Q: Dear Todd, how can Ukrainians respond with love to their enemies?TODD ANSWERS: Someone recently asked me how I can suggest that even people in Ukraine respond with love when their lives are in danger. The person went on to tell me that they struggle with spirituality because "we have fear for a reason and if a bear is charging at you, it doesn't care if you respond with love…
Q: Dear Todd, How Can I Get Over my Grudges? Giving love and forgiveness to others is the greatest gift you can ever give to yourself. When we love and forgive others, we do not lose anything. We in fact gain peace of mind, joyousness, and greater physical and mental health. The more joy and love within you, the more joy and love you put into the world and the…
Q: Dear Todd, When I feel the separation between us, I become angry. When I feel I am being judged, my subconscious becomes hostile and temporarily loses my normal peace & serenity. Any thoughts?Todd Answers: It can be difficult when dealing with others as two colliding realities clash. But the separateness is still only an illusion and the best and quickest way to regain serenity is to look closer and…
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…
I understand how hard it can be when people don't treat us the way we would treat others. It is disappointing, disheartening, and discouraging. People are messy and relationships can be very complicated, but we enter into them because of the immense meaning and purpose they bring.To hold onto anger and resentment is to give up on people everywhere. It's a battlefield out there, but we only have 3 options.1)…
We will all feel all of the human emotions throughout our lives. That's part of life. But when we let ourselves get swept away by those emotions, then we can act unmindfully and in ways that can hurt our reputation and relationships. When our emotions carry us away, we lose ourselves and we feel the emotions with great intensity as if they are happening to us. When we are present,…
Repressed emotions are one of the greatest, if not the greatest, cause of physical pain and illness in our society. For example, over 90% of all doctor visits are stress-related. This is because we are not releasing our stress in healthy ways.Nothing about spirituality should imply we need to “look the other way,” “stuff down your emotions,” or “pretend like negativity is not there.” Mindfulness is about becoming aware of…
Self-hatred is a terrible affliction born out of the false perception that you are your thoughts. It divides us into two people rather than being one whole complete person. This illusion falsely implies you hate yourself, but in reality, you can't have a relationship with yourself. You simply are you. Relationships with yourself can only happen if you believe you are split in two. By recognizing your true self, all…
Someone recently asked me this question about how to respond to people who hurt us. I get it, believe me. Our first (unconscious) instinctual reaction is to respond with anger. But this would be a reaction that lacks wisdom, patience, perspective, and most importantly, efficacy. It is just not effective when communicating to respond with anger. People's walls go up and they dig even deeper into their positions.So how can…
Fighting Hatred with LoveThe Dalai Lama is a man who saw his own country violently conquered. It would be all too easy to become bitter. But instead, he forgives and loves. He puts all of our measly everyday squabbles to shame. If he can find compassion for his invaders, we too can find it for our rude coworkers, family feuds, and former friends.No matter the question, love is always 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
A newsletter not just for your mental health but also for your spiritual health.
