Nothing like a good challenge to shift your view of life

By Barbara Steingas

We all need challenges to help us grow and expand our thoughts and beliefs. We tend to get caught up in limiting perspectives in life and can remain victims of our circumstances. When faced with tumultuous situations, we have an opportunity to see things in a new and different light. Challenging perspectives can change what we previously thought was impossible, to possible.

Challenging perspectives, and expansion of thought

This is what happened to me when I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and was told my condition was incurable. Initially, I believed this to be fact. Then I was faced with a crossroads decision: my doctor wanted to put me on an immunosuppressive drug. He advised that the medicine would shut off my defense mechanisms, and I could potentially get a cold that could turn into a deadly case of pneumonia. I already felt as if I were on a death path and knew I didn’t need any help pushing me in that direction.

If my immune system was overactive, why did the medical field feel shutting off my immune system was the answer? Why not find a way to bring it back to balance? Wasn’t that the real goal? It didn’t make logical sense to me.

This is when I had an expansion of my thoughts and beliefs. I decided I no longer bought into the notion that what I was experiencing was incurable. It occurred to me that it took a puzzle to get me ill. Many pieces came together like a perfect storm; so the same had to be true for regaining my health. I set out like an explorer to unknown territory, despite practically everyone I knew thinking I was crazy. I wanted to discover the pieces to my health puzzle. Even when I became discouraged, I clung to my newfound belief that I would succeed because there was no way I was turning back and living life ill and in severe pain any longer.

My first steps to healing

The first pieces to my puzzle were dietary tips that Dr. Robert Atkins taught at his Complementary Medicine Center in New York City. He showed me what to eat and what not to eat to heal my digestive tract and kill off the candida that was causing inflammation in my body. It took a lot of time and effort to follow this regimen because ultimately, almost everything had to be made from scratch without any added preservatives. During the week, I was a good student and followed through, but then I would self-sabotage myself on the weekends and ingest foods and beverages that fed the candida. You know all the addictive junk and sugary type things that taste good, but which are not nourishing.

Finally, I tired of this up and down roller coaster and realized I needed to work on and find the mental, emotional and spiritual pieces. It was the dis-ease in these areas which caused me to self-sabotage and not take care of myself physically. I began a journey of self-improvement and discovery by going to seminars and reading books. Then I found my spiritual home in Unity School of Christianity. All these pieces plus the unconditional love of my late husband, whom I met at a seminar, allowed me to transform, heal and regain my health. I have been off medications now for over 15 years.

You are more powerful than you believe

There have been numerous examples in history of people defying the odds and doing what others thought was impossible. Christopher Columbus discovered a new world by defying the traditional belief of his day that the world was flat. There are so many inventions that seem commonplace now that were once inconceivable, like airplanes, computers and microwave ovens.

I believe we are stronger and more powerful than we believe. However, it often takes a crisis or a struggle to dig down deep and find that strength that is already within. We never know what our capabilities are until we have cause to call upon them. When faced with a challenging fork in the road, we have the choice to take the victim road and feel powerless over our circumstances or we can rise to the challenge and be the hero/heroine of our journey and take that road less traveled. It is my hope that more people challenge what is thought to be the norm, and that they become heroes/heroines in their life travels. When we step out of the realm of possibilities, more and more people can achieve their potential and shine their full radiance on the world.

If you need help along the road of your journey, I can help you find your missing pieces through my coaching services. Contact me at Barbara@steingasbooks.com to learn more.