Money is one of the fastest ways we shut down desire with a single sentence: “I can’t afford it.” As we step into season four of Desire as Medicine, we’re bringing money, wealth, and financial literacy into the center of the conversation, not as experts, but as two women learning in real time and inviting you to learn with us.

We talk about why this pivot feels so important right now, especially for women who want to speak their desires, hold boundaries, and build lives with more choice. We break down a key mindset shift that changes everything: income pays the bills, but assets can build freedom. From retirement worries to building buffers, from investing language to the shame that keeps people silent, we name what many of us think but rarely say out loud. We also share a behind-the-scenes moment where we break the money taboo completely by looking at an annuity together on Zoom, numbers and all, and what that kind of transparency can unlock.

This conversation widens the definition of wealth, too. Yes, we’re exploring money and investing, but we also name wealth in emotional regulation, relationships, collaboration, time, support, and gratitude. If you’ve ever felt behind, overwhelmed, or unsure where to start, we want this to feel like a room you can finally enter without judgment, where curiosity replaces fear and desire gets to stay on the table.

Episode Nuggets:

• recapping the past series and how the toolboxes support real change
• choosing money and wealth as the next doorway into desire
• separating income from assets and why assets can create freedom
• sharing how entrepreneurship exposes nervous system patterns and money beliefs
• breaking the taboo by talking openly about real numbers and portfolios
• naming shame and scarcity as common blocks to financial literacy
• exploring early family lessons on saving, spending, and generosity
• wishing we had learned investing basics and the ups and downs sooner
• redefining wealth through gratitude, values, and personal definition
• claiming the desire for FIRE while honoring other kinds of wealth

What’s the biggest money question you want answered?

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Perfection can look like responsibility while it quietly steals your life. We’re talking about the moment you realize you’ve been stockpiling information, rehearsing conversations, and waiting for a mythical “ready” when what you really need is movement. Our invitation is simple and challenging: get messy, fail fast, and be willing to pay the cost of cleanup because it’s usually cheaper than the cost of staying stuck.

We unpack how a desire-led life works in real time. Taking swift action teaches you what no amount of planning can, and it brings you face-to-face with the parts of you that only show up in the heat of risk: your perfectionism, your shame triggers, your need to look like you have it all together. We share why messiness is part of the human experience in parenting, relationships, career pivots, and identity shifts, and how self-honesty can assist in turning mistakes into real personal growth.

Then we take it into the modern world of social media and constant documentation. Being messy doesn’t have to mean broadcasting everything. We talk about discernment, privacy, and choosing what to share based on your capacity, your safety, and your values, especially when other people’s projections can be loud and unkind. You can live boldly and still be intentional about your visibility.

Episode Nuggets:

• getting messy as a practical spiritual practice
• perfectionism as over-preparation in the information age
• moving fast, taking risks, and learning sooner
• the hidden cost of waiting for the perfect moment
• meeting shadow parts of ourselves through mistakes
• social media, privacy, and the fear of being on display
• discernment about what we share and who we share with

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You can feel totally ready for the next chapter and still hit an invisible wall and that wall is usually a part of you that is not on board. We unpack one of our most practical teachings: we cannot move faster than the slowest part of us. When life is moving at “instant” speed, this truth can feel frustrating, but it also explains why pushing harder often creates more resistance, more anxiety, and less real change.

We talk through what the slowest part looks like in everyday life: the email you keep delaying, the truth you cannot quite say, the money habit you swear you will fix, the big decision that makes you want to bolt. We compare dragging yourself forward versus enrolling yourself with compassion, and we share why “how you get there” shapes what you have when you arrive. We also get nuanced about responsibility: sometimes you keep your word and do the hard thing while tending to your inner child, and sometimes you renegotiate because your yes was never clean.

If you are working on self-trust, boundaries, nervous system regulation, or recovering from people pleasing, you will love the questions we use to decipher what is happening:

• Is my yes trustworthy?
• Do I have the skill or only the information?
• Do I actually want to grow here?

Brenda’s pole dancing story brings it home with a powerful reminder that progress at your own speed is not settling, it is self-leadership.

Episode Nuggets:

• the core idea that we cannot move faster than the slowest part of us
• how the information age amplifies urgency and shame about “falling behind”
• everyday signs of resistance like emails, money choices, and hard conversations
• why dragging yourself forward feels mean and stays ineffective
• how to care for scared parts while still doing the hard thing
• using your relationship with true yes and no to make better commitments
• people pleasing, resentment, and manipulating outcomes through agreement
• tools to discern readiness like skill, embodiment, and desire to grow
• the journey mindset of becoming who you want to be
• progressing at your own speed and releasing comparison

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Please rate, share, review, and follow for more. Thanks in advance. These actions help more people find the show and it's such a generous way to support our work.

