Episode 27
#27 "The Mindset that Changed my Life" with cancer survivor Angelica Alen
Catherine introduces the first in a mini-series with Angelica Alen. Angelica has not only survived but thrived from her journey with stage 3 bowel cancer. We talk about her journey and, most importantly, lessons learnt that she now shares with others to help with whatever life challenges they may have. This is such an inspiring journey, with Angelica owning HER power to change her life!
Angelica Alen is a health and life coach, a stage 3 Bowel cancer survivor & thriver.
Angelica is passionate about empowering you to take charge of your habits so you can create a healthier, happier and more fulfilled version of you
To connect with Angelica
Newsletter - https://bit.ly/transformyourlifestarttoday
Course - https://angelica-alen-school.teachable.com/p/change-your-habits-change-your-life
Key Moments:
- 00:00 - Coming up…
- 01:59 - Meet my guest
- 07:28 - Angelica’s cancer journey
- 20:54 - Is there always another choice?
- 23:42 - Taking back control
- 25:27 - Owning ourselves
- 31:21 - One step at a time
- 38:35 - The power of practise
- 41:57 - Choosing a better path
- 47:11 - Family repercussions
- 50:29 - Staying realistic
- 54:13 - Judgement & choices
- 01:00:45 - Final thoughts
- 01:02:44 - Connect with Angela
Key Takeaways:
- On your journey of self discovery and healing, take it one step at a time. Drastic change will not happen overnight and habits are more likely to stick in the long term when done in baby steps.
- A change or habit you start may not show results very soon - sometimes they can show up after a fair while so don’t lose hope!
- Living day by day can be very freeing. Forget about tomorrow. There might not be a tomorrow.
- If you want to see change in the world, you need to lead by example. You need to change first.
- Sometimes we need to use conventional medicine to buy time to make other decisions.
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Disclaimer: The purpose of this podcast is to keep curious and keep free. The opinions of the guests do not necessarily represent the opinions of the host and vice versa - exploring different opinions is key to growth. The content in this podcast and on this website is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical or veterinary advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified healthcare professional with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical or veterinary advice because of something you have heard on my podcast or website.
Transcript
And you were faced with something
Speaker:that hit you very suddenly.
Speaker:It was such a life changing
Speaker:situation.
Speaker:I am a stage three cancer
Speaker:survivor into over the Doctor.
Speaker:When he got the results,
Speaker:he said to me,
Speaker:Wow.
Speaker:Like, I cannot believe
Speaker:you are even standing up.
Speaker:And I'm like, How did
Speaker:I arrive here?
Speaker:I thought I was healthy.
Speaker:It gives me goosebumps.
Speaker:My lovely guest, Anjelica Allen,
Speaker:is in Australia.
Speaker:I am now a health and life coach
Speaker:and I help people to achieve
Speaker:health and happiness and success
Speaker:by changing their habits.
Speaker:And I would describe myself as
Speaker:somebody who was living like a
Speaker:zombie.
Speaker:I was trapped.
Speaker:I need to find my own answers.
Speaker:And this is why I started my
Speaker:business. But was it an easy
Speaker:decision?
Speaker:Hell no.
Speaker:This isn't just a health lesson.
Speaker:This is whether you're waiting
Speaker:for anything to change in your life.
Speaker:If you're waiting for certain
Speaker:healing modalities to
Speaker:come in, if you're waiting for free
Speaker:energy, if you're waiting for
Speaker:financial reset, if you're waiting
Speaker:for someone to change the political
Speaker:system so that your life can be
Speaker:different.
Speaker:And it's so beautiful to share
Speaker:that it's a real story of hope,
Speaker:inspiration, and
Speaker:also how rewarding
Speaker:going through that journey is.
Speaker:I love how open and honest you are
Speaker:showing this. I think it's so
Speaker:important.
Speaker:What stopped you going into the
Speaker:self-pity?
Speaker:I just kind of thought, you know, if
Speaker:I die, I
Speaker:want to make sure that my kids know
Speaker:that I have done everything
Speaker:that I could every single
Speaker:day. I want them to watch
Speaker:this. I want them to witness that
Speaker:I've done everything I could to
Speaker:survive.
Speaker:I'm going to conquer this.
Speaker:And I did.
Speaker:Hello and welcome to the
Speaker:Live Love Learn podcast with me,
Speaker:your host, Catherine Edwards.
Speaker:Now, as everyone sort
Speaker:of probably knows, those that you've
Speaker:been watching me for a while, I am
Speaker:a biologist and the whole
Speaker:purpose of my channel is
Speaker:to expand consciousness through
Speaker:curiosity, helping
Speaker:us all make conscious decisions
Speaker:in our lives.
Speaker:What I really do is I help animals
Speaker:and their humans live happier
Speaker:and healthier lives, using natural
Speaker:solutions, addressing the root cause
Speaker:and connecting back with nature.
Speaker:And one of the things I really love
Speaker:doing is looking at helping us
Speaker:all understand what the real
Speaker:challenges are facing us in this
Speaker:world. Because if we know what the
Speaker:challenges are, then we can make
Speaker:better decisions for ourselves and
Speaker:our loved ones.
Speaker:Now, my guest on today's podcast
Speaker:is a very, very special lady.
Speaker:Angelica Alen has become a
Speaker:personal friend of mine through our
Speaker:mutual friend Nirmala, who you
Speaker:may have seen on some of my sacred
Speaker:geometry shows.
Speaker:And Angelica is a stage
Speaker:three bowel cancer survivor,
Speaker:but really thriver.
Speaker:And she has turned her experience
Speaker:into a coaching and
Speaker:mentoring business
Speaker:that she runs, really helping people
Speaker:create healthy habits for the long
Speaker:term.
Speaker:And Angelica, you're going to see,
Speaker:is really, really good at what she
Speaker:does. She's been there, she's done
Speaker:it. And what she does in a
Speaker:completely no B.S.
Speaker:way is she really
Speaker:uses her experience using science
Speaker:based, reality based, action
Speaker:based,
Speaker:all sorts of tools she has in her
Speaker:toolkit to help people take charge
Speaker:of their habits to create
Speaker:their dream life.
Speaker:Now, this is the first in a little
Speaker:series I'm going to be doing with
Speaker:Angelica this fall.
Speaker:Far too much to do
Speaker:in one interview, but we cover
Speaker:about how these things creep up
Speaker:on us, how hindsight's
Speaker:a wonderful thing.
Speaker:Now, combining
Speaker:traditional treatments and holistic
Speaker:treatments can often buy you that
Speaker:extra time you make to make the
Speaker:lifestyle changes that you need
Speaker:to create the life that you want for
Speaker:you and your family.
Speaker:How letting go of plain shame
Speaker:judgement is absolutely key
Speaker:and the power of what can
Speaker:be achieved.
Speaker:Because most people don't
Speaker:realise for themselves, for their
Speaker:animals, for their loved ones, just
Speaker:how good we
Speaker:can feel.
Speaker:So please, I really
Speaker:hope you enjoy this journey with us.
Speaker:I think Angelica is
Speaker:amazing.
Speaker:I know that every one, whether it's
Speaker:a health challenge or a financial
Speaker:challenge or a relationship
Speaker:challenge, would learn a lot
Speaker:from these series of discussions
Speaker:Angelica and I will be having.
Speaker:So let us know what questions you've
Speaker:got. Sit back, enjoy.
Speaker:And as always, stay curious
Speaker:and stay free.
Speaker:I am very happy to be
Speaker:communicating across the globe
Speaker:today. I'm in the U.K.
Speaker:and my lovely guest, Angelica Alen,
Speaker:is in Australia.
Speaker:And today we're going to be having a
Speaker:really powerful conversation that
Speaker:I really hope resonates with
Speaker:everyone, because whatever
Speaker:you're going through in life
Speaker:a) all of us face challenges at
Speaker:different times in our lives.
Speaker:And, you know, my whole show
Speaker:is about expanding
Speaker:consciousness through curiosity, and
Speaker:about really looking at ways sharing
Speaker:people's proven
Speaker:methods, thought leaders to
Speaker:ideas about how we can all
Speaker:really be the happiest that we can
Speaker:be in this current reality
Speaker:that we find ourselves in.
Speaker:And I know you're going to find
Speaker:Angelica's story
Speaker:really, really inspiring.
Speaker:But not only inspiring, but really
Speaker:brilliant practical advice
Speaker:that Angelica always shares
Speaker:with everyone.
Speaker:So without further ado, Angelica,
Speaker:can you introduce yourself, please,
Speaker:to the listeners?
Speaker:Tell us a little bit about yourself
Speaker:and how you found yourself
Speaker:on this new path.
Speaker:Thank you so much, Catherine, for
Speaker:inviting me to be here.
Speaker:It's a pleasure and it's an honour
Speaker:for me. I think the work that you're
Speaker:doing is so, so important and
Speaker:really, I feel so honoured to be a
Speaker:part of this because I think it's
Speaker:such a big mission
Speaker:to spread happiness,
Speaker:health and practical tools
Speaker:for people to be
Speaker:utlising their day to day lives.
Speaker:And I think that is so key
Speaker:with the overwhelm of information
Speaker:that it's out there.
