Getting Unstuck: Growing Oneself to Help Grow Others – a Transformation Story with Lisa Sargese
“Overeating was a very convenient way to escape my feelings, to numb and punish myself. And I suffered.”
Today on Getting Unstuck
Our lives are rarely linear. Most of us start out “here” and then make a series of twists and turns. Sometimes we’re the driver. Sometimes fate and opportunity take the wheel. And sometimes someone else says “I’ll drive.”
In this series we’re calling “Transformation Stories,” we depart from our traditional format where we talk to an expert about some aspect of change. Instead, here we interview one individual about how they came to be where they are today. We’ll focus on a turning point, or catalyst that propelled them from a less than desirable situation to one that’s more aligned with who they really are and where they want to be.
In this episode of “Getting Unstuck,” we talk with Lisa Sargese, now a professor of religion at Montclair State University in New Jersey. She is also an author, speaker, and meditation teacher.
All of our “transformation stories” are challenging to listen to because we sit with people who have struggled, are struggling, or have “hit bottom.” Be forewarned, Lisa’s story is particularly so. But it’s also a beautiful story of personal change – of harnessing faith, inner understanding and strength, and Eastern wisdom.
Listen for
Act 1 - Pain
Listen for how Lisa attempted to manage her eating disorder and the complications that arose from her actions.
“I was bullied at school and I was bullied at home. I had no peace. So I escaped into the only substance I could to punish and numb myself, and that was food.”
Act 2 - Transformation
What was the defining moment – the catalyst – when Lisa turned her life from pain and suffering to growth?
“Now I had to heal my heart and my emotion. I had to convince myself that my body was worthy of respect and care. My mindset, I'm learning that the biggest abuser in my life was me.”
Act 3 - Today
What work is Lisa doing for others that supports her own growth?
“I teach mindfulness – helping people to connect to their physical body, and to forgive and accept and detach from their thoughts. Because we think that what we think is real. And there's nothing real about thoughts, unless we grab onto them and make them concrete.”
“So as much as I have appropriate anger and resentment about [my past], I also have a very positive view of it. I would not be who I am, and be able to do what I do without having suffered the way I did.”