Gabrielle Bernstein's Spirit Junkie Masterclass
For years I was the life of the party until the party was the death of me. I got sober in 2003. Months leading up to the date I put down substances and booze, I was more afraid of living than dying. My life was a drunken haze of bad decisions, insecurities and missed opportunities. I was soul sick and miserable. On Monday December 15, 2003 I woke up in someone else’s bed after a weekend bender. I looked at the person and announced, “I’m getting sober today” as if I was Elle Woods announcing I was going to Harvard. Then I walked home. It was the first day in a long time that I didn’t say, “I’d rather be dead.” So, I really did get sober on that day. It was the beginning of a long and hard journey into sobriety, finding myself and figuring out what I was going to do with this life I decided to keep on living. As I got sober I started to see that things around me were not what I thought they were. I worked in banking at JP Morgan Chase and I had no idea why I even worked there. Whose life was I trying to live? Who was I trying to be? I sure as hell didn’t want to be a banker. As days turned into years of sobriety, I grew and opened, got onto a neat career track in writing/reporting/TV and digital marketing. I met the man who would become my husband and cleaned up a lot of my shit. I was a shiny example that when you make changes in your life, your life starts to change. It was all good.
By 2010 I’d been sober for a number of years yet I found myself living in a grey area. I was not living my best life. I had surpassed the need to live on drugs and alcohol, but there was something missing and I had no idea what it was. I found my way into self-help books and podcasts at the recommendation of a friend. I started with Louise Hay’s You Can Heal Your Life. It hooked me in and I started doing the affirmations and things got better. I was still miserable in a job with a toxic boss and affirmations weren’t cutting it. A co-worker who also loved self-help kept talking about Gabby Bernstein. She is a NYT best-selling author, life coach and motivational speaker. I finally looked her up and listened to an audio recording of her lecture “The F Word”. I’m big on swearing so I was ready to tap into that. Her F word, though, was forgiveness. Based on what she said, I needed to forgive my boss. My resentments were causing the block, if I could forgive her, the resentments would dissipate. I was open to working on that and something about listening to Gabby made me feel safe. She openly talked about being sober and our stories were kind of similar, so I really identified with her. Since we both lived in New York, I took a chance and e mailed her. She actually e mailed me back and was genuinely excited that I reached out. She told me to come to one of her lectures. At the time I met her she was about launch her 2nd book, Spirit Junkie, and she regularly held lectures at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center and ran monthly group coaching workshops. She is what was missing. I quickly fell in love with her personality and accepted her as my spiritual teacher. Her following was a lot more modest back then and I was one of the few men in the room. We became friends and to this day I always say I was one of the first Gays for Gabby.
Gabby and I at Kripalu Retreat in 2016! I wouldn’t say I’m a groupie - but definitely a #SpiritJunkie!
I became devoted to the work and to receiving Gabby’s message. Anytime there was a lecture or book launch, I was there. She taught me and handed me the guidebook to “live my best life.” It was all about clearing the fear, setting intentions, manifesting and meditating. I did the work and it worked. By 2014 I had a booming career in NYC and I was pulling in about $17,000 a month in consulting fees, I got married that June and I was all love and light.
Get more Gabby:
The day after I got married one of my clients who was not great at getting back to me or giving feedback when I sent things to approve changed the passwords and locked me out of the social media accounts I was managing. It felt like a slap in the face to be ghosted by a client; fear rushed in. To save them the uncomfortable conversation that they clearly didn’t want to have, I resigned. A week later my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. She was told by doctors that she had probably 6 to 12 months to live. It was panic, horror and sadness. Two weeks later I started smoking. By October 2014 I was a MESS as I kept predicting what it would feel like the day my mom died. What would I do without her? My self-care went out the window. I lost 2 big clients on the same day and then a week later I relapsed on alcohol. The relapse lasted only 24 hours, but it was like I was back in 2003 again. Over 10 years of being sober bought me no control when I picked up the drink on October 7th.
