Ep. 8: Healing the Mind Through the Body with Meredith Cameron

I think if we were gonna put it in a nutshell, it's really about are you open or are you closed? And even beyond that, to be open to the pain, to be open to the shame, to be open to the fear.

Welcome to the Prosperous Woman Podcast. I'm Claire Sellers, a business mentor and coach who is absolutely obsessed with helping you create the business of your dreams and your most prosperous life. Tune in for inspiring conversations with extraordinary women that will propel you towards becoming the prosperous woman. Okay, welcome everyone. I am so, so, so excited to have my amazing friend Meredith on the show. She is a somatic mentor, and we are going to be deep diving into nervous system. What is somatics? How does your body either allow you to expand or sometimes, as an act of protection, hold you back, keep you stuck? So I'm super excited to dive in with you, Meredith. We met— I'm just gonna tell the story before I hand it over to you.

Yes.

Meredith and I met actually in a coaching program, and then We really connected inside of this program because she was in India. So I'm watching her on these coaching calls, like with India backdrops, and I'm headed to India for my 3-month sabbatical. And we ended up meeting in India. It was amazing. She flew into Delhi, spent the night in my room with me. We had never met in person. And then the next day, we traveled together to Rishikesh. And it was just— instant friends and sisters. So it's just been such a joy to deepen our connection in life and also, you know, as coaches. So I'm really excited to share your art, your gifts with the community today. And would love to just kind of start, like, tell everyone what you do because it's very interesting and you say it much better than I ever could. So what do you think?

Ah, totally. Thanks for having me. Yeah. First of all, I, I wanna like backtrack for a second. When we were meet, when we met each other, I was actually having a giggle the other day cuz I was like, oh yeah, remember Claire had to send packages to your house and you brought them to her in India?

Oh my God.

Because, and I was like, I didn't even know this girl, but we already had this connection. It was so, I was like, that was so cute.

That was, I totally forgot about that. Yeah. You had to bring me like flip-flops cuz I couldn't get them here in Mexico and I think some vitamins and you were so sweet to be my mule for me.

My pleasure. Yeah. So what do I do? Um, I am a somatic mentor that helps you feel alive through your body. I am someone who went through a massive health crisis where I was living basically all of my life in overthink, chronic overthinking, um, anxiety, worry, depression, all of the things, mind chatter. I had to know the answers. Why, why, why? Like I, didn't trust myself to take the next best step if I, if I didn't have the answer and just clingy, graspy. And that led to massive dis-ease within my body. And as I've healed and transcended, or whatever word we want to use, evolved beyond, expanded past this state of dis-ease that I was in, I have learned a very, very valuable lesson of being in my body. of living, breathing, and being from this place and have honored, vowed, promised to myself that this is how I will live. And I always say, because a lot of people are like, yeah, somatics, yeah, it's a concept, you know, it's still a mental concept for a lot of people. The present moment, it's a shiny fluffy meme on Instagram or wherever. But I always say I have— Attracted, magnetized. Whatever word we wanna use, called in more money, more magic, more miracles in 4 years than I have in my first 40 years of living. And so it's just like, this is it. This, the body is our vessel, it's our portal. It, it's how we feel our life force. It's how we access the present moment, our intuition. So many women are like, I wanna access my intuition. I'm like, it's right here, babe.

Mm-hmm.

It didn't go anywhere. So it's really about being in the body, and I teach people that, that safety. Yeah.

That space. So let's like just break it down, because I think, and I know what you mean, like when we say like what it is to feel alive in the body, but like, can you, like, what does that even mean? Because I think a lot of people, like, that just feels so like either unfathomable or so foreign or so esoteric. So like, what does it even mean? Or maybe like, what does it feel like to be alive in your body? And how do you know if you are or aren't?

That's such a good question. Oh my gosh, I just got— ooh, I'm like, ah, I feel it. It's so like tangible things. When you go to a concert, right? When you see the sunset after a workout, after a amazing sex with a partner. Like, all of these things, like, I think if we were gonna put it in a nutshell, it's really about, are you open or are you closed? And even beyond that, to be open to the pain, to be open to the shame, to be open to the fear. And this takes a massive amount of safety within, sacred masculine energies within, you know, this, this somatic work to begin to even lean into that. 'Cause some people are like, whoa, no. Yeah. Uh-uh, not going there. I remember once I was in Mexico and I was walking down the beach and I had ran into a guy that I had met earlier that morning and he's like, "Hey." He's like, "What are you thinking?" And I was like, "Ah, I'm not really thinking." And he's like, "Oh no, no, no, no, that's scary. No, no, I don't do that." And I was just like, "I get it, I get it." Because I used to live there. But that being, I believe it's really in a nutshell, being open, being closed. And so to feel alive, Or from where I stand, I know, I believe in my bones that our soul is dropped into this human body to receive it all, to experience it all. Like, we're not here to cherry-pick what we feel. We're not here to cherry-pick what we get to experience. We're here for every single sense of smelling, tasting, seeing, every single emotion of shame, of joy, of ease, of depression. Like, we're— if we can be open to that with skill, that's like pure life force. Pure life force.

