Whenever you feel like the world is bad, whenever people are cruel, or whenever you’re just really fed up with people, I want you to look deeper at this problem than ever before. I want you to get to the core of this rot until you realize its source and its true nature. Look until understanding arises instead of frustration and shock. What you will find is that it is all a very understandable and natural outcome. (More on how to heal from the hurt others cause instead of trying to run away from our pain in this video.)

We very much like to point fingers and blame. This keeps us in the good category and them in the bad category. But there is no us versus them. There is just us. We love to criticize a corrupt politician, as long as they’re on the other team. But when they’re on our team, suddenly our reaction is very different.

Why would a person of power take a bribe or cheat on a spouse? Well, for the same human reason. Because human beings have a brutal history and that genetic memory exists inside us. Of course neither acts of deceit are ever acceptable. But only if we are aware of these urges within all of us can we truly defend against them, both personally and as a species. (In my latest podcast episode, I talk about how to avoid making impulsive decisions we’ll regret later.)

This week I want you to do this:

See if you can remove the word “I” from your thoughts whenever you catch yourself using it. So instead of, “I hate that,” try, “That wasn’t ideal.” Our situation may not be ideal, but we can always change it, accept it, or leave it. There’s no need for the draining, negative feeling of hate to enter the picture at all.

The deepest part of you, the part that is pure awareness and love, doesn’t hate anything. That’s just an ego trick to get you to identify with it. When the identification stops, true freedom begins. 

Much love,
Todd

P.S.  Before my spiritual journey, my life looked very different. I was addicted to just about everything. I was addicted to work, smoking, alcohol, food, materialism, screens… I did everything to extremes. I must have been addicted to stress — although I didn’t know it at the time — because my life was a mess. In my latest YouTube video, I share my story of transformation, and I show how we can all develop that love for life that requires no addictions to provide relief or escape.