Gabrielle Bernstein - The Universe Has Your Back: Transform Fear to Faith

Praise for Gabrielle Bernstein

I love Gabby and her work. She just has a special way of reaching people, and I know this book will change the shape of many hearts.

India.Arie, singer, songwriter, and teacher

I absolutely love The Universe Has Your Back. What makes it so incredibly special is Gabbys honesty about difficult experiences and how she learned and healed from them. By sharing these deeply personal stories, she allows us to feel that our own failures and shame can be brought into the light. This book is a refreshing and soul-nourishing read that I will go back to again and again.

Rachel Platten, musician

A new role model.

The New York Times

I came to one of Bernsteins monthly lectures and got my first look at the woman Id one day unabashedly refer to as my guru.

ELLE magazine

Featured on Oprahs Super Soul Sunday as a next-generation thought leader

Copyright 2016 by Gabrielle Bernstein

Published and distributed in the United States by: Hay House, Inc.:

Cover design: Erica Jago Interior design: Nick C. Welch

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private useother than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviewswithout prior written permission of the publisher.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Bernstein, Gabrielle, author.

Title: The universe has your back : transform fear to faith / Gabrielle Bernstein.

Description: 1st Edition. | Carlsbad, California : Hay House, Inc., 2016.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016020275 | ISBN 9781401946548 (hardback)

Subjects: LCSH: Self-actualization (Psychology) | Fear. | Faith. | BISAC: SELF-HELP / General. | SELF-HELP / Personal Growth / Success.

Classification: LCC BF637.S4 .B475 2016 | DDC 204--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016020275

Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4019-4654-8

11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

1st edition, September 2016

Printed in the United States of America

For my dearest friend Micaela, thank you for being my spiritual running buddy.

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CONTENTS

In the spring of 2015, I had a meltdown in a yoga class. Out of the blue, while in the middle of a sun salutation, I was taken over by terror and anxiety. I sat down on my mat to take a breath. It was then that I began to feel terrible pain in my neck, and the entire left side of my face and arm went numb. I started to freak out. I left the class, called my husband, and scheduled an emergency appointment with a doctor.

Within 24 hours I had undergone multiple MRIs and blood tests. Waiting for the results to come back was one of the scariest times of my life.

When the results did come back, I was at a loss. There was no diagnosis for my physical symptoms, and, ultimately, the doctors diagnosed the episode as a panic attack. This experience, however, seemed to make no sense. At this point in my life, I had an amazing and supportive husband, a thriving career, a healthy body, and a loving family. In fact, I was living a life far beyond my wildest dreams. I had spent a decade growing my spiritual practice, healing old wounds, and deepening my faith. And I was finally freeor so I thought.

In the following week, I managed to pull myself together, but I was still deeply concerned about why this had happened. My logical mind couldnt figure out what went wrong, so I turned to my meditation cushion for inner wisdom and guidance. Coming out of deep silence, I began to write in my journal. Words fell onto the page: This is your resistance to love and freedom. The lingering darkness within you is resisting happiness.

I was taken aback by what I had written. Could all of this serious physical pain really be my resistance to love? For years I thought that once I worked through my past wounds, Id be happy and free. Once I established a sense of security, Id be happy and free. And once I had deepened my spiritual connection, Id be happy and free. Through my commitment to my personal growth and my spiritual path, happiness and freedom did set in. My outside world began to reflect my positive internal condition, and life began to flow beautifully. And then, like clockwork, the presence of fear within me did everything it could to resist the love and light I had grown to rely on.

I looked closely at this resistance in order to understand and acknowledge its presence. After a lot of exploration, I came to understand that its our resistance to love that keeps us in the dark. This resistance is the reason we stay stuck in patterns that keep us from thriving. You may have found that you regularly experience relief with meditation, prayer, positive affirmations, therapy, or any other type of personal growth, only to sabotage that great feeling with a limiting belief, negative comment, or addictive pattern. This experience continues to occur because the moment we lean toward the light, the darkness within us resists it.

Even when we make a commitment to love and happiness, we often find it hard to give up the fear weve grown to depend on. We give purpose to our pain, believing struggle and strife are necessary to success or lasting joy or a meaningful life, and we feel safe in a state of conflict and control. We carry an unconscious belief that in order to stay alive, we must hold on to our protection mechanisms, no matter how great love may feel.