Yeah. And what does that feel like? Pure life force?

I feel like for me it's this level of, of power or empowerment. And I say that because, so a lot of my friends will be like, you're so happy, Meredith. They're always like, you're so happy. Why are you so happy? And I used to get really offended by that. Like, I'm not happy. 'Cause I used to have this like underlying thread of like, everything has to be a problem. Meredith has to have a problem. I had to be a victim. So I'd be like, I'm not happy, I have a problem. What are you talking about? But really as I reflected on that and started to lean into that, I was like, oh, I think what they're seeing like on a human level or like from the outside in, it's just like I'm so ecstatic over my own ability to be able to move through my experiences and my triggers, right?

Mm-hmm.

I am so ecstatic to know that this shame, there's something under it for me. There's gold under it for me. Like, this all holds value. I don't make things mean something about me or my worth anymore. I see everything as information that is helping me to grow and evolve and expand. And that's what that aliveness feels like for me.

Yeah.

It's this ability to stay open in, in all of it. It's an art. It's— it's an— there's no end goal. It's just present moment.

Yeah, yeah. And like, how do people in your, you know, in your work and just kind of in your observations, like, how do you see people avoid being in the body or feeling? Like, just so that people— because a lot of times I think, you know, and I see this with my clients, like, they aren't even aware of the escape tactics. So like, what do you see as like some of the ways that people will avoid or escape or, or, you know, get out of feeling?

So many things. Um, the first thing that comes to mind is if I'm guiding a somatic session with a private client, for example, and we're finished, I always say it's not the somatic session. It can be breathwork, it can be Kundalini, you know, it can be anything that's creating an opening within your energetic field. But I always say that that's important, of course, but the aftermath is the more important. It's like, who are you in that openness? And when I'm in a, with a private session with someone, I can tell by they'll just start talking, oh wow, that was great, la la la.

Yeah.

They don't know how to just be in the space. It's like when you're on a first date or you're in a car with someone that you don't know and you're just like, uh, how's the weather?

Yeah.

Like we just don't know how to be in that openness. Right, and so we're constantly like in the mind. There's so many times too where women that I work with, people that I work with, they'll start to lean in. They're like, ah, okay, I'm feeling, I get, I'm starting to get it, starting to embody this. And then all of a sudden they'll be like, but my family doesn't understand me now, or my friends don't operate like this, so I shouldn't keep doing this. You know, it's these limitations and these worries and these what-ifs that plague that plague our surrender, really. And it's just allowing us to, again, go back to that, how I view the world, it's information. Be like, okay, I ejected outta the present moment. I was worrying about my family and my friends. Okay, that's my capacity. I was open for like 3 minutes. Okay, that's where I am. And maybe next time I can expand on this, right?

Mm-hmm.

So we just start to expand our awareness and push on the edges of that without retraumatizing any nervous system, any traumas, right?

Yeah, I remember, I just, I haven't thought about this moment in so long, but I remember it was like, I don't know, Thanksgiving or Christmas, some type of family gathering, and you know, there was a disagreement, a rupture, and I remember I was in a somatic embodiment program And I remember that, you know, my typical role in the family is kind of like the peacekeeper or the, you know, let me jump in and fix this, right? And that's actually like the fixer, helper, healer. Like, I hop into that role very quickly. And I remember in this particular situation, because of the awareness I had around, you know, the embodied, the somatic practices I was doing in this, in this training, I, I just went outside and I was able to just be with the fact that like everyone in my family was fighting.

Hmm.

And I just remember, like, I so clearly remember just standing outside and just putting my hand on my heart and just like tuning into my inner child, and like, I could hear people yelling, and there was just no part of me that needed to go up there and fix it or intervene or save. And I could just be there in the discomfort of the, the disagreement. And I feel like that was like a really big turning point for me for several reasons. One, because I was able to stay open. You know, I really agree with you, like, in terms of the— how do we know we're alive? Well, we're open, right? And we can be open in a rupture, we can be open in ecstasy, like, we can be open in the transition or in the boringness or in the nothingness. And it was such an amazing repatterning for me because from that point forward, I really stepped out of the pattern and the role of the peacekeeper, the self-proclaimed and, you know, elected peacekeeper in my family because I was able to take a step back and stay open through the conflict somatically. And that shifted, you know, and of course my family never knew any of this. I went for a walk and went back upstairs and guess what? Like everything had been pretty much resolved.

Right.