Speaker:But
Speaker:back to introducing myself, I am a
Speaker:stage three bowel cancer survivor
Speaker:and thriver, and I
Speaker:am now a health and life coach and I
Speaker:help people
Speaker:to achieve health and happiness
Speaker:and success by changing their
Speaker:habits.
Speaker:So my teachings are very practical
Speaker:and come from a place of being
Speaker:my own guinea pig,
Speaker:but my own experiment.
Speaker:And as you mentioned, you know, it's
Speaker:a proven process that
Speaker:I have followed, that I have helped
Speaker:many people to follow,
Speaker:which is really practical.
Speaker:And I feel that, you know, with all
Speaker:the information that is out there,
Speaker:we are losing sight and
Speaker:connection to the simplest things
Speaker:that we can do daily that
Speaker:will start making a massive impact
Speaker:on our overall
Speaker:life, health, happiness
Speaker:and everything.
Speaker:This is what I love so much.
Speaker:Angelica and I have spoken quite a
Speaker:few times off camera, and I want to
Speaker:sort of explain how we met.
Speaker:I will apologise to people.
Speaker:We're having Internet issues today,
Speaker:so please just bear with us with
Speaker:that. We can't quite work out where
Speaker:that's coming from.
Speaker:But Angelica was introduced to me
Speaker:by a really good mutual friend,
Speaker:Nirmala, who people have seen on my
Speaker:channel talk about sacred geometry.
Speaker:And I think what really inspires me
Speaker:so much about what you're doing is
Speaker:I'm seeing...
Speaker:It's very easy, Angelica, isn't
Speaker:it, for people
Speaker:to understand the theory behind
Speaker:things. So when you were faced,
Speaker:I really would want to delve in if
Speaker:you're happy to do so a little bit
Speaker:more about your cancer journey,
Speaker:because I think this is really
Speaker:relevant to set the scene for people
Speaker:about the difference between
Speaker:understanding things at an
Speaker:intellectual level
Speaker:and really embodying them and
Speaker:making the changes yourself.
Speaker:And from what I see at the moment, I
Speaker:can see a lot of people and,
Speaker:you know, find that quite a struggle
Speaker:about how they take the information
Speaker:sort of off the screen or out of the
Speaker:book and employ it into their lives.
Speaker:And you were faced with something
Speaker:that hit you very suddenly
Speaker:where you were really
Speaker:you know, it was such a life
Speaker:changing situation.
Speaker:Talk us through that process as to
Speaker:how you found the strength
Speaker:to actually say, I'm
Speaker:going to take the power back myself
Speaker:with this.
Speaker:Yeah. Yes.
Speaker:And it's really interesting when you
Speaker:say that, because when I think
Speaker:back to that person,
Speaker:I think I had
Speaker:some idea of how important
Speaker:health was, but it was more
Speaker:like a saying, right.
Speaker:Like, I think I see a lot of people
Speaker:say like oh, health is really in my
Speaker:priorities.
Speaker:If you don't have health, you don't
Speaker:have anything. But until
Speaker:you live through something,
Speaker:we just take it for granted.
Speaker:I think it's it's kind of human
Speaker:being nature to take
Speaker:something that it's given to us that
Speaker:is so precious.
Speaker:Then we just take it for granted,
Speaker:until somebody or something
Speaker:shakes us and go, you know,
Speaker:you can't keep doing that.
Speaker:So in regards to.
Speaker:How I was, I was that person.
Speaker:I grew up in Brazil.
Speaker:You know, we eat together, food
Speaker:is a massive part of my culture.
Speaker:You know, we we eat fresh fruit
Speaker:and veggies and rice and beans.
Speaker:But, you know, there was a lot of
Speaker:unhealthy things that as well.
Speaker:But, I mean, you know, they meaning
Speaker:of health wasn't important to us.
Speaker:You know, it wasn't- I didn't grow
Speaker:up like eating fast food or anything
Speaker:like that because they didn't even
Speaker:have in my, you know, my childhood
Speaker:back then, that kind of thing.
Speaker:But,
Speaker:you know, as I in
Speaker:Europe when I was 21 and I started
Speaker:to experience life in different
Speaker:countries in more kind of a
Speaker:Western world and first world
Speaker:countries, you know, I feel
Speaker:that it's very easy to
Speaker:lose sight and connection
Speaker:to what it really means to
Speaker:being healthy.
Speaker:You know, we are led to believe that
Speaker:we need to live this really
Speaker:stressful life.
Speaker:And my life was back then very, very
Speaker:stressful.
Speaker:I had a stressful job
Speaker:and, you know, I had small kids,
Speaker:working full time.
Speaker:I was exhausted.
Speaker:I was very, very tired.
Speaker:And I thought that was
Speaker:normal, you know, And I really want
Speaker:people to stop and
Speaker:and really almost, like,
Speaker:take a deep breath with this.
Speaker:It's not normal to be exhausted.
Speaker:I was 38 years old
Speaker:and I kind of started feeling like,
Speaker:is this it?
Speaker:Like, do do I have to
Speaker:accept like old age, you know, like
Speaker:looking myself in the mirror and
Speaker:thinking, you know, my legs are full
Speaker:of cellulite and bloated all the
Speaker:time. I feel exhausted, My eyes
Speaker:are puffy.
Speaker:You know, I don't- I feel
Speaker:a bit lost and overwhelmed.
Speaker:But I was trapped.
Speaker:And to
Speaker:a lot of extent I was unconscious.
Speaker:And and I really love the mission
Speaker:because your mission is about
Speaker:bringing consciousness to people's
Speaker:lives.
Speaker:And I would describe myself as
Speaker:somebody who was living like a
Speaker:zombie.
Speaker:I was asleep and I was just
Speaker:going through the motions,
Speaker:you know, and accepting
Speaker:average health.
Speaker:Average happiness.
Speaker:Mediocre, if anything.
Speaker:You know, everything.
Speaker:And I thought, this is it.
Speaker:You know, this is what people do.
Speaker:Then I have to do that too.
Speaker:Then when people ask me, what
Speaker:did you feel? Y'know, like before
Speaker:the cancer diagnosis, bear in mind
Speaker:that my diagnosis was a stage
Speaker:three B, meaning
Speaker:it had already spread from
Speaker:my gut to the lymph nodes.
Speaker:So it was a step away from being in
Speaker:stage four. It was a serious matter.
Speaker:It was no joke.
Speaker:But if there was
Speaker:one common thing that I felt,
Speaker:it was just exhaustion.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:There was no like, you know, my legs
Speaker:were not falling off or, you know,
Speaker:it wasn't like anything crazy
Speaker:yet. I was bloated, but with
Speaker:bloating, you know, I
Speaker:was like, okay, is my period
Speaker:right? Like, it's so common
Speaker:for women to just go, like, this is
Speaker:normal.
Speaker:And we think that in all of the
Speaker:periods, you know, the doctors kind
Speaker:of diagnose you. Okay, well, I was
Speaker:iron deficient because of the period
Speaker:and take iron tablets and then
Speaker:that's why you're exhausted and
Speaker:you get into this kind of endless
Speaker:cycle.
Speaker:And by the way, you need to eat a
Speaker:meat three times a week,
Speaker:and it needs to be red meat and
Speaker:needs to be steak.
Speaker:So I was giving that diagnosis a
Speaker:year before my
Speaker:my cancer diagnosis.
Speaker:You know, you are just anaemic.
Speaker:I need to take iron tablets.
Speaker:You are exhausted because of that.
Speaker:So you need to eat meat on
Speaker:top of that three times a week.
Speaker:So then I went and start
Speaker:with that, rolling
Speaker:with that.
Speaker:Did my exhaustion go
Speaker:away? Not really.
Speaker:And I just- I'm not having one sick
Speaker:day.
Speaker:And then probably around
Speaker:3 to 4 months before my diagnosis,
Speaker:I had some bleeding
Speaker:in my stools.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And that's when I started thinking,
Speaker:this is more than you know what?
Speaker:You know what this exhaustion
Speaker:is about? You know, this iron
Speaker:deficiency.
Speaker:And the thing is,
Speaker:again, because you're a woman,
Speaker:nobody's going to stop the world
Speaker:because you have some blood on your
Speaker:stools.
Speaker:You know, like this is this for a
Speaker:lot of people, this is another
Speaker:common symptom for all sorts of
Speaker:different reasons.
Speaker:But my doctor, my GP is very
Speaker:thorough. And she said, Angelica,
Speaker:okay, well, we need to get you doing
Speaker:a colonoscopy and also talking
Speaker:to a gynaecologist to see if there
Speaker:is anything that we can do to make
Speaker:the period
Speaker:change a bit because it's very, very
Speaker:strong. And my period was
Speaker:increasingly becoming
Speaker:heavier and heavier. I will talk to this
Speaker:a bit later on about
Speaker:it.
Speaker:And I didn't
Speaker:feel pain.
Speaker:I didn't feel anything.
Speaker:There was no pain.
Speaker:And we had...
Speaker:My husband's sounded to me like
Speaker:you don't look well.
Speaker:Like you just don't look well.
Speaker:Like there is something going on.
Speaker:You really need to go to Emergency.
Speaker:And on a Friday, Easter
Speaker:Friday, I prepared my
Speaker:do.
Speaker:I'm sorry about these Internet
Speaker:glitches.
Speaker:So anyway, we'll just wait.
