Our Challenges: The worst or best thing to happen to us?

by Barbara Steingas

Chelsea No.3, by Sean David Wright

When we don’t feel worthy of health, happiness, joy and love, challenges tend to leave us feeling victimized. We end up feeling we have no power over our circumstances and have no choice but come to some form of resigned acceptance of our life. However, we have a choice over what we make of any situation. Instead of becoming powerless victims to our circumstances, what if we realized that we have the ability and power to make a choice of how we respond and deal with the situation, of what we make it mean, and how we are going to move forward?

Stories of overcoming challenges have been part of the human experience since the dawn of man. One story that is consistent in all indigenous cultures was uncovered by Joseph Campbell, author of The Hero With A Thousand Faces; the quest to overcome challenges and evil, thereby ultimately becoming the great hero or warrior. This journey is one we all participate in, but because these stories have trained us to believe only a select few are allowed to be the hero or heroine, we have come to believe that if we don't immediately succeed compared to our peers, we are the victim of our personal stories.

This was true for me when I was confronted with a serious illness that was considered incurable. At first, I believed the story of incurability and quickly fell victim to my circumstances. I didn’t question anything and naively believed what I was told. I felt it was the worst thing that had ever happened to me and at some point I would die an early death.  Over time, I got tired of the blind acceptance and I had my epiphany or ah-ha moment. I refused to be a victim and I set out to become the heroine of my own journey. I found my way back to health by making small changes at first.  Eventually I overcame my demons and challenges, become the victor over a seemingly impossible situation and became more than I could have ever dreamed.

Because I chose to take the road less traveled, I discovered that what I thought was the worst thing to ever happen to me was actually a blessing in disguise and one of the best experiences. It made me the person I am today. I found my mission in life by applying what I learned to help those on similar journeys, hopefully sparing them some of the suffering by sharing my own experiences. That is a wonderful feeling and gives my suffering meaning and purpose.

The challenges of my journey have allowed me to expand my heart and ability to love myself and to love others. I feel that is the ultimate reason we are here and are made to go through life’s challenges. When we ride out the storms of our biggest challenges, we can reap our greatest rewards by allowing our light to shine more brightly, becoming more than we thought we could ever be.

Giving back after a traumatic experience is the final, and one of the most important steps, to any long-term recovery program.  No matter whether suffering from a disease like Crohn’s or a disease like alcoholism, helping others through the stages of their journey to recovery encourages us to continue that personal work ourselves as we become a role model for others.

 

********************

Barbara Steingas

 

Live a Radiant Life - Tips to improve health, happiness & joy



Don't stop until you harvest your goals

We all have goals that we want to achieve, whether they are personal, financial or professional. We always start out with altruistic intentions and feel positive that we will do what it takes and stay the course until we get the result we set out to achieve. However, so many times along the way we give up because it becomes too difficult, not realizing that often we are just steps away from achieving what we set out to accomplish.

        Most of us try to stretch ourselves by setting a goal that we feel is possible and others have achieved before, but I had an ultimate test of goal setting and achievement when I set out to find my healing puzzle pieces to regain from health from what I was told was an incurable disease.  I had no road map or guideline to go by, just my belief that there had to be a way back to health and out of the rabbit hole where I had found myself.

        I achieved some results early on by going to see Dr. Atkins at his Complimentary Health center in NYC. I had challenges staying on course because it was a good amount of work and effort to eat healthier as it took added time to prepare with so many dietary restrictions. I had to make all my condiments and sauces from scratch because I couldn’t have white vinegar or preservatives. In addition, I had to rotate grains and couldn’t have yeast, sugar, caffeine, alcohol or dairy except for freshly made cheeses like fresh mozzarella.

        During the week I would be diligent and be feeling good, then on the weekends I would self-sabotage by ingesting things on the "do not eat" list. This continued for a few years until I realized I needed to add some pieces to my puzzle by working on my mind and emotions and spirit to discover why I was self-sabotaging and allowing myself to slide down the mountain after working hard to make progress climbing up the mountain of health, happiness & joy.

        Slowly, I did start to make more progress, even if I slipped back down I wouldn’t go as far. But then, I had a really significant setback and slid all the way down into the mud at the base of the mountain of my health goal. Sometimes we have to come to a drastic fork in the road where we have to decide if we’re going to give up and stay a victim to our circumstances or take one more full out effort to achieve our goal and triumph and shine our full radiant light to be the best we were born to be.

