You were never on trial — guilt, shame, and self-blame are learned illusions, not truth.

In this episode of Tao Dialogues, we explore how to end guilt, shame, and self-blame by recognising a powerful truth: you are not on trial.

Many of us replay the past, defending ourselves in an inner emotional courtroom shaped by childhood conditioning and the Inner Child’s need to be “right.” But Taoist wisdom and wu wei (effortless effort) remind us that guilt and shame are not facts — they are emotions created from beliefs.

Through the lens of Shen (your intrinsic spiritual essence) and the Golden Thread Process, we uncover how to release self-judgment, step out of emotional drama, and return to clarity, compassion, and alignment.

This episode is for you if you:

• Struggle with guilt, regret, or shame
• Replay past mistakes and self-blame
• Feel trapped in perfectionism or people-pleasing
• Want emotional freedom rooted in Taoist wisdom

Read the blog post that inspired this episode: https://davidjameslees.substack.com/p/empty-courtroom

Our Tao Dialogues are powerful yet gentle teachings about authenticity, spirituality and finding emotional balance and flow in everyday life. These spoken-word episodes draw from David James Lees’ practice as a Taoist monk and teacher, and expand upon popular posts on ‘David’s Journal’, his Substack blog.

You can subscribe to David’s Journal here: https://davidjameslees.substack.com/

Discover David’s online consultations, events and shop: https://www.wuweiwisdom.com

Other related teachings on our YouTube channel that will help you:

• TAO DIALOGUES PLAYLIST https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9NQ_PWX4zICamFP2zMyey3KGTnfm2aUq&si=AW_ZOUeldKv3nHhF
• SHEN (THE SPIRITUAL SELF) PLAYLIST https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9NQ_PWX4zIBmp50wYcmU7jCBLp1Qvl-j
• INNER CHILD PLAYLIST https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9NQ_PWX4zICGLRS1b7q1HSJhZRash5qq

Join our free Wu Wei Wisdom Community Facebook support group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/wuweiwisdomcommunity

Book an online Golden Thread Process & Inner Child Consultation with David: https://www.wuweiwisdom.com/therapies-for-body-mind/

Follow us on Instagram: @wuweiwisdom

Sign up to receive a relaxing guided meditation gift, plus our weekly newsletter + offers via email: https://www.wuweiwisdom.com/signup

-

Disclaimer: This podcast and any associated teaching and comments shared are not a substitute for professional therapy, mental health care, crisis support, medical advice, doctor diagnosis, or professional healthcare treatment. Our show episodes provide general information for educational purposes only and are offered as suggestions for you and your professional therapist or healthcare advisor to consider and research.

Music by Earth Tree Healing

You don’t need to earn love — you already are worthy. This guided meditation on self-worth and unconditional love helps you release the belief that love must be earned through performance, perfection, or approval - with Taoist monk and teacher, David James Lees.

Rooted in Taoist wisdom and inner child healing, this meditation gently guides you back to your intrinsic worth — the part of you that has always been whole, calm, and enough. Through stillness, affirmations, and compassionate awareness, you’ll reconnect with your true spiritual essence and dissolve the old survival belief: “I must prove myself to be loved.”

This meditation supports:

• Healing self-doubt and people-pleasing
• Releasing perfectionism and performance-based worth
• Reconnecting with your inner truth (Shen)
• Living from love, not lack

Love is not a reward. It is your nature.

⚠️ PLEASE DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS MEDITATION WHILE DRIVING OR OPERATING MACHINERY

This meditation can be practised daily or whenever you need it.