They didn't even need me, right? But like, it was almost like my childhood, you know, desire for love and attention was, was pulling at me, go, go, go, go in there, go in there, like go to action, right? When what the, the body was asking was, can you just be in it and stay open and not collapse? And it completely repatterned for me, like how I show up in my family. And I think that was you know, this was probably like 7 years ago. I think that was like the first time that I was like, oh, I get it. Like, I get it. I get it. And I remember going back to, you know, my teacher in this container, Tammy Sassen, and, and telling her, you know, about the experience. And, you know, I just remember this this like huge shift that took place within me. And, you know, she put it into much better, more eloquent words than I, I ever could. But it was almost like the trauma or the pain had like a layer of it had been washed away inside of me. And I had like a new baseline for conflict, for self-soothing, for openness. Mm-hmm. And I think like when we talk about, you know, a lot of the language that you're using and a lot of the things that we're talking about, they feel so like ungraspable and untangible. And a lot of people might say, well, why does that even matter? And so I share that story because like, that's why it matters. It matters because like when you can stay, when you can build your capacity to stay open in a conflict, which in my opinion, you build the capacity alone first. Mm-hmm. And then you build the capacity in relationship, and then, you know, family and, and, and, and love and so on and so forth. But, you know, we have to build the capacity within the body so that we can show up differently and re-pattern how we show up, our dynamic, the role we play, and all those things. So hopefully that's like a tangible example of like how this work actually shapeshifts who you are and the dynamics you have with other people.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And I feel like it's at every next level, right? So there's no endpoint because that— the story that you told also reminds me of my mom as she's, like, sick right now going through cancer. And it was that, like, I very much resonate with that. I got to save my family. And I thought I had graduated from it, but there's always the next layer, this next level, you know? And It's that thing of when we're open, that also requires this surrender and this letting go, which can feel really scary, which can feel like, why? Why would I let go? Because if we let go, our greatest fear might happen, which is that thing we want won't happen.

Right.

My mom won't be healthy if I let go and I don't save her, right? And it's just like, there's so much trust that happens and That's so important that we begin to move through life in these ways so that we can start to bring forward these human desires that we want in this lifetime. You know, this is why all this work, this energetic work, it's so important.

Yeah, yeah. When we are trying to like create expansion, and, and I see this all the time in my work with women either starting their businesses you know, in the Dream Accelerator or scaling their businesses in the Opulence Mastermind, like, it's not the doing that actually creates the block. It's the beliefs and the being, you know. And I think, like, because of my, my background in somatics, you know, working, working with so many amazing mentors, and my, you know, my Co-Active Coach training is so based in embodiment. And the easiest way to define embodiment is being in your body. Just, it's a fancy word, but it literally just means being in your body. And what I see, like, and I see it happen, you know, like I— I see women who are so powerful and so magnetic and so capable And then I see them literally collapse when a client tells them no.

Mm-hmm.

And it's not about the fact that the client told them no. It's the fact that I believe it's taking them back to a root of trauma, of rejection, of abandonment, of I'm not good enough. Right? And it throws the whole thing off the rails. And so one of the, one of the ways that, you know, working with— you know, I always say I'm working, I'm always working with the mind, the body, and the energy. And I think that you are too. Um, we have to, we have to build this capacity for expansion but also for rejection. Especially like as feminine leaders and entrepreneurs, like So how, like, in your expertise, like, what role does the body and the nervous system play in both expansion and rejection?

Mm, yeah, well, I feel like they're, they're the same coin, right? Just different sides. And I remember once a mentor, um, said to me, you have to be able to eat rejection for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Yeah.

Like we have to, right? We have to feel it, process it. And again, like this plays the role in the collapse. If we're not feeling it, if from where I stand, if we're not in the body, if we're not allowing this to have some space to be open and available to what it is here to really teach us, 'cause like you said, it's not about the client that said no, then You know, then we're unable to move past that layer. And instead what we're doing is we're just believing our thoughts. We're believing the external world. That's one of the biggest things I see trip people up is like the external world is telling us what we can and can't have.

Mm-hmm.

You know, and then we just get lost in this. And to me, the way that that prints out in my life was back in the day when I was only living in the mind. Like I did travel the world, I did teach yoga workshops across the world. I did have Yoga Journal recognize me. I taught at Yoga Journal conferences. I wrote for Yoga Journal, all these things. Yeah, I was so, I was so striving and like, oh no, they said no to this and yes to this. And everything was like, I was just a victim to my outer circumstances. Right. And so to really expand on that capacity is really, again, processing what comes up in the body because I don't even really believe it's about shame or about the rejection while that's there.

Mm-hmm.

What I've learned on my own journey is that it's about almost a disappointment in myself of not expanding into the potential that I have.

Mm-hmm.

But it was unconscious, right? I didn't consciously know this, but it was like, ooh, when we collapse, I believe it's now this invitation to be like, okay, this pattern isn't working. But I don't think we can see patterns in our mind when we're in the mind. We have to be in the body. To see the pattern, right? And so, yeah, that resiliency is, is just us being open to it. So then it becomes normalized and we're like, cool, got it, right? Cool, happened again, happened again, because it's never going to go away.

