The Universe Has Your Back

gabrielle bernstein.

the universe has your back.

transform fear to faith.

life can be scary.

even if you live in a relatively safe country, have good health, a secure job, and the love of those you cherish.

the innate uncertainty that comes with existence means fear and anxiety will often soundtrack your life.

this quiet but pervasive hum mightn't strike you as a bad thing.

after all, isn't it wise to be on guard, alert to everyone and everything that could cause you harm?

while fight, flight, and freeze are all effective strategies in times of acute stress or danger, choosing defense as your full-time default actually cuts you off from the things you're ultimately looking for in life.

love, peace, and joy.

and even worse than this, resistance and being unwilling to lower your defenses can stop you from healing, leaving you in a permanent state of unhappiness.

in this chapter, you'll discover the boundlessness of divine guidance available to you when you choose surrender over resistance and faith over fear.

by the end, you'll have no doubt that the universe really does have your back.

your presence is your superpower.

if you were cast in the next superhero blockbuster, what superpower would you ask for?

flight?

invisibility?

hulk-like strength?

perhaps you have a different answer to these go-tos, but you probably didn't pick presence.

yet, you might, if you knew that presence is the key to unlocking true abundance, deep healing, and divine guidance.

in a way, our lives are like the movies we watch at home or in the cinema.

but instead of projecting stories onto a static screen, we project stories onto the moving world around us.

and this motion picture defines how we perceive life.

consider for a moment the stories you might be projecting.

for many, they'll be a stubborn, fear-based story that gets more reruns than it deserves.

maybe it says, you don't belong, aren't enough, or we'll never find love.

take a second to sit with how this makes you feel.

fortunately, we can always change our internal films if we aren't enjoying them.

just like a film editor can change a movie after it's been filmed.

when it comes to your internal film, you mightn't get to choose what you see, but you do get to choose the meaning it contains.

so what if you're stuck watching an anxiety-ridden story right now?

here, bernstein offers the holy instant.

think of it like an internal remote control.

first, pause and come into the present moment.

the most powerful moment.

gently acknowledge that you've been playing a fear-based film and know your desire for a more empowering narrative.

then, change your internal reel by asking the universe to lovingly guide you, through your fears, to a new, happier narrative.

in addition to abundance, healing, and guidance, it's in this state of presence that you also find effortless happiness.

in fact, your happiness is a direct measure of how quickly you can move from a fearful story of the past or future to the loving narrative of the present.

presence really is quite the superpower, isn't it?

universal assignments you may have thought your school days were long gone, but in truth, the world is a classroom we enter at birth and remain in until we pass on.

the assignments in this classroom, however, are rather unique.

they're the people you encounter over the course of your life, and they have an uncanny knack for summoning old fears.

the experience of bernstein's friend, lance, provides a textbook example.

lance grew up with a fear-based story that said he wasn't smart.

in his early 30s, he started a relationship with a woman who was perfect in every way, except that her sense of humor played into his childhood narrative.

although lance's girlfriend was just kidding around, teasing him for not being able to follow a simple recipe, for example, lance found himself getting defensive and acting in ways he later regretted.

before long, lance was ready to leave the relationship, believing that his girlfriend deserved someone better.

bernstein explained to lance that his new girlfriend was exactly the universal assignment he needed.

through this relationship, the universe was encouraging lance to heal the fearful narrative of his past.

bernstein highlighted that, unlike an assignment from his school days, lance could postpone a universal assignment but never dodge it entirely.

if it wasn't addressed in this relationship, it would inevitably reappear in the next.

is there a universal assignment you've been avoiding?

if so, perhaps it's time to take it on.

allow yourself for a moment to feel the fear your universal assignment stirs up.

honor your fear.

then, turn to compassion.

it can help to think of the words and energy you'd offer an innocent kid in suffering.

after all, it's likely your story took root in childhood.

then, ask the universe for help and surrender to its guidance.

a simple prayer to welcome the universe's support and affirm your faith in it can provide immediate relief.

lance eventually moved on from this relationship, but there was no regret.

he'd finally accepted his universal assignment.

what's more, he's now far better placed to ace his next assignment in the school of life.

good vibrations.

as bernstein stood in front of the footlights, ready to deliver a talk, she noted that 80% of her audience was wearing headphones.

she was in hamburg, germany, and it was her first time using a live translator to help transmit her message.

in the moments before stepping on stage, bernstein sat and meditated.

her heart's intention was to serve this german-speaking audience, but she had no precedent for what this looked like.

so bernstein did the only thing she knew how.

she surrendered her intention to the universe and asked for divine guidance.

halfway through her presentation, bernstein was struck by intuition.

she paused, then requested that her audience take their headphones off.

her intuition told her she needed to communicate with this audience through her energy, not her words.

as she brought her talk to a close, she noted that not one audience member had put their headphones back on, yet they were all deeply moved.

it was a profound reminder of the superpower of presence.

like the musician who tunes their instrument before playing it, humans meditate to recalibrate with the universe.

when we realign with the frequency of divine order, we find the solutions and support needed to manifest our heart's intention.

but it doesn't stop there.

committing to a love-based intention creates joy, and this becomes an almost instant, self-fulfilling prophecy.

your love-based intention brings you joy.

your joy attracts more of the universe's blessings.

you're then inspired to set another love-based intention, replenishing the cycle of abundance.

the obstacle is the way.

on your list of favorite things, obstacles probably don't rank near the top.

whether you're looking for a new job, a loving relationship, or a place to call home, the ideal is for it to go exactly as you planned, right?

having goals isn't a bad thing.

