Existential Thread

What if our bodies were more than a vehicle?

What if beyond the fixing and moulding and scolding, there was wisdom and intelligence? What if your relationship with your body became a conversation with a friend? This episode delves into topics that may be triggering. Topics such a disordered eating, body contorting, body image and body health are discussed. Please go gently gently. If anything in this episode brings something difficult to the surface, please reach out to a therapist, friend or someone who loves you. We pull on a thread that has come up in almost every single episode of season one: our relationship with our bodies. What it would mean to actually be in them, to see them as intelligent, as worthy of conversation, as more than a vehicle for getting through the day. We get into the systems that got us here. The beauty standards that shaped what we consumed before we were old enough to question it. The patriarchy that turned every distinctly female experience into something to manage, apologise for, or be ashamed of. Then there’s the medical research gap that left women spending years being told their pain was normal and their hormones were making them bananas while we waited for the science to tell us otherwise. We also get into what becomes possible when the relationship shifts. The body as a regulator. The body as wisdom. The body as a decision-making tool that was there all along. And yes, the body as a source of pleasure that nobody gave us permission to explore. This is the season one finale. And it ends where everything on this show begins, with you, in your body, getting curious about what’s going on inside. We go wherever connection lives. If anything in this episode stirs something big, please bring it to a friend, a therapist, or someone who loves you. Made with intention by Meus Studios. Instagram: meusstudios_ Threads: meusstudios_ Podcast Resource Hub www.meusstudios.com Inquires at hello@meusstudios.com

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What if we were taught how to make friends?

You're about to walk into a room of strangers. Your shoulders are at your ears. You've already invented three reasons to leave. And the only social scripts you have are from a playground in 1994 or a networking event in 2019. In this episode Caitlin and Chantelle get into one of the most anxiety-producing and least-discussed parts of adult life: how to actually connect with people. Not theoretically. In the room. Before the room. And in the spiral that happens after. They get into the specific kind of loneliness that doesn't look like loneliness — the one that lives inside a full life, a full social calendar, a room full of people. What's really happening when connection feels hard. And what has to be true for you to show up as your favourite self anywhere. There is an awkward wave at strangers in a park. A person in Lisbon who asked for an Instagram and didn't press follow. And a genuinely useful distinction between a connection that just was, and a story you're telling yourself about why it wasn't. Connection is a practice. This episode is where the practice starts. What's your barista's name? Find out tomorrow and report back. We go wherever connection lives. If anything in this episode stirs something big, please bring it to a friend, a therapist, or someone who loves you. Made with intention by Meus Studios. Instagram: meusstudios_ Threads: meusstudios_ Podcast Resource Hub www.meusstudios.com Inquires at hello@meusstudios.com

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What if the job is only part of the problem?

What would you do if you realised the system you've been raging against lives inside you too? What if you’re secretly the one keeping it in place? In this episode Caitlin and Chantelle are joined by Giana Ceresia — teacher, lobbyist, prison reformist, marketing executive, and self-described professional pain in the ass, for a painfully honest chat about the inextricable ties between work and our identities. Giana spent two and a half years engineering her own exit from corporate before she left. Not because she was delaying the discomfort but because she understood that if you don't do the work before you leave, you will simply recreate the same system somewhere else, with yourself as the punishing manager. Together we unpack: The hidden rewards that keep people in depleting environments The difference between self-esteem and self-worth What bitterness is actually telling you And a regular favourite of the pod - the weapon and the wand. The framework that will help you to look at both your strengths and your coping mechanism and ask: am I using this to build or to protect? You’ll feel like you’re sitting at Giana’s kitchen table in the cosmos and you’ll never want to leave. The homework is in the episode. Four minutes. Four questions. We dare you ;) For ways to connect or work with Giana Instagram @giana.cerasia Women’s Community Circle The Apprenticeship We go wherever connection lives. See you there. If anything in this episode stirs something big, please bring it to a friend, a therapist, or someone who loves you. Made with intention by Meus Studios. Instagram: meusstudios_ Threads: meusstudios_ Podcast Resource Hub www.meusstudios.com Inquires at hello@meusstudios.com

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What is your voice and where does it go?