Totally, totally. And I think, like, you know, I was dropping in with the girls inside the Dream Accelerator, which is like my beginning, um, 4-month business accelerator for women who want to go to, you know, idea to launch to first sale in 4 months. And we're embarking on month 2, which is the time that most of them start— like, rubber meets the road. They're getting ready to launch, they're getting ready to, you know, the website's getting done. You know, it's an accelerator, so we move pretty quickly. And I was dropping in with them this morning because so many of them, so, so many of them are having like just total collapses around, you know, around, can I hold the expansiveness of this vision? You know, like, can I actually create an academy? Mm-hmm. Can I actually create, you know, a product-based business when I've never done it before?

Right.

And it's amazing because, you know, I spend the first month really working with them on, you know, mindset and energy and all these things because they catch themselves so quickly. So today, you know, one of my amazing clients who's creating an academy for feminine arts, you know, she said, this is 10 times as big as it was when I joined this program. And I caught myself saying, who are you to build something like this extraordinary?

Mm-hmm.

And then I went for a walk and I felt how scared I was. And I was able to track it back to, I'm scared and I can do it anyway.

Mm-hmm.

And this prompted me to, like, come in the group and share that, like, your body— I, I use the framework— I'm a Co-Active Coach, so I use the framework of the saboteur, which in my opinion is a combination of the inner child, ego, and trauma. And so your saboteur does not know. And the saboteur, for, for those of you who don't know, that's the voice in your head that says, like, who are you to build an academy? Like, who are you to fall in love? Like, no one's gonna want you. Like, you look like crap today. Or, you know, like, you— they're not listening to you, or no one's gonna sign up, or no one wants your coaching. Like, that's the saboteur voice, right? And your saboteur literally cannot distinguish between you putting your hand on a hot stove and you pushing post on an Instagram announcement.

Hmm.

It's the same. It's the same alarm bell. It's danger, danger, danger. We might get hurt. Run, stop, freeze. It's the exact same thing. And so what I shared with the women in the group is, you know, it's, it's twofold. One, it's we go to the inner child. You know, first we go to the saboteur. I have a whole process around this, but we personify the saboteur. Mine's name is Razor. So I'm like, Razor, babe, I love you, and we're just not talking like that today. And then I go send him out to the bar or something. You know, I go give him a mission. I send Razor out the door. And then I tune into my inner child. My love, I know this feels scary and you have to trust me. Like, I've got this. I'm the adult. You can trust me to lead us through this. And then I have to hook into my highest self, the version of me that already has the 7-figure business, that already has the husband, that already has the kids, like, you know, that already has all of it. And I have to take action from her because I have so much more capacity from her than I do from me now.

Mm-hmm.

In a moment of trigger, right? Like, in a moment of neutrality, like, I'm very adept because I've been doing this for so long at kind of act moving from a place of expansion. But I mean, there are moments before every program launch where I'm literally like, oh my God, like I get scared and I'm vulnerable in admitting that. Like, you know, I get scared. I'm like, oh my God, what if no one signs up? Like every single one of my launches sell out. That's just like the baseline expectation now. But like I freak out every time.

Mm-hmm.

And the whole thing is, can you hold yourself through that genuinely, authentically skillfully and take action anyway. So like, in my mind, that's a lot of what you help people do is like building that capacity and being with them. It's— in your world, it's like less doing and more being. And that's such a thing that we as women and humans like have a very hard time holding space in. Mm-hmm.

Yes. Yeah, it's, there's so many good things you said in that. It's like the, from my perspective too, that's like for me, it's the sacred masculine, right? It's for me for so long from my childhood, from my pain, my past, my programming. I still to this day tell my clients, I have to do this like multiple times a day to say I'm safe. I just have to place my hand on my heart and say, I'm safe. Because when I bring myself back to the truth of the now, like, oh, I'm just sitting in my bed on a Zoom call with Claire Sellers. What the fuck am I freaking out about? You know what I mean?

Everything's fine.

Right. Like, everything's fine. I'm safe. I still, to this day, do this multiple times a day because my nervous system has that imprint until it doesn't. Right. And I'm not in any hurry to get to an endpoint. This is just what the information that I get to work with right now. But yeah, that's very much this. This less doing, more being, but not in a sense of— I think there's so much programming about just being. Like, you don't just sit under the oak tree and like, oh, right, you know, it's this, this— like, I always say, it's like, okay, you can still train for the marathon, but when you're training for the marathon, like, you're doing— are you— it's who you're being while you're doing.

Yeah.

So are you like pinching your, your side and saying, oh, I'm still fat, or I'm slow, or are you eating, you know, barbecue every night, or for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? But you know what I mean? So it's like who you're being as you're doing the thing. Like you said, you are still, you know, you're being that 7-figure mother/wife version of yourself, you know. You're still doing it, like, but you're being, you're being that person.

Yes.

Even though you're not, you know, you're typing on the computer.