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Email Us:
desireasmedicine@gmail.com
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catherine@catherinenavarro.com

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@Brenda_Fredericks
@CoachCatherineN

More knowledge is not the same as more wisdom, and we have both learned that the hard way. We dig into a question that shows up everywhere in personal growth: if we already “know better,” why do we keep repeating the same patterns in love, work, parenting, and self-sabotage? We challenge the fantasy that the right tip, the right book, or the perfect AI prompt will finally flip the switch, and we name the uncomfortable truth that change often requires lived experience, and action, not just insight.

We also talk about how inner work has become a marketplace, from retreats and “go within” packages to endless streams of information. We love community, coaching, therapy, and supportive relationships, and we also honor the places where you have to walk alone. Those late-night moments of grief, prayer, fear, and honesty can become a turning point because you cannot outsource feeling. That is where self-trust forms, where the nervous system learns safety, and where embodied wisdom takes root.

From there, we explore learning through “scraped knees,” why parents cannot protect kids from every lesson, and why watching someone you love repeat a cycle can feel heartbreaking. We unpack the difference between wanting something different and doing what it takes to become different, including the slow work of meeting shame with compassion and releasing perfection. If desire is medicine, the dosage is often experience, solitude, and the courage to stay with yourself long enough to actually integrate what you learn.

Episode Nuggets:
• knowledge vs embodied wisdom as a path of desire
• why lived experience lands deeper than warnings
• the commercialization of inner work and spiritual practice
• community and guides as support without bypassing
• the necessary solo parts of healing and the dark night
• parenting lessons as a metaphor for learning through falls
• repeating patterns until desire for change becomes real
• self-esteem built by proving we can do hard things
• shame and regret as raw material for compassion
• embodying lessons so we stop preaching and start modeling

Support the show

Please rate, share, review, and follow for more. Thanks in advance. These actions help more people find the show and it's such a generous way to support our work.

Click the links below to inquire about 1:1 support.

Book with Brenda

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Email Us:
desireasmedicine@gmail.com
goddessbrenda24@gmail.com
catherine@catherinenavarro.com

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@Brenda_Fredericks
@CoachCatherineN

You can access almost any answer in seconds, but does that make you wiser or just more stimulated? We sit down to ask "when information is infinite, how do we stay connected to ourselves?" We talk about the strange comfort of having tools like Google, Grammarly, and AI on standby, and why that convenience can quietly create a false sense of safety that replaces real knowing with borrowed certainty.

From there, we pull on the thread between information and embodied knowledge. We look at why wisdom still requires lived experience, mistakes, uncertainty, and the willingness to feel your way through the maze instead of jumping straight to the “right answer.” We share everyday examples that make this real: contact lenses as a practical moment of problem solving, shopping online versus touching and trying things in person, and the way endless options can disconnect us from what we actually want.

We also touch the edges of AI accuracy and trust, including the weird world of AI detection tools and what “real” even means now. Then we land on a grounded practice: discernment. How does something feel in your body? Is it helping your nervous system regulation or ramping up that buzzy low-level anxiety? What is the cost of deferring to tech, and what is the purpose of the moment? We close with a simple invitation to become your own gatekeeper of inputs so your tools support your humanity instead of replacing it.

Episode Nuggets:
• information at the speed of light versus internal wisdom
• why access to answers does not equal embodied knowledge
• discernment as a skill for the information age
• noticing whether information improves your real experience
• books, movies, and watching versus doing the thing
• AI writing, detection tools, and the question of what is accurate
• curating inputs for nervous system regulation and safety
• not Googling as a way to protect intuition and human play
• chess as an example of integrity in learning and using AI afterward

Support the show

Please rate, share, review, and follow for more. Thanks in advance. These actions help more people find the show and it's such a generous way to support our work.

Click the links below to inquire about 1:1 support.

Book with Brenda

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Email Us:
desireasmedicine@gmail.com
goddessbrenda24@gmail.com
catherine@catherinenavarro.com

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@Brenda_Fredericks
@CoachCatherineN

Resistance has a way of making smart, motivated people feel ridiculous. You want the thing, you even know the next step, and yet your body and brain hit the brakes. We get honest about that moment and share a grounding idea we keep coming back to: you can’t move faster than the slowest part of you.

