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The Exquisite Beauty of Paradox

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i find it so intriging that out of all the books
i could have written i wrote THE MOSAIC.
a book about the power of connection.
and i remember the 10 years i spent
as the Director of Business Development at Hay House,
and marvelled at what i saw over and over again:
people wrote the book they most needed to read,
not the one they were most equipped to teach.
it fascinated me.
and what excites me even more now
is seeing, that this is exactly what i have done too.
in one of the most disconnected times in my entire life
enters THE MOSAIC.
it took me 3 years to write
and as hard as it is for me to admit it now,
most of my life i have been a snob.
i have chosen to associate with only certain people
to shun the corners of life where the ordinaries live
and i write a book about the beauty of “the ordinary”.
all my life, i have tried to protect myself
from the pain of having lost my parents as a child
and i write a book about a boy who loses his parents
and his search for the place called heaven
where all pain vanishes.
i, laugh over and over again at the absurdity
as i am the most unlikely person in the world
to write a book where the take away is:
“connected we are happy.
disconnected we suffer.”
because i have been suffering in my disconnection.
to write about seeing what we do not see
when i struggle to see what others see.
and the memory of watching so many other great teachers
write the book they most need to read
leaves me now speechless.
THE MOSAIC is the book i most need to read.
its characters are archetypes
whose stories reveal the obstacles that stand in the way
and the simple strategies to help me/us
to connect more deeply to one another.
this is my story,
and it is my honour
in total transparency to share this fable with you,
who knows?
perhaps it is your story too
and if so, perhaps one day we can sit together
and laugh and cry
and share the touch of the archetypes together.
i reach out to you now
and ask you to help me connect with you.
for as THE MOSAIC says,
in connection we are happy.

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THE CREATIVE AND THE PERFECTIONIST 
i wonder if you are at all, like me.
within me, lives both a creative and a perfectionist.
in fact, they represent in me two of my core values.
and usually they live together in peace
but it is when they lead me in different directions that i am torn.
let me explain with a perfect case in point. . .
i have been writing a book called, The Mosaic for over a year now.
i have finished it, reworked it, finished again and reworked it so many times,
that when i look on my computer for the final version, i sometimes have a hard time finding it.
here is the good news: i sent it out to book agents
and i am represented by one of the top book agents in the country.
he believes in what i have created
and told me that he very rarely says what he is about to say to me,
he feels my book, The Mosaic, will touch millions and millions of people.
with that in mind,
he sent it out to a few of the major publishers
most of which have sent back extremely kind letters,
saying they really liked the book
but they all choose to reject it.
during a time of introspection.
i found these two core values were at opposition.
on one hand, there was my desire to be creative, to express myself freely
to not give a darn what others think, to do what i feel is right
on the other, my desire to get it perfect
so that everyone who reads it, wants to share it with 10 more people.
in this case, i did the first but didn’t achieve second.
so i sat with it. reread it
and i have to say i felt the book is missing something.
so, i decided to re-work it
telling the same story but now outlining a 15 point plot structure.
the perfectionist in me created a new outline
and i decided to use this outline to rewrite The Mosaic.
before doing that, i sent the new outline to my agent.
he wrote back, ” i like the original story better.
the only reason the publishers rejected your book
was because you do not have a big enough platform.”
he said to me, if this was written by paulo coelho, the author of the alchemist
it would have received a very large advance and been accepted by many of them.
but i am not paulo coelho, i am danny levin.
i have a very small platform and a story that probably needs a little fine tuning.
so how do i move forward?
i have taken it inside
i have created a dialogue
asking the creative and the perfectionist within me to connect.
i told them, need both of you to play together.
there is something special about this book, due to the brilliance of my creative
and there is something it is missing.
which the perfectionist clearly sees.
to make the book to right,
i must reconcile these two parts of me

it is not the fight of the creative and the perfectionist that brings resolution
but the connection of these two seemingly opposite core values.
i must learn to see what i cannot see
and when the battle of my core values resolves,
The Mosaic will have found a connection where previously there was no connection,
and that is how i will move forward.