        It was during this low point where I started to doubt if I would ever achieve my goal and be well again. I even asked God to take me to the other side because I weighed 85 pounds and had severe pain from vaginal-rectal abscesses from the profuse diarrhea. This is the point where we can choose to give up and not allow ourselves to get over the last hump and reap the rewards of our efforts. Thankfully I had the unconditional love and support of my late husband to give me the strength to make that one last ditch effort and stick to my original belief that there had to be a way back to health and that I could do it. I have been off medicine now for about 20 years and am in the best shape of my life at age 53.

No one said our hero/heroine journeys were going to be easy, but they are sure worth it when we allow the full harvest of our efforts to take place by having the patience, confidence, conviction and put forth the effort and do the actions required to complete our goals and dreams. Wishing you all success in overcoming your challenges and obstacles to achieve your goals and dreams to live a fully radiant life of health, happiness and joy! If you need any help along the way, feel free to reach out to me.

Barbara Steingas    

Radiant Life Coach: Health, Happiness & Joy    

908-391-4463

www.RadiantLifeCoach4u.com

Barbara@radiantlifecoach4u.com

******************************

Barbara Steingas

Live a Radiant Life - Tips to improve your health, happiness & joy

Out with the old and in with the new

We are all creatures of habit. Some habits serve and support us, many don’t. Either way, all are learned. We learned them when we were young, usually when we are too young to remember. We learn how to deal with stress from people around us. How we act and react can often become so habitual that we may come to feel that there is no other way we can do things or even lack motivation enough to change them until we’re forced to. This is what happened to me.
 

Over the years, I developed many unhealthy habits. I didn’t really realize they were unhealthy, I just didn’t know any better. These unhealthy habits were a major cause of my diagnosis of Crohn’s disease just after graduating college. For several years after my diagnosis, I just took the medications the doctors prescribed.  Nothing worked.  Sure, some of my symptoms were eased, but I wasn't better. 

Before they put me on an immunosuppressive drug that could effectively change my life, I decided that I needed to try on my own.  I needed to take back control of my life and choose healthy habits to regain my health.  After some study, I realized how I needed to hydrate more and learn to like eating healthier foods like freshly made vegetables. I was totally convinced that diet and nutrition mattered. I still am.  The doctors didn’t think nutrition was important because they were mainly taught about pharmacology and how to treat the symptoms of disease. The impact of nutrition on health has become more well-known and there are readily available healthier food options.  

Even though we have increased health food options, so many people still don't eat healthy or stay hydrated enough. I believe the reason more people don't eat healthier is that we all have underlying emotional  thought processes that sabotage us. I was on a self-sabotage roller coaster for several years before I realized that I needed to work on the mind and emotional pieces to my healing puzzle as well as my physical body. Along the way, I discovered that I wasn’t allowing myself to feel deserving and worthy of health. I was taught as a young child by watching those around me that it was selfish to care for yourself. A woman’s role was to be everyone else's caretaker. Also, I was hiding behind the crutch of illness because I didn’t know how to say “no” to people. The disease became the bad cop instead of me, and the disease became my way out of being perfect. I wasn’t flawed, the disease was.

I devoured self-improvement books and sat through many seminars about how to stand in my own power and to love myself enough to feel I was worthy of the time and effort. After a time I started to become more consistent in my daily healthy habits of nourishing my mind, emotions, body and spirit. I now enjoy radiant health in all these areas and my body is in the best shape of my life at age 53. It’s like I’m aging in reverse, just as in the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

The reason we don’t take care of ourselves physically is because of emotional and thought diseases. Once we peel the layers away and learn to love ourselves unconditionally, only then can we stop the disease-creating habits we have, and replace them with healthy ones. Even if you aren’t ill now, eventually unhealthy habits can catch up to you and it gets harder as we get older to change them. The sooner you start, the easier it will be, and you will live a longer, healthier and happier life!

