The Universe Has Your Back: Transform Fear to Faith

Let me begin this journey by inviting you to notice the quiet, persistent presence of fear in your life. Sometimes it’s loud—a racing heart, a restless mind, a sudden panic in the middle of a yoga class. Other times, it’s a subtle undercurrent, a whisper that tells you not to trust the good, not to believe you’re safe. But here’s the gentle truth: our fear is not a sign of weakness; it’s a sign that we’re relying only on ourselves, not on the loving energy that’s always available to us.

In the first pages of this story, we discover that resistance to love is universal. Even those who seem to have it all—supportive relationships, thriving careers, deep spiritual practices—can be blindsided by anxiety or self-doubt. This resistance is not a flaw, but a protective mechanism, a way our minds try to keep us safe by clinging to the familiar, even when the familiar is pain.

Imagine a young woman, in the midst of sun salutations, suddenly overwhelmed by fear and numbness. Medical tests reveal nothing. The real diagnosis? A panic attack born of inner resistance. Her journey back to peace begins not by fighting the fear, but by sitting in stillness and acknowledging the darkness within. She writes in her journal, recognizing the lingering shadow that resists happiness. It’s a moment of profound self-honesty: could it be that we’re afraid of being happy? That we give purpose to pain because it feels safer than freedom?

This insight is echoed by the wisdom of Freud, who realized that sometimes, we don’t want to heal. We become addicted to our own suffering, convinced that struggle is necessary for meaning or success. Our minds, in their cleverness, hold tightly to protection mechanisms, even as our hearts long for peace.

But there’s hope. The first step to freedom is to witness our resistance without judgment. To see it, name it, and honor it as a part of our journey. This is not about blaming ourselves for not being perfect, but about forgiving ourselves for holding on to old patterns. As one sacred text reminds us, “We must not seek for the meaning of love but instead seek to remove all the barriers to love’s presence.”

When we embrace our resistance, we soften. The panic subsides. A new pathway opens—a path paved with self-forgiveness, willingness, and gentle surrender. Freedom is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to move toward love, even when fear lingers in the background.

This is the first step in our story: to notice, to name, and to honor our resistance. As we do, we create space for a new experience of happiness to emerge. And from this space, we’re ready to explore the hidden power within us—a power that can transform even the deepest fear into faith. Let’s continue this journey together, moving from resistance to the discovery of our own inner strength.