‘Dear Gabby’ Says Your Guides Are Talking—Here’s How to Recognize Their Voice

If you’ve ever asked for a sign from the universe and got crickets, you’re not on the wrong track in life—you’re probably just at the wrong station. On Dear Gabby, host Gabby Bernstein tells listeners to tune in to your spiritual side: “Your guides are always communicating with you.” Instead of waiting for a lightning bolt, Bernstein lays out practical ways to switch from mental chatter to spiritual signal—no hour-long meditations required.

1. Set a morning intention

Bernstein says the first step in hearing your guides is as simple as saying hello. The moment you wake up—before checking texts or scrolling—place your hand on your heart and set an intention: “Thank you, guides, for showing me where to go and what to do today.” 

That one line does more than you think. It tells your ego to take a back seat and invites a higher energy to lead the day. “It’s an act of radical surrender that tells your guides, ‘hey, I’m here, I’m available, I’m ready to listen,’” Bernstein says. 

By starting your day this way, you interrupt the default setting of control, overthinking, and rushing. You move into a lighter state where direction and inspiration can actually land. The phrasing matters too; saying “thank you” implies it’s done, shifting you from searching mode into receiving mode. It’s like tuning a radio—you’re not changing who you are, just adjusting the frequency to one that your guides can reach.

2. Indulge in free writing 

Once you’ve opened the door with intention, Bernstein says the next step is learning to listen. And her favorite way to do that is through free writing—a simple but powerful journaling practice that she swears by. “Open up a journal to a fresh page and at the top of the page, write the question, ‘dear guides of the highest truth and compassion, what is your message for me today?’ And just start writing,” she explains. No editing, no judging, no thinking—just letting whatever comes through land on the page.

She describes this process as channeling, but not in a mystical sense. “Words beyond your own are going to start to come through you,” Bernstein says. “You’re going to start to hear messages and inspiration and intuition you couldn’t even have thought of.” To prove her point, she shares how one of her most famous book titles, The Universe Has Your Back, arrived exactly this way. “It came through me, not from me,” she recalls.

The beauty of free writing is that it gives you something tangible—a record of your intuition in your own handwriting. It builds trust because you can see the guidance right in front of you. It’s “undeniable proof that you are connected,” Bernstein states. You’re no longer just hoping for a sign; you’re in active communication with it.

3. Your body is a literal compass

For the third step, Bernstein shifts the focus from mind to body—because while your thoughts can spin, your body can’t lie. “Your guides often communicate through your physical and energetic body,” she explains. “And your intuition isn’t a thought, it’s a feeling.” This is where you start translating spiritual guidance into something you can physically sense.

She walks listeners through a quick calibration. Close your eyes and recall a time you felt truly open and joyful—falling in love, landing a dream job, anything that lights you up. Notice where that lives in your body. Maybe it’s a softness in your chest or warmth in your gut. That’s your yes. Then think of a moment of dread or resistance. Maybe your stomach tightens or your throat constricts. That’s your no. These cues, she says, are your divine compass.

This is how Bernstein makes big decisions…by quieting her mind and asking, “Is this a yes or is this a no?” before letting logic talk her out of it. “My ‘yes’ feels like a warm, expansive energy,” she says. “My ‘no’ feels like a knot in my stomach and my jaw clenches so tightly.” 

When you put all three steps together—setting your intention, writing it out, and feeling it in your body—you start living in flow with signs, knowing your guidance has been there all along, waiting for you to listen.

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