From Anxiety to Love: A Radical New Approach for Letting Go of Fear and Finding Lasting Peace

by Corinne Zupko

Overview

Get Ready for Unstoppable Inner Peace

Author Corinne Zupko undertook her study of psychology out of necessity when debilitating anxiety threatened to derail her life. Seeking ways to do more than temporarily alleviate her symptoms, Corinne began to study A Course in Miracles (ACIM), mindfulness meditation, and the latest therapeutic approaches for treating anxiety. In From Anxiety to Love, she shares what she learned and gently guides you through the process, helping you undo anxiety-based thinking and fostering mindful shifts in your thoughts and actions. Whether struggling with everyday stress or near-crippling discomfort, you will find that Corinne’s approach offers a new way of healing from — rather than just coping with — fear and anxiety.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608685059
Publisher:	New World Library
Publication date:	02/13/2018
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Corinne Zupko, EdS, LPC, has coached, counseled, and educated thousands of individuals at national conferences, in the classroom, in workshops, and in the therapy chair. She teaches weekly meditation classes for corporate clients and cohosts the largest virtual conference of ACIM in the world through the organization Miracle Share International, which she cofounded.

Read an Excerpt

Introduction

If you have ever had a panic attack, you know how hard the feeling is to describe to someone who has never had one. It is pure inner hell. On the high end of the anxiety spectrum, where I spent a large part of my life, are panic attacks, debilitating fear, and free-floating anxiety. On the low end of the spectrum are the normal fears and anxieties that occasionally visit all of us. This book is about how to work with your anxiety, regardless of where it falls along this spectrum.

My anxiety journey was one of the worst, most terrifying experiences of my life. Yet once I allowed it to become my greatest teacher, it also became one of the best. My anxiety brought me to greater inner peace than I ever thought I could experience, and for that, I’m incredibly grateful. I hope this book will help you be grateful for your anxiety, too, because anxiety is a call to awakening and can start you on a pathway toward love and inner peace.

Every experience you have can serve one of two purposes — and you get to choose which. It can help you awaken to the peace that is already in you, or it can help you stay unaware of this peace. In this world, we are conditioned to choose the latter. This book will help you choose to wake up to peace.

In these pages, I describe the process I used to work myself out of terror and into an anxiety-free life. And by working that process, I’m now doing things I never thought I would be capable of: taking plane trips fearlessly, and without medications, by myself; speaking confidently in front of large audiences; traveling into New York City by myself without feeling completely overwhelmed; sleeping like a baby instead of having horrible insomnia; and awakening without early-morning anxiety. If I can experience such radical changes in my life, so can you.

The spiritual practice that helped me out of anxiety is called A Course in Miracles. The Course is a system of loosening our fixed, fearful perceptions so we can rediscover the peace that is already within us. At first you may find this new system of thought hard to follow, but don’t worry about it. If the Course is your path to healing, it will gradually begin to make sense as you become willing to understand it. You do not have to believe in it, but if you test its concepts, the results will speak for themselves. My approach in this book is just one way of exploring the deep teachings of the Course and is based on my interpretation and experience of its principles. I hope it will help you learn to listen directly to your Inner Therapist, which is the part of your mind that helps you to heal. For consistency, I use the term Inner Therapist throughout this book, but feel free to call it whatever you’d like: Inner Teacher, Inner Guide, Holy Spirit, and Higher Mind are common ways of referring to the part of your mind that recognizes your eternal reality.

Together we’ll discover new ways to look at the world and practical strategies to restore your awareness of peace. In part 1, we explore our collective descent into anxiety. In part 2, we work through the healing steps and perception shifts that can help us ascend out of anxiety. In part 3, we put it all together and examine practical techniques for dealing with the many ways that anxiety shows up in life.

In this book I talk about God. We have a lot of baggage attached to this word, because human beings have used God to justify many unloving and atrocious acts. When I use the word God, please know that I am not referring to a dude with a white beard who sits upstairs and orchestrates things down here. God has no gender. I am referring to an all-encompassing Divine Love that is only loving and is incapable of causing pain. It is part of us and not outside ourselves. I also refer to it as our Source, Oneness, and Love. These words are capitalized as a reminder that I am referring to God. I also capitalize additional terms when I am referring to concepts beyond this world of form.

In addition, miracles aren’t big, magical events; rather, they can occur at any moment in the day if we allow them to. Miracles can be defined in two different but interrelated ways. According to A Course in Miracles, “miracles are expressions of love” (ACIM T-1.I.35); but they are also shifts in perception. This book emphasizes the latter definition, because when we are caught in fear, we must learn to shift our perception. These shifts were essential to me in finding relief from debilitating anxiety. This new definition of miracles may seem less exciting, but there is nothing more satisfying than coming to recognize your eternal nature, which cannot change, grow old, or experience anxiety.

If you use this book with an open mind and adopt an attitude of “I don’t know” rather than clinging to what you think you already know, you will create space for new insights to come to you. Willingness to learn new ideas is key, and any voice that tells you you’ll never succeed is not your real voice. And if this message resonates with you, I highly recommend getting a copy of A Course in Miracles and diving in. It’s a life-changing pathway that continues to deepen my awareness of peace in ways I could not previously comprehend.