Yeah.

Or you're going on a run, or you're going to the gym, you're being that person. And that's usually, that's what I mean when I say or be more. You receive more because you be more.

Yes.

That's what I would say.

Talk— can you, like, when you say nervous system imprint, because I think people, like, and I really learned about— I learned about the importance of the nervous system the hard way when I had a complete nervous system collapse when I moved to Austin. Um, and you know, you and I have talked about this, but I mean, I was unfunctioning. I was not functioning. My mind was not functioning. My anxiety was indescribably through the roof. I was depressed to the point that my— the man I was dating told me, I think you're depressed and I think you need help. I mean, like, and it, it literally was my nervous system. It shut down. And I never, as someone who is like, you know, 90% of the time pretty freaking positive and like, you know, everybody's cheerleader and, you know, go, go, go, rah, rah, rah, like I'm always, I'm super active, to literally just be floored and bedridden and just not functioning, like And I know you've experienced this too. Like, can you just talk about, like, the importance of the nervous system and the— like, what do you mean when we talk about, like, nervous system imprint? Because that happened to me, and I, I'm not going to go into why, but like, that happened to me because it was too much, too fast, too soon. It was a, it was a full trauma response. And, and I, I believe I know why, but can you just like talk about that? Because I think a lot of times people over time, they get to what we, you know, in mainstream call burnout, which I think is just nervous system shutdown. And a lot of people like me, it was almost like one day I was batting 100 and the next day I was zero. So like, can you just like talk about that? Mm-hmm. In your experience?

Mm-hmm. Yeah, like imprint, it's for me from— it's like this is neurology. Neurology, like I come from, that's my background, psychology and neurology. And it's this, this truth that 10 to 10,000 repetitions creates a new neural pathway, right? So for me as a kid, I had parents who were emotionally unavailable. I had that, that always like, are they gonna show up? Is it gonna be here? Like this, this, and it happened to me 10 to 10,000 times, however, however many cycles to create this so-called imprint, right? And so then that became the scaffolding that upheld the rest of my life unconsciously. Of course, we don't walk around knowing this, but we're reacting to it. And so that's what I mean by imprint. And that's what I always teach. Like, the more that we return to the body, to the present moment, 10 to 10,000 times, right? You're— you had that that click over for yourself at Thanksgiving dinner with your family. Like, oh, I peeled back a layer. Okay, new synapse, new neural pathway created. Keep going, right? Because it's not instant. We live in this culture where it's like, take a photo, see it right away, right? Make a bank transfer, money's already in my account. Like this instant culture. And it's not like, that's not how the brain works. Like it takes devotion to moving in a particular direction. But yeah, the nervous system, I tell you, like with my own health and going through so many unknowns, so many doctors that had no answers, so so much defeat. And when I truly started to learn it's the nervous system, I'm like, why isn't there a nervous system doctor? Like, what the hell? Because so much healing comes from that. And I found a lot of healing through my nervous system. I was stuck in this, this nervous system state of like startle. You know how like when a baby gets startled, they're like frozen?

Yeah.

Mm-hmm. And I worked in physical therapy cuz I couldn't walk for a long time. So I worked in a, with a physical therapist, a Feldenkrais physical therapist that works on your nervous system. And she really helped me start to melt back into my body, right? Back into the body. Because I know now, like, I've lived in my body long enough and in my brain long enough to know both sides of this coin. And I— it's not saying you don't ever live at the mind level again. Of course, for a human, like I said, all of a sudden this thought will be like, you have no money.

Oh my God.

Right? And then we just freak out. But it's like, I know that when I have this day of that, that it's it's just an indicator for me to be like, oh, I haven't been living in my body today, you know? And it's a choice. And then this becomes that empowerment conversation again. Like, we get to choose, we get to see, because we are moving in this direction of creating a different imprint. Like you said, peeling back the next layer. Yeah.

Yeah, it's, it's so interesting. And I just, I keep having these like little memories because, you know, I, I think about this stuff, but I'm not like thinking about it. I'm not, you know, I'm, I'm having these little memories and I I remember, you know, during my whole Austin drama, a man actually attacked me. So I was walking, and this had never happened to me before. And, you know, I pray it doesn't happen again. But, you know, I was walking and I was on the phone with my sister, thank God. And, you know, I said, I just keep praying, you know, that Dad, my dad, who, you know, passed away when I was 21. I just keep praying that my dad will show me a sign of if I'm meant to stay or go in Austin, right? And that's just kind of like a spiritual side effect of what happened. But within moments later, a man came out of the woods and started chasing me and tried to grab me. And it was petrifying because I was alone. It was like dusk. Mm-hmm. And my sister's like, what's going on? What's going on? I'm screaming. He's screaming at me. It's like this whole thing. And then a man kind of up the road heard me screaming, and he came down and he was like, leave her alone, and kind of scared the guy off. But what was so interesting, and this is a super tangible example that people will relate to, and I think it's important to start tracking when your body has an activation.

