When I decided to leave my job and go to the far East to discover the secrets to life’s deepest questions, it took a solid two years before I saved up enough money to go. People stopped believing me that I was going to go, and I started to feel stuck. But I stuck to the plan, and it finally happened. From my experience looking back, I wish someone told…
Q: Dear Todd, I want to achieve a big success in my life but that will require a lot of competition, constant stress, and bigger responsibilities. So, will this make me unhappy?Todd Answers: Some people are built for the competitive high-stress fast-paced lifestyle. Some people just want to be monks. Everybody is different.I will say this though, stressful situations do not need to make us stressed. Stress only occurs when…
Why do we suffer a tragic event long after it's over? Why are our joyous celebrations so short-lived? And why do minor inconveniences and annoyances have the power to ruin our whole day? It's all because of the conditioned voice in our head. For most of us, that voice is the unconscious, unintentional result of our upbringing and experiences in life. But, we all have the ability to recondition our…
Q: Dear Todd, I suffer from severe anxiety. I meditate regularly and I can relax and get into some deep states but when I finish up, I just go back to that state of hypervigilance. Have you got any advice?TODD ANSWERS: So often our anxiety gives us anxiety. The best thing we can do besides practicing meditation is to turn our anxiety into curiosity, really examining it when it starts…
Q: Dear Todd, how do I keep the stress away when my money is invested in the stock market and it keeps fluctuating a lot? TODD ANSWERS: Well I am no stock guru :) However, it does look like the stock market always follows the same principles of spirituality: stay calm, no need to panic. Ups and downs are inevitable. The zen approach would be to remain centered and sober…
There is more information today than any human could ever learn in a hundred lifetimes. And yet, we are surprised that life continues to surprise us. We can't know everything, and that's actually a great thing. We can become highly skilled in a particular passion, work together to achieve big things, and advance our skills by recognizing gaps in our knowledge.In this podcast episode, I talk about how we can…
Our lives — like all things — exist in cycles. Some years we are growing, and some years we are enjoying. Some years are for sowing, and some are for reaping. But sometimes, it can feel like we are trapped in an unending cycle, repeating the same patterns and choices over and over and over and over again. When these trying times go on for decades, we can easily begin…
Q: Dear Todd,I gave birth to my daughter a year ago and she has taught me a lot of things about being present and appreciating every moment we have. However, no matter how mindful I'm trying to be, I struggle to keep anxiety away when it comes to her well-being or happiness. Would you have any advice for me on this?Todd Answers: Our love can easily turn into anxiety, attachment,…
This is one of the most important and common questions I receive. The more in touch we become with our inner peace, the more jarring the outside world can become. As we begin the journey inward, we can become even more sensitive than we already were. So what can we do to not be so sensitive? How can we take control of our own mental state and not have it…
There are two things taking place when we feel like our life is not going the way we hoped or wanted it to. The first thing is expectations — those pesky things created by society, our loved ones, and our own biased assumptions about how life should be. The second thing is a feeling of stuckness — that dull feeling, which lacks newness and excitement, that stems from repetitive and monotonous…
“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.