When did you last say the thing you actually meant, not the version that sounded safe, polished, or approved of in advance? In this episode Caitlin and Chantelle sit down with writer and creative coach Lois Mac to unpack one of the most misunderstood parts of being a creative, thinking person: your voice. Not how you sound. Not your tone or your niche. The actual perspective underneath everything you've borrowed, adopted, and decided because someone else told you to. We get into: Why "authenticity" became one of the most inauthentic words online, and what it actually means to strip everything borrowed away and find what's left The three departments every creative process needs (creator, editor, publisher) and why the editor sneaking in too early kills more good ideas than bad execution ever could Why faithfulness to an idea is the wrong goal entirely, and what it means to stay faithful to the process instead The fear underneath "fear of being seen," which isn't about judgment, it's about being wrong in public and having to live with that Why the most interesting parts of what you believe live exactly where two of your values contradict each other And the question that might sit with you longer than the episode does: what are you still wearing that was never yours to begin with, and what would it feel like to take it off? Your voice was never missing. It was just buried under everyone else's idea of who you're supposed to be. Ways to connect with Lois: Writing Wildly Instagram If anything in this episode stirs something big, please bring it to a friend, a therapist, or someone who loves you. Made with intention by Meus Studios. Instagram: meusstudios_ Threads: meusstudios_ Podcast Resource Hub www.meusstudios.com Inquires at hello@meusstudios.com

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Have we lost the art of play?

When did you last play? Not rest. Not scroll. Not exercise with a target or socialise with an agenda. Actually play. Purposeless, unscripted, a little bit ridiculous. In this episode Caitlin and Chantelle get into one of the most radical things an adult can do: absolutely nothing useful. We explore what play actually is, why we stopped doing it, what it's costing us, and what it might feel like to let ourselves have it back. We get into: The gendered conditioning that turns women's leisure into productivity - the exercise class, the book club, the dinner party Why pure unstructured play gets coded as childish, self-indulgent, or wasteful. The dopamine trap that makes play excruciating for high achievers, because the brain that's wired to chase a goal genuinely doesn't know what to do when there isn't one. The grief of lost play, and the version of yourself who used to move through the world with more lightness, before you learned that your value was your output. And they ask the question that might undo you: Is there a version of you that used to play freely that you miss? What happened to them, and do you want them back? Play isn't the reward for getting everything done. It's part of how you stay human while you do it. You don't have to earn it. You just have to give yourself permission. If you’re curious about having more play in your life - here is the play quiz we discuss in the episode! https://playstyles.nifplay.org/ DM us once you have done it! We’d love to hear what play style you got and how that resonates for you. We go wherever connection lives. If anything in this episode stirs something big, please bring it to a friend, a therapist, or someone who loves you. Made with intention by Meus Studios. Instagram: meusstudios_ Threads: meusstudios_ Podcast Resource Hub www.meusstudios.com Inquires at hello@meusstudios.com

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How to move past the discomfort of disagreement?

We grew up mistaking being good at yelling for being good with confrontation but articulating your needs, quietly, is a whole other thing. It requires self inquiry, conviction in your own feelings and needs, and a bunch of tools in the toolkit to navigate disagreement and repair. In this episode Caitlin and Chantelle get into what it really means to sit in discomfort - with yourself, with the people you love, and in the rooms you're responsible for holding. We start where most conversations about conflict don't: in the body. Because before tension is intellectual, it's physical. It's shoulders at your ears. It's a stomach dropping. It's a four-year-old version of you climbing into your lap when someone's tone shifts. We chat about our own default tension responses - the defensive whip, the disappearing act (dives into hedges) and what it took to start doing it differently. We’ll explore different types of tension and why collapsing them into one undifferentiated "hard" is costing us in our relationships. We even walk the talk, sharing our first moment of relationship tension as co-founders & besties. It’s giving romcom but friendship. There’s a train station, a bathroom, and the make up moment the movie wouldn’t be complete without. This episode comes with two gentles nudges: Where is an apology getting in the way of deepening a relationship? Where did you disappear this week when you could have deferred instead? Go on. Pop it in your ears. And as always, we go wherever connection lives. This time it sits on the other side of discomfort. If anything in this episode stirs something big, please bring it to a friend, a therapist, or someone who loves you. Made with intention by Meus Studios. Instagram: meusstudios_ Threads: meusstudios_ Podcast Resource Hub www.meusstudios.com Inquires at hello@meusstudios.com

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What if your brain is different, not wrong?