Speaker:Yeah. So I just explaining to
Speaker:the listeners that the Internet sort
Speaker:of quite bad. So we're
Speaker:losing you a little bit in the
Speaker:discussion. So we got to the bit
Speaker:angelica where your husband was
Speaker:saying, you just don't look
Speaker:well.
Speaker:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker:And I
Speaker:it was at Easter Friday
Speaker:and I was preparing
Speaker:for my daughter's birthday the next
Speaker:day in the park, and I felt
Speaker:like beyond just
Speaker:exhausted.
Speaker:And I thought, you know, this is
Speaker:kind of unusual because I don't even
Speaker:feel like eating.
Speaker:And I thought, I'm going to go to
Speaker:bed, and tomorrow will be a new day.
Speaker:It'll be fine.
Speaker:Next day arrived.
Speaker:I didn't feel like eating anything.
Speaker:And that was unusual because I'm a
Speaker:good eater.
Speaker:And I thought, this is really
Speaker:unusual. Like, that's odd.
Speaker:I did a party, organised
Speaker:everything, had fun, you know, as
Speaker:much as I could.
Speaker:And I just said to my husband in the
Speaker:end, you need to drop me at
Speaker:emergency department,
Speaker:because I don't feel well.
Speaker:And when I go to the emergency
Speaker:department, I told them like,
Speaker:I don't feel like eating.
Speaker:This is really odd.
Speaker:Like I eat all the time.
Speaker:And, you know, they they have to go
Speaker:through a process before they do
Speaker:any sort of, you know, like CT
Speaker:scans or anything like that.
Speaker:And the Bloods did not
Speaker:show anything.
Speaker:Nothing.
Speaker:No inflammatory markers
Speaker:are up.
Speaker:No tumour markers up.
Speaker:Nothing.
Speaker:So the doctors, after an hour
Speaker:of discussing with me what was
Speaker:wrong and why I
Speaker:was there said to me, okay, I'm
Speaker:going to put you through the CT
Speaker:scan.
Speaker:And when he got the results.
Speaker:He said to me,
Speaker:Wow.
Speaker:Like, I cannot believe
Speaker:you are even standing up here.
Speaker:When you look at your belly now, you
Speaker:know why you are so bloated.
Speaker:Right. We are restarting
Speaker:again because we've moved location
Speaker:for the Internet. We don't want to
Speaker:miss any of this story.
Speaker:So, Angelica, you were just getting
Speaker:to the stage where you got
Speaker:the scan results from the doctor,
Speaker:and they were completely blown away
Speaker:because your bloods had come back
Speaker:normal. But the scans obviously
Speaker:showed an issue.
Speaker:So talk us through what they found.
Speaker:So I had poo
Speaker:backed up on my right side.
Speaker:And I had...
Speaker:My bowel had gone inside itself,
Speaker:closer to the rectum.
Speaker:So this is why I was so bloated.
Speaker:And at that time,
Speaker:the doctor said to me,
Speaker:Look, we still are not sure
Speaker:what this is.
Speaker:The bowel going inside
Speaker:itself it could be a polyp,
Speaker:it could be the time of the scan.
Speaker:But of course, you know this
Speaker:poo backed up there.
Speaker:It's a real problem.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And I stayed
Speaker:in hospital and
Speaker:they couldn't really give me any
Speaker:answers.
Speaker:They were talking about, okay, well,
Speaker:we can't really do a colonoscopy as
Speaker:such because we've got all this poo
Speaker:backed up. You know, we need maybe
Speaker:to give you a laxative.
Speaker:And it was really interesting
Speaker:because if they had given me
Speaker:a laxative where the bowel had gone
Speaker:inside itself, it
Speaker:could have exploded because that's
Speaker:where the cancer was.
Speaker:And I could see
Speaker:that- and I kept
Speaker:feeling queasy.
Speaker:Like I was just like, I really don't
Speaker:feel well. I don't want to eat.
Speaker:And I did not eat anything.
Speaker:And and they kept asking me, you're
Speaker:feeling better? and I'm like, no.
Speaker:Do you feel like eating?
Speaker:I'm like nah.
Speaker:You know, do you do you want to go
Speaker:home? And I'm like, not really.
Speaker:I need to get to the bottom of this.
Speaker:And then all of a sudden day two
Speaker:comes in and nothing's changing.
Speaker:Day three and they start telling me,
Speaker:Angelica, we need to start thinking
Speaker:that this is very serious and
Speaker:this could be cancer.
Speaker:Wow.
Speaker:And I'm like, How
Speaker:is this even possible?
Speaker:Like, how did I arrive
Speaker:here? I thought I was healthy.
Speaker:Hmm.
Speaker:It gives me goose bumps because.
Speaker:You know, like if you think about
Speaker:it, and many of my friends told
Speaker:me that, but you always cooked from
Speaker:scratch. You know you thought you
Speaker:ate well, and, you know,
Speaker:and... Why did that happen to
Speaker:you?
Speaker:And then all of a sudden,
Speaker:they kind of said, look, you know,
Speaker:we need to go in and we need to
Speaker:operate on you and some
Speaker:of the surgeons were very scared to
Speaker:do it. But I was lucky enough that
Speaker:one of the senior consultants
Speaker:saw my paperwork and said,
Speaker:I think I can do this
Speaker:laparoscopically and
Speaker:I can come in and do this tomorrow.
Speaker:And hopefully she's not going to end
Speaker:up with a stoma bag because
Speaker:it's definitely cancer.
Speaker:And all of a sudden they're from
Speaker:like go from being at
Speaker:work on a Thursday.
Speaker:I had a surgery on Easter
Speaker:Sunday and
Speaker:they confirmed afterwards
Speaker:it was indeed cancer.
Speaker:I was very lucky with my surgeon.
Speaker:And they said to me, it's
Speaker:definitely stage three and you're
Speaker:going to need 12 sessions of
Speaker:chemotherapy.
Speaker:And they leave you with this kind of
Speaker:bomb, you know, like yeah, luckily
Speaker:I had my husband next to me.
Speaker:And I
Speaker:just could barely breathe.
Speaker:Hmm. You know, my kids were
Speaker:four and two.
Speaker:Six and four, sorry.
Speaker:And for me
Speaker:was like, how.
Speaker:How did I get here?
Speaker:How did this even happen to me?
Speaker:And the explanation that I got
Speaker:from the doctors was it was bad
Speaker:luck. There is no genes
Speaker:associated with your
Speaker:bowel cancer diagnosis.
Speaker:You know, there is no
Speaker:pre-condition, anything like that.
Speaker:It's unfortunate.
Speaker:And for me it was very much
Speaker:a realisation of...
Speaker:We can't do this.
Speaker:I need to find my own answers.
Speaker:I can't just turn after 12
Speaker:sessions of chemo and
Speaker:leave my life in the hands
Speaker:of what they're going to do, which,
Speaker:you know, part of me is grateful for
Speaker:for what they did.
Speaker:But also I didn't
Speaker:want to...
Speaker:To just leave it up to chance again.
Speaker:I knew I needed to do more
Speaker:than just turning up to chemo.
Speaker:And I had a month, you
Speaker:know, it's like, okay, we need to do
Speaker:you know, you get into this conveyor
Speaker:belt of, you know, I call
Speaker:it the cancer conveyor belt.
Speaker:We had a surgery. We need to start
Speaker:chemo as soon as possible because
Speaker:it's a stage three, b.
Speaker:Has spread to the lymph nodes.
Speaker:In a month, you need to be ready.
Speaker:So there is no time for
Speaker:you to even think about it.
Speaker:Or research other options or anything. So,
Speaker:you know, that's the thing, isn't
Speaker:it? It's so much... Bang,
Speaker:bang, bang.
Speaker:And that doesn't leave time for you
Speaker:to feel into it and
Speaker:think right, how do I want to go
Speaker:with this? Or your husband, you
Speaker:know, and you've got your children
Speaker:to look after.
Speaker:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker:And I think if there's anybody
Speaker:listening to this and they have just
Speaker:been diagnosed, you know, I would
Speaker:say that, you know, take some time
Speaker:to think about it.
Speaker:But, you know, like, and I'm not
Speaker:saying they're diagnosed today.
Speaker:What I would do with all the
Speaker:knowledge that I had at the time, I
Speaker:did not know any better.
Speaker:And part of my journey, I believe,
Speaker:was to go through chemo.
Speaker:And I would explain a little bit
Speaker:about why.
Speaker:And and I think that, you know,
Speaker:it's really taking the charge from
Speaker:that moment on and thinking,
Speaker:let me just regroup and think
Speaker:for myself what it is the right
Speaker:thing for me to do.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I just want to say before we move on
Speaker:from that, it's such a powerful
Speaker:point about taking
Speaker:some time because in so many
Speaker:areas of people's lives,
Speaker:they feel that they haven't
Speaker:got that time to sit there
Speaker:and take a moment.
Speaker:And sometimes that's
Speaker:the most important thing we can
Speaker:do and just reach out
Speaker:to someone that can give you
Speaker:some objective opinion and talk
Speaker:you through some options.
Speaker:Because quite understandably,
Speaker:the medical profession is very much
Speaker:looking at it from their lane, and
Speaker:that's what they're trained to do.
Speaker:But it's so
Speaker:important your belief system, isn't
Speaker:it, going into it.