Mm-hmm.

So what happened, and, you know, I am a 10K steps a day girl. I love to walk. It's like my therapy. I've walked around the same park every day for 5 years here in Mexico City. And when I returned, you know, I eventually, after that happened, I was like, all right, Austin, it's been good, but I'm out. I was like, dad, I heard you, I'm leaving. And I came back to Mexico, and I remember I was walking in, in the park that— and it's more of a plaza. It's not like wooded. It's like a city park. I was walking in circles, and a man was just jogging, and he came behind me, and I had a full trauma response. Like, it was like as if the same— it was like as if that man in Austin in the woods was trying to attack me. Mm-hmm. Kill me. My body had the exact same reaction. And I share this because, like, it just was so tangible. And so because I have the tools that I have, I stopped. I sat down. I put my hand on my heart. I put my feet on the ground, and I just started breathing. And I just said, we're okay. That was then. This is now. That was not that man trying to get you. You're okay. Everything's okay. And like, I had to do this like 5 or 6 times because every time a man or anyone would come running behind me, I would have a full shake. I would start shaking.

Trauma response.

Mm-hmm. You know, like full, full trauma response. And it was so funny because, I mean, this, these, you know, probably 10 times I stopped and did this process where, you know, I really sat with myself in the fear of that moment. You know, this was probably like a year ago, and I kind of kept repatterning, kept repatterning, kept repatterning. And just last week I was— I've been waking up super early and I was, you know, walking around my park and it was 7 AM and like no one was really around. And a man came running behind me and I had— it was neutral.

Nothing. Mm-hmm.

And I, you know, it honestly wasn't something I had thought about, but it just proves the work that we're— the importance of the work that we're talking about here on like a super tangible level. Because it is possible to rewire, it is possible to heal. Like, your body is designed to heal, but it really starts with the nervous system. And for anyone struggling with chronic health, or just that feels like they might have autoimmune, or, you know, whatever it might be, like, your nervous system is your primary starting point because you will not get better until you start to get out of fight, flight, freeze. You just will not.

Yeah.

And I spent tens of thousands of dollars, and this is a little bit of a tangent, but you get it 'cause I mean, you did the exact same. I spent tens of thousands of dollars on these jerk doctors in Austin, sorry to say it, who were literally pushing an alarm clock and charging an obscene amount of money by the minute I was billed by the minute and they were putting me on all these supplements and IVs. And, you know, I would walk out of there with like a $5,000 bill for, you know, high-dose vitamin C and oxygen therapy and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And you know what? I left Austin and I went to Baja for about probably 5 months. And do you know what I did? I laid in bed. I walked barefoot in the desert. I floated in the ocean and I slept, and I didn't get better until I started doing that. And like that, it's just we— so many people are stuck in the fight, flight, freeze, like, trauma response. And this is where all disease comes from.

Yeah. Well, and for me, the fight, flight, the F's.

Yeah.

All the F's. Fight, flight, freeze, fawn. They all are from overthinking.

Yes.

Yeah. They're from the mind. They're from being like, it's not to poo-poo the mind. Trust me, the mind's a genius. Like we're, you know, but it's like when we're hypnotized by it, when we believe it, when we're identifying with it, when we're consumed by it, when we're drowning in it, this is when our nervous system just gets hijacked.

Hijacked. It was. And I'm so glad you said that. Because, you know, when I was in Austin, like, I, I felt hijacked. It was like I was not myself. I was not my personality. I was not myself. Like, I mean, it was, it was, in retrospect, like, it was unbelievable. Like, what was happening. And it really was my nervous system just in complete shutdown. And I just have so much empathy for all humans, but especially women who are dealing with this. Fortunately, you know, because my business, you know, was in a place, like, I was, I was still able to coach, you know, a couple clients a day. And, and, you know, but I did, compared to how I am now where I'm, you know, launching and, you know, I mean, my business is scaled out. Like, I mean, I was able to really push pretty much pause on a lot, and that's what it took for me to get better. And, you know, I think it's— that's a very extreme example, but I think for women in business, it's happening on a micro level, like daily. Yeah. Like the example I gave of the girls in the Dream Accelerator. So, like, you know, with your clients, like, how are you seeing the nervous system either, like, propel them forward or hold them back?

Mm-hmm. Yeah. It's so many great points that you brought up. It's just this— this is why we're having this conversation, because it's so important to be in the body, because then you can listen. You can receive the, like, oh, I need a nap. I need to float in the water. We're usually, when we're in the patterning or the programming or the pain or the mind or whatever, it's, I feel guilty for taking the nap.

Mm-hmm.

Like you said, again, that saboteur, like how dare you float in the ocean, you know? And so then we're just not able to heal because we're not attuned and aligned to what our body signals even are. Like you said, taking note, taking stock, you know, seeing that you neutralize this, this, this reaction to someone running behind you, right? And just starting to notice all these little things instead of walking around just subconsciously being able to drink your chai and be on your phone at the same time. You don't even know where your feet are.