*******************

Barbara Steingas

By Barbara Steingas

Radiant Life Coach

www.RadiantLifeCoach4u.com

Barbara@radiantlifecoach4u.com

           

       

Live a Radiant Life - Tips to improve your health, happiness & joy

Natural remedies and treatments are crucial

       

     When I got the diagnosis of having Crohn’s disease and was told that it was incurable, I was given few options. The traditional medical field offered medications or surgery, like a permanent colostomy at some point. There was no talk of things like dietary changes, the recommendation to stop smoking or the need for stress management.  None of these options were even mentioned as possible ways to ease my suffering. 

            I even asked the doctors about diet, smoking and stress. They just scoffed at me saying that they had no bearing on my condition.  Initially, I believed their response, or at least didn’t question it further because it was easier to just continue taking the pills they prescribed than to change daily habits in my life. Plus, they were medical doctors who I had been raised and told by society to trust. 

            The original medications didn't work and I became so ill that my gastroenterologist decided to try a new form of medication that was starting to be used for people with my condition. It was an immunosuppressant drug that would basically shut off (suppress) my immune system. This would leave me defenseless and more readily open to infection, so my doctor warned me that if I took this medication I could potentially get a cold that turned into a deadly case of pneumonia. Given that  I was already in a death spiral even with my current immune system, this new option didn’t seem like the course of action I wanted to take.
 

That’s when I had my epiphany. I stopped believing that what I had was incurable. It was many pieces that got me sick, like a puzzle, so all I needed to do was find the puzzle pieces that would make me well.  To reverse the process and take the Crohn's disease puzzle apart.  That would involve finding natural methods to regain my health and restore it back to balance. It’s in our body’s natural alkaline state where heath resides, because disease can only thrive in an acidic environment.
 

I discovered strategies that supported my physical body such as learning to hydrate properly, deep breathing and to stop eating the foods that were feeding the yeast (candida) in my body that was causing chronic inflammation. These included yeast itself, white vinegar and other preservatives; sugar, caffeine and alcohol to name a few.
 

My steady regime of natural remedies worked and I was able to get off medication with the help of a complimentary medicine doctor.  Even after this triumph, however, I would sabotage myself without meaning to. After being stuck in this cycle for quite some time,  I finally realized that I needed to also work on my mind, emotions and spirit. This work included stress management and doing things like yoga, meditation, reading self-help books and going to self-improvement seminars.
 

In conclusion, there are times when we need traditional (western) medicine and surgery, I won't deny that.  Like when we have an acute situation such as an injury or infection, that is the time for traditional medicine. These methods, though, are often designed to shut off or remove vital parts of our bodies or their processes.  For long term health, in my opinion, it is crucial to use natural methods regularly that work with our bodies to restore and keep them in balance and in an alkaline state.

           

            **************************

 

 

Barbara Steingas is an award winning author, inspirational speaker and radiant life coach, helping people to optimize their health and vitality.  She can be found at Steingasbooks.  Barbara is a resident columnist, sharing her 21 Tips for Healing.

Putting together your healing puzzle pieces

            When I was initially diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease about thirty years ago at age twenty-two, I had no idea this was the start of my life’s purpose. Although, it would take me some time, many years in fact, to realize this.  Had I known from the beginning, I would have kept a detailed diary so I could share more of the specifics of what I was going through, the ups and downs, all the things I tried that worked and didn’t work, etc., but I was so ill and just wanting to survive that I didn’t have the energy or where with all to keep a written record.
 

            However, I remember enough to share the top strategies I used physically, mentally/emotionally & spiritually that I used to put together the foundation of my health puzzle. As a result of these strategies, I was able to transform myself from being a deathly ill person weighing a mere 85 pounds and suffering with severe vaginal-rectal abscesses to a healthy and vibrant 53 year old and find my radiance (health, happiness and joy). I have been off medication approximately fifteen years and feel like a teenager as if I’m aging in reverse like the movie character Benjamin Button. Now I give back by writing books about my transformation, giving talks, doing workshops and being a Radiant Life Coach to help people individually.

 

In order to optimize our health & vitality and feel radiant we need to take proper care of our bodies, our thoughts, our emotions and our spirit. Our bodies are basically machines, similar to our cars, which need certain fuels to give them energy and run smoothly, efficiently. Some of those fuels include: alkaline liquids like water, oxygen with deep diaphragmatic breathing, proper sleep, real foods without chemicals or much if any processing and supplemental vitamins and minerals. This will help us create health of our body.
 