What the f*ck happened? That’s when I realized, it didn’t happen. I let it happen. I stopped doing the work. My faith turned to fear and I fell back into the shit. On October 8, 2014 I woke up again, decided to get sober and got honest, really honest. With myself. I took a good hard look at where things fell short, and it was all in the spiritual realm. I had massive emotional wounds and unresolved trauma that needed healing. I was decorating the outsides with accomplishments while the insides needed the most attention. Knowing that was the key to my success. I could now build my house on rock, not on sand. I immediately dove back into the work to get and stay sober, I doubled down on Gabby books + lectures and I found a daily meditation practice that worked for me. As painful as all of this was, there's a gift in all of it. My mom, by some miracle, is still living and doing well and we are practically best friends. We speak every day and we have a lot of fun. No matter what happens in the future, I'm grateful for what I have today. I'm still sober and this level of sobriety feels like a higher quality than I had when I was 10 years sober. I have ZERO regrets about relapsing. I've learned the amount of time you have sober isn't as important as how much you are committed to your sobriety on a daily basis. So I keep it in the day!
Today I wouldn’t even recognize who I was on October 7th 2014. I had done so much work up to that point, but the real work began in the fall of 2014 after my relapse. I have experienced profound healing and transformation since then with the help and support of many. All the experiences I have had over the years (the good and the bad), led me to the teachers, tools and spiritual practices I needed to better my life and help me stay in my lane. I stopped feeling so much shame about what a mess I was and started embracing that it’s OK to work to heal and be happy. In the past I had this secret shame for doing so much self-help, believing that I was so broken. I held onto the belief that if I wasn’t broken, I wouldn’t have to do all that work. I know that’s not true; anyone would benefit from working on themselves. We’re born perfect, the world f*cks us up, then we have to find teachers and tools and work to be happy. BOOM. That’s the secret to life.
In January of 2018 I gave a lecture to 350 people on tools to release anxiety. Click here to watch!
As I’ve done the work, there’s been a really cool byproduct. I have attracted people who have also struggled or are struggling that are interested in the tools I have that work for me. They want to know what I did to get to where I am. It’s like my struggles created a demand…So I started sharing tools and meditation practices, recommending books, podcasts and teachers. As the people who asked for help began doing the work, they started healing. It’s a process. It’s the work. It’s contagious. It’s OK to work to be happy and it’s OK to talk about it. That’s why I’m talking about it.
Do you have a story to share?
In 2015 I started having this gnawing feeling inside, that I was being called for something more. I felt like I had a higher purpose, but I didn’t know if it was just a grandiose thought. I kept thinking about my life and my path, the ups and the downs and the good and the bad. I felt immense gratitude for all of it but wondered, what does this all add up to? I had been very private about being sober for years, rarely telling people and after I relapse I only told people in my support network for fear of being judged or worrying people. Yet, I was having this desire to let my story out in a way that would reach people and help them feel OK. I texted Gabby and I was like, “Did you ever feel like you were called to do the work you are doing? I sometimes get a feeling like I’m meant to be doing more than I’m doing. Like I should be sharing my story and helping more people. Am I making this up? Where do I begin?” She wrote back, “Yes, you are a lightworker.” Having no idea what that meant I just said, “Thank you.” Two weeks later she texted me a link to a free webinar and said, “I want you to have this training”. It was information about her first Spirit Junkie Masterclass (SJM) Live. I attended the webinar and the stories she told and words she used shot through me and I had goosebumps. This was what I was waiting for. She shared a story about one sentence she heard that changed the course of her life and teachings. Yogi Bhajan, the great Kundalini master said, “I am not here to create disciples, I’m here to create teachers.” Gabby shifted her mission based on that sentence—not just to share tools that help people heal their lives. But to teach people who are healing to be teachers, to share their transformational stories, to help others heal. Gabby created a course with curriculum to teach people how to be teachers. That is what the Spirit Junkie Masterclass is. Watch video below for more details:
During the webinar, everything she said resonated: “If you feel called to be a spiritual teacher, this is your time?” “Are you ready to step into your power? Are you ready to rise up?” It felt like all of this was the answer to all my questions swirling in my head. The final thing she said WAS my answer. She said, “If you are thinking ‘who am I to serve’, who are you not to serve? There are far more people in this world who need healing than there are healers. If you are a lightworker, this is for you. If you are feeling called, this is your answer.” I signed up for Gabrielle Bernstein’s Spirit Junkie Masterclass and never looked back. If I’m a lightworker, I better learn how to use my light. This is one of the most important and impactful decisions I’ve made in my life.
My 2015 Spirit Junkie Masterclass Family!!! Learn more about the amazing experience: Click Here.
