In Viktor Frankl's book, Man's Search for Meaning, we learn how Holocaust prisoners were more likely to survive if they felt there was some meaning to their senseless circumstances. In this evil place and time where life had no meaning, to survive meant finding and creating meaning wherever they could. For many, becoming hopeless meant certain death.

Meaning and hope are like oxygen for the soul. So how do we find meaning? What is the meaning of life? Why does life feel meaningless sometimes? And what can we do to create a meaningful life? I answer these questions and more in today's podcast.

Please enjoy other episodes where I share meditation techniques, tips and spiritual lessons from around the world for peaceful and stress-free living. Remember to subscribe to stay up-to-date.

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If my words have ever touched your heart or helped you through a hard moment, I’d be deeply grateful for your support in keeping this podcast alive. Support the Podcast

And if you’d like to explore these ideas in greater depth, you can find all of my books here.

At the heart of every conflict is at least one or two outsized egos. These egos tear families apart,  break up lovers,  ruin friendships, and turn strangers into enemies.  So how did we get here? Why do we have these egos? Are our egos protecting us or hurting ourselves and our relationships?

In this podcast episode, I talk about how we can forgive without getting hurt again, love without limits or fear, and trust without getting taken advantage of. The more we grow in mindfulness, the smaller our ego gets, and the easier it becomes to set down our baggage of pride, anger and resentment.

Please enjoy other episodes where I share meditation techniques, tips and spiritual lessons from around the world for peaceful and stress-free living. Remember to subscribe to stay up-to-date.

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If my words have ever touched your heart or helped you through a hard moment, I’d be deeply grateful for your support in keeping this podcast alive. Support the Podcast

And if you’d like to explore these ideas in greater depth, you can find all of my books here.

Grief is so much more than a personal journey. It's how we show our love for our those we've lost to our friends and family. It's communal and it's one of the ways we all come together to heal.

But, we also all heal in our own way. Because there is no one right or wrong way to grieve, we may feel guilty if we don't conform in how we grieve. We may feel like celebrating the deceased's life instead of mourning the death. We may even laugh or smile as we remember funny stories.

While some family and friends may judge how we grieve, in this podcast I share how we can communicate our loss without feeling guilty about the way we express it. I talk about why we feel pressure to conform, how we can grieve on our own terms, and I share some stories of how I dealt with grief in my own life.

Please enjoy other episodes where I share meditation techniques, tips and spiritual lessons from around the world for peaceful and stress-free living. Remember to subscribe to stay up-to-date.

*****
If my words have ever touched your heart or helped you through a hard moment, I’d be deeply grateful for your support in keeping this podcast alive. Support the Podcast

And if you’d like to explore these ideas in greater depth, you can find all of my books here.

We've all got these judgmental, opinionated, critical voices in our head — relics from a time where humans lived in the wild and in constant physical danger. Today, we live in relative safety, but whether we're at the office, in traffic, or a line at the supermarket, our bodies are in an almost constant state of stress. 

This subtle constant stress puts our judgmental mind into overdrive. Instead of judging whether footprints are from a tiger or a harmless cat, we judge whether other people are threats or not.

So how do we maintain our discernment without being overly critical and negative? How do we keep safe while being more open and positive? Is it even possible to put our guards down without putting ourselves in danger? And why do we have these misery-generating tendencies in our mind in the first place?! I answer these questions and more in today's podcast.

Please enjoy other episodes where Todd shares meditation techniques, tips and spiritual lessons from around the world for peaceful and stress-free living. Remember to subscribe to stay up-to-date.

*****
If my words have ever touched your heart or helped you through a hard moment, I’d be deeply grateful for your support in keeping this podcast alive. Support the Podcast

And if you’d like to explore these ideas in greater depth, you can find all of my books here.

There is a cosmic irony to this law of the universe: the more we try, the more likely we are to fail. This law is true in sports, art, dating, earning money and just about everything else. The more we force effort, the more we repel the thing we want. The more pressure we put on ourselves, the more nervous we get and the more mistakes we make.

Forced effort isn't sustainable. Mounting pressure does not help us perform. And for some reason, the universe demands that we act without trying, achieve without striving for achievement, and get without wanting.

When we are relaxed, effort comes naturally. When we are present, we think clearly. And when we are enjoying ourselves in the work, we are more likely to get the date or promotion.

In today's episode, I talk about money — how we can get it, how we can lose it, and most importantly how we can get it without losing our soul/mind/mental health/inner peace/physical health.