The thoughts we think and the emotions we feel create the reality of our experiences. No manual exists unfortunately on how to deal with our emotions or control our thoughts, so we learn by default of observing the people that are around us most and our surrounding environment. Most of the time, we are programmed by the time we have conscious memory of our lives, about the age of three. This is very apparent when we are reacting instead of responding to situations. Also, we are taught to focus on what we don’t want in life and that is exactly why we get more of it. Instead focus on what you do want and how you want to feel, and you will most likely achieve and experience it. This will help us create happiness of our mind and emotions.
 

We also need to nourish our spirit or soul. To do this we need to connect to something beyond ourselves. Call it God, Guardian Angels, Spirit Guides or the Universe. We can tap into it by meditating, praying, giving of ourselves to help others without expectation of receiving in return and following our heart’s desires or bliss. These types of activities give us joy of our spirit. By overcoming the health crisis I experienced and defying what I was told by the traditional medical community who said my condition was incurable I have found my bliss by being able to help others put together the pieces of their healing puzzles and giving back to people around the globe as a radiant life coach.

To learn more go to www.RadiantLifeCoach4u.com or contact Barbara at Barbara@radiantlifecoach4u.com.

********************



Barbara Steingas is an award winning author, inspirational speaker and radiant life coach, helping people to optimize their health and vitality.  She can be found at Steingasbooks.  Barbara is joining Mind Key as a resident columnist, sharing her 21 Tips for Healing.

From all or nothing - to finding balance

Barbara Steingas

Barbara Steingas is an award winning author, inspirational speaker and radiant life coach, helping people to optimize their health and vitality.  She can be found at Steingasbooks.  Barbara is joining Mind Key as a resident columnist, sharing her 21 Tips for Healing.

***********************

             It used to be all or nothing for me. That was due to the need for perfectionism that made me a person of extremes. Either I would have to do something 100% right or not at all. I didn’t know how to be balanced or allow myself any slack for mistakes or learning curves. It was all black and white so to speak, no gray areas.

This is best illustrated when I went to college and I gained the freshman twenty pounds. To lose the weight I ate a thousand calorie per day diet.  If I deviated ever so slightly, I felt I blew it causing me to go all out and binge eat. All the while feeling guilty and vowing that I would start over and be perfect the next day. This yo-yo effect continued through the end of college and upon graduating the toll it took on my body was a part of the puzzle pieces that resulted in me developing an autoimmune illness of my intestinal tract called Crohn’s Disease.

As I was seeking a natural way back to health, after following the traditional medical route for the first several years, I discovered that the cause of me being extreme with the way I ate and needing to be all or nothing was really rooted in emotional issues. To illustrate, if anything happened to disrupt my day, the whole day was basically ruined. I had a hard time letting things go if they didn’t go 100% “right.” I would basically beat myself up emotionally for being flawed.

                I learned this patterning from my loving and well-meaning parents. They did the best they could to love me and raise me, and they had their own dysfunctional emotional issues and behaviors that I learned by observing them. As children we are sponges for learning so we can’t help but pick up on what we are around the most and that is usually our parents.

                In fact, the other day I was talking with my mom on the phone. I was sharing with her something I was excited about and as I was telling her the climax of the story, my mom said “oh I have one more thing I forgot to tell you.” I felt a little annoyed because I realized she really wasn’t listening to me fully. Instead of brushing it off as I would have done in the past and letting it fester I shared with her how I felt by saying “I feel” not “you made me feel” so she wouldn’t feel attacked or made wrong (strategies I learned along my healing journey).

                However, she had her usual reaction that I ruined the whole conversation. Long story short, I got her to realize it was only just one moment in a long conversation and that I was only sharing so we could use another strategy next time, such as her telling me she was tired and wasn’t able to keep up and got distracted. In this way we could avoid upset in the conversation next time something like this happens. She is also the woman who can’t stop cleaning because she is trapped by the need for perfection.

                Nothing is ever completely perfect in life. That is a fairy tale illusion and a very stressful goal to strive for.  It’s like chasing the carrot dangled in front of us that we can never reach to eat. However, it is healthy to strive for improvement in our lives, but we need to allow ourselves to make mistakes and time to relax. That is the art of balance. I had to learn this lesson the hard way by discovering balance physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually in order to survive and regain my health.