In June of 2015 I went to the Spirit Junkie Masterclass in New York. It’s hard to put my experience at SJM into words. It’s one of those things you do that you know deep down that you will be changed forever. The course curriculum is on point in terms of how to build your business; but it was the speakers, lessons, meditations and writing exercises, and how they are perfectly ordered, that cracked me open. And I mean really open. Ideas flooded into my mind, I felt moved by spirit, I dug deep and found more blocks that needed to be released or old emotional wounds that needed to be healed. I was given tools and resources to seek more healing. I was basically given an outline on HOW to build a business. I got it all. I did the work and I am forever changed. I have also met people through my work with Gabby that have become close friends, mentors and people I can have “real talk” with. It’s a community. I promise you, you will not find someone who has done SJM who does not echo that sentiment. I have done the Spirit Junkie Masterclass digital version too – which is what is available now and the course is profound.
Rise up:
The Spirit Junkie Masterclass was a chance I took to improve my life/career and an investment I made in myself for my future. On some level it helped me heal my past even more. It helped me see I was ready for what I was being called to do: To help people clean up their shit by sharing my story and teaching them tools that helped me clean up mine. I now empower people to clean up their lives emotionally and physically so that they can clear the path to their best life. I learned my way into seeing how my “story” and my healing journey is my credibility to help others. Today my messy past is my message of truth and healing. It all serves a purpose. After SJM in 2015 I began writing more honestly about parts of my life that needed healing and the tools I used to heal them, I started speaking publicly on healing anxiety and shame and I’ve been on TV to teach organization and meditation. I now openly share about topics I’m passionate about and it’s really fun and really f*cking cool. A large part of my path was created through my work with Gabby Bernstein.
In June 2018, I volunteered at Gabby’s Spirit Junkie Masterclass Live. Gabs was pregnant at the time and I was her stage-hand and as she calls it, “energetic support”. While I was there helping, I also got the lessons. I found my way even deeper into the work and things started shifting again. In the last 12 months, my life has changed exponentially and my energy has shifted. I have called in opportunities to speak and teach-something I’ve been longing to do.
I had a meeting with LAB Minneapolis last July to pitch an Instagram workshop. I went in expecting to tell the how I wanted to teach a class on how to mindfully network on Instagram to grow your local influence. They glossed over that and wanted to know more about my positive energy and the self-help work that I do. It’s all they cared about. They were so intrigued by it, that they asked me to design a Mindset and Meditation Lab as part of their business curriculum. It was mind-blowing and appropriate. Teaching mindfulness and meditation as principles of business. Hell YES.
In October I began teaching workshops on mindfulness and meditation - I share 30 second to 3 minute tools to shift your energy when triggering situations or anxiety provoking situations pop up. I get people to dig into their limiting beliefs and then I match them with tools that help them transcend beyond the mental limitations we put on ourselves. After these workshops I get emails and texts from people telling me how the tools are working for them and how their lives are growing and expanding. One of my friends was interested in SJM digital last year - she went through the course and now she’s teaching her own workshops to mom’s who want to rediscover their purpose after having kids. It’s a chain reaction of positivity. The stuff I learned in Gabrielle Bernstein’s Spirit Junkie Masterclass set me up for success, and now others are on their way too.
The more I’ve taught workshops, I get more requests to teach them to Masterminds and corporate groups. I joined a co-working space and I host my own workshops as well one or two times a month. It’s growing nicely. I’m getting paid to do things I love and it’s helping others. It’s beautiful work. I am a firm believer that when you clean your shit up and get clear about what your purpose is, the universe follows suit. It has also benefitted all other areas with my life. Today, I have a strong relationship with my mom and my dad. My husband and I are more connected and in love than ever and our ability to communicate is at an all time high. Doing work on myself has allowed me to be more loving and receive more love. People feel that positive energy resonate (whether it’s in a blog post, text, email or instagram story) - if I had not done the work or dug deep within, I wouldn’t have found my calling and I wouldn’t have healed my deeply rooted addictions or trauma.
This year I started writing a book; SJM showed me where and how to begin. Some of the darkest parts of my life have now been spoken through a microphone to audiences. When someone comes up to me afterword and says, “You made me feel normal today” I know that sharing very personal parts of my life isn’t a bad thing. When someone drops me a DM or e mail after reading a “real talk” blog post I’ve written and says, “This really helped me” I know it’s good that I put myself out there. When I get invited to talk about meditation because, “I make it seem human and easy to grasp” I know I’m right where I need to be.
