Claim OwnershipDesire As Medicine Podcast
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© 2025 Desire As Medicine Podcast
Description
Brenda & Catherine interview people and talk to each other about desire. They always come back to us being 100% responsible for our desires.
Contact us by email:
desireasmedicine@gmail.com
catherine@catherinenavarro.com
goddessbrenda24@gmail.com
Instagram:
@desireasmedicine
@CoachCatherineN
@Brenda_Fredericks
109 Episodes
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Personal transformation does not fit neatly into a 90-day program. In this conversation, Catherine and Brenda explore why meaningful growth often takes years or decades, and why that timeline is both natural and necessary. They reflect on what sustains the process when change feels slow: forgiving who we were, showing compassion for how long it takes, and facing reality without judgment. Many of the most difficult patterns are not entirely our own, but are carried through family lineage. Even...
The space between knowing something and embodying it is where transformation happens. In this conversation, Catherine and Brenda explore what it takes to move from intellectual understanding to living change as second nature. Catherine shares her 20-year journey of opening her heart and building healthy boundaries. What began as a desire for deeper relationships required years of therapy, confronting judgment, untangling codependence, and resisting the urge to rescue others. She reflects on m...
The gap between knowing and doing is often the hardest part of personal growth. In this episode, Brenda and Catherine explore what embodiment truly means and how to bridge the distance between intellectual understanding and lived experience. What happens when advice like "love yourself more" feels impossible? Why do we scroll until 1 AM even though we know better? Through personal stories—Catherine’s evolving relationship with money and Brenda’s late-night encounter with dill pickle chips—the...
When health challenges arise, whether caring for an aging parent, supporting a partner, or facing personal illness—desire often shifts in profound ways. Priorities change almost overnight, reshaping how we experience and relate to desire itself. In this episode, Brenda and Catherine share personal stories and reflections on caregiving, illness, and the transformation of desire during these seasons of life. Brenda speaks about her time caring for her mother, grandmother, and father, and how he...
Responsibility might seem like the buzzkill of desire, but what if it’s actually the key to deep fulfillment? Brenda and Catherine challenge the fantasy that our wants should simply appear without effort. Instead, they explore how taking ownership of our desires creates the fertile ground for them to flourish—both within ourselves and in our relationships. They discuss the natural seasons of desire and how what we want changes over time, requiring different kinds of attention and action. Bren...
What happens to our sex lives when we actively practice desire? Everything changes. When we approach desire as a spiritual practice, our relationship with sex shifts from reactive and conditional to conscious and self-responsible. Brenda and Catherine explore how this transformation unfolds, moving beyond old patterns, like withholding sex during conflicts or expecting partners to manage our arousal, and toward a more empowered, pleasure-led way of relating. They share personal experiences of...
Have you ever found yourself in that strange, disorienting space where you used to feel your desires clearly, but now, all you hear is silence? In this episode, Brenda and Catherine explore what happens when desire goes quiet. After spending so much time learning to follow the whispers of longing, what do you do when those whispers disappear? Rather than rushing to fix it, they invite you to pause and listen differently. These quiet seasons aren’t failures—they’re invitations. Invitations to ...
Have you ever caught yourself mindlessly eating chocolate or clicking “next episode” on Netflix into the early hours, even when you’re no longer enjoying it? Brenda and Catherine talk about the “hungry ghost” state: a craving that seems bottomless, never fully satisfied. In this episode, they explore the Buddhist concept of the hungry ghost (Preta in Sanskrit), beings with enormous bellies and tiny mouths, eternally yearning but never fulfilled, and how this ancient metaphor shows up in moder...
What if desire shows up before we even have the words for it? In this episode, we explore how desire first emerges - not as a clear thought, but as a whisper, a spark, a sensation in the body. Long before we can name it, it’s already speaking to us. We share personal stories (including Brenda’s not-actually-about-the-beach vacation dilemma) to show how subtle desires, when ignored, often morph into resentment. In a world that trains us to focus on problems rather than possibility, we rarely a...