Right?

And so the way that I see, um, what was the question? My, my clients, their nervous system.

I guess like through what's possible through What, what expansions or possibilities do you see in your clients working with you? Like, once they start building capacity and like, what shifts, you know?

Yeah, total shifts. Well, first of all, it's like their families just feel more harmonized. I've had a lot of moms in my containers, and just the way they're interacting with their kids and their families is huge. I have a lot of people who are in their jobs who don't want to be in their jobs, and they feel safe to finally say no. You know, I don't know what the next step is, but I know that I'm like, my energy is way more important than the soul-sucking place that I'm at, you know. Other expansions have been, yeah, this other girl I know has launched two artists that have launched their art businesses, said yes to like just going after these dreams that I think society sees that was as like a side hustle or like, how are you going to make money from that? And they're just like, I'm claiming this, I'm owning this. Yeah. Ness, right? They're, they're— they have this deeper belief in themselves when their nervous system is more balanced. Because when we are hijacked, we don't believe anything's possible. We don't see how it could possibly happen. We don't believe in ourselves. We believe in our shame, and we believe in, you know, what the bl— blaming our parents for this or whatever it is. So this nervous system soothing and this nervous system connection and this nervous system awareness is so bloody important for us to be able to expand into these bigger frequencies, this energy, these human things of money, of love, of family, of, I mean, look at lottery winners. I mean, the statistic is out there. It's like a high percentage. I don't even know what it is, but it's high. They blow it.

Yeah.

Because they don't have that capacity, right? That nervous system, like, I don't deserve this. Ooh, I, the chaos that used to be me with money, up, down, up, down. Cuz my family was chaotic. Up, down. So it's like you win the lottery. Out it goes. So like, the bigger your capacity is, the more aware of your nervous system you are. It's like, ah, you receive more, you can be with more, you can be with that rejection, you can be with all of the ness, you can be with your whole entire life.

Yes, I love that, I love that. And, you know, I think it's such a beautiful, you know, in my mind, like, you know, and I've worked with I've worked with people who've— I've coached clients of yours, and you really feel the difference in someone who has done this work.

Mm-hmm.

Like, it is very clear a woman who, you know, has nurtured and, you know, even just awareness around her nervous system, her energetics, you know, her feminine, her masculine, her capacity, who knows how to map back to, you know, stability, baseline, neutrality. Like, you feel like— I can see it from a mile away, you know. I'm like, okay, she— that this isn't her first rodeo, you know. So, you know, the work that you're doing, just because I, I have the, the vantage point of having worked with past clients of yours or current clients of yours, like— you know, it's incredible to witness the difference and the possibility that, as you're saying, is on the other side of just even having awareness around kind of your body and nervous system maintenance, tuning, care, all those things.

Yeah. And I think one of the biggest things to note too is when a lot of people begin to dive into this work, They're like, I don't have 5 hours for that breathwork session on Saturday, and I don't have an hour to be on my yoga mat, and I don't have— and it's like, it's actually really simple, right? We just get to, like I said earlier, like, I'm safe. Or you were like, you got to place your hand on your heart and be like, ah, this person isn't attacking you, right? We just get to have these little small micro moments, which is really the language of the body anyway. This is really the language of the nervous system. And the more that we can hook into this, like, oh, I don't need to make this a mountain to climb. And this hard thing. So now I have an excuse as to why I can't do it. I just get to hold my coffee and feel the warmth of it on my hands and know and trust that that's enough. And this will change the trajectory of my nervous system, of my body.

Yes. And that's like a perfect question as we kind of wrap things up here. I think in this type of work and world where everyone wants fast results. Like, I want $10K months, $20K months now.

Mm-hmm.

And a lot of times, you know, I will say like, I can help my clients create that depending on where they are in their business. I, I will say that I never ever, ever promise that. And I never say like, this is guaranteed. And if any coach like guarantees anything to you, then to me that's a red flag. Everybody is on their own unique journey, their own unique timeline, their own unique path. But I think what's really important here to drive home, and I want you to give the people listening like some things they can start doing, is that this isn't a, a sprint, it's a marathon race. With, with which is the case, my approach to business, my approach to love, my approach to health, like nothing is overnight. And it literally is, like, in my opinion, the smaller the step, the greater the result.

Mm-hmm.

Over time. Because, like, the number one thing for all women in business and life is consistency. It's the day-to-day. It's how do you wake up in the morning. It's how do you choose to spend your day. Like, You know, I, I, I always start my day with lemon water. Like, that's just a ritual for me because it's like, it brings me home. Like, I do Kundalini every morning, not because I'm like, yay, I get to go meditate, but because of the results that it creates and the devotion that it patterns in my body and in my field. So like, this work is micro work most often. Mm-hmm. So can you give people, what are 3 practices? And I know it's so unique to everybody's journey and where they're at, but what are 3 practices that you would say are supportive to the nervous system that could be implemented right away?