Learn more about our online consultations, events and shop: https://www.wuweiwisdom.com

Subscribe to David’s FREE Journal: https://davidjameslees.substack.com/

Other teachings and guided meditations you may enjoy:

• Guided Meditation for Self-Love & Self-Acceptance https://youtu.be/sJtQu6vaSHM?si=LK29zlEuio48HcIq
• GUIDED MEDITATION PLAYLIST https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9NQ_PWX4zIA12P7BftG6a18lIWFDjL35&si=bWWub6YyoZpXhFub
• LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS PLAYLIST https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9NQ_PWX4zID3yxrdCbbZFuKHCwgV6qhX&si=-zdah_z6MiSZIl0t

Is there a question you'd like answered on the show? Submit it at: https://bit.ly/askusyourquestion

Join our free Wu Wei Wisdom Community Facebook support group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/wuweiwisdomcommunity

If you love our work, you can now make a small donation to help fund the continued production of our weekly teachings by buying us a 'virtual coffee'! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wuweiwisdom

Book an online Golden Thread Process & Inner Child Consultation with David: https://www.wuweiwisdom.com/therapies-for-body-mind/

Follow us on Instagram: @wuweiwisdom

Sign up to receive a relaxing guided meditation gift, plus our weekly newsletter + offers via email: https://www.wuweiwisdom.com/signup

-

Disclaimer: This podcast and any associated teaching and comments shared are not a substitute for professional therapy, mental health care, crisis support, medical advice, doctor diagnosis, or professional healthcare treatment. Our show episodes provide general information for educational purposes only and are offered as suggestions for you and your professional therapist or healthcare advisor to consider and research.

Music by Earth Tree Healing

Break free from seeking love and approval from others and discover how to reclaim your self-worth without performing, pleasing, or proving anything.

Are you still trying to earn love by performing, pleasing, or never making a mistake? In this episode, we explore how the belief that love is conditional forms in childhood — and how it shapes people-pleasing, perfectionism, and the constant fear of not being “enough.” We uncover how to break free from the performance trap, heal the Inner Child, and remember your intrinsic worth.

You’ll learn how conditional love sabotages relationships, how to dissolve old vows using the Golden Thread Process, and how to create love from within rather than chasing it from others. If you're ready to reclaim self-worth and experience love without conditions, this conversation will guide you back to truth and emotional freedom.

With your hosts, David James Lees (ordained Taoist monk, emotional and spiritual health teacher) and Alexandra Lees (mindset and business coach).

Discover our online consultations, events and shop: https://www.wuweiwisdom.com

Subscribe to David’s FREE Journal: https://davidjameslees.substack.com/

Other related teachings on our YouTube channel that will help you:

• LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS PLAYLIST https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9NQ_PWX4zID3yxrdCbbZFuKHCwgV6qhX
• Self Love & Self Acceptance – Guided Meditation https://youtu.be/sJtQu6vaSHM?si=1RrasPbkzN8Uxpee
• Meditation for Self-Love & Loving Relationships https://youtu.be/duUfdGPUtFs?si=yPPN9lu9d5OanIjW
• Our INNER CHILD PLAYLIST https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9NQ_PWX4zICGLRS1b7q1HSJhZRash5qq

Join our free Wu Wei Wisdom Community Facebook support group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/wuweiwisdomcommunity

If you love our work, you can now make a small donation to help fund the continued production of our weekly teachings by buying us a 'virtual coffee'! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wuweiwisdom

Book an online Golden Thread Process & Inner Child Consultation with David: https://www.wuweiwisdom.com/therapies-for-body-mind/

Follow us on Instagram: @wuweiwisdom

Sign up to receive a relaxing guided meditation gift, plus our weekly newsletter + offers via email: https://www.wuweiwisdom.com/signup

Music by Earth Tree Healing

Disclaimer: This podcast and any associated teaching and comments shared are not a substitute for professional therapy, mental health care, crisis support, medical advice, doctor diagnosis, or professional healthcare treatment. Our show episodes provide general information for educational purposes only and are offered as suggestions for you and your professional therapist or healthcare advisor to consider and research.

Procrastination isn’t laziness — it’s a signal calling you back to stillness, clarity, and aligned action.

In this episode of Tao Dialogues, we explore the stillness before action — a Taoist approach to ending procrastination and perfectionism without force, pressure, or self-criticism.

