Heroines for the Planet: Lovetarian Gabrielle Bernstein

It’s an honor to take over this very special weekly series on Eco-Chick in which we’ll feature an extraordinary woman who is powerfully shaping our planet with her good work. Fittingly, we kick things off just a week after International Women’s Day with a gal who is a spiritual heroine for women around the world.

Gabrielle Bernstein is a best-selling author, a motivational speaker and an entrepreneur who’s been compared to the likes of the Dalai Lama — only with a hip, youthful, blonde bombshell appeal.  Gabby’s life mission is to get us all to turn our search inward and rebuild our relationship with ourselves so that each of us can find true happiness in our lives.

Her self-transformational book, Add More ~ing to Your Life, helps readers access their “ing” (inner guide) to eliminate the negative thought patterns which prevent us from true inner-joy and -peace. Through positive affirmations, physical activity and guided meditations, Gabby inspires women, mainly Gen Y-ers, to create personal change.

On the verge of her new book coming out this Fall, Spirit Junkie, A Radical Road to Self-Love and Miracles, Gabby and I chatted about mentors, meditation and how Eco-Chick readers can become “lovetarians.”

Lindsay Brown: Tell us a bit about your own personal journey. How does a girl go from graduating from Syracuse University with a theatrical degree to being called a “next generation guru” by the New York Times?

Gabrielle Bernstein: At 25, I had a quarter-life crisis and hit rock bottom. I was on an outward search for happiness. I looked to the Manhattan party scene, cosmos, boyfriends, and the next pair of shoes to make me happy, but none of that worked, so I turned inward. I redirected my search and reconnected with my ~ing and I started picking up my meditation practice like a full-time job.

LB: What exactly is our ~ing?

GB: ~ing stands for inner guidance. Our ~ing is our intuition and our inspiration. ~ing is the cheerleader in the back of our mind that guides us to love ourselves.

LB: Women, particularly young women, are often ridden with fear and anxiety about their future — their career, family, body image, relationships, and so on. You frequently refer to yourself as a “lovetarian who can’t digest fear,” and I think that’s beautiful. What is a lovetarian, and how can Eco-Chick readers become one?

GB: Readers have to be willing to see things differently and to choose loving thoughts over fearful delusions. When you reprogram your fearful thought patterns and practice a love diet over a fear diet, your life will begin to change. The most crucial tool in choosing love over fear is forgiveness. The act of forgiveness guides us to remove all of the old fearful scenarios and it clears space for love.

LB: Your site Herfuture.com is a loving and supportive community that empowers and guides young women, and helps them find a mentor. What should women look for in a mentor? And, who has been a mentor to you?

GB: Young women should find someone who has what they want, and they should do what they do. One of my mentors is Marianne Williamson. She’s a best-selling author, spiritual leader and motivational speaker. Marianne’s lectures change millions of lives on a daily basis, and her book, A Return to Love, changed my life.

LB: What is the importance of daily meditation?

GB: Meditation allows you to reconnect with your inner-voice. It’s time for you to listen to your inner-guide and reprogram your thoughts. A dedicated meditation practice is the key to serenity, and it will get you through anything in life.

LB:You inspire millions of people every day, but what inspires you when you wake up in the morning?

GB: You inspire me. All of the women I meet inspire me each day.

Gabby, you inspire ME each day. Thank you.