One time I was doing an interview and the reporter asked me, “Why is it so hard for us to keep our practice alive and not only use it when we’re down or sad? Why do we turn to it only when there’s a problem?”
I told her it’s because we’re not disciplined. We have forgotten that a spiritual practice is a practice, not a lever that you pull only in case of emergency.
We have to make our loving miracle mindset a habit and a daily commitment. A Course in Miracles says, “You are at peace, and you bring peace with you wherever you go.”
The way to bring peace with us wherever we go is to make our spiritual practice a habit. We have to turn to our tools regularly if we want to feel good every day!
How to make your spiritual practice a habit
As I said in another blog post, I don’t live in the light all the time. But I come back fast! Here’s an example…
One morning I woke up early, sat up in bed, immediately turned to my husband and said, “I’m not sure we should take that trip next year for this work thing. It’s too much to do and it’s going to be too far.”
He looked at me in my chaotic state, paused, and said, “Good morning, Gabby.”
I realized I was starting my day in the worst way possible! I wasn’t even out of bed and I’d detoured into fear. Before I went any further into fear, I walked right up to my meditation space and meditated for 20 minutes.
In these situations it’s really easy to just blast past the feeling. But this only makes it worse. We get caught up in fear and it gets worse and worse. It’s so important to take a beat in those subtler moments and recognize that we’ve chosen fear.
Once we recognize we’ve chosen fear, we can choose again. We can turn to our spiritual practice and find peace. By turning to our practice regularly, we make it a habit. And day by day, choice by choice, we discover that we can feel peaceful anytime.
I can’t overemphasize how important this is. It was actually my goal when I created the Miracle Membership: to help people stay consistent with their spiritual practice and feel good every day.
4 steps to go from fear to peace
Don’t wait for the meltdown to experience a miracle. Here are four steps you can take when you recognize you have detoured into fear.
You may not be able to sit in meditation the instant fear comes forward. But can you find five or ten minutes later that day? (If you have a day where you really can’t, try this one-minute meditation.)
Follow these steps regularly to make your spiritual practice a habit and start feeling good every day.
Step 1: Accept that you can create the world you see
Often we forget that the world we see is the world we have made. We do not see ourselves as the image makers of this world.
That fear that we’ve been holding onto is really a belief system that we are choosing. Choosing that belief system is what is creating our reality. That fear will continue to show up until we show up for it and release it. We have to embrace and accept that we create the world that we see.
Step 2: Let your feelings come forward
One of the greatest tools to restoring our sense of peace is to simply honor our feelings and honor ourselves for what is up. We deny our feelings and then deny ourselves compassion by being stuck in negative stories and negative self-talk. Refusing to truly honor our feelings keeps us from feeling good.
When you’re stuck in fear, ask yourself, “What is that negative story that’s coming up? What is it within me that is feeling unsafe?”
That morning when I woke up and started freaking out about that work trip, what was coming up for me? Fear was there. I was scared of letting people down. I felt like if I couldn’t handle that trip, it meant I was out of control in some way.
Underneath all our fears is an unfelt feeling.
So I asked, “Where does that fear live in my body?” It was living in my chest and my heart.
I went into my meditation and just let myself feel those feelings. Underneath all our fears is an unfelt feeling: a feeling of uncertainty, doubt, not being good enough, being out of control.
This is the way to honor your feelings, by letting them come forward in a safe way.
How to honor your feelings
Place your hand wherever you feel the tension, pain or discomfort in your body.
Take moment and just let yourself be in the feeling of that discomfort. Let yourself actually feel it.
Close your eyes and breathe into that feeling.
Take a deep breath in, and then let it go.
Take another deep breath in. Let it go.
Honor what comes up. Maybe you need to shed some tears. Maybe you need to punch a pillow to let out anger.
Take another deep breath in and just let yourself really feel that feeling. Breathe into it and let it go.
Step 3: Be compassionate toward yourself
When I was in my office meditating and feeling the feeling of being out of control and the fear of what it means to be out of control, I started to tap into compassion.
I told myself, “You are good enough. You are worthy. It’s okay if you cancel things. People will still love you if you say no. You are good enough. It’s safe to say no. You can disappoint people; it’ll be all right. Your truth is what matters.”
Speak to yourself in a loving and compassionate way. If it feels weird to speak to yourself this way, imagine someone you love saying it to you.
Step 4: Call on your spiritual faith for guidance
This is what A Course in Miracles calls the Holy Instant: asking spirit to replace your fear with love. You may believe in the Universe and the energy of love, or you may believe in a spirit guide, or God.
Whatever it is that you believe in, call on that teacher of love. When you do this, the Course says that the developing answer will always come to you.
There’s a line from the Course that says, “All the angels in heaven will come to your aid.” This is so moving to me. The love in your mind will guide everything you say and do. The moment that you call on the teacher of love, that is when you will begin to be led. Everything you need will be given to you.
The choice that you’ve made to be on a spiritual journey, even if you’re starting today, welcomes a presence far greater than you into your life.
That morning, after honoring my feelings and being compassionate toward myself, I called on the Holy Instant and asked spirit to replace my fear with love. Instantly I started hearing a voice within me, a voice that’s not my voice. This voice is much wiser and much more loving than my own.
During my meditation, that loving voice said, “You are right where you need to be. In this present moment you are safe, you are loved, you are held.” I started to feel my limbs and hands tingle, and I felt like I was being wrapped with a blanket of love.
All because I stepped back and let spirit lead the way.
When you’re out of alignment, turn to these steps to guide you back to love. Make your spiritual practice a habit and you’ll start feeling good every day.
Feel spiritually connected every day
For years I wanted one place where I could find all the content I needed to feel spiritually connected every day.
I struggled to stick with my spiritual practices, even though I loved how they made me feel.
My workdays were so busy that I often skipped things I loved, like meditating and journaling. I was stressed out and over-scheduled. It affected everything… I was impatient with my husband, I ate meals while writing emails and I always had some kind of cold.
Clearly, my way of doing things was not working.
I so badly wanted a program that made it a no-brainer for me to slow down, turn inward and lean into love every day.
I knew other people wanted it, too. But I couldn’t find it anywhere.
So I created it.
It’s called the Miracle Membership! This is my monthly subscription platform where I share everything you need to make your spiritual practice a habit!
Every month I share a new guided meditation, members-only podcast, lecture clips and a monthly mantra. There’s an awesome community, live trainings with me and much more.
Make your spiritual practice a habit and feel good every day. Learn more about the Miracle Membership here.
79 COMMENTS
I only recommend products and brands I passionately believe in, but wanted you to know that when I make a recommendation, I may receive a referral fee.