Rather than pushing yourself forward, this teaching invites you inward — to the sacred pause where Shen (inner wisdom and clarity) aligns and true action is born. We uncover how procrastination often arises from the Inner Child’s need for safety, not a lack of discipline, and how wu wei (effortless effort) restores natural momentum.

You’ll learn how to:

• Stop fighting procrastination and listen to its message
• Release perfectionism without lowering your standards
• Use stillness as preparation, not avoidance
• Take aligned action that flows from truth, not fear

Read the blog post that inspired this episode: https://davidjameslees.substack.com/p/shifting-the-story

Our Tao Dialogues are powerful yet gentle teachings about authenticity, spirituality and finding emotional balance and flow in everyday life. These spoken-word episodes draw from David James Lees’ practice as a Taoist monk and teacher, and expand upon popular posts on ‘David’s Journal’, his Substack blog.

You can subscribe to David’s Journal here: https://davidjameslees.substack.com/

Discover David’s online consultations, events and shop: https://www.wuweiwisdom.com

Other related teachings on our YouTube channel that will help you:

• TAO DIALOGUES PLAYLIST https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9NQ_PWX4zICamFP2zMyey3KGTnfm2aUq&si=AW_ZOUeldKv3nHhF
• SHEN (THE SPIRITUAL SELF) PLAYLIST https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9NQ_PWX4zIBmp50wYcmU7jCBLp1Qvl-j
• INNER CHILD PLAYLIST https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9NQ_PWX4zICGLRS1b7q1HSJhZRash5qq

Join our free Wu Wei Wisdom Community Facebook support group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/wuweiwisdomcommunity

Book an online Golden Thread Process & Inner Child Consultation with David: https://www.wuweiwisdom.com/therapies-for-body-mind/

Follow us on Instagram: @wuweiwisdom

Sign up to receive a relaxing guided meditation gift, plus our weekly newsletter + offers via email: https://www.wuweiwisdom.com/signup

-

Disclaimer: This podcast and any associated teaching and comments shared are not a substitute for professional therapy, mental health care, crisis support, medical advice, doctor diagnosis, or professional healthcare treatment. Our show episodes provide general information for educational purposes only and are offered as suggestions for you and your professional therapist or healthcare advisor to consider and research.

Music by Earth Tree Healing

A guided meditation to reconnect with your wise inner guide and return to calm, clarity, and trust - with Taoist monk and teacher, David James Lees.

In this guided meditation, we gently reconnect with your wise inner guide (Shen) — the quiet, steady voice of inner truth beneath self-doubt, comparison, and inherited conditioning.

Through breath, stillness, and compassionate awareness, this practice helps you recognise the difference between the Inner Child’s fearful voice and your authentic inner knowing. Rooted in Taoist wisdom and wu wei (effortless effort), it supports Inner Child healing, emotional clarity, and living with greater integrity and flow.

This meditation is for anyone seeking calm, alignment, and trust in their own inner guidance. This is a remembering — not a fixing.

⚠️ PLEASE DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS MEDITATION WHILE DRIVING OR OPERATING MACHINERY

This meditation can be practised daily or whenever you need it.

Learn more about our online consultations, events and shop: https://www.wuweiwisdom.com

Subscribe to David’s FREE Journal: https://davidjameslees.substack.com/

Other teachings and guided meditations you may enjoy:

• GUIDED MEDITATION PLAYLIST https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9NQ_PWX4zIA12P7BftG6a18lIWFDjL35&si=bWWub6YyoZpXhFub
• SHEN (SPIRITUAL SELF) PLAYLIST https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9NQ_PWX4zIBmp50wYcmU7jCBLp1Qvl-j&si=bWpWNXUUNoFNgow4
• INNER CHILD PLAYLIST https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9NQ_PWX4zICGLRS1b7q1HSJhZRash5qq&si=7TkslLfvthRWePOI

Is there a question you'd like answered on the show? Submit it at: https://bit.ly/askusyourquestion

Join our free Wu Wei Wisdom Community Facebook support group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/wuweiwisdomcommunity

