Recently, I mentioned that I read Gabby Bernstein’s awesome book, The Universe Has Your Back.
The basic idea in the book is that fear is paralyzing. The more we focus on fear, the more we fear. It’s a neverending cycle that most of us have just come to accept in our everyday lives.
Her book discusses how letting go of your fears is key to finding your purpose and following your passion.
It’s a great book, and it really helped me let go of things I didn’t even realize I was hanging onto.
In the book, she mentions may times that her concepts are based on principals from a book called A Course in Miracles.
If that book sounds familiar, it’s because it likely is… especially if you watched the Oprah Winfrey Show, or now watch Super Soul Sunday.
Many of the authors Oprah has had on her shows over the years have been inspired by A Course in Miracles.
Bestselling authors like Marianne Williamson (A Return to Love) and Iyanla Vanzant (In the Meantime) have used principals from the book to write their own books.
It made me wonder, why was A Course in Miracles never featured on one of Oprah’s book lists?
And why do I seem to talk to a lot of people who love books inspired by A Course in Miracles, but never seems to have read the book?
About a month ago, I decided I didn’t want to wonder anymore. I was going to read the book. Instead of downloading it to my Kindle, I decided to read it the old fashion way- in hard copy.
When I got the book at my local bookshop, I started to understand why the book itself wasn’t a super popular read.
It’s almost 700 pages. And in addition, there is the companion ‘Workbook for Students’, which are 365 lessons- one for each day. On top of that, there is also the ‘Manual for Teachers’ included in the combined volume, for those that want an even deeper dive.
So it’s not a light weekend read. But I will say, it is an amazing read.
Since I picked it up, I’ve read it every morning.
Right now, I am about half way through the book, and on day 43 of the lessons. Clearly, I still have a long way go, but I’m loving every minute of it.
The teachings are simple in theory, but I think most people find them hard to apply to life on a regular basis.
The basic idea, as I understand it, is God (or the Universe, Higher Power, or whatever word you are comfortable with) is in each of us. That is love. When we are connected with that, life flows. When we aren’t, we are ruled by our ego.
Simply stated, the book says to love yourself, let go of guilt, forgive others, and be kind. Then you are living a life aligned with God.
When you are angry, uncomfortable, beating yourself up, and blaming others, you are aligning with your ego.
Since I’ve started reading this book, a lot of things have started shifting for me. I’ve found even more joy and peace in my life. Ordinary things seems pretty extraordinary all the sudden.
A simple example was an experience I had at the Depeche Mode concert I went to earlier this week.
I’m not a huge fan- in fact I don’t know most of their songs. But my husband loves them, so I was happy to go with him.
Many times during the concert, the band would play a song and the lead singer would stop singing so the crowd could sing the song.
We’ve all been to concerts when this happened. But this time, in that moment, I felt the connection that comes with being in the present moment and taking in the beauty all around me.
To really feel the power, love, and energy of an arena full of people, all singing together, is pretty amazing.
And the incredible thing is that equally beautiful moments are unfolding all around us, all the time.
That didn’t just start happening. My life didn’t all of a sudden become less complex. I just shifted my focus from fear to love. And the change has been amazing.
1 comment