Speaker:So you were faced with this
Speaker:decision, you and your husband faced
Speaker:with this decision.
Speaker:Very little time.
Speaker:But there was a part of you that
Speaker:knew, yes, you
Speaker:might accept that, but you wanted to
Speaker:do something else to really sort
Speaker:of take back that control yourself.
Speaker:So what did you do to do that?
Speaker:What where did you go next
Speaker:with your journey?
Speaker:So I started reading books
Speaker:about nutrition and I thought, you
Speaker:know, maybe I can cook some meals
Speaker:that is going to help me through
Speaker:chemo.
Speaker:As I started reading books, I
Speaker:was like, Oh my God,
Speaker:what is this?
Speaker:Where have I been?
Speaker:You know, my head has been buried
Speaker:under the sand.
Speaker:Like all of
Speaker:them, all of the foods that come
Speaker:from nature have got so much
Speaker:power. Healing powers.
Speaker:Like, Why did I not
Speaker:know this?
Speaker:Why was I not taught
Speaker:this?
Speaker:You know, everybody knows.
Speaker:Oh, it's good to eat vegetables.
Speaker:It's good to eat fruit.
Speaker:And you know, it's good to eat
Speaker:legumes or things that grow on the
Speaker:ground.
Speaker:You know, it's best that you don't
Speaker:eat things that come from packages.
Speaker:But once you make the connection.
Speaker:Of how healing
Speaker:food is.
Speaker:That food... It is the bricks
Speaker:of our house.
Speaker:That food is the foundation of
Speaker:our being.
Speaker:It's different.
Speaker:It's a mindset shift that
Speaker:we talked about it, you know, off
Speaker:camera. And you were talking about,
Speaker:you know, you were talking to your
Speaker:dad, I believe about the fry up.
Speaker:You know, if you had that
Speaker:mindset shift is
Speaker:not that you would have to say to
Speaker:yourself, I don't want to eat this,
Speaker:is that you wouldn't want to eat
Speaker:that anyway.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I think the thing is I love about...
Speaker:There's so many things that stand
Speaker:out about you. But one Angelica, the
Speaker:thing that stands out to me so much
Speaker:is how much you owned it,
Speaker:how much you owned
Speaker:the fact that this is happening
Speaker:to me and I'm
Speaker:going to take responsibility and
Speaker:find out what I can do differently
Speaker:because it's so much in
Speaker:a lot of human nature
Speaker:to go very much
Speaker:into blame mode,
Speaker:which is completely understandable.
Speaker:But that takes a lot of energy
Speaker:that could be put elsewhere.
Speaker:So how... was it your natural
Speaker:personality or did you actively...?
Speaker:What stopped you going into the
Speaker:self-pity and allowed
Speaker:you to go into "I'm just going
Speaker:to go for this" and take all the
Speaker:positives I can.
Speaker:That's the juicy bit right, like
Speaker:the emotional and the mental stuff.
Speaker:I had been a victim for all
Speaker:my life.
Speaker:Even though from the outside I was a
Speaker:strong person.
Speaker:I realised that
Speaker:that victim mentality,
Speaker:it's like, you know, really feeling
Speaker:like a victim and feeling, Oh my
Speaker:God, you know, I had such a hard
Speaker:life. I need to fight life
Speaker:and I need to, you know, I'm alone
Speaker:in the world and why everything
Speaker:bad happens to me.
Speaker:I had been that person secretively,
Speaker:unconsciously.
Speaker:And I realised that I
Speaker:couldn't be that person anymore if I
Speaker:wanted to survive.
Speaker:Firstly, for my kids,
Speaker:because at that point I couldn't
Speaker:do anything yet
Speaker:for myself because
Speaker:I hadn't learned how to accept and
Speaker:love myself.
Speaker:Yeah, I had been angry
Speaker:for so many years, for so many
Speaker:things that had happened in my life.
Speaker:I had to blame other people for
Speaker:so many things that had happened in
Speaker:my life.
Speaker:So as soon as people said to me,
Speaker:Fight, I'm tired
Speaker:of fighting.
Speaker:Like you said, it takes so
Speaker:much energy.
Speaker:I said, I'm tired of fighting.
Speaker:I'm not going to fight this.
Speaker:I'm going to embrace this.
Speaker:I'm going to embrace this with
Speaker:full arms with all
Speaker:my being, because this
Speaker:came to my life for a reason.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So, so for me it was a very
Speaker:important moment.
Speaker:And, you know, when I look back and
Speaker:I try to think of all the details of
Speaker:it, I mean, the only thing I can
Speaker:think of is.
Speaker:Is really I needed to do it for my
Speaker:kids. They were six and four,
Speaker:and the thought of leaving them
Speaker:to grow up without their mom
Speaker:left me paralysed, left
Speaker:me... I just couldn't even think
Speaker:about it. And and I spend a couple
Speaker:of weeks in that dark place.
Speaker:And there was one day that
Speaker:kind of I spent the whole day crying
Speaker:and listening to sad music.
Speaker:And I thought, I know I'm ready.
Speaker:I'm ready for this.
Speaker:I'm going to conquer this.
Speaker:And I did.
Speaker:Yeah, It's that decision, isn't
Speaker:it? So many people talk about it
Speaker:angelica,, you know, Tony Robbins
Speaker:talks about it, you know, really
Speaker:go spiritually to things.
Speaker:It's that time when you get yourself
Speaker:where you just say, enough
Speaker:from now I'm going to make
Speaker:changes. I'm going to make changes.
Speaker:And that that decision point
Speaker:can come to people for all sorts
Speaker:of different reasons.
Speaker:But how important
Speaker:is it because you are an
Speaker:expert on habit change
Speaker:now and things, which i absolutely
Speaker:love, it's so, so important.
Speaker:But how can people
Speaker:know when they've really come to
Speaker:that decision, when they've made
Speaker:that commitment to themselves?
Speaker:I think you need to get to that
Speaker:point. Enough is enough, isn't
Speaker:there? Like, really?
Speaker:Like I said, it could be for many
Speaker:different reasons. It could be a
Speaker:relationship break up.
Speaker:It could be, you know,
Speaker:a job that you no longer
Speaker:can put up with.
Speaker:You know, like, I just can't do
Speaker:this any longer.
Speaker:Or it could be your health as well.
Speaker:You know, it could be so many
Speaker:different things.
Speaker:And I think for me,
Speaker:at the beginning of my journey, I
Speaker:read a book and it was unintentional
Speaker:because I just picked it up from the
Speaker:library and was a
Speaker:mum that was going through chemo and
Speaker:by chance, not by chance, she
Speaker:also had bowel cancer and hers was
Speaker:stage four.
Speaker:And as I kept reading this book, I
Speaker:saw that this woman wasn't changing
Speaker:and she had three kids and her kids
Speaker:were terrified.
Speaker:They were ten and 11.
Speaker:And they you know, they were posting
Speaker:things on social media about, you
Speaker:know, they were really sad that
Speaker:their mom was sick and their mom
Speaker:was going to die.
Speaker:And I just kind of thought, you
Speaker:know, if I die,
Speaker:I want to make sure that my kids
Speaker:know that I have done everything
Speaker:that I could every single
Speaker:day.
Speaker:I want them to watch this.
Speaker:I want them to witness that I've
Speaker:done everything I could to survive.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And I that I want to have that
Speaker:peace of mind.
Speaker:That I gave them...
Speaker:That
Speaker:I led by example that they saw
Speaker:me doing it.
Speaker:And I think that's, you know, for
Speaker:me was that was my motivation.
Speaker:And I think the motivation
Speaker:can come from different places.
Speaker:But I think what happens with
Speaker:people, even when they have
Speaker:that, you know, that they're in
Speaker:diagnosis or, you know, they
Speaker:know they need to change.
Speaker:I think there is a part of people
Speaker:that they feel that it's.
Speaker:You know, if it's too hard, I'm
Speaker:going to give up.
Speaker:You know, if it's so difficult,
Speaker:I'm not sure if I can do it.
Speaker:You know, and and really, it's
Speaker:not an easy journey, you know, the
Speaker:self-discovery journey, the self
Speaker:healing, physically, emotionally,
Speaker:mentally, whatever you're going
Speaker:through. It is a journey.
Speaker:It is a process.
Speaker:And the reason why for me was so
Speaker:important to go through chemo is
Speaker:that chemo stopped me.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:If I had had stage two
Speaker:and surgery and back to work, I
Speaker:would have gone back to work and
Speaker:been the same person.
Speaker:I was so stubborn
Speaker:about being
Speaker:unconscious and
Speaker:blaming other people and feeling
Speaker:like a victim. I had so many habits
Speaker:ingrained in me that I needed
Speaker:something to stop me and
Speaker:just to go.
Speaker:You need a big shake
Speaker:up and you need to wake up.
Speaker:But you're going to have to do it
Speaker:slowly, one step
Speaker:at a time.
Speaker:Because you've been doing life
Speaker:to too fast
Speaker:too rushed.
Speaker:And you really need to learn how to
Speaker:slow down.
Speaker:And for me, that was a massive
Speaker:part. And when you talk about habits
Speaker:is that, you know, when I work with
Speaker:my clients and they say Angelica,
Speaker:but, you know, I don't know if I can
Speaker:do this. This is too hard.
Speaker:I know that.
