, no one ever came to me saying “No, I can’t change”, there has been nothing but amazing, beautiful and heartwarming positive results from those who genuinely come for change.
The Journey continues to unfold
I’m still growing, I’m still exploring. Growth and exploration is a never-ending process.
My passion is to share, my passion is to help other people from all walks of life, adults and teens alike. Help them be happier, get out of whatever suffering they’re in, and onto a greater more fulfilling path. This is what I’m most excited about when I wake up every day.
Since I’ve been to the lowest of points, I know exactly how to help and what people need. Since I’ve tried so many different things, I know what was incredibly helpful and also what sucked!
Most importantly, I enjoy sharing joy, humor and unconditional acceptance, and love with people. Those are the most healing forces in the whole world.
I work with people one on one, helping them make personal changes and let go of negative beliefs. Then I help them create the life they want for themselves as well, in all areas.
I work with adults and teens alike, it is a joy to work with teens and help change whatever’s holding them back and doesn’t work at such an early age, it’s exactly the help I needed back then.
Just some cool personal details about me
I live in Tel Aviv Israel, close to the beach, with a cute dog and a cat(both black!) – Pictures Below!
Except for helping people with their journeys in life, I spend a lot of my time meditating, being in nature, and with people I love. I really enjoy being silly, making people laugh and making funny(or not so funny if you ask my partner) jokes.
Some of my sneakier little joys are playing video games on my Playstation 5 and eating eggs and a chocolate croissant on a Saturday morning near the beach.
My favorite movie: Shawshank Redemption
My favorite movie series: Marvel Cinematic Universe (I’m a bit of a nerd by the way)
My favorite T.V show: Modern Family
My favorite Book: “The 4 Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz.
My favorite video games: Uncharted 3, God of war, The last of us, or Bloodborne (Hard to pick!)
Music: I enjoy most genres but mostly jazz music and Bossa Nova (the old school type).
My favorite jazz tune is: “The Girl From Ipanema”.
I love traveling and being in nature and have been to over 20 countries and have worked with clients in over 10 countries. my favorite trip was Tanzania in Africa and climbing the Kilimanjaro mountain(picture below!)
Peace to you, In LovingKindness, Daniel.