Release the Unconscious Mind to Live Love and Wisdom with John David Latta

Today Magic welcomes mystic author and former CEO John David Latta. John shares his transformative journey from being a rigid, rational individual to embracing spirituality, love, and wisdom. He discusses the importance of balancing masculine and feminine energies, paying attention to dreams for physical and emotional healing, and offers three key tips for creating true wealth: self-love, believing the universe has your back, and aligning with your divine essence. John also talks about coping with stress by facing fears and embracing life's challenges. Tune in to discover practical insights and profound stories that can help you unlock a richer, more fulfilling life.

Learn more about John's books, interviews, and events at John David Latta

Transcript

John David Latta (2): 0:01

I don't think a lot of people believe it, but the universe actually has your back and whether you want to call it. nature, God, the universe, your guides, your angels, other beings. there is help out there. You just have to ask and open to it. And so true wealth is understanding that there's abundance of what I would call inner and outer resources out there that are available to you. You just have to ask and trust that they'll be there.

Magic Barclay (5): 1:08

Welcome back to a magical life. I'm your host, magic Barclay. And today, John David Latta joins us. He is a mystic author, teacher, and former founder and CEO of the multi million dollar consumer products company. He shares intimate and personal stories with us and teaches workshops on leadership. Healing, transformation, awakening, love, synchronicity, and wisdom that unite and expand human experience. He lives with his beautiful wife, Wendy, in Redmond, Washington. Welcome, John.

John David Latta: 1:46

Thank you so much, Magic. Happy to be here and I appreciate the invitation.

Magic Barclay (5): 1:50

I'm really happy and excited to have you here because When we were just chatting off air, you mentioned that you went from rigid and rational to really opening up and awakening and having love and wisdom come into your life. And I know that's certainly something a lot of guys and girls experience, but, you know, we can see that with masculine energy, that you can kind of go from. the person that wants to fix everything and have the answer to the person that accepts what's happening and goes with the flow

John David Latta: 2:30

and

Magic Barclay (5): 2:30

kind of, I guess, inferencing here, Men are from Mars. Women are from Venus. It was on the top of my head, sorry, listeners. And you know, it's that masculine feminine energy that kind of changes the way we think and say things.

John David Latta: 2:46

Yeah, I in fact, it's really funny the way you described it masculine feminine after my the book that I wrote the synchronicity of love my grand conclusion after 20 years of compiling all of these, what I thought wonderful stories so much growth and evolution. Is ideally that we all find our own balance between the two. It isn't about men should be masculine or women should be feminine. It's actually finding that, throughout the course of your day, your week, your month, there's a time and a place to bring the masculine energy forth and a time and a place to bring the feminine energy forth. And so I think that's one of the messages I'm preaching. It doesn't sound very sexy. I'm just going to call it balance, but it's wondrous when they're working together.

Magic Barclay (5): 3:31

Very much so. Now I send all of my guests a list of three questions and everyone gives me different answers. And so here comes your first one. What can your expertise do to accelerate health, be it physical, emotional or spiritual?

John David Latta: 3:50

So what I do to accelerate health, so I, I think by nature from a young age, I knew how to take pretty good care of myself. I eat pretty well. I was always very, um, active and athletic. So what I would call diet and exercise are not something I have to really think about. but what I have learned, through this journey is, healing is available to us through so many different avenues. And, the thing that was most shocking to me was when I started to pay attention to my body more, you know, you might say, love my body more, communicate with my body more. I started to have dreams, visions, and experiences where you might say the body was Telling me some things that I didn't know about. And so, the most important thing I do, this might be different from some of the answers you've gotten in the past, uh, to take care of my body and my health. I pay attention to my dreams.

Magic Barclay (5): 4:41

Ooh, that is different. And I do love that. That's really, you know, I guess your dreams are where your intuition comes out freely and without abandon. And. We come out of our conscious mind and into our unconscious mind in our dreams. So I really love that you're listening to that inner wisdom that during the day, maybe won't be popping up straight away.

John David Latta: 5:08

Yeah, that's exactly right. I think I just get so busy during my day that I don't always notice these things, but if I really attuned to and open to dreams, Write them down, pay attention to them, ponder them. There's an enormous amount of wisdom. And, and especially with regards to health and the body. I didn't know this years ago, but I am very attuned to that now. And it's probably the thing I preach the most to people.

Magic Barclay (5): 5:33

Now, in my practice, what we talk about often is root cause, treating the root cause rather than treating the symptomology. So how can listening to your inner wisdom, to your intuition, guide you to a root cause issue?

