Biography
David B. King

David was born in 1981 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, where he grew up and attended both grade school and high school.  In 2000, he obtained first class honours and was recognized as top male of his graduating class at Kennedy Collegiate Institute.  Following graduation, David commenced undergraduate studies at the University of Windsor, majoring in psychology.  Yet despite his desire to complete a university degree, David became increasingly unsatisfied and restless.  After a year of studies, it was decided that some time off school would be the best option - ultimately a year and a half. 

It was during this time that David experienced a shift.  Once a hard skeptic of anything lacking scientific foundation, a series of profound synchronistic and spiritual experiences culminated in a new world perspective, one that saw life as a series of meaningful, interconnected events rather than random happenings.  Although the life lessons abounded, two stood out:  (1) Regret nothing, because everything happens for a reason.  All experiences, both positive and negative, have at least one positive outcome.  (2) Follow your heart.  Make decisions based only on what feels right for you at the time.  Living any other way, or for any other person, would be the only thing worth regretting in life.  These two lessons, among others, have continued to serve as valuable guiding principles. 

It was also during this time that David had the opportunity to work as a personal support worker with developmentally challenged adults in a small town in northern Ontario.  A variety of mental and physical disorders were witnessed first hand, including Down's syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome, pica, and autism.  Although challenging, this experience offered a sense of meaning and purpose unlike any before it.  It further strengthened David's interests in psychology and mental health as potential career paths.

A second move led David to the town of Cobourg, Ontario, where he continued his employment as a personal support worker at two agencies for community living.  One of these jobs involved working with an autistic and bipolar adult, while the other involved working with a large community group in skills training, social recreation, and vocational placement.  The latter job lasted for nearly four years, during which David developed fulfilling and supportive relationships with a number of challenged adults. 

Moving to Cobourg also allowed for the continuation of David's undergraduate studies at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario.  Having realized a strong interest in psychology, long-term goals became clearer and a career path was chosen.  During his final year of undergraduate studies, David completed his honours thesis under the supervision of Dr. Teresa DeCicco.  It was during this time that he became aware of dream research within the field of psychology, which was ultimately incorporated into his honours thesis.  In 2006, David graduated with a Bachelor's of Science Degree (with Honours) in Psychology, having received the Gina Gesser Memorial Prize for top psychology thesis as well as a Certificate of Academic Excellence from the Canadian Psychological Association. 

Due to the invaluable guidance and mentorship of his supervisor, Teresa DeCicco, David felt as though his career in psychology was already beginning.  He presented at his first academic conference in the summer of 2006 in Boston, Massachusetts, at the Conference of the International Association for the Study of Dreams.  This experience confirmed David's career choices and his interest in continuing studies at the Master's level.  At the same time, however, David felt unprepared to leave Trent University and his working relationship with Dr. DeCicco, feeling that his time there was not quite over.

Fortunately, David was accepted into the Applications of Modelling in the Natural and Social Sciences graduate program at Trent University, specializing in psychology.  During his first year of graduate studies at Trent, David's working relationship with Dr. DeCicco continued to develop and blossom, leading to multiple streams of research in addition to his Master's thesis work.  Although the focus was primarily on dream research, opportunities to explore other areas of interest became available, including the psychology of sexuality, meditation, health psychology, and personality.  This was also the time at which David discovered his passion for teaching.  As a graduate teaching assistant for abnormal, health, and dream courses at Trent, he was able to take on exciting new responsibilities.  He gained a great deal of satisfaction from mentoring other students, and continues to do so today.

More than anything, however, David is most thankful for having the opportunity to study one of his primary areas of interest: the psychology of spirituality.  Thanks to the open-mindedness and encouragement of his supervisor, Dr. DeCicco, the focus of David's Master's thesis was directed toward a new and emerging construct in psychology - spiritual intelligence.  He is extremely passionate about this work and hopes to continue research on spiritual intelligence beyond the Master's level.

Long-term goals are focused on obtaining a PhD in psychology.  More recently, David has developed a strong interest in clinical psychology in addition to his other interests, and hopes that he may be able to incorporate these interests into his doctoral research.  At present, David has realized four primary passions related to psychology: research, teaching, applied work, and learning.  Above all else, perhaps, continuing his education in psychology is paramount.  In both personal and professional domains, David's passion for writing continues to be relentless, and will undoubtedly make its own contribution to his career plans.  His current interests would be most reflective of the humanistic paradigm of psychology, with additional interests in existential, transpersonal, gestalt, and individual psychology.

"All people dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the morning to find that it was vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous people, for they dream their dreams with open eyes, and make them come true."
~ T.E. Lawrence, Lawrence of Arabia