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IN THE WORK ANA and I HAVE DONE WITH
individuals, companies, corporations and government
we have found
in 100% of the cases
there have been issues around trust.
senior management doesn’t trust each other
middle management doesn’t trust senior management
husbands don’t trust wives
parents don’t trust their children
one party doesn’t trust the other
and few trust authority of any kind any more.
look no further than
the reality TV showed called “the republican party”.
entertaining for some to watch,
but embarrassing to be a part of.
we just came back from a trip where we met and conversed
with dignified people from many different countries
all said the same thing
your election process is entertaining to watch,
but we are scared.
in essence, america as great as it is
has lost something,
the trust of the nations of the world
that rely on us
and the influence we bring to the world in which they live.
but our political scenario is only a reflection
of what is at the center of the whole way we now live.
with immediate access to the world around us,
we see reason after reason to fear more
and trust less.
and this leaks into everything we do.
as people we protect ourselves more and trust less.
in business, we carry our protected selves to our work place
and we trust those we report to, our peers,
and those who run the company
less not more.
our lack of trust
makes it harder and harder
to achieve the greatness we want
for those we serve.
we spend our time fighting
because we don’t trust one another.
what would our world look like
if we could once again trust one another?
i can tell you from the work we do with companies and government
individuals and corporations
everything changes.
who is interested in this dialogue
not only talking about it intellectually
but bringing trust back to our lives,
our businesses, our families, our government.
this is our work,
who is actively ready to join us?

MEET THE MOSAIC

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i am writing a book called THE MOSAIC.
This is the story of a man who has everything
except the one thing he really wants.
So, he closes the door of his house
with only the clothes on his back
and the money in his pocket and just starts walking.
Common wisdom would tell him
without knowing where he is going he will never get anywhere.
But this time, common wisdom is wrong.
The undistinguished assortment of characters
he meets along the way
The Hitchhiker,
The Trash Man,
The Street Artist,
The Thief,
The Blind Woman
and a bunch of others
are people he never had the time to speak to previously,
but now, with nowhere to go and no time frame to get there
he has all the time in the world to sit and talk with them.
Each story told disrupts his preconceptions
and changes the meaning he gives to being,
to the people he sees
and to life itself.
Each story mysteriously brings him closer and closer
to what he set out to find
WHO WILL YOU MEET
and what will their story give you?????
limited offer to the first 24 people.
10 spots already taken, 14 left.
to sign up for a place, send instant message me
or email me: zenseidanny@me.com
t h a n k y o u !!!!!

23 HOURS, 59 MINUTES and 20 SECONDS

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23 HOURS, 59 MINUTES AND 40 SECONDS
many years ago,
the rebbe pulled me aside
and told me he wanted me to understand
the difference between being honest and being truthful.
i was perplexed.
he continued saying
“be honest.”
and explained the following situation.
if a man were to come home and tell his wife
i thought about you almost every moment of the day
except for about 20 seconds when this beautiful woman walked by.
what do you think his wife would hear.
the 20 seconds right.
she would remember that for 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 40 seconds
all he could do was think of her.
that is being truthful.
honest is to come home and say,
“baby, i love you so much,
i thought about you the whole day today.”
perhaps it is because i do it so much in my life
that i see it so much in others.
why do we spend our time thinking only of the 20 seconds?
i used to judge a whole religion, because of a few.
i look in the mirror and see my flaws rather than my strengths
i remember the moments i made a mistake,
rather than the life that i have lived gloriously.
do you do this too?
here is my promise to myself
and because we are all connected in the beautiful mosaic of life
to you as well.
i will choose to be honest with myself more that truthful
i will allow all of the moments to make up my present
i will see the totality of the mosaic
rather than get lost in the individual broken pieces.
when we meditate and celebrate world peace together
every night at 9pm EST
let’s remember our world is amazingly beautiful
and the vast, vast, vast majority of the people living here
are kind and loving and want to live in peace.
even those who are caught in a belief of the moment
where they feel destruction is the only way to speak their truth
may we pray from our own experience
that together we see honestly
not only the 20 seconds
but the 23 hours, 59 minutes, 40 seconds
that make up who we are on a day to day basis.
to me, this is the miracle of hanukkah,
the birth that we celebrate at christmas
the principles and symbols of kwanza
we are one mosaic,
one exquisite piece of art
made up of all of our moments
what will we focus on,
the necessary parts on the mosaic that are filled with darkness
or the totality of the mosaic that makes us light.
i know which one i choose. how about you?

