The New York Times call her “the next generation guru.” I call her “freakin’ awesome.”
She’s a motivational speaker, entrepreneur, life coach and author of my new favourite book, Add More ~ing to Your Life. Gabrielle Bernstein rocks. Fact.

~Ing – AMAZING! – I LOVE it! – what is ~Ing? How did you discover it, and how did it become a bestselling book?
~ing stands for inner guidance. Our ~ing is the inner voice of our inspiration and our intuition. We all are born with our ~ing pumping but the world teaches us to listen to another voice instead. The world teaches us to listen to the voice of fear. Up until the age of twenty-five I was searching for happiness on the outside. I had a bad case of what I call the “when I haves.” For example, “When I have that next boyfriend then I’ll be happy.” Or, “When I have that new client then I’ll be happy.” None of that worked. This outside search led me to hit a bottom at which point (at 25 years old) I chose to turn inward. I became a student of metaphysics and amped up my meditation practice. In addition, I got sober. I released the party girl mentality and became a metaphysics junky. Then I went into self-study mode. I read everything I could get my hands on. I became a student of A Course in Miracles and I began to reposition my fear back to love. I continue this on a daily basis. Most importantly I grew a deep meditation practice. This is what guided me back to my ~ing.

What do you know for ABSOLUTE certain?
I know there is a power greater than me that totally has my back.

What’s the best advice you’ve been given?
That the vehicle for serenity is forgiveness.

Who and what makes you jump-in-the-air happy?
I’m my happiest during and after a big lecture. I love speaking to large groups and I love witnessing people shift their minds from fear to love. I am energized by this type of connection.

Gabrielle, I’m the kind of girl that’s interested in spirituality AND loves buying new shoes, I meditate AND want to scoop up the entire MAC make-up range and I often feel a bit of a fraudster as lots of people associate spiritual workers with floaty dresses, tie-dye and incense – what are your thoughts on this?
I love, love, love this question! I am the first to say that you can be hip and spiritual. My book is a hip guide to happiness after all! I believe that our body plays a major role in our spiritual work. As messengers for love we must be able to connect with our contemporaries and meet them at a level by which they can hear us. Therefore, as a teacher for the next generation I must keep it fresh. I enjoy dressing cute, wearing makeup and having fun hair. All of this makes it easier for my audiences to relate to me. I want them to feel safe and comfortable with me as a messenger so that they can hear the message. My job is to reconnect people with their ~ing and the perception of my body is a tool by which I do that.

Find out more about Miss G and her ~ing-ness at: www.addmoreing.com