Inner peace is not an event: it’s a process. It’s not something we attain once and keep forever, but rather an experience that continues to deepen to the degree to which you’re willing to get out of the way and allow peace to move through you. I promise that you are worth the effort. I’m imagining that we ’re holding hands in our shared commitment to undoing anxiety. Let’s do this.

Table of Contents

Part I: The Descent Into Anxiety

Chapter 1: Internal Earthquakes

Chapter 2: Down the Rabbit Hole

Introducing your Inner Therapist

Who am I and why the heck am I here? How the world arose according to the mythology of ACIM

(Not so) Sweet Dreams

Chapter 3: Two Voices, Two Choices

Chapter 4: Mental Illness and Mental Health According to ACIM

Wrong-mindedness and right-mindedness

The function of our Inner Therapist

Where does anxiety come from?

Do you want to heal your anxiety? Or do you just want to fix it?


Part II: The Ascent Into Peace

Chapter 5: Onions, Fear, and the Recipe for Healing

Chapter 6: Peace-Inducing Action Steps

Chapter 7: Peace-Inducing Perception Shifts


Part III: Putting it all Together: Where the Rubber Meets the Road

Chapter 8: Miracles in Action: Stories of Working Through Anxiety

Hypochondria

In the midst of panic

Anxiety based on something that *really* happens

Self-consciousness in social situations

Worrying about another person

Facing fears of medical testing and undoing the fear of sickness

Chapter 9: Peace That is Not Dependent Upon External Circumstances (Conclusion: These are all the same stories)

Appendix A: From Anxiety to Love Meditations
Appendix B: Quick Q&A Guide
Appendix C: ACIM Resources

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Corinne Zupko brings a fresh point of view to understanding how to deal with debilitating anxiety in this exceptional book. The wisdom she has gained through her own experience will be invaluable to anyone struggling with chronic worry, panic attacks, and everything in between. Corinne’s is a wise, humble, trustworthy voice.”
— Amy Torres, author of Sweet Dreams of Awakening

“A brilliantly courageous book! Finally, a spiritual book that isn’t scared to reach into the dark corners of the mind and fill them with hope and love. Corinne Zupko tells the story candidly yet never digresses from a message of hope. I am a huge fan.”
— Sean Patrick, MSc, BPS, founder of That Guy’s House and author of That Guy Who Loves the Universe

“From Anxiety to Love is not just about managing symptoms of anxiety. It is about undoing anxiety at its source. In a world that needs more love, it is essential that we free our minds of fear as quickly as possible so we can extend love to others. This book will help you do exactly that.”
— Jordan Bach, life coach

“Corinne Zupko exposes humanity’s single greatest addiction — fear. But unlike most Band-Aid remedies prescribed for this epidemic, she reveals the rarely recognized source of all fear so it can finally be seen and healed. From Anxiety to Love skillfully demystifies anxiety. It offers a wealth of practical lessons, insights, and exercises that guide us out of the debilitating darkness of self-doubt and into the radiant light of self-love.”
— Nouk Sanchez, author of The End of Death

“I’m so thrilled A Course in Miracles has transformed Corinne Zupko’s anxiety into deep inner peace — and I’m equally thrilled she’s sharing this extraordinary path with you.”
— Emily Bennington, author of Miracles at Work

“Corinne Zupko has written an important book. Her words are gentle yet powerful and will help so many people, including me!”
— Katie Dalebout, author of Let It Out and host of the Let It Out podcast

“Profoundly insightful, Corrine Zupko’s book will help you heal anxiety and other stressors by learning new ways of perceiving yourself and the world. I highly recommend this book for anyone who sincerely wants to walk the healing path of awakening to their true nature as Spirit.”
— Cindy Lora-Renard, spiritual counselor and author of A Course in Health and Well-Being

“With her wonderful book, Corinne Zupko gives us a masterly outline of the best way to dissolve fear from our lives and allow into our awareness the glowing love it was hiding.”
— Gary Renard, bestselling author of The Disappearance of the Universe

“From Anxiety to Love is a well-written, easy, and thoroughly enjoyable read. Corinne Zupko has a clear, deep understanding of the teachings of A Course in Miracles. The Course is all about being responsible, facing our fears, realizing their nonreality, and remembering God’s Love. Corinne’s book is a demonstration of how that can be done.”
— Jon Mundy, PhD, author of Living A Course in Miracles and publisher of Miracles magazine

“A fresh, clean, clear, insightful, and astute journey to the heart of A Course in Miracles. Corinne Zupko’s sincere sharing of her experiences is compelling, perfectly mapping for all of us the all-important journey from fear to love. Corinne is a masterful teacher!”
— Alan Cohen, author of A Course in Miracles Made Easy

“Corinne Zupko’s beautiful book offers a clear and direct pathway through the complex issues of anxiety disorders. She intertwines her own personal experiences with her path to healing through the practical application of A Course in Miracles. Make contact with your Inner Therapist with Corinne’s loving help.”
— David Hoffmeister, author of Unwind Your Mind Back to God

“I absolutely love this book. Corinne Zupko’s story of healing and transformation is a powerful reminder of your natural ability to let go of limiting negative emotions and remember the truth of who you really are.”
— Lisa Natoli, bestselling author of Gorgeous for God