Please enjoy other episodes where Todd shares meditation techniques, tips and spiritual lessons from around the world for peaceful and stress-free living. Remember to subscribe to stay up-to-date.

*****
If my words have ever touched your heart or helped you through a hard moment, I’d be deeply grateful for your support in keeping this podcast alive. Support the Podcast

And if you’d like to explore these ideas in greater depth, you can find all of my books here.

What role do rituals, traditions and religious communities have in an individual's path to spiritual awakening? Can religion help us reach our ultimate potential? Or, are they nothing but superstitions and fairy tales? Do they create positive outlets for spiritual growth, or do they simply further divide our already divided planet?

In today's podcast, I explore the pros and cons of going to church, temple or mosque. I dive into what religions can offer, what we can expect to gain from them, and most importantly, what faith can look like now and in the future in order to provide the most benefit to the most people without the negative and often violent outcomes that we have seen in the past.

Please enjoy other episodes where Todd shares meditation techniques, tips and spiritual lessons from around the world for peaceful and stress-free living. Remember to subscribe to stay up-to-date.

*****
If my words have ever touched your heart or helped you through a hard moment, I’d be deeply grateful for your support in keeping this podcast alive. Support the Podcast

And if you’d like to explore these ideas in greater depth, you can find all of my books here.

Many people wonder if they should meditate even when they really don't want to. Others wonder if it's better or worse to meditate when sick. And some may even feel worse after meditation and wonder if this ancient spiritual practice just isn't for them at all.

In this podcast episode, I dive into the debate about whether we should force ourselves to meditate no matter what, or if we should only do it when it feels natural. Is creating consistency at all cost the most important thing? Or do certain conditions need to be met in order to meditate effectively? The answer may surprise you.

Please enjoy other episodes where Todd shares meditation techniques, tips and spiritual lessons from around the world for peaceful and stress-free living. Remember to subscribe to stay up-to-date.

*****
If my words have ever touched your heart or helped you through a hard moment, I’d be deeply grateful for your support in keeping this podcast alive. Support the Podcast

And if you’d like to explore these ideas in greater depth, you can find all of my books here.

What is the nature of attachments? Why do we develop them if they only cause suffering? How do we break free from the grip of attachments and how do we still form healthy and loving bonds? These are the questions we delve into in today's podcast.

Please enjoy other episodes where Todd shares meditation techniques, tips and spiritual lessons from around the world for peaceful and stress-free living. Remember to subscribe to stay up-to-date.

*****
If my words have ever touched your heart or helped you through a hard moment, I’d be deeply grateful for your support in keeping this podcast alive. Support the Podcast

And if you’d like to explore these ideas in greater depth, you can find all of my books here.

All of us since we were very little children, started developing a relationship around money. Unless you were born in the top 1 percent, that relationship has probably had some degree of stress and anxiety. It's only normal. We need it and there never seems to be enough of it.

Obviously we can't eat money, but it can certainly buy food, and so, we treat money like we used to treat food. The problem is, in the very olden days we'd go hunting or foraging for food. Today, we can't just go looking for money. And so, we stress extra.

But does stress help our money situation? If not, why are we clinging to our money anxiety? How can we let go of it? How can we both handle our finances better, AND deal with our money anxiety? In today's podcast, I explore these questions and more.

Please enjoy other episodes where Todd shares meditation techniques, tips and spiritual lessons from around the world for peaceful and stress-free living. Remember to subscribe to stay up-to-date.

*****
If my words have ever touched your heart or helped you through a hard moment, I’d be deeply grateful for your support in keeping this podcast alive. Support the Podcast

And if you’d like to explore these ideas in greater depth, you can find all of my books here.

If there are no mistakes in life because they are just opportunities to learn, what about when we keep making the same mistakes over and over again? Why can't things just go well for a while? Where is the lesson?!

In today's podcast, I explore how even if we feel we are making no progress, we are actually improving in subtle ways constantly. I share how buried in what seems like failure can be the seeds of success. And I share how to go forth into the unknown – with its many challenges and obstacles – with optimism and courage. 

Success and failure are just subjective opinions. Marching on with your head held high is the only way to approach both.

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Please enjoy other episodes where Todd shares meditation techniques, tips and spiritual lessons from around the world for peaceful and stress-free living. Remember to subscribe to stay up-to-date.

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*****
If my words have ever touched your heart or helped you through a hard moment, I’d be deeply grateful for your support in keeping this podcast alive. Support the Podcast

And if you’d like to explore these ideas in greater depth, you can find all of my books here.