Speaker:I dragged myself for the 5 minutes
Speaker:walk during chemo and I felt sick
Speaker:as a dog, because,
Speaker:you know, when I just I didn't think
Speaker:I had the need to do it, but I did
Speaker:it.
Speaker:And guess what?
Speaker:I felt better afterwards.
Speaker:You know, I didn't do 45 minutes
Speaker:work out and, you know, change
Speaker:my diet overnight.
Speaker:It was one step at a time.
Speaker:But because I did that, I was
Speaker:able to finish the 12 sessions
Speaker:feeling stronger than I started.
Speaker:Now, my intention wasn't
Speaker:that. My intention was
Speaker:I want to survive the next chemo
Speaker:treatment, which is in two
Speaker:weeks time.
Speaker:Cancer had me, like, kneeling
Speaker:on the ground.
Speaker:It wasn't an easy journey.
Speaker:I had many delays in my chemo
Speaker:journey because I had low white
Speaker:cells, low platelet and at the
Speaker:hospital with a bleeding that they
Speaker:did not know how to explain.
Speaker:And I was bleeding to death.
Speaker:Like, it is a journey
Speaker:that you're literally taking day
Speaker:by day.
Speaker:And that was one of the
Speaker:hardest.
Speaker:You know, I don't like calling it a
Speaker:battle, but I would say process.
Speaker:The physical stuff.
Speaker:I believe... Our bodies are so
Speaker:resilient, so beautiful and so
Speaker:intelligent.
Speaker:But the mental like if you
Speaker:are not on top of it in a journey
Speaker:like that, it's very
Speaker:easily you can get unbalanced
Speaker:and get down into a spiral.
Speaker:And I learned that that
Speaker:I needed to be
Speaker:really on top of my mental
Speaker:health every single
Speaker:day.
Speaker:Which led me to practising yoga,
Speaker:meditation,
Speaker:working on my emotional healing
Speaker:journey of forgiveness and
Speaker:all of those things.
Speaker:But it was all about,
Speaker:you know, taking one day at a time.
Speaker:It's so interesting.
Speaker:So everyone watching my channel.
Speaker:You know, people, these are people
Speaker:that have done a lot of self work
Speaker:generally, and every
Speaker:single spiritual practice or
Speaker:self-development program, every
Speaker:single one...
Speaker:I've yet to come across one
Speaker:that doesn't talk about the
Speaker:importance of being in the present
Speaker:moment.
Speaker:And what you've decided- you
Speaker:just described to us
Speaker:was that you had no choice.
Speaker:The universe had pulled that rug so
Speaker:deeply away from you and your family
Speaker:that you had to be in the present
Speaker:moment. You couldn't plan ahead.
Speaker:You weren't able to
Speaker:at that stage.
Speaker:And it's so interesting, isn't
Speaker:it, to see
Speaker:how these core principles come
Speaker:back time and time and
Speaker:time again. You know, there's so
Speaker:many of these modalities that we can
Speaker:all use ourselves, but at the core,
Speaker:there's the same messages coming
Speaker:through time and time again.
Speaker:And it's fascinating.
Speaker:That it is so-
Speaker:and you said it so beautifully
Speaker:that it happened exactly
Speaker:like, you know, at the beginning it
Speaker:would be like planning, okay, well,
Speaker:I'm going to have my session, you
Speaker:know, in two weeks time, and then
Speaker:I'll finish my 12 full treatments
Speaker:in September, October,
Speaker:and then I would have a delay.
Speaker:And then I'll have another delay and
Speaker:then I'll have a sore throat.
Speaker:And I couldn't get a chemo.
Speaker:And when I had that bleeding,
Speaker:you know, this is how stubborn I was
Speaker:in the process. And I was still
Speaker:trying to control life and control
Speaker:everything, you know.
Speaker:But I'm doing everything.
Speaker:I'm changing my diet.
Speaker:I'm exercising. Why?
Speaker:You know, why am I getting those
Speaker:delays?
Speaker:So I had this bleeding, which
Speaker:was a period that they said to me,
Speaker:You're going to go into menopause.
Speaker:And I didn't. I was the only patient
Speaker:with one ovary that had a period
Speaker:during chemo and they did not know
Speaker:how to stop the bleeding, it was so
Speaker:intense that they were just
Speaker:like, puzzled.
Speaker:They were like, I just don't know
Speaker:how this is happening.
Speaker:And I remember that, you know, every
Speaker:day the oncologists
Speaker:would come in because I was in a
Speaker:cancer ward and they would be like,
Speaker:you know, how are you feeling?
Speaker:Your plate? Your white cells are
Speaker:still zero.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:your red cells are just going down,
Speaker:and we need a blood transfusion,
Speaker:iron transfusion.
Speaker:But, you know, you can't get out
Speaker:there because your white cells are
Speaker:zero and you have zero
Speaker:soldiers.
Speaker:And every
Speaker:day I would wake up and say to the
Speaker:nurse, do you know what my red cells
Speaker:are, do you know what my white cells
Speaker:are? Do you know what my neutrophils
Speaker:are? And they are busy.
Speaker:You know, they're like, Oh, I'll
Speaker:check with you and I'll come back,
Speaker:you know? And there was this
Speaker:beautiful ecologist who was from
Speaker:Colombia, and she saw me
Speaker:doing that.
Speaker:And she came
Speaker:to see me at about 4:00
Speaker:by herself, and she spoke
Speaker:to me in Spanish.
Speaker:So she wasn't talking to me as an
Speaker:oncologist, but as a human
Speaker:being.
Speaker:She said, Angelica, you need to let
Speaker:go.
Speaker:Your body is going to do
Speaker:what it needs to do, when
Speaker:it needs to do.
Speaker:You need to stop waking up every
Speaker:single day and asking the nurses
Speaker:what a neutrophils are, What
Speaker:your white cells are, what your red
Speaker:cells are?
Speaker:You are going to get out of here
Speaker:when you can.
Speaker:But right now you need to stay here
Speaker:because if you go out there, you're
Speaker:going to die.
Speaker:And for me it took me about four
Speaker:sessions of chemotherapy.
Speaker:That was the moment that the penny
Speaker:dropped.
Speaker:And I was like, That's right.
Speaker:That's the journey.
Speaker:That, you know, when you talk about
Speaker:blaming.
Speaker:I've decided to come on this
Speaker:journey.
Speaker:This is the way I decided to
Speaker:learn,
Speaker:you know what I am going through?
Speaker:I made those decisions.
Speaker:You know, because I've been
Speaker:stubborn. Because I've been trying
Speaker:to control.
Speaker:And I now know what I need to
Speaker:do.
Speaker:I just need to let go.
Speaker:And let go in itself is a journey,
Speaker:right? Is a practice, is a habit.
Speaker:You know, you don't go from a person
Speaker:who is a control freak to
Speaker:letting go of everything, you know.
Speaker:Like I'm saying, it took me four
Speaker:sessions to
Speaker:realise. Now just plan
Speaker:for the next hour.
Speaker:You'll be good in that,
Speaker:you know, Forget about tomorrow.
Speaker:There might not be a tomorrow.
Speaker:And.
Speaker:And that is so powerful.
Speaker:So simple, but so powerful,
Speaker:right?
Speaker:Like you're saying, every practice.
Speaker:You know, people
Speaker:teaching those simple things,
Speaker:but the power is in actually
Speaker:doing it.
Speaker:Like for me that,
Speaker:you know, for me that is my
Speaker:meditation practice, which,
Speaker:you know, at the beginning I'll be
Speaker:sitting there thinking like, this is
Speaker:ridiculous.
Speaker:My mind is going crazy.
Speaker:I'm thinking of all sorts of
Speaker:different things. This is doing
Speaker:nothing. I'm not made for this.
Speaker:This is ridiculous.
Speaker:It is pointless.
Speaker:Then after a year of meditating,
Speaker:we went to the UK to visit family
Speaker:and I exercise every
Speaker:day. But I didn't meditate
Speaker:and I realised that I lost the
Speaker:ability to bring my attention back
Speaker:to the present moment
Speaker:as quickly as I was able
Speaker:to.
Speaker:And then it clicked for me.
Speaker:This is what the meditation practice
Speaker:does.
Speaker:It helps me to bring
Speaker:my attention back to the present
Speaker:moment.
Speaker:Beautiful.
Speaker:Sometimes we might find that it's
Speaker:not doing anything I like.
Speaker:What is it going to do if I just eat
Speaker:more fruit and vegetables?
Speaker:Well, it will do
Speaker:some things slowly on the background
Speaker:that you don't even realise.
Speaker:And the more you do it, the more
Speaker:it compounds.
Speaker:And before you know
Speaker:you don't like crave
Speaker:anymore chocolate
Speaker:biscuits and, you know, Coca cola
Speaker:and, you know, salami and cheese.
Speaker:You you crave the fruit
Speaker:and vegetables and the healthy
Speaker:meals.
Speaker:I love this so much because it's
Speaker:so true and it's one of my dogs
Speaker:has recently just twinged her back
Speaker:because she's very energetic and she
Speaker:leaps everywhere.
Speaker:But what I love, Angelica, is
Speaker:hearing you describe what you've
Speaker:gone through. I see this with
Speaker:animals the whole time.
Speaker:You know, that's my speciality
Speaker:working with animals and humans.
Speaker:But what I see is they innately know
Speaker:when they need to rest.
