Q: Dear Todd, I experience non-dual consciousness pretty regularly. What I struggle with is sometimes there is a loneliness attached to it because most people in my daily life are asleep, and I end up forgetting about the non-dual nature of reality just to “fit in” and live my life without seeming crazy. Any advice? TODD ANSWERS: Spiritual practice is to constantly accept what is then move forward with wise…
Q: Dear Todd, are we really experiencing the universe or are we actually experiencing earth? I can experience a waterfall but I cannot experience a supernova with the same relative ease. Todd Answers: Haha, let's hope you do not experience a violent supernova too closely. Even though we do not feel the heat of the surface of the sun, we can experience the sun's rays from afar. We can understand…
Q: Dear Todd, if you did immoral things before you were awakened to the universal truths will you be held accountable for those things in this life or future lives?TODD ANSWERS: Is a tiger responsible for killing a gazelle? I don’t think so. I think it is a creature living out its own nature based on its past karma/cause-and-effect. When we act with unawareness, we are not in control. Only…
Q 1: Dear Todd, how do I accept that life has no meaning? Don't we have to have a purpose in life?Q 2: Dear Todd, I find myself depressed because of the realization that is no true meaning or purpose to our lives. Everything is neutral until we assign it meaning. Therefore everything is pointless, without purpose, including suffering and pain, including love and joy. Can you help me reframe…
True Nature of RealityIf an atom’s nucleus were the size of a peanut, the atom’s empty space would be the size of a baseball stadium. If the empty space in every atom of a person’s body was removed, the actual matter of that person, all the atomic and subatomic particles, would fit inside a speck of dirt. The matter of every person on earth would fill a sugar cube.Reality is…
Q: Dear Todd, is the sense of self true nature? Or just an inevitable delusion of perspectivized consciousness?Todd Answers: I would say that our sense of self is merely the turning of our consciousness back onto itself so that it can experience itself. This is how we can know ourselves — our true selves, our essence.When we look for ourselves and we peer through the thoughts, the sense-objects, and the…
Q: Dear Todd, “All suffering exists in the mind” leaves out the heart and the intuition part. Any thoughts?TODD ANSWERS: The heart and the gut (intuition) are essential to empathy and healthy emotions. From my experience, suffering most often starts in the mind and then our heart begins to ache. Emotions are where we feel our thoughts. Occasionally, like as in physical pain, our brain receives the pain signals and…
“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.
