Keep in mind that the world is your classroom and other people are your assignments. Every experience you perceive on the movie screen that is your life gives rise to one of two choices: to learn through the perception of love or to learn through the perception of fear.

Each instance is a holy encounter providing a divine spiritual assignment in which you can choose to heal or to stay stuck in the bondage of your past. If you choose to show up for these Universal assignments with a willingness to heal, then many miracles will be presented to you. But if you’re unwilling to show up for these assignments, you will stay stuck in the stories and experiences that do not serve you.

Each story and lesson in my new book, The Universe Has Your Back, guides you to release the blocks to what you most long for: happiness, security and clear direction. Here is just one of them.

Universal Lesson: The World Is Your Classroom, And People Are Your Assignments

Follow these steps to begin the process of showing up for your Universal assignments.

Step 1: Recognize the assignment and call it by its name.
 

The first step is to witness that what may seem to be a terribly uncomfortable situation is actually a Universal assignment. In other words, witness your craziness and call it by its name: fear. Then accept that the fear has shown up in this way as a divine assignment for healing and growth.

Take a deep, honest look at the situation that’s causing you pain, and identify all the ways that the person or circumstance is triggering your fear-based beliefs. Honor yourself for having the strength to witness this instead of running from it. Be proud of yourself for seeing it as an assignment.

Trust that if you weren’t ready to accept this assignment, you wouldn’t have even opened this book! By choosing to read a book like this, you unconsciously signed a sacred contract that said you’re ready to go big, you’re ready to heal, and you’re ready to be free.

Step 2: Accept that you cannot avoid the assignment.
 

The second step is all about accepting that you can’t avoid the assignment—you can only postpone it.

If you don’t choose to accept the assignment today, it will continue to present itself in new relationships and experiences. If you don’t show up for it, it will continue to show up for you.

You have two choices in this situation: The first choice is that you can follow FEAR—F Everything and Run. Sometimes that may feel like the safest option. Trust me—it’s not. Running from fear is like running around a track. You’ll inevitably wind up back in the same place again and again until you truly accept it.

So instead of following fear, I recommend showing up for the assignment with grace. Be willing to show up for the assignment once and for all. And trust that the Universe never gives you what you cannot handle.

Step 3: Honor your feelings.
 

Showing up for the Universal assignment requires your willingness to feel the pain it triggers so you can heal from the past. Many folks on a spiritual path skip this incredibly important step. It’s easy to throw an affirmation on top of your fear or try to will it away. But underneath all our difficult experiences are unfelt anger, resentment, and fear.

The practice of healing long-held suffering begins the moment you acknowledge the suffering is there. Give yourself permission to witness your rage, your anger, and your hidden resentments. Take some time to honor the feelings that live below the stories you've been projecting on your life. Underneath all your fear-based projections are deep, hidden wounds that you’ve been ignoring because you’re afraid of feeling that old pain. Instead of allowing the pain to be present, you project it onto other people, your circumstances, even your physical body.

The fearful part of your mind will do whatever it takes to distract you from feeling this pain—because the moment you start to feel it is the moment you start to heal it. We cling to fear out of habit. We’re convinced that it’s safer to deny our uncomfortable feelings. But what we repress will persist no matter how good we get at avoiding it. While it may seem terrifying to face our deepest wounds, there is always freedom on the other side.

Step 4: Call on compassion.
 

You’ll likely notice a sense of peace set in as you begin to feel your feelings, which unshackles you from fear. The next step is to call on compassion. The pathway to healing old wounds is through honoring yourself for all that you’ve been through, acknowledging the conditioning that you’ve experienced, and compassionately loving yourself back to peace. Compassion is the antidote to anger, resentment, and fear. Compassion gives you permission to let go and allow deep healing to begin. The process of compassion begins with your self-talk.

How would you speak to an innocent child if he or she was coming out of a meltdown? Think about the loving words and energy you would offer them. Then apply this same degree of love to yourself.

Take a moment to write down some ways that you could speak to yourself compassionately. For instance, when I notice myself stuck in a Universal lesson, I allow myself to feel the feelings of rage and anger, and then I notice that those feelings come from a sense of not being lovable. The fear comes from a belief that I’m not good enough. Upon realizing these feelings, I compassionately guide myself back to self-love. I say things to myself like,

“Gabs, you’re back in that old belief system again. These stories are so painful, and I honor you for how you feel. I understand how tough it must be to go through this. I have so much compassion for where you are in this moment. It’s safe to feel these feelings. I love you.”

These words can catapult me into a place of calm. This is a practice of self-soothing, self-love, and self-compassion.

Step 5: Place your faith in the Universe.
 

Step 5 is designed to help you learn to rely on the Universe for support and guidance. Remember, the Universe will never give you anything that you cannot handle. No matter how difficult your universal assignment may seem, you can find comfort in the fact that the Universe is always supporting what is of the highest good. By embracing the Universe as your support system, you’re no longer relying solely on your own power to solve your problems.

It’s okay if placing faith in the Universe is new to you. Every chapter in this book will help deepen your faith and strengthen your relationship with the Universe. So for today, begin your new faithful relationship with the Universe by asking for help.

Step 6: Take care of your side of the street.
 

Once you’ve accepted your assignment and surrendered it to the Universe for healing, you will immediately feel lighter. You’ll feel a sense of release in knowing that you’ve begun the process of healing your old patterns.

The more you surrender, the more faithful you’ll feel.

We’re often afraid of being vulnerable, but vulnerability is incredibly powerful. It creates genuine connection. When you’re ready to clean up your side of the street, don’t be afraid to be vulnerable. There is nothing sexier than your authentic truth.

Step 7: Welcome healing.
 

The final step is to allow the healing to occur naturally. All you need to do is have the willingness to accept the assignment, show up for it, and pray for it to be healed. As you continue on with the lessons in my book, The Universe Has Your Back, you’ll deepen your faith in the Universe and be presented with new opportunities for release. Just step back and let the Universe lead the way. You will be amazed by the miracles that unfold.

The Universe will do for you what you cannot do for yourself. All the greatest healing I’ve experienced in my life has come from an experience that the Universe placed in front of me and not something that I made happen. That’s the beauty of a spiritual path. When you surrender and allow the Universe to do her thing, true healing is presented to you. In every moment the Universe is conspiring to bring you toward right-minded thinking and the energy of love. It’s your choice to lean toward love or lean toward fear. This entire book is an exercise in leaning toward love so that eventually it becomes automatic.

Begin now by accepting your assignment and following these steps.

Universal lesson: Freedom from the past is available to you when you show up for the assignments in the present.