This is the story of how I cured my ADHD with meditation. When I was 13 years old, being a bit impulsive and a bit of a dreamer, neither of which was too pleasing to my school teachers, my parents took me to a place with many doctors and experts in lab coats who specialized in diagnosing children with various behavioral disorders. I didn’t really understand what was going on…
Why did you choose New Zealand?During a meeting with the high Buddhist lama, Karmapa, he asked me which forest I was going to meditate in for 50 days and if there were any bears or tigers there, as he was living in India which has both. I told him I was thinking about New Zealand and that they did not. “Very good,” he said. That really sealed the deal for…
Q: Dear Todd, how can I practice stillness?TODD ANSWERS: It is much better to practice watching your breath because your breath is always with you. You don’t have to try to freeze, because your brain will always be receiving information (light, sound, etc…). But what you can practice is stilling your focus.Focus on one thing very intently, whether it’s your breath, a mantra, or a flower. And just practice extended…
If we were to put all of our focus on one little ant, that ant would take up all of our attention and awareness. Similarly, even though there’s always so much happening within us and around us, if we put all of our focus on our thoughts, those thoughts will become the only things that exist to us. Similarly, when we become triggered because of traumatic events in our past, we…
In Viktor Frankl's book, Man's Search for Meaning, we learn how Holocaust prisoners were more likely to survive if they felt there was some meaning to their senseless circumstances. In this evil place and time where life had no meaning, to survive meant finding and creating meaning wherever they could. For many, becoming hopeless meant certain death. Meaning and hope are like oxygen for the soul. So how do we…
Society rewards success. It is the most alluring addiction there is because it is the only addiction that we are celebrated for having. It becomes ingrained into everyone of us that we should delay our happiness until we have achieved success later in life. But what happens when we postpone our happiness? Is happiness greater than success? Will wealth bring us happiness? Can we have both success and happiness? In…
If we overthink about it, life can be very confusing. There is so much information that we are bombarded with daily, from ads to movies, from social media to our in-person interactions. Within all of that information are subtle cues that tell us how life should be, what a perfect life looks like, and how you'll finally be happy if only (fill in the blank). But, all of that noise…
Our minds are thinking machines, constantly jumping from thought to thought, constantly looking for something to overthink and obsess about. That's what they do, it's their job. A hand will do hand stuff and the mind will do thinking stuff.But what happens when our minds get out of control? What happens when they no longer think the positive thoughts we wish they would? What happens when they only dwell on…
Q: Dear Todd, so do you personally think that the COVID pandemic and being alone mostly, separated and the lack of connection and community was good for people? I certainly don't think so. What's your perspective? Being still, quiet, finding peace! So meditation is possibly the most important thing anyone can practice. But I personally think connection within the community is equally, if not more important. TODD ANSWERS: I don’t…
From Path to Peace With Todd Perelmuter NewsletterUsually what happens when we have those unwanted, intrusive, misery-inducing thoughts, is that we are trying to suppress something that is clearly there and trying to express itself. Suppression and repression only feed negative thoughts more energy. Distraction and escape just keep them bubbling under the surface. Engaging with those thoughts feeds them too. So what the heck are we supposed to do?!The…
“I thought my biggest fear was growing old and dying in prison. In truth, my biggest fear was growing old and not knowing myself.”
- Rick Smith, Albama inmate
Path to Peace - A newsletter not just for your mental health but also for your spiritual health.