Speaker:They know when they need to fast.
Speaker:You know, they know now sometimes
Speaker:as humans can pull them out of
Speaker:that because we're obsessed
Speaker:that they need to eat, They need to
Speaker:do they need to exercise that
Speaker:thing.
Speaker:Animals know and we
Speaker:know. But we're so...
Speaker:It's so much conflicting information
Speaker:out there.
Speaker:And one one interesting point
Speaker:I really wanted to cover at this
Speaker:stage, if we can, I know what we're
Speaker:going to have to do a part, two,
Speaker:because we haven't got time.
Speaker:And I don't want to rush it because
Speaker:there's so many lessons here.
Speaker:For me pointing
Speaker:out to anyone who's watching this is
Speaker:this isn't just a health lesson.
Speaker:This is whether you're waiting
Speaker:for anything to change your life.
Speaker:If you're waiting for certain
Speaker:healing modalities to
Speaker:come in, if you're waiting for free
Speaker:energy, if you're waiting for
Speaker:financial reset, if you're waiting
Speaker:for someone to change the political
Speaker:system so that your life can be
Speaker:different, all
Speaker:these are lessons you've learned
Speaker:through your journey.
Speaker:Very much.
Speaker:Wow, you know what a journey
Speaker:you've been through to learn these
Speaker:lessons. But if you could,
Speaker:just for this stage of it,
Speaker:how could you explain your
Speaker:experience and how it helps
Speaker:you with your coaching
Speaker:or working with other people
Speaker:to say, Look, this is something you
Speaker:can apply to all aspects of your
Speaker:life?
Speaker:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker:So a lot of people that are drawn to
Speaker:my message, they are already feeling
Speaker:some physical discomfort.
Speaker:They might not have a diagnosis yet,
Speaker:but their bodies are already telling
Speaker:them, you know, this is not
Speaker:going well.
Speaker:And then, of course, that's
Speaker:affecting them mentally and
Speaker:emotionally as well.
Speaker:And I think that once we
Speaker:start changing what
Speaker:they do,
Speaker:I really like focusing on what...
Speaker:People do and practice every single
Speaker:day. I think there is things that
Speaker:are outside us like
Speaker:the modalities that you're speaking
Speaker:about that can support us.
Speaker:But the core of health,
Speaker:happiness and success is what
Speaker:we do.
Speaker:Yeah. Which is
Speaker:scary because that's like taking
Speaker:full responsibility.
Speaker:So even something as little as
Speaker:a lot of people, they might have
Speaker:relationship issues which
Speaker:is affecting their health.
Speaker:Like, for example, when I had a
Speaker:client and she said I'm exhausted,
Speaker:there was no explanation.
Speaker:The doctor just told me, you know,
Speaker:there's nothing wrong with you.
Speaker:Come back in three months and do
Speaker:another blood.
Speaker:And we started implementing the
Speaker:physical changes, some emotional
Speaker:changes of like things like how she
Speaker:dealt with her work and and
Speaker:day to day interactions
Speaker:with her clients and prioritising
Speaker:her time.
Speaker:And she started feeling lots of
Speaker:energy, but her relationship
Speaker:wasn't right.
Speaker:You know, and at the end of my
Speaker:coaching program, you know, she's
Speaker:like Angelica, I've got it now and I
Speaker:know what I need to do.
Speaker:You know, physically, I'm...
Speaker:The habits are ingraining, you know,
Speaker:like a wake up and I'm, you know,
Speaker:doing my own routine and I'm eating
Speaker:differently. I know what I need to
Speaker:do, exercising.
Speaker:I'm doing everything.
Speaker:I said, but there is one thing here
Speaker:that I'm going to
Speaker:remind you that is going to be a
Speaker:trigger.
Speaker:Which is your relationship.
Speaker:Now, I'm not asking you to
Speaker:break up with your husband or your
Speaker:partner or whatever, but you need
Speaker:to understand that whenever
Speaker:something happens, your relationship
Speaker:is going to pull your energy down.
Speaker:And it's how
Speaker:you deal with that,
Speaker:that it's going to be
Speaker:the defining factor if
Speaker:you keep feeling
Speaker:full of energy, or if you let
Speaker:yourself go down to the exhaustion
Speaker:path again.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:It's a choice, right?
Speaker:Like, if you're choosing
Speaker:to
Speaker:stay in this relationship, you know,
Speaker:I believe people can lead by
Speaker:example. And I think a lot of my
Speaker:clients have done that.
Speaker:They have changed their partners
Speaker:because, you know, a lot of people
Speaker:are waiting for the other partners
Speaker:to change or they can change.
Speaker:Which we know
Speaker:it now.
Speaker:It's a myth.
Speaker:If you want to see the change in the
Speaker:world, you need to change.
Speaker:You need to lead by example.
Speaker:You know, I believe everything is
Speaker:possible, but then there is a point
Speaker:that you need to make that decision
Speaker:is this serving me or not serving.
Speaker:So this is, you know, and work is
Speaker:the same thing, right?
Speaker:Like, you know, when I went back to
Speaker:my corporate job after cancer.
Speaker:You know, and I kind of found
Speaker:myself. I just can't fit
Speaker:anymore in this environment.
Speaker:I'm really I really tried
Speaker:because I loved what I did.
Speaker:I used to work in recruitment and
Speaker:it was helping people, their jobs.
Speaker:And and I thought, all I do
Speaker:is meet people that are deeply
Speaker:unhappy.
Speaker:They are stressed out
Speaker:to the bone. They're not looking
Speaker:after health.
Speaker:And I want to shake them and say,
Speaker:wake up. They are living
Speaker:unconsciously and I can't be
Speaker:surrounded by these people anymore.
Speaker:I need to help people to wake
Speaker:up.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And this is why I started my
Speaker:business. But was it an easy
Speaker:decision?
Speaker:Hell no.
Speaker:You know, after everything that I
Speaker:had gone through, was it easy to go,
Speaker:Oh, okay, I have this really great
Speaker:job offer, a good salary?
Speaker:Should I just start my business with
Speaker:zero clients and no security
Speaker:and safety?
Speaker:Who does that right?
Speaker:Like. You think like you're crazy.
Speaker:You know, it's going to be
Speaker:stressful.
Speaker:You know, you're going to have to,
Speaker:you know, overwork yourself,
Speaker:you know, to make anything happen.
Speaker:And from the
Speaker:get go, you know, I made myself
Speaker:a promise, you know,
Speaker:from from when I was
Speaker:diagnosed with cancer.
Speaker:You know, my health is always going
Speaker:to be a priority and I am always
Speaker:going to be put first.
Speaker:Even before my kids, because
Speaker:when I didn't do that.
Speaker:I wasn't sure if I was going to be
Speaker:around for my kids.
Speaker:And I couldn't afford to do that
Speaker:anymore.
Speaker:I can't afford to do that anymore.
Speaker:It's the saying, isn't it, Angelica,
Speaker:that, you know, if you
Speaker:can't solve a problem from the same
Speaker:reality that it's created from,
Speaker:or if you keep doing things,
Speaker:you're going to keep getting the
Speaker:same results.
Speaker:And this is why I think we will
Speaker:definitely be doing probably a part
Speaker:two and part three of this.
Speaker:So in the comments below, please do
Speaker:let us know your questions because
Speaker:we're going to come on to In Session
Speaker:two some of the real tools
Speaker:that can really help you
Speaker:with whatever aspect of your
Speaker:life that you're going through these
Speaker:changes.
Speaker:But I'd like to just
Speaker:say you have had these changes
Speaker:that you've made for yourself.
Speaker:You made such an important point
Speaker:about leading by example.
Speaker:Can you share any of
Speaker:the repercussions this has
Speaker:had on your family, on your
Speaker:immediate family, by you
Speaker:completely transforming your
Speaker:lifestyle and your, most
Speaker:importantly, mindset?
Speaker:So.
Speaker:Right. And and
Speaker:for me, it was very important that I
Speaker:changed my...
Speaker:Especially my eating habits
Speaker:together with them.
Speaker:We are a very close family,
Speaker:and I couldn't do it on my own.
Speaker:They are part of me.
Speaker:So I started making those changes
Speaker:very, very slowly because I couldn't
Speaker:ask of my husband who was
Speaker:looking after me and looking at it.
Speaker:We don't have [?] In Australia on
Speaker:top of that to cook a different meal
Speaker:for me.
Speaker:And so the changes
Speaker:were very, very slowly.
Speaker:90% plant based.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah. So oh,
Speaker:we eat a
Speaker:90% plant
Speaker:based diet.
Speaker:Yeah. And,
Speaker:and for me, you know, my kids,
Speaker:they both could come here and
Speaker:give anybody nutrition class
Speaker:because I explained to them I took
Speaker:them on a journey with me
Speaker:I would draw, I would explain
Speaker:even about like the genes, you know,
Speaker:like I've got like the the diabetes,
Speaker:the diabetes genes
Speaker:in my family, you know, But I'm
Speaker:saying, okay, well, both
Speaker:grandparents had diabetes, My dad
Speaker:had diabetes, I had gestational
Speaker:diabetes. But that, you know, I've
Speaker:got a me to have the diabetes
Speaker:but with everything that I do
Speaker:daily, you know I'm not
Speaker:switching that gene on.