John David Latta: 5:53

Well, um, so I'll share a story with you. true story. in the early days of what I would call my spiritual journey, which by the way, for 40 plus years, I was this rigid, rational male who had wanted nothing to do with spirituality, woo woo, religion, anything like that. I kept it as far away from me as possible. And so it kind of cracks me up looking back where I am today. But I had had six years of chronic neck pain and I blamed it on being in a car crash. And I was in a classic rear ended whiplash type injury situation. And over time after the accident, my neck started to hurt more and more and more. And I, so I went to physical therapy, I got massage, I got ultrasound, I got. acupuncture. I went to chiropractic. Um, I got books on neck pain and followed all the exercises faithfully. I finally, after trying everything under the sun, went so far as to have surgery where they inserted, cortisone in between the facet joints in my neck. And I remember waking up from that. And when the anesthetic wore off my neck, Still hurt. And I came home from work one day in tears because I was very active and athletic. And I thought, I can't believe I'm in my early forties. I'm going to have to live this way for the rest of my life. And I usually could only get through about a half a day before the neck pain was just practically debilitating. I mean, I tried standing up at my desk. I tried sitting on a bouncy ball. I, I tried everything and everything would work. Just for a little bit and then it would be right back to normal. So I come home from work early one day and I climb in bed. Um, my kids get off the school bus at four o'clock. I climbed in bed at three 30 and take a nap. And I said out loud and excuse my French here. Why the does my neck hurt so bad? And in an instant, this powerful dream came forward of what looked like a monk, uh, with a shaved head and a red robe pacing back and forth out in front of my house. Now, somehow I knew that dream was trying to tell me, this is why your neck hurts. And I, I just couldn't fathom how that had anything to do with my neck pain. Well, I joined a dream forum and they helped me see That I had a very spiritual side, which kind of cracked me up at the time. And, you know, a selfless service, a monk type, uh, person. And, you know, as a part of my personality that you might say, I wasn't letting in. I didn't believe that I had that in me. And they said, I want you to just open to this idea that you actually have a very spiritual side. So I don't remember how much time goes by a month or two goes by and then I have another dream where this great healer is coming forward and he's going to heal my neck with his hands. I'm in the dream. I'm like, thank God. Thank God. I'm finally going to get my neck healed because he reaches for my neck. in my dream, I see an angry old man who lives in my neck and he says get the fuck away And that began me understanding. and this sounds really funny This is what I talk about sort of learning more about your body in a way that you maybe didn't know was possible That was really a symbol or a metaphor for I hold resistance in my neck, and at that time I was going through everything that could go wrong in my life went wrong. At the same time. I lost all my money. I got divorced. I was$650,000 in debt. A quarter million in personal credit card debt, I had custody of my two kids. And every day I was one hair's breadth away from going bankrupt and the middle of it all, I was suddenly terrified of death and I didn't even know what to do with it because I didn't have any spiritual religious background. And so there was a lot going on in my life, that frankly create a lot of worry and anxiety, I lost weight. and, and I was carrying resistance to all that in my neck. And so. Over time, it took time. I had to learn to relax that tension in my neck. And a lot of people carry resistance in their body, sometimes in their stomach, in their back, lower back, upper back, shoulders, neck, head. I carried it in my neck. And so I had to learn how to Not resist the things are going on my life to open up, to relax, to roll with things, even if they were difficult. And two years later, I have another magnificent dream where that same monk who was pacing back and forth outside my house is in my office with me, my little home office. And he's just, his heart is pierced and he's looking at me with such love. And I suddenly realized my neck didn't hurt anymore. And so there's a whole mental, emotional component to healing that I think a lot of people are learning about, but we're still learning about and, um, magic. I completely forgot why, what your question was and all that, but that was the story I wanted to share.

Magic Barclay (5): 10:33

That's okay. You covered the question and that was a great story. Okay. Question number two, we talk about wealth and people think that's just the financial. And I know you've had your struggles there as well. Wealth can be all encompassing and it can be personal and emotional wealth and they're all tied in. So what are your top three tips to creating wealth?

