If you’ve seen my recent social media posts, you’ll know that my diary was stolen out of my hotel in Thailand. They took my whole camera bag which had memory cards full of photos, my expensive Nikon camera, and my journal full of my most personal thoughts, stories and struggles.At first when it happened, I was very angry. I felt violated, exposed, and naked. I knew the thief probably didn’t…
Why should I change myself to become better if I have nobody in my life? This is a two-pronged question. Because when we say "better," what do we really mean? And that word, better, means two things to the person who asked this question. Better in the sense of, "I want to feel better. I want my mind to stop fighting me. I want to be happier, healthier, and better…
We live in a world that, at times, can seem to celebrate and reward the greediest among us. We live by our own code of values and morals, yet we see people who are unencumbered by ethics get ahead and who seemingly don't have a care in the world.But the truth is, there is a greater joy than the fleeting pleasure of accumulation. There is a greater and lasting peace…
As Ram Dass so beautifully put it, we are all just walking each other home. Ram Dass, as you may not know, was a Harvard professor who realized the height of his professional ambitions — and still discovered a deep, ever-pervading discontent and suffering. So he went on a journey to India to try to discover the true secret to happiness.And he found this spirituality over in India, and came…
As Eckhart Tolle shared in The Power of Now, he tells the story of two monks walking through a forest. They come upon a river and see a woman struggling to cross. Even though it's against their rules and customs to touch a woman, one of the monks goes over, lifts the woman, and helps her across the river.He sets her down, makes sure she’s okay, and then the two…
I was going on this mission with the purpose of helping people through whatever I could learn. It was terrifying, yes — but it was also deeply infused with a sense that this was the right thing to do. This is what my heart was calling me toward. I don’t know where the idea first got planted in my mind — that I should learn about spirituality, that I should…
Any spiritual teacher or healer is going to encounter immense sadness, anger, trauma, and stress, because that’s who gets drawn to this path. And it’s absolutely vital to be able to hold space for those emotions without absorbing them.The same way I dealt with my own pain is how I help others transmute theirs. Because if I take on their stress, I become useless. I lose my ability to serve.…
If somebody is in a lot of pain, and they're going through some serious illness, and they are living in the past, and they’re loving it, then I would never tell anyone to change. But if they're asking this question, then I assume there is some stress, and that the underlying reality of the present moment is causing a great deal of distress, and that they are not able to…
All human beings have these egos, this mind-made conception of who we are. And it only survives when it feels important. And when this ego feels threatened, because it is comparing itself to the wealth or success or looks of someone else, it suffers, and it makes us suffer immensely. To really get to the root of this suffering, we need to recognize that we are not this ego, and…
Most of thel problems in our lives are generated by our thinking mind. When we’re depressed, we are constantly thinking dark, negative thoughts. When we’re anxious, we’re constantly thinking insecure, anxious thoughts. When we’re caught in the drama of life, we are usually retelling that story of drama in our minds, again and again. To be free from this compulsive thinking is to be free from much of the suffering…
If something here helped you feel less alone, would you help me keep it alive?
Even the smallest support matters.
Weekly Writings from the Desk of Todd Perelmuter
