Welcome to our latest episode, where we're going to share the story of our love and how we came together. 

Join us as we talk about the process of calling Justin in, the early days of our relationship, our long-distance dating experience and how we navigated grief and built a business together. 

We'll also share the story of our mutual proposal and why we decided to have a long engagement. 

Stay tuned for Part 2 in our next episode where we'll talk about our wedding story.

In this episode: 

• Rachael gets into her process around calling Justin in after a two-year period of dating unavailable men

• Rachael’s decision to delete the dating apps off her phone

• The impact of Rachael’s grandma’s passing two weeks before meeting Justin

• How we met for the first time at a show

• The magnetic attraction that occurred between us when we first met

• How Justin just felt different than the other guys Rachael was dating

• Stories from the early days of our relationship

• Justin’s perspective on the early days of the relationship

• When we made the decision to be boyfriend and girlfriend

• When Rachael said “I”m falling in love with you.” & Justin’s response.

• The period of our long-distance relationship & the experiences out doing field research together

• When Justin first said, “I love you.”

• Falling deeper in love at Basscoast music festival, and becoming partners in life.

• Moving in together

• The period of time after Lin passed, and the deepening of our relationship through the grief

• The period of time when we started building our business together & stepping into the entrepreneurial path

• Justin navigating the end of his Master’s degree and going to Mexico for his Fungi conference

• When Rachael joined him in Merida, Mexico

• Our mutual proposal in a Mayan shop in Merida, and the story of our engagement rings

• Our decision to have a long engagement

• The full circle story of us coming together and the connection between how Justin and Rachael’s Grandfather had the same energy

• Stay tuned for our wedding story in Part 2 in the next episode.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reach out to us on Instagram (@loveleadershipandliberation), we’d love to hear from you!

Follow Justin on:

Instagram & Tiktok

Follow Rachael on: 

Instagram, TikTok, & Youtube

If you enjoyed today’s episode, please let us know by leaving a 5-star review on whatever platform you’re listening to this, or sharing this episode on your Instagram stories and tagging us!

It means so much and helps us reach more beautiful people who need to hear these messages!

Welcome to this episode where we dive into the topic of conscious relating and the importance of asking for what you need in a relationship. 

We talk about our experiences with being in right relationship, setting boundaries, and doing the inner work necessary for growth. We discuss the value of standards in relationships, the process of working through disagreements, and the importance of recognizing your partner's needs during heightened emotional states. 

Tune in for a thoughtful conversation on conscious relating and the importance of intentional communication in all types of relationships.

In this episode: 

• Diving into conscious relating and asking for what you need in relationship

• What Rachael believes a conscious relationship is, whether with a person or something you are connecting to; being intentional and present

• A conscious relationship is not void of disagreement and is not all rainbows and butterflies all the time

• A conscious relationship is being willing to do the shadow work

• The process of being in right relationship between Rachael and Justin

• How we have a fundamental value of growth and are willing to learn all the various things about the other person

• The value of having standards and some of Rachael’s standards around spirituality in relationship

• The early disagreements around the language of spirituality and our differing understandings of what it meant to us

• Holding different perspectives in relationship

• The amount of learning and important difficult conversations that are required early on in relationships

• Setting boundaries in relationships and expression of emotions

• Our boundaries around disagreement and not “fighting”

• Working through disagreements by understanding that the outcome is for us to come out the otherside together

• The need for inner work individually in relationships

• Justin unlearning people-pleasing and asking for support around the house

• The importance of understanding the roles in your relationship and recognizing when there is a need to shift the roles

• When you don’t communicate your needs you will become resentful

• Asking for what you need is deeply important

• Rachael’s love languages and Justin learning how to meet those needs

• Navigating your partner’s needs during heightened emotional states

• Recognizing that most of the time heightened emotion is not directed at you

• Being there for a partner in a dissociated state (Freeze response)

• Learning your partner’s trauma responses and their history in order to be there for them

• Communicating without blaming and shaming

• The need for vulnerability to reach intimacy

• How you are in relationship is how you are in relationship with life

• Asking your partner to rise up and meet you where you want to be

• Having the hard conversations about changing, and building a beautiful relationship through that

• What Rachael would say to someone who keeps ending up with the same type of person that isn’t the right fit.

• Becoming the type of person that you want to attract into your life.

• Getting clear on what your needs are, what your values are, what you like and what you don’t like

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reach out to us on Instagram (@loveleadershipandliberation), we’d love to hear from you!

Follow Justin on:

Instagram & Tiktok

Follow Rachael on: 

Instagram, TikTok, & Youtube

If you enjoyed today’s episode, please let us know by leaving a 5-star review on whatever platform you’re listening to this, or sharing this episode on your Instagram stories and tagging us!

It means so much and helps us reach more beautiful people who need to hear these messages!

Welcome to the second episode of the podcast, where we dive into the topic of discomfort and growth. In this episode, we discuss our personal experiences with discomfort, the interconnection between the body, mind, emotion, and spirit, and the systems we create to expand our capacity to hold discomfort. 

