{"id":159,"date":"2011-09-13T14:51:42","date_gmt":"2011-09-13T18:51:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/spiritjunkie\/?p=159"},"modified":"2011-09-14T12:51:47","modified_gmt":"2011-09-14T16:51:47","slug":"i-am-a-spirit-junkie-because","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/spiritjunkie\/2011\/09\/i-am-a-spirit-junkie-because.html","title":{"rendered":"I am a Spirit Junkie Because&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>For twenty years I kept a journal in which I wrote about heartbreak, anxiety, drug addiction and eating disorders. It was my only outlet from my pain.<\/p>\n<p>But today my journal entries reflect an empowered woman who is happy and bleeds authenticity. I\u2019ve overcome my addictions to love, drugs, food, work and fear. I worked hard, and man, was it worth it.<\/p>\n<p>My primary guide on my journey to self-love has been A Course in Miracles, a self-study curriculum that teaches forgiveness as the road to inner peace and happiness.<\/p>\n<p>Upon buying the thick volume, I flipped it open to its Introduction and read, \u201cThis is a course in miracles. It is a required course. Only the time you take is voluntary. The course does not aim at teaching the meaning of love, for that is beyond what can be taught. It does aim, however, at removing the blocks to the awareness of love\u2019s presence, which is your natural inheritance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In that moment I made a commitment to myself to become a student and a teacher of the Course\u2014a sacred contract that would change my life.<\/p>\n<p>As I made my way through the Course, I was guided to understand its mission. I gained a deep understanding of the basis for my fear and guilt, and how to overcome them. I learned the meaning of \u201cthe miracle,\u201d which is the shift in perception from fear to love. And the Course guided me to know a relationship with what I call my ~ing, an inner guide.<\/p>\n<p>The Course teaches that each time we shift our perception from fear to love we create a miracle. Our internal shifts enhance our external experiences and relationships. Serenity kicks in, fear subsides and we know that all the love we need is inside us.   <\/p>\n<p>Sounds like I\u2019ve got the keys to heaven, doesn\u2019t it? That\u2019s right, I do! I can testify to these tools because I work them like a full-time job. If you\u2019re looking for direction and guidance on your spiritual journey, I\u2019ve just launched my new book, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Spirit-Junkie-Radical-Self-Love-Miracles\/dp\/0307887405\/ref=pd_sim_b_1\">Spirit Junkie:<\/a> A Radical Road to Self-Love and Miracles. With this book I can be a container for you to take right actions to grow a spiritual relationship of your own understanding. Even if fear has you in a headlock, I\u2019m here to remind you that love always wins. You too can be a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Spirit-Junkie-Radical-Self-Love-Miracles\/dp\/0307887405\/ref=pd_sim_b_1\">Spirit Junkie!<\/a><\/p>\n<p>For an awesome <a href=\"https:\/\/opensky.com\/gabriellebernstein\/offer\/spirit-junkie-books\">Opensky<\/a> bundle deal on both of my books Add More ~ing to Your Life, Spirit Junkie plus my guided meditations and audio lectures <a href=\"https:\/\/opensky.com\/gabriellebernstein\/offer\/spirit-junkie-books\">click here.<\/a> <\/p>\n<p>And join me on 9\/21 for a live video Q &amp; A on the Toms of Maine Facebook Page at 6pm ET. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gabriellebernstein?ref=ts#!\/TomsofMaine\">CLICK HERE<\/a> <\/p>\n<p>Watch my friends Kris Carr, Louise Hay &amp; more share why they are Spirit Junkies!<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=BD-W91tMs8U\">http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=BD-W91tMs8U<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For twenty years I kept a journal in which I wrote about heartbreak, anxiety, drug addiction and eating disorders. It was my only outlet from my pain. But today my journal entries reflect an empowered woman who is happy and bleeds authenticity. I\u2019ve overcome my addictions to love, drugs, food, work and fear. I worked&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":405,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,44],"tags":[8,17,10,93,4,7,97,87,96,19,95,94,199,5,15],"class_list":["post-159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-straight-up-blogs","category-vloging","tag-a-course-in-miracles","tag-acim","tag-add-more-ing-to-your-life","tag-gabby-berntein","tag-gabrielle-bernstein","tag-happiness","tag-hay-house","tag-how-to-be-happy","tag-innner-peace","tag-joy","tag-kris-carr","tag-louise-hay","tag-meditation","tag-spirit-junkie","tag-yoga"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>I am a Spirit Junkie Because...  - Spirit Junkie<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/spiritjunkie\/2011\/09\/i-am-a-spirit-junkie-because.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"I am a Spirit Junkie Because...  - Spirit Junkie\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For twenty years I kept a journal in which I wrote about heartbreak, anxiety, drug addiction and eating disorders. 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I worked&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/spiritjunkie\/2011\/09\/i-am-a-spirit-junkie-because.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Spirit Junkie\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-09-13T18:51:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-09-14T16:51:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"gabriellebernstein\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"I am a Spirit Junkie Because...  - Spirit Junkie","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/spiritjunkie\/2011\/09\/i-am-a-spirit-junkie-because.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"I am a Spirit Junkie Because...  - Spirit Junkie","og_description":"For twenty years I kept a journal in which I wrote about heartbreak, anxiety, drug addiction and eating disorders. 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