TO BE OUTSTANDING, YOU MUST STAND OUT

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TO BE OUTSTANDING, STAND OUT!
sometimes it is hard,
to believe that what i know is true is true.
i woke up this morning
knowing that my developmentally delayed daughter
just wants to be loved and accepted
just as she is.
in my desire to “help” her
i find without even meaning to, i am always wanting her to do things
she does not feel ready to do.
this morning,
i meditated and felt her and i prayed
that she be able to do the things she wants to do
without me or someone else telling her to do it.
i am willing to do whatever i need to do
so that she knows whatever she does,
i am there for her
i love and accept her.
and, then i thought about everyone else.
and how much i am there for them.
i am there a lot of times,
and in saying this,
i do not want to draw the focus to just the times that i am not
because i am here
and . . . . .
i realize how much more i want to love and accept others
more honestly
how much i want to love and accept myself.
in the world today,
it seems the actions of a few
are trying to make me hate the whole
hmmmmmm,
sounds similar to my way of thinking about myself.
i let the few moments of things i do wrong
color over all i do right.
i let my daughters few moments of accidents
color over the whole of her beauty
i know this sound to simple
but i wonder if terrorism would end
if we simply practiced self love.
pray with us
every night at 9pm EST
wherever you are, however you pray
take 5 minutes and love yourself
and pray for this beautiful world we live in.
LOVE. NO HATE.
the mosaic community
https://www.facebook.com/groups/435516083313131/

WHEN?

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OFTEN QUOTED, RARELY PRACTICED
i wonder why……….

Am i alone in noticing what i notice?
we KNOW what we need to do
for businesses, for relationships, for self care
and yet
we don’t do it.
that’s not fair to say,
we do it for a while and then we stop doing it.

we know the right words to say,
how to present to others the right appearance,
and yet,
why do we feel so unfulfilled,
so alone,
so scared to be who we really are.
in business, in life, in love?

underneath all our stories, what is real?
do we do the things we need to do to be successful?
what do we do when our words say one thing
and our actions tell us another?
do we ask the right questions?
do we try to do it alone or ask for help?

i know this feeling well.
i am the same as you and yet, i feel different.
i get it. we feel others do not understand us,
our unique challenges.
and i know the separation that this feeling causes.
why ask for help from people who cannot understand us.

the beauty of a lie, is that it is based on a kernel of truth.
it is true, we are different.
but what we tell ourselves is a lie.
people do not need to understand us,
to help us understand ourselves.
they just have to ask the right questions.

what we tell ourselves is a story. a protection.
we are scared to be seen,
to love ourselves,
to acknowledge our power.
when will we be vulnerable
enough to be strong?

the oft quoted, rarely practiced . . .
if not now, when?

this post is for all of us that suffer from
GIVER-ITOUS
the dis-ease of giving so much
that we do not allow ourselves to receive.
strong people ask for help.

why do we think we have to do it on our own?
why do we make excuses
that we can not afford it,
or we do not know where to find the right clients,
or that we just need a few months ?
or, or, or . . . .

when will it be our time
to sit at the table
and enjoy
the beautiful meal we prepare so exquisitely for others?
are you ready?

if not now, when?

WHAT IF YOU WERE SO MUCH MORE . . .

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WHAT IF . . . . .
the way you show up in life could be improved?
what would that do to your business?
to your relationship?
to the way you take care of yourself
and the others that count on you?

i am asking myself these questions more and more
and finding that the hiding places i have hidden in
and so well protected
by the fears that i have created
that it is really hard on my own to get through
to see the possibilities that would exist
if only i would allow myself the opportunity to consider
what if i was more than i thought i am?
what if i could show up more fully,
live more authentically, love more deeply.

i know the fear,
believe me, i know the fear
and yet, how much longer can i/we live governed by that.

what would happen if right now
right this very moment,
we, you and me, individually and together
were to look in the mirror
and really see who we are,
not the limited bruised and battered version we see,
nor the self inflated insecure version we create to hide behind
but the real me/you.

can i/you feel how supremely powerful i/you are???
stand in that power
for even just a moment
or for as long as you now choose to.
WHO you and i are,
is so much more than we think

are you ready to unveil your magnificence?
to live in the glory of who you are
and to finally show up and show yourself and this world
why you were created?

i am.
write i am below if you are ready.

either way, know your path is blessed
and you are magnificent.