After taking SJM, my world opened up. As I healed, I got invited to speak on stages to tell my story or share my tools. I've sat on panels, gone on TV shows and been a guest on podcasts. People care about what I have to say and I am committed to sharing my message.
It’s a risk stepping out into the light to share a deeply personal story or begin a service-based career where you help or coach people. If you know you are being called, there is a reward for putting yourself out there. Who could you help? Who could you serve? Maybe you want to write a book. Maybe you want to stand on stages and help people transform their lives. Maybe you want create digital courses that will benefit so many people. All of that is part of the SJM Digital Curriculum which is on sale now. I’m sharing all of this with you--my darkest parts of my story and how I found my way back into the light through Gabby’s teachings and how her epic Spirit Junkie Masterclass gave me the courage + tools I need to get out there and share my message to help people--because I want you to be in your truth and your light.
If this resonates with you, take a look at SJM digital:
Full details:
Open enrollment is live for SJM Digital until Thursday June 20st at 7pm EST. The Price is $1,999, which includes lifetime access to all the modules and new content which is regularly added. There are two payment options: full pay ($1,999) or 12-pay ($191.49/month for 12 months). Gabby only opens access to SJM once a year for one week! When you register by June 20th you will receive $3,999 worth of bonuses from Gabby as well as bonuses from me:
These Gabby’s bonuses:
- A free ticket to Gabby’s new, one-day Spirit Junkie Live event, which you can attend in NYC (space is limited) or anywhere via livestream video ($1,999 value). This is a HUGE never before offered opportunity to see Gabby live in NYC or join on Livestream.
- Spirit Junkie Business Basics Digital Course ($1,000 value)
- 3 live group Q&A sessions with Gabby ($1,000 value)
- Lifetime access to the Spirit Junkie community via a private Facebook page (priceless!)
- Plus if you pay in full you get an extra bonus: God Is My Publicist Online Course
Some bonuses through me:
In addition to all of Gabby’s bonuses, if you sign up through the link I provided, you will get some bonuses from me: 3 hour and a half coaching sessions with me (in person if you are in the Twin Cities) or via Facetime or Phone anywhere in the world. Also, you can attend any of my workshops as my guest if you are in the area where I host them (Twin Cities, Hamptons, NYC, LA)!
I will create a connected Mastermind Group with all people who sign up through me and we can all go through the course together, setting a timeline and deliverables for the modules. Essentially, we are an accountability group and we support each other.
Here are some ways we can work together for the 3 coaching sessions:
-We can look at your current mindset or limiting beliefs around areas in your life you don’t feel are flowing. I can help you with any issue or block you might be facing and we come up with a strategy for moving through them. I will share tools that work for me to move beyond blocks and we can set a timeline to work through them. As part of this I will share meditations on how to tap into your higher self to define your life’s purpose or mission.
-If you have an online business or are a social media influencer (or wanting to grow more in the social space), I’m a social media coach. I’ve worked with companies to create a social strategy, growth strategies and content creation. Companies include Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy*s, ED by Ellen Degeneres, Aveda and Bandier. I can do a deep dive audit of your content or help you define content goals + strategy.
All of the above are things that you can take with you into the SJM digital course to really get into your zone and turn your passion into a career! To get all of Gabby’s bonuses and my bonuses, sign up through my special affiliate link that is linked throughout this post!
If you invest in SJM digital, you’re investing in yourself. If you do the work outlined in the course, digging deep, busting through blocks, healing and becoming a shiny example of your transformational story, you will keep healing and you will help others heal. The course tells you how to get your message out there, how to do marketing to attract clients or sponsorships and how to unapologetically get paid what you deserve for this deeply important work. Gabby and experts tell you how to prepare to write a book, lead a meditation, give a transformational talk, build an online business and sell digital courses. It’s all in there! There’s really so much more, but Gabby explains all that - click button below!
Open enrollment with all the bonuses ends on Thursday June 20st at 7pm EST.
https://xh111.isrefer.com/go/sjmdigital2019/dougm/
Here are the testimonials:
https://xh111.isrefer.com/go/sjmtestimonials2019/dougm/
Email me with any questions or feedback: Doug@theworldofdoug.com
*By helping Gabby promote the Spirit Junkie Masterclass, I am an affiliate and I will receive commission if you sign up through me. I have been working with Gabby since 2010 and the changes in my life are immeasurable and I have grown into who I’m supposed to be and I’m able to help people. So I’m happy to share this with you!