John David Latta (2): 10:59

Ooh, that's a great question, Magic. That's something I've never been asked before. let's see. I believe from my point of view, Wealth begins with self love and self care. there has to be some sense of I'm okay with me. I'm okay with who I am as I am. In fact, I love and appreciate who I am as I am. that's number one. Number two, I think true abundance, true wealth is understanding on some level, believe it or not, I don't think a lot of people believe it, but the universe actually has your back and whether you want to call it. nature, God, the universe, your guides, your angels, other beings. there is help out there. You just have to ask and open to it. And so true wealth is understanding that there's abundance of what I would call inner and outer resources out there that are available to you. You just have to ask and trust that they'll be there. so let's see self love, would probably be at the top of my list to an understanding that the universe has your back and sometimes that requires an entirely different mindset because when you start to get in that flow, where you realize the universe does have your back and wants to work with you, it's an amazing thing. And then I think the third thing I would say is what I would call alignment. And so all of us have. Egos, you know, it's sort of our personality and how we see ourself, how we identify ourself, but we are much bigger than just our ego, our personality, our identity. And I think that to the degree that you can align your ego or your personality with what I would call the soul, and what the soul really wants to do, or your divinity, your divine essence really wants to do. Things just get easier. Synchronicities happen. Miracles happen. Coincidences happen. And I think sometimes we have to move past all of the woundings we've experienced, trauma we've experienced, conditioning from our parents and our childhood, school, church, all that. Underneath it all, there is the soul and that soul has a desire. That soul wants to learn and experience certain things in its life. And the more you can put you in alignment with that greater you, the more that I think you'll experience life as, I would call it abundance, but I, wealth, I think is the same thing. So that would be my three self love, a belief that the universe has your back and alignment with your divinity.

Magic Barclay (5): 13:24

I love those. They're great. And our final standard question is around weight. Many people battle their weight and feel like maybe it's just never going to change. Have you ever battled your weight? You mentioned that you lost a lot of weight under stress. And the second part of this question is. What are your tips to coping with stress because it can make people gain weight or lose weight.

John David Latta (2): 13:53

Yeah, so I'm not a great person to talk to about, gaining weight. I'm kind of one of those skinny scrawny athletic people that when he worries, he loses weight. So I can't really say, you know, I did, back when everything was going wrong, I can tell you, I weighed, I was five foot 11 and I weighed 158 pounds. Um, and I lost 15 pounds, which for me was a lot, that was a huge weight loss. I was, you know, 145 pounds, roughly 140 pounds, five at 11, I was very skinny. so, and it's, you're right. I have seen some people worry and the weight gets packed on, other people worry, I lose weight and sort of like my stomach is churning and it doesn't want to try to eat anything or digest anything. But I, I do think I learned a lot about, uh, stress and anxiety and, I do know there are times in life where life is just stressful period, but we can work on how we react to that stress. And you know, coming back to what I talked about, about learning that I carry resistance in my neck, that was the big opener into solving a lot of my stress problems. And so. Instead of resisting life, resisting problems, resisting all the different things that are going wrong in my life. and I'm not saying it's easy to do. The more I can just sort of embrace them, it's like, crap, you know, I'm going to have to work through this. I don't really want to, but I'm going to have to. And every single time in my life that I've embraced the very thing that I want to run away from, life gets better. And, and so. Maybe what I'm trying to say because I haven't really pondered this before magic is, one of the best ways we can deal with stress and anxiety is to turn around and face our fears and not run from them. And, you know, I'd mentioned briefly earlier that. I had this terrifying fear of death, and maybe three years after that all began, oh, and it was just horrifying to me, because I just sort of identified with the body, and I thought, well, when the body goes, then I'm gone, and then I'm gone forever, and that's oblivion, and that's just, like, really scary to me. And then years later, I'm in this spiritual group, and the teacher says, for the month of November, we're going to embrace the mystery of death. Well, who the heck embraces death? And so he goes, I want you to pretend like you're going to die at the end of the month, make a will. If you need to make a will, if you need to make amends with other people, make amends with other people, plan on your death at the end of this month. And in the meantime, I want you to meditate on death, read books on death, listen to music on death and pray about death. And, oh my God, all these incredible, beautiful visions and experiences came through. I didn't know were possible. And by the end of the month, there was no fear of death and I might still have things I trip up over now and then, but I have no fear of death. And so that's probably the number one thing I would say, whatever you're going through, embrace it, you know, the more that you can accept it, embrace it, learn what you're learning from it, the less stressful it will be because I, I find that it's the resistance. that creates most of the stress anyway, or the story I'm telling myself about the situation that creates most of the stress. Most of the time, the thing itself is not nearly as stressful as what I think about it. And so, not perfect at it, but I get better at it all the time. And I, it's a thing I preach all the time is to try to the degree you can turn around and face your own fears.

Magic Barclay (5): 17:25

Now we've covered a fair bit today, John, and you've really imparted it. Some really great wisdom with us, but I want to open the floor to you. I want to know more about what you do, how you can help the listeners and maybe some things that are really burning passions for you.