Yeah. I mean, I love— I've said it a few times already, but I love the, I'm safe. I'm so safe because the nervous again, always feels it's trying to protect, control, right? It's just like, ah, just the hand on the heart and the I am safe. Um, I mean, where I— from where I come from, the present moment is where it's at. And I know for so many it's a conceptual thing, but it really is just about opening yourself up to the piece of chocolate you're eating. It really is about turning on your senses. Like, that's such a great practice to be like Oh my God, this basil that I'm chopping for the pasta tonight, you know, and like just the, all your senses, the tasting, the sight, the, the, the sound, everything. Like that's a great practice to drop yourself into right away. So yeah. And the present moment is just like receiving your, your lemon water.

Yeah.

Receiving the moment, right? These don't have to be big things because I love that you said the word devotion as well too, because I'm a big meditator. And, you know, there's someone in India, incarnate of the divine, a guru in India that I see, once said, and she doesn't talk often, so when she does speak, it's like so good. But I remember she once said, you know, not everyone can meditate, not everyone can do yoga, not everyone can do Kundalini, but everyone can be devoted.

Hmm.

Everyone can access devotion. So it's like, right, what are these little things? Little, like you said, these are the baby steps that actually like create quantum leaps. That's another conversation for another time. But it's like this constant guiding myself in this new trajectory to create a new neural pathway that I am safe, right? The devotion, the consistency, the being open, available, spacious, and free to whatever is coming up. That rejection for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Yes.

I'm safe through it. Yeah. And like knowing that the littlest things, and that was so much for me, the, the biggest code, one of the biggest codes for me to crack is I didn't believe that the little things were enough in quotation marks here because I was living in lack and scarcity. I was always trying to measure up and be enough. So you mean just do lemon water and appreciate it? That's enough? You know what I mean? But it is to the mind. It's like if you're in lack and scarcity, like I was sure that's not enough. I had to prove myself and earn my worth. But it is truly the small baby steps when we hook into them. Mm-hmm. And feel them and be with them and enjoy the piece of chocolate or whatever it is and fully be open to the moment. Oh my gosh, it adds up so big.

Yeah, I love that. That's so helpful. This has been such an amazing conversation. I've loved every moment. I'm sure it won't be our last. I would love to have you back on, you know, other top— the million other topics that we could talk about. I always like to ask ask my guests 3 questions before we, we close out. So the first one is, what does prosperity mean to you?

I love this. I feel like I, I— this is fresh in my field because I was just in your Prosperity Container. Prosperity to me— I love this question so much because it is, it's, it's not just receiving. I think like people think prosperity, oh money, oh abundance, I get to have money. And it's not just receiving. For me, it's being the flow the channel to, to also like pull up to the parking meter and put extra time on it. So the next person is like, ooh, a free parking spot. I'm like, ah, that's prosperity to flow it out. And like how I'm feeling when I invest it, when I spend it, when I receive it, all the things.

Yeah. I love that. What is the next dream that you are devoted to creating?

Oh boy. What is the next dream? You know what, like on a human tangible level that people can relate to, not in my alien speak. Yeah. Um, I want to retire my husband. I love that. Mhm.

That's beautiful.

It's possible. Totally possible. Yeah. Yeah. That would feel so good for me.

Yeah. I love that. Where can people find you and like plug in with you? Like, if they're like, I love what she's talking about, like, what— how do we get in your world?

Mm-hmm. Instagram's probably the— Instagram's probably the best place. That's my handle. What is my handle? @itsmeredithcameron is my handle. I had to think about that because— yeah, because I had to change it once upon a time because all those fake accounts get going. @itsmeredithcameron is my handle, but my website is just my name, Meredith Cameron. That's a bit under construction at the moment, but you can still get some gems and little pieces, little nuggets over there. So those two places would be the best place to connect.

Amazing. So we'll link that and people can tune in to— I know you have Holy and Wild and other programs. You're always launching cool things so people can see what's up over there. And I know that this conversation is just going to be so impactful, and I just appreciate you sharing your gifts with the world and being brave enough to walk this path. And I'm so glad that we're doing it together. So I just adore you. You, and I'm so grateful for you.

Yeah, thank you.

Thank you for tuning in to the Prosperous Woman Podcast. I am so grateful for your presence and for being a part of this community. Feel free to DM me @itsclairesellers on Instagram. I would love to connect with you and hear what resonated with you in this episode. Don't forget to subscribe to the show, and if If you enjoyed what you heard today, leave a 5-star review. Your feedback means the world to me and helps me reach more incredible women just like you. And because I love to spoil you, just DM me a screenshot of your review on Instagram and I'll send you my free Prosperity Activation Course as a thank you. It's my way of investing in you and your dreams. Thank you.