Meet David D McLeod, DD, PhD, Certified Master Life Coach, In the soon-available book, The Wellness Universe Guide to Complete Self-Care: 25 Tools for Life, David shares profound insights from his personal journey and offers transformative tools for discovering true joy.
The Wellness Universe (WU): Hello David, please tell us about yourself and what inspired you to write your chapter in the book The Wellness Universe Guide to Complete Self-Care: 25 Tools For Life.
David McLeod [DM]: My life has been an amazing journey, with many ups and downs. Not unlike a lot of people, I suppose!
In my case, I did not suffer what most people would describe as physical or sexual abuse, and trauma was just a fancy word I heard occasionally in private conversation. As a result, I tended to discount my own story. So, when I reached my 40s and realized just how miserable I was, I couldn’t identify any particular event in my life that created all that unhappiness, and therefore I just concluded that I was broken. Beyond repair!
But there was something inside of me that was bursting to get out, and I felt intense motivation to find a way to make that happen. This all took place unconsciously, by the way. I had no conscious understanding of what was driving me; in my mind, I just needed to get out of my circumstances—or else risk damaging my children with the anger that was starting to leak out of me.
My move to Northern California in 1995 connected me to the resources my soul knew I needed so that I could begin the process of unraveling all of the convoluted belief systems I had created. One thing led to another, until an incredible major awakening took place at a men’s retreat in 2003. It was here that I finally unloaded most of my inner anger and a great deal of grief and sorrow to finally reconnect to the deepest truth of who I really am. At the same time, I had a visceral experience and knowing that “We Are All One”—not just in a touchy-feely bumper-sticker way, but in an absolute truth way! I was 50 years old when this happened.
Since that time, I’ve read books, completed degrees, participated in trainings, and received certifications. I’ve embraced my inner facilitator and coach, and I’ve been on a new journey to help people come back to the deepest truth of who they really are. After all—even if we don’t necessarily use the same words—this is ultimately what we all want, deep down inside, right? And the amazing thing is, when we get to that understanding, we begin to realize just how magnificent and powerful we really are!
I’ve been a contributor to every prior volume of The Wellness Universe Guide to Complete Self-Care because I truly believe in the message of The Wellness Universe. Naturally, I wanted to take the opportunity to contribute another chapter in this fifth amazing volume of the series, so I chose to write about my journey as an understanding that true joy is tied to a deep understanding of who I really am. For me, that is the ultimate message of my life!
One other thing I’ve come to learn, and I really encourage people to understand and embrace this: each of us endures our own kind of challenge and struggle during this lifetime. It makes no sense to compare your struggle to someone else’s—especially when the circumstances appear so radically different! The pain and suffering of someone who endures mild verbal abuse is just as real as the pain and suffering of someone who must endure virtual torture. Don’t diminish your pain just because someone you know “had it a lot worse than you did.” Whatever pain you endure—especially in your childhood—no matter its source, shapes the way you see life and impacts how you show up right into adulthood. Be gentle with yourself, and give yourself compassionate permission to understand your pain so that you can heal it and grow from it.
WU: What tool do you share in this book, and what can we expect to experience as a result of using this tool?
DM: I have many tools that I share with people. When I’m doing 1-on-1 sessions, I tend to rely on a lot of somatic and psychodramatic processes, but when I’m writing a book, I tend to favor practices that people can do on their own with little or no coaching.
I do a lot of meditating in my own life, and because I believe that self-identity is so important, I’ve created a practice called “The Repeated Question” that anyone can use to deepen understanding of any issue. In this case, the question is, “Who am I?” I couple this repeated question with a powerful meditation/visualization process in which a lotus flower petal opens each time a new answer comes. At the end, the completely “unfurled lotus” reveals the beautiful and tender core of who you really are—for your eyes only!
If you do this meditation regularly, you’ll soon discover that you are much more than all the things you’ve previously imagined about yourself. As each layer is peeled away, as each new petal opens, you get closer and closer to that magnificent nugget of truth that is just waiting to be brought into your heart and embraced. And that is the source of True Joy for you!
WU: What one piece of advice would you like people to know about living their best life?
DM: In my opinion, the reason for so much suffering in the world has to do with a collective forgetfulness about who we really are.
You see, we come into the world full of joy and excitement about the experience we are about to have, and then we are immediately subjected to conditioning and indoctrination that stifles our natural creativity and adventurism. It is not that our caregivers and teachers and leaders are deliberately trying to inhibit us; it’s just that they truly believe they are helping us to adjust, adapt, and fit in. They are guiding us to abide by all the rules that have been invented and imposed by society.
As a result of this process, most of us spend the years right up into our 40s or even beyond trying to find happiness within the strict confines of the world we have created for ourselves. And, sadly, most of us never achieve that happiness.
But there is a way to happiness, and the pathway may seem counterintuitive because it goes against what we have all been taught for the majority of our lives.
The true path to happiness begins with a deep knowing of who you really are. I’m not talking about your name or the roles you play in life or the things you accomplish or the achievements and trophies you collect. I’m talking about the deepest essence of who you really are.
If you are willing to stand up and be experienced for who you really are—instead of showing up the way you believe the rest of the world wants to see you—and you are willing to risk the judgments of others that you are probably afraid of, then you can begin to embrace authenticity without apology. This is what your soul wants for you, and the moment you start to call your true self forth, you will immediately begin to experience true happiness. It just happens automatically.
Now, think about this for a moment. If you do it, and just one other person does it because of your fearless example, what do you think will happen? Well, you’ll be starting a chain reaction, which means that soon enough, more and more people will start doing the same thing. What do you think will happen if every person on the planet remembered the truth? How would life change if everyone stopped living according to the dictates of others and began living according to the truth within their own souls?
This is why it is so important for you to remember the truth of who you really are—and to start embracing, experiencing, and expressing it! Right now!
Connect with David on The Wellness Universe and follow him on Facebook and LinkedIN.
The Wellness Universe Guide to Complete Self-Care, 25 Tools for Life will be available January 22, 2025!
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Twenty-five experts from The Wellness Universe share heartfelt stories and transformative self-care tools, offering guidance for personal growth, healing, and a balanced, fulfilling life. This book aligns with The Wellness Universe’s mission to inspire and contribute to a better world, empowering readers to embrace their extraordinary potential.
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