John David Latta (2): 17:45

Yeah, so, I'm living in Redmond, Washington in the US. just outside of Seattle. Uh, I sold my company three years ago, right before COVID hit. Thank God for that. Um, I feel really grateful for that. So I'm kind of semi retired now. I wrote a book. book called the synchronicity of love, um, middle last year. And, that was, really enjoyable for me. It's 119 short, true stories, that have happened in my life over the last 20 years. let's see. I still am active. I like to hike and mountain bike and snowshoe and, and so I'm working on some other books right now. I am. You know, the Seattle area has been slower than most to kind of get back to normal after COVID, but I'm starting to host workshops again, uh, in person with other people. I had started this a year ago, but there was a lot of reluctance still to gather in person with other people, but I'm, I'm hoping now that's not the case anymore. So I'm starting to teach groups in person again. and the thing I'm really passionate about, uh, that I always want to share it with people, Is sometimes you don't know what you don't know. And if you're ever feeling, first of all, I want to take all your rigid, rational, there, know it all men out there and just, you know, set that aside, open your mind, open your heart. There's always more, there's always more to learn. There's always a new way to see things. And sometimes when we get stuck, we can feel safe that way. It's like, we're so determined to see our life. Other people's lives and the world a certain way, but it can kind of go stale after a while. It's kind of like singing the same song over and over again. And I think it's good to step out of that comfort zone and, and step out of that identity, step out of the way you're seeing things and allow yourself to, to see and perceive the world differently. Because I think that has sort of a enlivening and revitalizing quality, you know, as opposed to, like I say, being kind of stuck in a, A political view, a life view, a self view that you never allow to evolve, grow, and change. Beautiful.

Magic Barclay (5): 19:49

Now let's find where you are. So you're on the web@johndavidletter.com. Mm-Hmm. you are on, that's correct. On Instagram at John David Ladder and on Facebook at John Ladder three. Is that correct?

John David Latta (2): 20:08

That's correct.

Magic Barclay (5): 20:09

And you're also on LinkedIn? So people can reach out, what can they expect to find? When they reach out to you,

John David Latta (2): 20:17

well, on my website, uh, you'll see a blog with a lot of what I think are interesting, formative stories. Some of them, a few of them are chapters in my book, um, some formative stories, things that really, you know, uh, something happened that really sort of rocked my world. and so I think, um, the blog part of the website, I think you'll find interesting stories there. Um, there's a tab about. on my book, the synchronicity of love that you can find on Amazon. And, um, and I'm not, I'm not sure about Australia, but in the US it's available in target and Walmart as well. and then, you know, my events tab, which I said is starting to grow cause I'm starting to more and more in person, but. You know, if there's any listeners in the Seattle area, come on by to some of my workshops, I'd love to meet you. I have a bunch of podcasts there, uh, where I had been talking about my life and my book. And, um, but yeah, I think just about everything is there on my website.

Magic Barclay (5): 21:11

Great. So we normally ask our guests for some freebies for the listeners, but there's so much available there on your website. I really. Urge the listeners to go and check it out, have some good reads, have a bit of a giggle because you know, John just says it the way it is. So definitely have a look at that website and those socials. John, some parting words for the listeners. What would you suggest to anyone that's stuck in their rational and their rigid thinking? Yeah. What do you say to let that guard down?

John David Latta (2): 21:49

you gotta be courageous. You gotta be bold. You gotta be brave. I waited till I hit rock bottom to finally go to my first ever spiritual retreat, which ironically, uh, Michael Crichton, the author who's written, you know, a ton of bestselling novels and books and TV shows and movies. And, uh, he went through his own sort of crisis and, uh, When he came out of it, he was determined to go experience a lot of things for himself that he'd only read about. And one of them was a spiritual workshop. And he went and had all these profound experiences there. And so, 20 years later, I did the same thing, but I waited until I was at rock bottom. If I was really, really, really following my desire, I probably would have done that. But I think I have so much, uh, pride and sort of, you know, stuck in my old ego identity that it took me kind of burning my house down and really losing everything to get the courage to go do it. So I think what I would say is check in with your deepest, deepest, deepest desire and desires, and don't be afraid to follow them.

Magic Barclay (5): 22:52

Wonderful. John, thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate this.

John David Latta (2): 22:57

Thank you so much, Magic. And I really appreciate the invitation.

Magic Barclay (5): 23:01

My pleasure. And listeners, thank you for your time. Go forth and create your magical life.