Speaker:You know, they they know all of
Speaker:that.
Speaker:You know, they could.
Speaker:And I'm really proud of them
Speaker:because they get the information
Speaker:from the government going to school
Speaker:and telling them what
Speaker:they should be eating.
Speaker:And they come home and they're like,
Speaker:Mom, you can't believe what they
Speaker:said that we should be eating
Speaker:because they know.
Speaker:My husband.
Speaker:He's the healthiest
Speaker:and the fittest he has ever been
Speaker:and myself as well.
Speaker:So we went on this journey of
Speaker:exercising, you know, the eating and
Speaker:the meditation and all of it.
Speaker:It was a this is a really funny
Speaker:story. We had a little bit of a
Speaker:high cholesterol and and my
Speaker:doctor, she's she's beautiful, my
Speaker:GP, and she said,
Speaker:Angelica, that she said to him like,
Speaker:look, there is nothing you can do
Speaker:with your cholesterol anymore when
Speaker:know you've got the family history,
Speaker:it's already as low as
Speaker:it can be, but there is nothing
Speaker:you can do anymore.
Speaker:You know, it has already reduced a
Speaker:lot. And I said, Well, there is
Speaker:something that he can do more.
Speaker:And she was
Speaker:like, well, he he needs to exercise
Speaker:more. And he did.
Speaker:And his cholesterol is normal.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So, so, you know,
Speaker:there is so much power
Speaker:in our own body, so much
Speaker:intelligence.
Speaker:Intelligence. You know, there is so
Speaker:much
Speaker:for me. I've built this beautiful
Speaker:connection with my body because I
Speaker:cannot believe how resilient the
Speaker:body is.
Speaker:You know, I was in awe.
Speaker:With everything that my body did for
Speaker:me.
Speaker:And I feel so blessed, you know,
Speaker:like, and I when I say
Speaker:this, I feel it in my body because
Speaker:I built that connection with my
Speaker:body.
Speaker:Mm hmm.
Speaker:So it is almost like beyond the
Speaker:watch. You know, when I work with
Speaker:clients that it's a big shift that
Speaker:they have. Like the actual
Speaker:physical changes are not that hard.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:It's it's really the mindset behind
Speaker:it and the changing your
Speaker:perspective, building
Speaker:that relationship with your body.
Speaker:You know, if you think about, you
Speaker:know, the whole diet culture,
Speaker:you know, if diet worked, everybody
Speaker:would be thin.
Speaker:And yet you have the 2%
Speaker:of the population and obesity level.
Speaker:One know one of my clients who
Speaker:is around 60 years old and we
Speaker:started implementing
Speaker:the changes and she she was amazing
Speaker:because she changed really quickly
Speaker:in her own accord to a very
Speaker:much plant based diet.
Speaker:That wasn't something that
Speaker:I believe that...
Speaker:I didn't say to her, like, you need
Speaker:to become plant based.
Speaker:I share my teachings.
Speaker:But of course, you know, some people
Speaker:they may not want to be completely
Speaker:plant based. Before I was like, I
Speaker:just really like this and I'm loving
Speaker:this. And she's cooking from
Speaker:scratch. And she was loving it and
Speaker:exercising.
Speaker:And she said, Angelica, but, you
Speaker:know, four weeks on and I'm not
Speaker:losing weight.
Speaker:And I said, okay.
Speaker:She said. I'm thinking I'm going to
Speaker:start fasting.
Speaker:And I said, okay, so you
Speaker:have been on this yo yo diet.
Speaker:For.
Speaker:30 to 40 years, you've told me.
Speaker:Hmm.
Speaker:And you want your body to
Speaker:change and lose
Speaker:all the weight that you want your
Speaker:body to lose in four weeks.
Speaker:Do you think that is
Speaker:doable?
Speaker:Oh, no, I don't think that's doable.
Speaker:Okay, so I do
Speaker:this. It is a habit and a pattern,
Speaker:right? You'll have it here.
Speaker:It's to go back in to starving
Speaker:yourself. Because that's all you
Speaker:know.
Speaker:Hmm.
Speaker:So you've already came up with a
Speaker:plan.
Speaker:Okay, I'm going to starve myself
Speaker:with the fasting.
Speaker:She said, I really get that now.
Speaker:You know, it takes it takes years
Speaker:to become- to create sickness
Speaker:in the body.
Speaker:But I would always say doesn't
Speaker:create the same amount of
Speaker:time for you to create health.
Speaker:You know, look at me.
Speaker:Like five years on, I feel the
Speaker:healthiest I have ever been.
Speaker:I take zero medication.
Speaker:You know, I'm.
Speaker:I have so much
Speaker:energy. But when I look back
Speaker:at myself, this I know when
Speaker:this cancer started
Speaker:inside my body and it was probably
Speaker:when I was in my mid twenties
Speaker:when I was diagnosed
Speaker:when I was 38 years old.
Speaker:Exactly.
Speaker:And this is why I think, you know,
Speaker:one of the most important things you
Speaker:said today is just
Speaker:this allowing yourself the time
Speaker:to make the decision.
Speaker:Because if anyone gets a diagnosis
Speaker:or some other
Speaker:real curve ball in another wave of
Speaker:your life thrown at you, it's
Speaker:so hard not to go into the flight
Speaker:or flight response, our survival
Speaker:response, because that's what it is.
Speaker:But actually, if you're not just
Speaker:about to be eaten by a lion,
Speaker:you've got time to take
Speaker:because if it's, say for your
Speaker:cancer, it didn't
Speaker:appear overnight, therefore
Speaker:allowing yourself a week or two
Speaker:to take the time that you need
Speaker:is absolutely so,
Speaker:so critical.
Speaker:One thing I really want to ask
Speaker:you before we finish for today I
Speaker:know we will definitely
Speaker:be back for part two, but
Speaker:you've mentioned some really
Speaker:good experiences that you've had
Speaker:with your medical professionals or
Speaker:some doctors that you've interact
Speaker:with on this journey, and
Speaker:there's so much judgement
Speaker:around everything at the moment,
Speaker:you know, in every aspect of
Speaker:everyone's lives.
Speaker:Yes, I've got an opinion, people
Speaker:have got judgements.
Speaker:But what did allowing yourself
Speaker:to go through chemotherapy
Speaker:give to you was it time to make
Speaker:those changes?
Speaker:Because there's a lot of judgement
Speaker:over people's choices often aren't
Speaker:there Angelica?
Speaker:Oh, my gosh. So,
Speaker:so much judgement.
Speaker:I think I've since then I've
Speaker:completed a Bachelor of Holistic
Speaker:Health Sciences.
Speaker:And when I look at
Speaker:my case, my surgeon
Speaker:was incredible.
Speaker:I see some I still go to the same
Speaker:hospital when he did my last
Speaker:colonoscopy and he didn't realise
Speaker:that was me waiting to,
Speaker:you know, to go into the room.
Speaker:And because I had a mask
Speaker:on and he had a mask on and I was
Speaker:like, Oh my Gosh, you saved my life
Speaker:four years ago. And, and
Speaker:you know, you don't remember me.
Speaker:And you know, of course he doesn't
Speaker:remember he sees so many patients
Speaker:and. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker:And, and that man saved
Speaker:my life because.
Speaker:So many
Speaker:so many things that could have
Speaker:happened.
Speaker:You know, the the cancer
Speaker:was just
Speaker:up from the rectum, so that
Speaker:was blocking for all that poop,
Speaker:you know, to come out.
Speaker:I could have had, you know,
Speaker:all of that poo going all over my
Speaker:body and killed me.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:You know, I needed that surgery
Speaker:at that time, looking out for me.
Speaker:It was that moment that I said, you
Speaker:know, drop it immediately.
Speaker:I knew that there was something that
Speaker:I needed to do about it.
Speaker:Yeah. Now the oncologists,
Speaker:you know, like.
Speaker:Like you saying before, you know,
Speaker:they are just doing their job.
Speaker:You know, they're looking at, you
Speaker:know, how much you know,
Speaker:the oncologist told me I'm going to give you
Speaker:the strongest chemo your body can
Speaker:take. That's his job.
Speaker:He doesn't see beyond that.
Speaker:It's not his job to tell you to
Speaker:change your life.
Speaker:Yeah, he's not trained for that.
Speaker:His job is a different job.
Speaker:And I think when we get into the
Speaker:place of like, you know, condemning,
Speaker:you know, the medical people, you
Speaker:know, and just, oh, no, why didn't
Speaker:they tell me this?
Speaker:And it's not their job.
Speaker:They are doing their particular job.
Speaker:The gastroenterologists, you know,
Speaker:they're looking at something
Speaker:else because I you know, I go to
Speaker:both the oncologist and the
Speaker:gastroentologist, you know, is
Speaker:everything going well, You know,
Speaker:because we still need to do the
Speaker:colonoscopy, you know, do you have
Speaker:any issues? And, you know, it's a
Speaker:whole different focus there.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:But bottom line is, who
Speaker:knows my body
Speaker:best? Me.
Speaker:Who can take charge of what I do
Speaker:daily? Myself.
Speaker:Nobody's going to do that work
Speaker:for me.
Speaker:That was quite clear.
Speaker:From the get go.
Speaker:I needed to change
Speaker:dramatically my whole entire
Speaker:life.
