12 Spiritual Motivational Quotes to Change Your Life

Everyday for a few moments, put away all distractions and find peace in the present moment, in the stillness. There is awe and wonder and beauty in everything. If you don't see it, you have to look deeper because it's there. As long as you make a life worth living, as long as your job is just a job, and the more you can be happy for other people's successes…

My Ex Used Me and Left. Dealing With Trust Issues Now

Q: Dear Todd, I had someone pretend to like me for a year and then she told me that she was using me and that the whole time she hated me. It messed me up so much. I still think that everyone hates me because idk if I can trust people. What if they are like her? What if I’m annoying? Is there something wrong with me? I also hate…

How to Deal With Cruelty in the World

Q: Dear Todd, how do we deal with the cruelty going on right now, here in our country and elsewhere in the world? How does one control anger about towards those who are uncaring and greedy and mean?! TODD ANSWERS: Anger is an emotion that always carries us away. When we develop the ability to stay present in the midst of these emotional storms, we can recognize that anger doesn't…

Path to Peace Is Desire Always Bad?

We hear that desire is the root of all suffering. But sometimes desire can lead us toward finding our future spouse. It can lead to success, fun times, and good health. Desire is even often what sets us down the spiritual path. So is desire always bad? Why do we have this insatiable desire within us? Is there more than one kind of desire? And how can we use desire…

Is It Wrong to have Hopes & Desires?

Q: Dear Todd, I had a full laryngectomy & had my thyroid removed. It all happened really fast. I believe I can restore everything. I want to talk again! Is it wrong to want this?Todd Answers: It is not wrong to want that. It is not even wrong to want it so badly that your happiness depends on it. However, that can create suffering. But, desire without attachment can help…

How Can I Overcome Feeling Alone and Misunderstood?

Q: Dear Todd, some kid in my high school class is talking bad about me, and I don't even know them. I don't get it. I even showed my own mother, and she said, "What do you want me to do?" I feel like everyone is just against me. I feel like such an outsider everywhere I go. I'm always in the wrong, and I wish I could say I…

13 Inspirational Quotes About Not Giving Up

The only failures are people who believe the story of failure they tell about themselves. Failure is only a person who is down at the moment. But we can all get back up. Unless we give up and stay on the floor, there's no such thing as failure. Many of us are too afraid to think we can achieve big dreams, so we don’t even start. Fear of failure is…

You Can’t Be at Peace in a City

Q: I really, really want to see one spiritually awakened person who has a family, a 9-5 job, is financially constrained with aging parents, and still remains spiritual while doing all the mundane tasks. If I'm away in the Himalayas alone, being spiritual is automatic, not in the life described above.TODD ANSWERS: My friend, if only you knew my life. The tools may come from the mountains but they are…

Path to Peace Is Expressing Anger Always Bad?

Anger is like pumping air into a balloon. When it starts to get overinflated, little leaks sprout up. Most of us try to cover those little holes with band-aids, such as alcohol, food, screen time, etc... But that only causes new holes to spring up. We must learn to turn off the air pump if we want to get to the root of the problem. But is anger always bad?…

Are Anger Issues Genetic?

Q: Dear Todd, is there any part of anger issues that are genetically linked or is it more of a learned behavior? The reason I ask is because my ex’s anger was intensely explosive and my 3 boys display the same type of behavior when angered. My 2 girls manage their anger really well. All five kids had the same exposure to their father’s outbursts, which were modeled for them,…