If you love our work, you can now make a small donation to help fund the continued production of our weekly teachings by buying us a 'virtual coffee'! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wuweiwisdom

Book an online Golden Thread Process & Inner Child Consultation with David: https://www.wuweiwisdom.com/therapies-for-body-mind/

Follow us on Instagram: @wuweiwisdom

Sign up to receive a relaxing guided meditation gift, plus our weekly newsletter + offers via email: https://www.wuweiwisdom.com/signup

-

Disclaimer: This podcast and any associated teaching and comments shared are not a substitute for professional therapy, mental health care, crisis support, medical advice, doctor diagnosis, or professional healthcare treatment. Our show episodes provide general information for educational purposes only and are offered as suggestions for you and your professional therapist or healthcare advisor to consider and research.

Music by Earth Tree Healing

Explore how early conditioning shapes your inner voice, and how to return to your wise, authentic self.

Do you know whose voice is guiding your decisions? In this Life Lesson, we explore how the Inner Child absorbs the beliefs, expectations, and emotional rules of authority figures — and how those inherited voices can quietly shape our adult lives. Through Taoist wisdom, we learn how to distinguish conditioned thinking from our true inner knowing and wise inner guide, reconnect with our inherent worth, and gently return to authenticity, clarity, and alignment. This is an invitation to stop living by inherited rules and begin trusting the quiet truth within.

With your hosts, David James Lees (ordained Taoist monk, emotional and spiritual health teacher) and Alexandra Lees (mindset and business coach).

Discover our online consultations, events and shop: https://www.wuweiwisdom.com

Subscribe to David’s FREE Journal: https://davidjameslees.substack.com/

Other related teachings on our YouTube channel that will help you:

• SHEN (THE SPIRITUAL SELF) PLAYLIST https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9NQ_PWX4zIBmp50wYcmU7jCBLp1Qvl-j
• Shen (The Spiritual Self) Guided Meditation https://youtu.be/BM2CNYvI45Y?si=KLQdxovVFqbxDYNa
• INNER CHILD PLAYLIST https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9NQ_PWX4zICGLRS1b7q1HSJhZRash5qq

Is there a question you'd like answered on the show? Submit it at: https://bit.ly/askusyourquestion

Join our free Wu Wei Wisdom Community Facebook support group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/wuweiwisdomcommunity

If you love our work, you can now make a small donation to help fund the continued production of our weekly teachings by buying us a 'virtual coffee'! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wuweiwisdom

Book an online Golden Thread Process & Inner Child Consultation with David: https://www.wuweiwisdom.com/therapies-for-body-mind/

