Todd Glacy: Inspiring People towards Health and Well Being
Every Month PelotonLabs founder Liz Trice interviews a Peloton member for the West End News. This month Liz caught up with Todd Glacy, a personal empowerment educator.
“Personal empowerment educator” . . .does that mean you’re a coach? You’re also an ordained minister, licensed counselor, and musician, right? Is there an order to that?
My focus has always been personal growth, creative expression, and finding purpose and passion in life. The thread through everything I do is inspiring myself and others to be their most authentic and best selves, and there’s many ways to do that.
I see ministry as supporting the search for spiritual meaning and cosmic/world view; counseling is about cultivating self-awareness; education is sharing tools and understanding; and music stimulates creativity and community building. Combining all these helps keep me inspired and offers a strong foundation to help support other people’s personal growth. It’s about empowering people to find their way through life in a healthy and meaningful way and allowing ourselves the freedom to appreciate and enjoy the journey!
What are you working on right now?
I’m developing an in-person and online community called “Consciously Evolving Men” as a platform for men to come together, share our journeys, and support each other in authentic and meaningful ways.
Did you ever notice how when you go to any type of spiritual/personal growth class or workshop It’s mostly women? Things like yoga classes and meditation retreats? Well, men desperately need the same things, but for some reason in this society we’re told that “real men” just suck it up and deal with life challenges without any help. It’s almost seen as a weakness to admit that we’re suffering, and that is extremely unhealthy. So this is a way to support and bring men together who are interested in their own conscious healing growth and evolution and creating better lives for themselves and the world at large.
The other thing is my “StressMaster Training Program” which helps people master stress and anxiety in order to improve their lives. When we’re overly stressed and anxious, we’re not able to function in healthy and productive ways. Mastering stress is the key to self-realization, which is the key to personal empowerment and living life with passion and purpose.
What do you think it is about our culture that causes so much anxiety?
We live in a culture that actively cultivates and promotes negativity and fear. Years ago, I worked as a media literacy educator, and the research found that when people feel constantly scared and powerless, they are more susceptible to the call of advertising…it’s called Retail Therapy. So we are bombarded by this constant stream of fear and negativity, punctuated by commercials encouraging us to buy things in order to feel better.
The other thing is when we feel stressed and anxious all the time we start to consider it normal which eventually leads to disease in all areas of our life.
What tips might you offer to our readers who feel overwhelmed by the world around them?
First, give yourself a break – make it a priority to step away from stress triggers for even just a couple minutes throughout your day and allow yourself to relax. Second, practice gratitude – gratitude is the simplest and most powerful way to shift your awareness from negative thoughts to something more uplifting. Ask yourself, “What are three things I’m grateful for in this moment?” Finally, make it a priority to focus on the positive and spend time doing healthy things that bring you joy.
How has Peloton helped you?
Peloton has been great in getting me involved with people and community- It’s inspiring to be around other people who are excited about what they’re doing and starting new things, and snack-time is a real bonus!
FYI
Men are invited to join the Consciously Evolving Men Facebook and Meetup groups, visit https://www.meetup.com/Consciously-Evolving-Men/.
For information about StressMaster Training programs, visit https://www.stressmastertraining.com/.
PelotonLabs
PelotonLabs is a coworking space in Bramhall Square in the West End of Portland with a mission to connect and encourage people to improve their lives and contribute to the world around them. (Disclaimer: Publisher-Editor Tony Zeli is a member of PelotonLabs.)