We walk through what resistance can actually be made of, from the thoughts that quietly undermine you to the energy and capacity issues that look like procrastination on the outside. We also talk nervous system responses, including the shakiness, bracing, and fear signals that show up when something feels unsafe, even if it “shouldn’t.” Along the way, we bring in parts work and conditioning, the old inner rules that aren’t really yours but still run the show until you slow down enough to notice them.

A pivotal story (and a memorable cry at the bottom of a giant Cancun water slide) helps us tease apart two very different moves: pushing through because you’re abandoning/overriding yourself, versus choosing a hard experience with eyes wide open. We apply it to real life moments like sending a loaded email, asking for what you want, setting boundaries, saying no, or asking for a raise, and we return to one clarifying question: what experience do I actually want to have?

If you’ve been trying to “get rid of resistance,” come listen for a kinder, more effective approach to desire, embodiment, and personal growth.

Episode Nuggets:
• resistance as friction between where we are and where we are going
• action as the bridge between desire and real-world results
• checking thoughts, energy, fear, and capacity when we feel stuck
• nervous system signals as a warning system
• parts work and conditioned rules that create invisible resistance
• the Cancun water slide story as a lesson in self-trust
• choosing the experience we actually want, including the scary parts

Support the show

Please rate, share, review, and follow for more. Thanks in advance. These actions help more people find the show and it's such a generous way to support our work.

Click the links below to inquire about 1:1 support.

Book with Brenda

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Email Us:
desireasmedicine@gmail.com
goddessbrenda24@gmail.com
catherine@catherinenavarro.com

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@Brenda_Fredericks
@CoachCatherineN

Your desire can be clear, your vision can be strong, and you can still feel stuck. We’re talking about the making space to receive. When life moves fast, we inhale experiences like junk food, then wonder why we feel swollen with stress and starved for meaning. Digestion and nervous system regulation are not side quests for “wellness people.” They’re the foundations that let desire become lived reality.

We reflect on why we devoted so much time to these themes, from how our culture trains us to rush through meals, emotions, and milestones to how dys-regulation makes us chase quick relief instead of honest growth. We also get real about embodiment: understanding a concept is helpful, but it rarely creates lasting change. What transforms your life is practicing something until it becomes wisdom in the body, a new baseline, a new way of being.

Along the way, we share a guiding principle we come back to again and again: move as fast as the slowest part of you, but move. We explore what that looks like when resistance shows up as fatigue, cravings, headaches, or overwhelm, and how to choose a path without obsessing over the “right” outcome.

Episode Nuggets:

• why we chose to stay with digestion and regulation instead of rushing to new topics
• how a fast culture trains us to skip integration and chase the next thing
• why understanding helps but embodied experience is what changes behavior
• how to hold “no one size fits all” without outsourcing your choices
• Brenda’s story about grief, suicide loss, and why books were part of her process
• “move as fast as the slowest part of you” and how to listen for your body resistance
• choosing without obsessing over outcomes and trusting course correction
• flexibility and perception as tools for living with nuance and focus

Support the show

Please rate, share, review, and follow for more. Thanks in advance. These actions help more people find the show and it's such a generous way to support our work.

Click the links below to inquire about 1:1 support.

Book with Brenda

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Email Us:
desireasmedicine@gmail.com
goddessbrenda24@gmail.com
catherine@catherinenavarro.com

Connect on Instagram:
@desireasmedicinepodcast
@Brenda_Fredericks
@CoachCatherineN

You know that moment when you’re thinking, “I shouldn’t feel this,” or “I need to be further along than I am”? That tightening, that self-editing, that rush to get to the other side is often the very thing keeping you stuck. This toolbox mini episode brings you a simple but challenging practice that can change how you move through emotions, relationships, and the messy middle of real life.

We dig into permission as a form of self-leadership: permission to feel what you feel, permission to be who you are right now, and permission to be exactly where you are on your path. Not as approval, not as giving up, but as removing resistance to what’s already true.

We guide you through the core idea of allowing emotions to exist factually without indulging in them, and we share a practical example of what permission looks like when life has deadlines and you cannot overhaul your personality by a certain date.

Support the show

Please rate, share, review, and follow for more. Thanks in advance. These actions help more people find the show and it's such a generous way to support our work.

Click the links below to inquire about 1:1 support.

Book with Brenda

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Email Us:
desireasmedicine@gmail.com
goddessbrenda24@gmail.com
catherine@catherinenavarro.com

Connect on Instagram:
@desireasmedicinepodcast
@Brenda_Fredericks
@CoachCatherineN