|
Seeking stillness
Danny’s search for stillness began as a young child growing up with a semi-nomadic tribe near his family home in Galilee; his formative years spent sleeping fireside under the stars - free from the physical and human confines most of us accept as our reality.
For over two decades, Danny worked with the Bedouin tribes to lead retreats and longer journeys in the Sinai desert. They were attended by ecological and spiritual leaders and other people who came to witness how we expand when we connect deeply with ourselves in nature. He set up the The Makhad Trust in 2002 to support the preservation of the natural heritage of the Bedouin and other nomadic communities of the world.
Danny led the restoration of oasis gardens throughout the Sinai region and built community wells and a school. In the remote Amdo region of Tibet, he worked with indigenous communities to restore the murals in the Lukhang garden, built by Dalai Lama VI in the 17th century, and the Mani Walls near the Terton Chogar Monastery. Danny also spent time running the base camp at Everest. |
"When people experience the silence and stillness of the desert, the noise in the head shuts down and the body takes over. There's no man-made possession of buildings or technology here - we walk on 500 million years of evolution; we realise we are part of nature. People were crying and they didn't know why. They were feeling more than they had for a long time. As they crossed the boundary between themselves and nature, the body had started to awaken to something much bigger than the self. "
Hunting with the San bushmen in the Kalahari
It was while hunting with the Kalahari bushmen in Africa that Danny experienced the dramatic difference in the way they instinctively sense and tune into their surroundings. This insight led him to spend his life exploring the human capacity to feel and connect in ways many of us have lost touch with.
Danny was invited to accompany the bushmen on hunting expeditions and it was during these hunts that he saw their ability to intuit the presence and direction of animals far beyond his own abilities of sight or hearing.
When he asked how they achieved this, the chief took him to a deep pond and threw in a stone which formed concentric ripples on the surface. Moments later he threw another some distance apart, causing the two sets of ripples to meet and mix.
The wisdom conveyed by this simple gesture inspired Danny to explore the nature of the body - and more specifically the heart - as a beating pulse that sends out signals to be read by those able to hear and feel them.
Danny was invited to accompany the bushmen on hunting expeditions and it was during these hunts that he saw their ability to intuit the presence and direction of animals far beyond his own abilities of sight or hearing.
When he asked how they achieved this, the chief took him to a deep pond and threw in a stone which formed concentric ripples on the surface. Moments later he threw another some distance apart, causing the two sets of ripples to meet and mix.
The wisdom conveyed by this simple gesture inspired Danny to explore the nature of the body - and more specifically the heart - as a beating pulse that sends out signals to be read by those able to hear and feel them.
Healing
In 2011, Danny became seriously ill while working on a community project in the desert. When he failed to respond to local treatment, he was flown back to the UK where he was rushed to the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. Initial tests found that he'd broken NHS records for liver inflammation and an emergency liver transplant was arranged.
It was at this point that Danny's belief in the mind-body connection came to the fore. Rather than accept the transplant, he persuaded specialists to allow him 24 hours in a quiet room, disconnected from medical equipment "to take charge of his body". Perhaps surprisingly, they agreed but only on the condition that he would be monitored every hour.After seven hours, Danny notices the room was filling with people To the amazement of the medical team, his liver inflammation had come right down.
You can read more his experience in the book, "The Chemistry of Connection: Five Keys to a Richer, Happier, Fulfilling and Meaningful Life" by Patrick Holford (2016) - an extract of which is available here.
It was at this point that Danny's belief in the mind-body connection came to the fore. Rather than accept the transplant, he persuaded specialists to allow him 24 hours in a quiet room, disconnected from medical equipment "to take charge of his body". Perhaps surprisingly, they agreed but only on the condition that he would be monitored every hour.After seven hours, Danny notices the room was filling with people To the amazement of the medical team, his liver inflammation had come right down.
You can read more his experience in the book, "The Chemistry of Connection: Five Keys to a Richer, Happier, Fulfilling and Meaningful Life" by Patrick Holford (2016) - an extract of which is available here.