Speaker:And I really think I am
Speaker:grateful the nurses, all the work
Speaker:that they do, you know, like around
Speaker:you and, you know, during the chemo
Speaker:therapy.
Speaker:And yes, I mean, there is a lot of
Speaker:people because I started calling all
Speaker:the natural, you know,
Speaker:people that believe in natural
Speaker:science and natural medicine and all
Speaker:of that. And and yeah I
Speaker:just saw it like.
Speaker:You guys see this is one way or the
Speaker:other. I see this as both.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Sometimes we need to use
Speaker:conventional to buy some time.
Speaker:Absolutely.
Speaker:And I would say I was in that
Speaker:category because, you know, for
Speaker:me was, you know, I had
Speaker:a little cyst on my liver.
Speaker:And at the beginning of my,
Speaker:you know, after surgery, they
Speaker:sent me to do a scan and they
Speaker:were looking at my liver.
Speaker:No joke for one hour.
Speaker:And the guy said, I'm just going to
Speaker:get another person to look, just to
Speaker:make sure.
Speaker:At the time, I did not know what
Speaker:they were doing.
Speaker:They they were looking to see that
Speaker:this was cancer.
Speaker:And I know it was cancer because
Speaker:that cyst is no longer there.
Speaker:And.
Speaker:But, you know, like it's their job.
Speaker:They're focusing on their thing.
Speaker:So, you know, when I ask
Speaker:myself, now, would
Speaker:I have done chemo if I had all the
Speaker:knowledge that I have
Speaker:now? I don't know.
Speaker:I don't know if
Speaker:you can only say you are going to do
Speaker:this or that once you are in in a
Speaker:in a situation.
Speaker:A lot of people told me, you know,
Speaker:but, you know, don't do chemo is the
Speaker:worst thing ever.
Speaker:I finished 12 sessions of chemo and
Speaker:I was so proud of that, feeling
Speaker:stronger than I started.
Speaker:Because I focus on my health, I
Speaker:focus on my body, I focus on my
Speaker:eating and exercise hard.
Speaker:On my worst days, I would go for a 5
Speaker:minutes walk or my best
Speaker:day, I would go for it.
Speaker:Yoga for an hour with strength
Speaker:exercises, you name it.
Speaker:Right? Everything.
Speaker:I, I built up to
Speaker:doing that. But every little bit
Speaker:that I did, it counted massively
Speaker:to the end result.
Speaker:Now, one of the nurses told me when
Speaker:I finished the 12 session was there
Speaker:for the last one.
Speaker:He said, Angelica, well done
Speaker:for finishing the 12 sessions of
Speaker:chemo.
Speaker:And I said, not everybody do that?
Speaker:And they said, Hell no.
Speaker:I have seen four people
Speaker:in eight years of oncology finishing
Speaker:this chemo treatment.
Speaker:And I was like, Oh my God.
Speaker:You could have told me that at the
Speaker:start.
Speaker:And I was just joking but, you know,
Speaker:that was insane because, you know,
Speaker:like, I just for me, I was so.
Speaker:Focussed.
Speaker:I was focussed.
Speaker:You know, when people say, you
Speaker:know, life is going to get in the
Speaker:way, life is going to get busy
Speaker:again. Life hasn't got busy
Speaker:again for me.
Speaker:Life hasn't got busy again for my
Speaker:health because I want to live
Speaker:so much. I want to do so
Speaker:many things.
Speaker:And still and I remind of
Speaker:myself every single
Speaker:day.
Speaker:Of it.
Speaker:Brilliant. Absolutely love it.
Speaker:So we
Speaker:are going to be back for part
Speaker:two, where we're going
Speaker:to talk you through some of
Speaker:Angelica's key
Speaker:mindset tips
Speaker:and habit tips about how
Speaker:to first and foremost, look at what
Speaker:habits you want to change and
Speaker:secondly, about how important it is
Speaker:to staying with them.
Speaker:But this background to the story
Speaker:is so, so important because I've
Speaker:taken so much out of that.
Speaker:Angelica, thank you so much for
Speaker:sharing that.
Speaker:And you know, one of the main things
Speaker:I've personally taken out of it
Speaker:and I would love to hear below what
Speaker:the listeners have, but for
Speaker:me, it's so important
Speaker:to let go of that judgement.
Speaker:Judgement for yourself?
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:Judgements for others we're all
Speaker:on different journeys.
Speaker:There's been so much
Speaker:you know, blame.
Speaker:This person's done that to us.
Speaker:Yes, our whole education system
Speaker:is wrong.
Speaker:But it's not
Speaker:the school's job to bring up your
Speaker:children for you.
Speaker:Yes. Our health care could be
Speaker:improved
Speaker:but it's saved a lot of lives.
Speaker:So if we focus on
Speaker:the fact that we're all on this
Speaker:journey together and every single
Speaker:person on that journey
Speaker:has a part to play, a very
Speaker:important part to play,
Speaker:then all that energy that we
Speaker:can put towards blaming
Speaker:and judgement can
Speaker:be towards the positive
Speaker:of the healing.
Speaker:That's beautifully said.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And there is so much
Speaker:energy wasted in that.
Speaker:I really believe that.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:It's very powerful, you know, to
Speaker:finish like this, because I think
Speaker:that, you know, me as a person, when
Speaker:you talk about the blame and the
Speaker:anger, I, you know,
Speaker:a third of my cancer,
Speaker:we can talk about is on the next
Speaker:one. It was that.
Speaker:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker:All the energy wasted in that.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Absolutely.
Speaker:I love how open and honest you are
Speaker:showing this, I think is so
Speaker:important now.
Speaker:Angelica, Tell everyone how
Speaker:they can get hold of you.
Speaker:And of course, I will put all your
Speaker:links below.
Speaker:So they can get hold of me
Speaker:on. I've got a website, on Facebook,
Speaker:YouTube and
Speaker:LinkedIn, and I'm experimenting with
Speaker:Tik Tok as well.
Speaker:So yeah, so yeah, you can
Speaker:just get in touch and that.
Speaker:Yeah, I'd love to.
Speaker:But yeah, like I said, please
Speaker:ask questions so we can
Speaker:really talk about,
Speaker:you know, the answers and the
Speaker:questions around what you need
Speaker:right now and what are the things
Speaker:that you are going through right
Speaker:now. Because I think it's really
Speaker:important to understand more
Speaker:about the issue so we can really
Speaker:address them.
Speaker:I love it. I absolutely love it.
Speaker:So in the comments below, Angelica
Speaker:and I will be keeping an eye on
Speaker:them. We will be answering
Speaker:your questions, but very
Speaker:importantly, making a list of
Speaker:priorities for the next discussion.
Speaker:Because having known Angelica
Speaker:for a while and our mutual friend
Speaker:Nirmala, I can promise
Speaker:you anyone who's got a challenge in
Speaker:your life, please get in contact
Speaker:with Angelica.
Speaker:She offers various different
Speaker:programs, but you can work with
Speaker:her. And it's...
Speaker:This is possible.
Speaker:We can all live our best lives.
Speaker:We can change our personality.
Speaker:We can change the trajectory of
Speaker:ourselves.
Speaker:You've been through this journey
Speaker:with your family,
Speaker:and it's so beautiful to share
Speaker:this. It's a real story
Speaker:of hope, inspiration,
Speaker:and also how rewarding
Speaker:going through that journey is.
Speaker:So, so important.
Speaker:So thank you so much, Angelica.
Speaker:We really appreciate you.
Speaker:Any final words you want to leave
Speaker:people with?
Speaker:Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker:And you know, I would love to do a
Speaker:part two, but really serve
Speaker:people what they they need
Speaker:right now. Because like I said, you
Speaker:know, we need more hope.
Speaker:We need more positive
Speaker:messages. And I think it's beautiful
Speaker:the work they you're doing to to
Speaker:feel linked to that.
Speaker:And they definitely need more of
Speaker:that in the world.
Speaker:Thank you so much.
Speaker:Thank you, everyone, for listening.
Speaker:If this does resonate with you, if
Speaker:there's someone in your life, please
Speaker:do share it with them because
Speaker:this is how we make the world a
Speaker:better place.
Speaker:Thanks very much.
Speaker:Bye.
Speaker:Thank you so much for taking the
Speaker:time to listen.
Speaker:And if you feel inspired, please
Speaker:do share with your friends and
Speaker:family.
Speaker:My goal is to inspire as many
Speaker:people as I can to live their best
Speaker:lives, to stay curious
Speaker:and to raise their consciousness
Speaker:and that of the collective.
Speaker:So to do this, I need to reach as
Speaker:many people as possible.
Speaker:And this needs your help.
Speaker:If you feel drawn, would you be
Speaker:willing to share your favourite
Speaker:episode with five different people?
Speaker:This helps us spread the word and
Speaker:also helps me encourage some
Speaker:exciting new guests to take part in
Speaker:this podcast.
Speaker:If you feel drawn to do that, I
Speaker:would be very, very grateful.
Speaker:All the links and discount codes
Speaker:where applicable for all the
Speaker:products that I support
Speaker:are om my two websites.
Speaker:CatherineEdwards.Life
Speaker:and CatherineEdwardsAcademy.com.
Speaker:All of the products are personally
Speaker:tried and tested by me,
Speaker:my family and my clients.
Speaker:And finally.
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Speaker:And above all, stay curious