as we explored in the last section, committing to love-based intentions is the very path to transcending challenges and suffering.

what becomes problematic is clinging to a super-specific, narrowly defined outcome, a sure sign of fear and an unwillingness to trust the divine order of the universe.

in an attempt to force or manipulate our intention into unfolding as we believe it should, we unknowingly block its realization.

the universe doesn't align with the energy of our should mentality.

for bernstein, this lesson showed up big time when she began trying to conceive.

her plan was this.

she'd get pregnant immediately, then enjoy the next nine months at home while finishing the manuscript she was working on.

it was perfect.

or so she thought.

yet, a full nine months passed and still no pregnancy.

bernstein felt lost and hopeless.

what was she doing wrong?

for almost a year, she'd kept her intention front of mind, declared to friends and family that she and her husband were consciously conceiving, and rearranged all travel and speaking arrangements to free up the physical time and space for her baby to be.

finally, a close friend gently pointed out how anxious, tense, and desperate she'd become by tethering herself so tightly to her plan.

she couldn't fathom the universes, because the universe doesn't resonate with low vibe frequencies.

becoming a mother was deeply meaningful to bernstein, so it felt safer to grasp at shoulds rather than surrender to divine order.

seeing this, bernstein used prayer to choose love over fear, time after time after time, and finally gave birth to her first son, oliver, in 2018.

where are you should-ing in your life right now?

red flags to look for include anywhere you feel afraid, overwhelmed, or stuck.

acknowledging your role in creating your current obstacles can be painful, but it's the essential first step towards reintegration.

from here, you see that obstacles are detours designed to guide you down the right path.

the direction of surrender, not struggle.

use a prayer to help you get back on the right track.

thank the universe for allowing you to see your roadblock as an opportunity.

then acknowledge that you'll relinquish control and trust the universe to show you the way.

the next step on this journey is to let go of anxiety and have faith.

you've surrendered your intention to the universe, so trust that it will deliver.

the outcome and timeline might look a little different than you deemed it should.

that's okay.

the magic of miracles is such that you might just receive something better than you could have ever imagined.

relax.

loosen your grip on the steering wheel.

all will be right.

when we live in a faith-centered life, the obstacle truly is the way.

satanam.

truth is your name.

bernstein was 25 when she decided to swap drugs for dharma, fear for faith.

now, more than 10 years later, she still honors the moment she chose love, proudly referring to herself as a spirit junkie.

like many spiritual seekers, bernstein explored countless wisdom traditions.

some time into her journey, she attended a course with alternative medicine pioneer deepak chopra.

in her one-on-one meeting with him, at the end, bernstein asked whether this was okay.

was it okay that she found inspiration in so many different modalities?

deepak told her gently that she was allowed to do whatever she needed to do to support her journey to higher consciousness.

when we first commit to walking a spiritual path, it can be tempting to latch onto one thought system and one thought system only.

but living a faith-centered life is a full-time job.

our practice has to extend beyond the meditation cushion or kundalini yoga class.

as we explored earlier, presence is a superpower available to us always.

it's also a practice that transcends belonging to any particular wisdom tradition.

this is equally true for a profound discovery we make when we sit in presence long enough.

all is one.

you are the universe, and the universe is you.

interconnectedness isn't just a nice idea.

it's reality.

yet, few of us would claim to live from this truth in our moment-to-moment experience, appealing as it is.

fortunately, bernstein has a practice to help us do just that.

remember the universal assignment you identified earlier?

the person in your life who points to an old fear you need to heal?

bring them to mind.

take a second to consider whether you have any feelings of judgment or disassociation toward them.

forgive yourself if you find you do.

this is simply the habit pattern for most of us.

now, using the holy instant, decide to choose again.

decide to choose love over fear singularly instead of separation.

like you, this person is also the universe, and through this shared connection, you are one.

feel this truth permeate your whole being.

to end, direct your energy, silent or out loud, to the mantra, satanam.

satanam means, truth is your name.

repeating it reminds us of the true nature of reality, absolute oneness.

oneness is truth, and truth is your name.

be the light.

you've come a long way since starting this chapter.

you've learned about the superpower of presence, the meaning of universal assignments, the magic of joyful intentions, the wisdom of obstacles, and the truth of interconnectedness.

you know how loved, guided, and secure you really are.

however, these trainings are innately dual-purpose.

while you'll soon start to see the waves of positive transformation ripple out in your own life, you'll also begin to notice the positivity you prompt in the world around you.

and in these chaotic times, goodness knows we need this more than anything.

worldly problems like corrupt governments, ongoing warfare, and the climate crisis won't have worldly answers.

these complex issues demand a shift in consciousness, a spiritual solution, if you will.

and now you're equipped to offer them.

like bernstein, you can become a peace activist.

you too can answer the call of your highest purpose.

you too can be the light that awakens the world.

yes, saving the world is a big undertaking, but it's what we're all ultimately here to do.

so enter each day, conversation, and endeavor by asking the universe how you can best be a vessel for its love.

the universe will be eager to show you.

in this chapter to the universe has your back by gabrielle bernstein, you've learned that intentionally connecting with love can release you from anxiety and uncertainty.

in any moment, love, peace, and joy can be yours.

you just need to choose faith over fear.

by accepting instead of resisting, surrendering instead of controlling, you open yourself to the boundless divine guidance of the universe.

and when you follow this divine guidance, you'll be led to true happiness and healing, both for yourself and the world around you.

commit to choosing love every chance you can.

if you do, you'll find the universe really does have your back.

thanks so much for listening.

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see you in the next chapter!