Follow us on Instagram: @wuweiwisdom

Sign up to receive a relaxing guided meditation gift, plus our weekly newsletter + offers via email: https://www.wuweiwisdom.com/signup

~~~

Music by Earth Tree Healing

Disclaimer: This podcast and any associated teaching and comments shared are not a substitute for professional therapy, mental health care, crisis support, medical advice, doctor diagnosis, or professional healthcare treatment. Our show episodes provide general information for educational purposes only and are offered as suggestions for you and your professional therapist or healthcare advisor to consider and research.

Learn why you believe something is wrong with you or that success feels unsafe — this is the Inner Child vow you never questioned.

In this episode of Tao Dialogues, we explore The Inner Child’s vow — an unconscious belief formed in childhood that can create self-doubt, anxiety, and self-sabotage, even when life is going well.

Through Taoist wisdom, wu wei (effortless effort), and Shen spirituality, we gently uncover how this survival vow shaped our behaviour, and how it can be dissolved without force, self-criticism, or confrontation.

This dialogue is for anyone ready to release old conditioning, trust life again, and return to alignment, flow, and authenticity. Nothing within you is broken. This is a return — not a repair.

Read the blog post that inspired this episode:https://davidjameslees.substack.com/p/the-inner-childs-vow

Our Tao Dialogues are powerful yet gentle teachings about authenticity, spirituality and finding emotional balance and flow in everyday life. These spoken-word episodes draw from David James Lees’ practice as a Taoist monk and teacher, and expand upon popular posts on ‘David’s Journal’, his Substack blog.

You can subscribe to David’s Journal here: https://davidjameslees.substack.com/

Discover David’s online consultations, events and shop:https://www.wuweiwisdom.com

Other related teachings on our YouTube channel that will help you:

• TAO DIALOGUES PLAYLIST https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9NQ_PWX4zICamFP2zMyey3KGTnfm2aUq&si=AW_ZOUeldKv3nHhF
• SHEN (THE SPIRITUAL SELF) PLAYLIST https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9NQ_PWX4zIBmp50wYcmU7jCBLp1Qvl-j
• INNER CHILD PLAYLIST https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9NQ_PWX4zICGLRS1b7q1HSJhZRash5qq

Join our free Wu Wei Wisdom Community Facebook support group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/wuweiwisdomcommunity

Book an online Golden Thread Process & Inner Child Consultation with David: https://www.wuweiwisdom.com/therapies-for-body-mind/

Follow us on Instagram: @wuweiwisdom

Sign up to receive a relaxing guided meditation gift, plus our weekly newsletter + offers via email: https://www.wuweiwisdom.com/signup

-

Disclaimer: This podcast and any associated teaching and comments shared are not a substitute for professional therapy, mental health care, crisis support, medical advice, doctor diagnosis, or professional healthcare treatment. Our show episodes provide general information for educational purposes only and are offered as suggestions for you and your professional therapist or healthcare advisor to consider and research.

Music by Earth Tree Healing

A calming Taoist meditation to help parents release control and guide their children with trust, presence, and love - with Taoist monk and teacher, David James Lees.

This mindful parenting meditation invites you to release control, soften fear, and return to presence-led parenting. Rooted in Taoist wisdom, this gentle practice helps parents and caregivers guide without gripping, protect without overprotecting, and respond with calm awareness rather than emotional reaction.

Through breath, visualisation, Inner Child compassion, and affirmations, you’ll reconnect with your authenticity, trust your child’s inner wisdom, and learn to parent from alignment instead of perfection. This meditation supports emotional regulation, resilience, and a deeper sense of ease for both parent and child.

⚠️ PLEASE DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS MEDITATION WHILE DRIVING OR OPERATING MACHINERY

This meditation can be practised daily or whenever you need it.

Learn more about our online consultations, events and shop: https://www.wuweiwisdom.com

Subscribe to David’s FREE Journal: https://davidjameslees.substack.com/

Other teachings and guided meditations you may enjoy:

• The Tao of Parenting - Raising Resilient Children with Trust and Balance https://youtu.be/uJ37rsYFr1E?si=nBFqdPQjshuJL-wG
• GUIDED MEDITATION PLAYLIST https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9NQ_PWX4zIA12P7BftG6a18lIWFDjL35&si=bWWub6YyoZpXhFub
• INNER CHILD PLAYLIST https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9NQ_PWX4zICGLRS1b7q1HSJhZRash5qq&si=7TkslLfvthRWePOI

Is there a question you'd like answered on the show? Submit it at: https://bit.ly/askusyourquestion

Join our free Wu Wei Wisdom Community Facebook support group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/wuweiwisdomcommunity

If you love our work, you can now make a small donation to help fund the continued production of our weekly teachings by buying us a 'virtual coffee'! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wuweiwisdom

Book an online Golden Thread Process & Inner Child Consultation with David: https://www.wuweiwisdom.com/therapies-for-body-mind/

Follow us on Instagram: @wuweiwisdom

Sign up to receive a relaxing guided meditation gift, plus our weekly newsletter + offers via email: https://www.wuweiwisdom.com/signup

-

Disclaimer: This podcast and any associated teaching and comments shared are not a substitute for professional therapy, mental health care, crisis support, medical advice, doctor diagnosis, or professional healthcare treatment. Our show episodes provide general information for educational purposes only and are offered as suggestions for you and your professional therapist or healthcare advisor to consider and research.

Music by Earth Tree Healing