We explore how discomfort can be a portal for growth, the importance of being in right relationship with discomfort, and how to intentionally make yourself uncomfortable with a neutral curiosity. We also touch on the concept of Eustress, and the need for balance and harmony in our lives. 

Join us as we share our insights and personal stories on how we navigate discomfort in our lives.

In this episode: 

• We talk about our past with cannabis, the discomfort that came from smoking some night before and respecting the plant through ritual and ceremony

• Diving into a discussion about discomfort

• The shared value of growth in our relationship, and how growth is uncomfortable.

• What Justin’s relationship with discomfort is and how it’s shifted, surrounding his ability to handle physical and mental discomfort

• Rachael’s history with discomfort as a young person experiencing trauma, and her capacity for spiritual and mental discomfort

• The interconnection between the body, mind, emotion, and spirit

• Creating systems that expand the capacity to hold the depth of discomfort

• Rachael’s ability to overcome her panic attacks

• Justin’s expansion of emotional capacity through his relationship with Rachael and the vulnerability in communication and expression

• What spiritual discomfort is, and the connection to values and purpose

• Rachael’s journey with awareness and her spiritual awakening through becoming healthy in her body

• Justin’s role in Rachael’s healing journey and opening to her emotions

• What opened for Justin in the early stages of their relationship

• How Justin is really connected to his emotions

• Discomfort doesn’t mean you are unsafe & you can breathe through anything

• How Rachael’s breast-reduction surgery was a massive portal to all that was uncomfortable from her past

• One of the most loving things we can do for ourselves is to befriend discomfort

• Being in right-relationship with discomfort is especially important for facilitators of breathwork and psychedelics

• Sensations are just sensations, we give them meaning by how we relate to them

• Cold exposure is safe and through repeated exposure, you expand your capacity

• Choosing to intentionally make yourself uncomfortable, and coming to it with a neutral curiosity has the biggest possibility for expansion

• You learn regulation and how to orient your nervous system through discomfort.

• The concept of Eustress, good stress, chosen stress

• The need for balance and harmony with short bursts of stress paired with time being calm

• Chosen stress as a way to stay calm when under stress, and having a flexible nervous system

• Variation in capacity of women throughout their menstrual cycle, and the difference with men

• Justin’s top three things to expand your capacity

• Lots of big changes can occur in the moment to moment experiences

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reach out to us on Instagram (@loveleadershipandliberation), we’d love to hear from you!

Follow Justin on:

Instagram & Tiktok

Follow Rachael on: 

Instagram, TikTok, & Youtube

If you enjoyed today’s episode, please let us know by leaving a 5-star review on whatever platform you’re listening to this, or sharing this episode on your Instagram stories and tagging us!

It means so much and helps us reach more beautiful people who need to hear these messages!

Welcome to the first episode of the Love Leadership & Liberation Podcast, hosted by Rachael & Justin Meeds! 

In this first episode, we introduce ourselves and share our reasons for starting this podcast. We delve into the topics of love, leadership, & liberation that we will be exploring in future episodes. 

Our focus for this episode is on mornings and the power they hold in setting the tone for the rest of our day. We discuss our own morning routines, the benefits of creating a routine that works for you, and how to develop your identity around who you want to be in the morning. 

Tune in to discover how you can use your morning practices as a foundation for compassionate self-leadership and get clear on your vision for the future.

In this episode: 

• Why we started this podcast, the reasons for both of us and what the show is all about

• Introducing who we are, and what we do in the world

• Touching on all the different potential topics that we will be getting into around love, leadership, & liberation.

• Getting into the topic of mornings and what they mean for us

• Rachael’s love for mornings and the practices that she does & her journey to come to that love of mornings

• Shifting from unhealthy habits around evenings and mornings and making sure to get a good sleep

• Justin’s morning routine and his structure starting with cold showers in the mornings

• Understanding that the morning is a point when your subconscious mind is most active and can provide insight into what is happening under the surface

• The work Rachael has done reprogramming her body and mind to build resilience in the morning.

• What to do if you “don’t have time in the morning”

• Thinking about who you want to be provides motivation for creating the routine that works for you

• Bringing awareness into who you want to be

• Checking in with your needs to find a way to replace habits that don’t serve who you want to be.

• The terrible thing about scrolling your phone, or watching the news right in the morning; playing Russian roulette with your day

• The vulnerability of the morning, and setting the tone for the rest of your day.

• Understanding that your mornings can be flexible, and how Rachael creates that flexibility for herself

• Developing your identity around who you get to be in the morning

• Compassionate Self-leadership; holding yourself to a standard, but recognizing you are also human

• Using your morning practices as a foundation to always return to even when times are difficult.

• Getting clear on your vision and what’s not working anymore

  
  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reach out to us on Instagram (@loveleadershipandliberation), we’d love to hear from you!

Follow Justin on:

Instagram & Tiktok

Follow Rachael on: 

Instagram, TikTok, & Youtube

If you enjoyed today’s episode, please let us know by leaving a 5-star review on whatever platform you’re listening to this, or sharing this episode on your Instagram stories and tagging us!

It means so much and helps us reach more beautiful people who need to hear these messages!