Q: Dear Todd, not every moment is pleasurable, in my opinion. When your car slides off the edge of an icy logging road and time slows down, you're going to feel instinctual, epigenetic fear coursing through your body. Maybe there's a yogi who experiences bliss during traumatic events, but I would guess that at that point, you're ready for Nirvana. And is that really Nirvana if you experience trauma, fear,…
Q: Dear Todd, lately nothing has worked out for the last year and a half. People are so unreliable and narcissistic. Very disappointing. The many many esoteric videos, GIFs, and blurbs I’ve read and practiced along the way awareness, meditating, letting go, realigning, non-judgment, helping others, forgiving, asking guides/angels for help, trusting the Universe…none of that has panned out. Today I sit here disappointed, disillusioned, sad and angry because now…
Q: Dear Todd, in my case, all my stress and chronic anxiety come from insecurities and a lack of self-worth. I'm selfish and unkind to people sometimes, but it's not because I want to be; it's because of how I feel about myself. Every moment of my life, I feel I'm not enough and am always afraid of failing. So I stress and stress, can't sleep, and end up failing.…
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: 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,…
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…
Q: Dear Todd, what if a person treats everyone else well with kindness and compassion with the exclusion of oneself, that is, that person only feels hatred towards me? How can one not take it personally then? I'd like to think it's a projection of how they feel about themselves but it's apparent they're okay and happy when with others just not me. And it's not because of something I…
If grief is love unexpressed, then express that love to yourself so the healing can take place. When we relinquish our attempt to control or suppress our grief and simply allow it to exist, we grant it the freedom to unfold naturally. Understanding impermanence on a deep level, and being aware of it rids the mind of any ability to experience loss, grief, sorrow, and detachment. Only the nonmaterial, empty…
1. It’s so important that we take time to heal. That means not just physically, but mentally, emotionally and spiritually too. Others may think that’s selfish and we may feel guilty, but it’s the most thoughtful, considerate, and compassionate thing we can do. 2. As long as you learn from a mistake, there is no mistake. 3. Nobody is perfect. No matter what, no matter how rich they are, no…
Q: Dear Todd, I lost my dad a year and a half ago and since then, I have been isolated and have been utterly abandoned by relatives and so-called friends. I really and truly don't think I deserve this, but at age 65 it seems as though the entire world wants me gone. I am close to the breaking point and am praying for help. TODD ANSWERS: The constant struggle…
“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.