Celebrating 100 episodes! In this milestone episode of Desire as Medicine, we pause to reflect on the extraordinary journey we’ve taken together. What began as tentative conversations has blossomed into a bold exploration of desire, self-love, and transformation, for us, and for you. Over the past hundred episodes, we've charted a path for women (and the people who love them) to live more authentically. Series like Self-Love, Sisterhood, and Freedom have deepened our understanding that ...
In this episode, we dive into the deep medicine of sacred rest. What happens when you intentionally put everything down and step away from the constant pull of work, screens, and to-dos. Through the lens of Brenda’s personal Shabbat practice, we explore how ritualized pauses create room for desire, clarity, and real connection. We live in a culture that celebrates hustle and constant output. Whether you’re a parent, caregiver, creator, or all of the above, honoring your need for rest isn’t in...
Have you ever noticed how the same desire can be received completely differently, simply based on how you say it? The way we communicate our needs and desires shape the quality of our relationships more than we realize. In this intimate and insightful episode, we unpack the subtle (and powerful) role of syntax, tone, and word choice in expressing desire. Whether you’re navigating romantic connection, friendship, or family dynamics, the shift from blame to vulnerability can open doors to deepe...
Have you ever asked for something that felt totally reasonable, only to be met with resistance, rejection or discomfort? It can feel disorienting, even painful. In this episode, we explore how to ask for what you want in relationships without attachment, resentment, or collapse. Through stories of diamond earrings, perfume, and simple affection, we reveal the subtle difference between demanding and cleanly desiring. When we love our desires, rather than clinging to outcomes, we create space f...
What happens when you ask for something you deeply desire, and it’s met with rejection? In this episode, Brenda and Catherine explore the art of asking for what we want while staying rooted in self-worth, even when the answer is “no.” Through honest personal stories—from diamond earrings to a fridge full of Pellegrino—they unpack how to hold desire cleanly, without attachment to the outcome. This is not about getting what you want—it’s about loving that you want it. They explore the nuances o...
What happens when life feels like an all-you-can-eat buffet of desires? When every opportunity feels irresistible and you want it all—right now? In this episode, Brenda and Catherine dive into the emotional terrain of competing desires and the tough choices we must make when we can't have everything at once. They explore what it means to move through life’s “candy store” with discernment, drawing from personal stories and hard-earned wisdom. Brenda shares a powerful, vulnerable account of her...
We all want freedom but are our go-to comforts actually keeping us stuck? In this revealing episode, Brenda and Catherine explore the fine line between real freedom and sophisticated forms of avoidance. From Netflix binges to spontaneous vacations, they examine how common pleasures can sometimes act as distractions from discomfort. Through honest personal stories, they uncover how facing limitations, rather than escaping them, builds deeper resilience and lasting liberation. This conversation...
What does it mean to love without losing yourself? Freedom isn't about avoiding responsibility, it's about staying rooted in yourself while loving others fully. When we overextend in small, constant ways, always saying yes, always accommodating, we slowly drift into self-abandonment and codependency. True freedom begins when we trust others to navigate their own journey. Seeing each person as a divine being capable of growth allows us to step back without guilt. While our desire to help may c...
What does it really mean to be free? Is it doing whatever you want—or something else? In this episode, we explore the difference between true freedom and false freedom. Many of us chase a version of freedom that actually leaves us feeling more stuck—mistaking impulsivity, people-pleasing, and structure-free living for liberation, when they’re really subtle forms of escape. True freedom arises when we make conscious choices aligned with our values. It’s not about having no limits—it’s about ma...
When we’re young, freedom feels like staying up late, eating candy for dinner, and having no one tell us what to do. But as we grow up, that surface-level idea of freedom gets challenged. True freedom, is not about indulging in everything, it’s about having genuine choice and the ability to act from our values, not our wounds. Brenda and Catherine explore their personal paths to authentic freedom. Brenda opens up about breaking free from perfectionism and people-pleasing, where retail therapy...
Ever wonder why some people see kindness everywhere while others only notice rejection? It’s not the world that’s different, it’s our perception. Brenda and Catherine explore how our brains filter reality based on our beliefs, often without us realizing it. Using Tony Robbins’ “red car” experiment as a jumping-off point, they speak to how 95% of our brain activity happens unconsciously. These mental filters shape everything from our relationships to our opportunities. Beliefs like “I have to ...
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