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…
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…
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…
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…
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?…
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,…
Q: Dear Todd, in my eyes, peace doesn't always protect, especially against tyrant leaders and overlords. We might fight alongside justice and love, with actions like those of war veterans. We do this to preserve and protect what we have built with love for those we love, so we may be at peace and in harmony. What are your views on this?TODD ANSWERS:This is an excellent point and I am…
Our own spiritual work will not heal our coworkers, but it will over time heal the trauma that they have caused in us. The goal is not to manifest better behavior out of our coworkers. The goal is to reach a place where we can find peace in toxic places.Shockingly, this inner work does actually lead to coworkers treating us better because we have risen above all conflict. People who…
Q: Dear Todd, how does your teaching of “we are all God” apply to people living in a tough city where people will rob and kill another person? That is not what a "Godly", or spiritual, person would do. Am I not a better person (to know) than the rapist, the thief, or the murderer? TODD ANSWERS: We must see these people beyond their acts of cruelty. We must see…
You may get your annual physical. You may see a therapist from time to time for a checkup from the neck up. But we rarely, if ever, check in with that deepest part of who we are. Some call it soul, others spirit. It has many names: source, prana, life-force energy, consciousness, essence, Atman, and Self.Spiritual health is more important than mental and physical health because from our state of…
“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.