What if the reason you felt different growing up wasn't because something was wrong with you but because the world was simply built for a brain that isn't yours? In this episode Caitlin and Chantelle are joined by Rachel Moore - systems thinker, people & culture leader, and universe builder - for an honest and generous conversation about neurodivergence, identity clarity, and what it actually means to understand how your brain works. We get into why so many people, women especially, are only now getting the language for something they've felt their whole lives. Why the diagnostic system was built around a very specific person, and why that matters. What the difference is between using neurodivergence as an explanation versus an excuse. Why knowing one neurodivergent person's needs does not mean you know all of them. Why the so-called accommodations that neurodivergent people need at work aren't really accommodations at all - they're just better design for everyone. There is a runaway refrigerator in this one. There are blocks stacked sideways. There is an important distinction between inclusion and meaningful accommodation. And there is Rachel's answer to our closing question that might just reframe the entire ‘let-them’ conversation. This work is for anyone who has ever felt like their brain was wrong rather than just different. And for everyone who wants to show up for other people. If your brain is tickled and you want to sift a little deeper or practice imperfectly. We have more resources for this episode right here. If anything in this episode stirs something big, please bring it to a friend, a therapist, or someone who loves you. Made with intention by Meus Studios. Instagram: meusstudios_ Threads: meusstudios_ Podcast Resource Hub www.meusstudios.com Inquires at hello@meusstudios.com

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When is a story helping or hindering?

We dive into some pretty tender personal stories in this episode. But nothing we aren’t ready to share. We were sitting in the airport lounge and discussing the dreaded feedback on tender stories. As we have both been writing our ‘About’ pages on our website we realised how hard it is to decide which stories to centre that provide an accurate reflection of who you are, how you think, how you got here, and the vision of the impact you want to create. If we know that the lens in which we see the world dictates how we interpret our experiences, what happens to the stories that existed before we changed our lens? How do we know a story has run its course? How does intellectualising our pain get in the way of actually metabolising experiences? You don’t need to be writing an ‘About’ page for this episode to be relevant for you. These are the questions at the centre of any meaningful personal development and growth. Which we know to be important for our wonderful Meuslings and the lives you are actively building. This episode is about the stories we tell and what happens when they no longer fit. About ourselves, others, and the world we live in. We all have stories that we took without a question. Without ever considering that we could not only challenge them but not accept them. This work is never complete, it’s an open loop. This work is not a job to be finished, it’s a curiosity to be sat with. Discomfort lives here and so that is where we will be but if this stirs anything in you that you need support with, please talk to a friend, family member or your therapist because you are loved and these feelings can be big. If your brain is tickled and you want to sift a little deeper or practice imperfectly. We have more resources for this episode right here. If anything in this episode stirs something big, please bring it to a friend, a therapist, or someone who loves you. Made with intention by Meus Studios. Instagram: meusstudios_ Threads: meusstudios_ Podcast Resource Hub www.meusstudios.com Inquires at hello@meusstudios.com

Is your internal compass actually yours?

Pissing off to Portugal in the middle of our 6 week sprint to shake ass on a rooftop might seem like avoidance to you. But we made a deal to go wherever connection lives. So there we were. If you don’t take the time to examine what you are striving for, it is very easy to end up down a path that you don’t recognise and have no idea how the hell you got here. This episode is about asking the right questions to strengthen your internal compass without shaming the past versions of yourself that got you here. How confident are you that the ‘more’ you want is actually yours and not borrowed? What would a stronger internal compass change in this season of your life? If you could wave a wand. What 3 “mores” would you wish for? Would you still want it if no one knew you had it? What does your answer tell you? We hope that these questions will light the little fire that says thanks for your advice, and do what you know to be true to you. If your brain is tickled and you want to sift a little deeper or practice imperfectly. We have more resources for this episode right here. If anything in this episode stirs something big, please bring it to a friend, a therapist, or someone who loves you. Made with intention by Meus Studios. Instagram: meusstudios_ Threads: meusstudios_ Podcast Resource Hub www.meusstudios.com Inquires at hello@meusstudios.com

What it really takes to co-create

It’s tempting to make a co-creation decision based on what you need from the other person. Can they bring something to the table that I don’t? But the reality spends so much more time in the realm of: Do I know myself enough to ask for what I need? Do I know how/when to choose a battle? Can I regulate my own emotions and feelings in real time? Do I have the self-awareness to learn in partnership with someone else? Can you do all of this and still have a laugh? All that and more. New episode out now. PS. Friendship is also co-creation. If your brain is tickled and you want to sift a little deeper or practice imperfectly. We have more resources for this episode right here. If anything in this episode stirs something big, please bring it to a friend, a therapist, or someone who loves you. Made with intention by Meus Studios. Instagram: meusstudios_ Threads: meusstudios_ Podcast Resource Hub www.meusstudios.com Inquires at hello@meusstudios.com

Self growth without the self obsession

When was the last time you cancelled plans and called it protecting your peace? When did you stop asking for help because it felt easier not to bother anyone? When did "boundaries" become the reason you didn't show up? As millennial women, Caitlin and Chantelle have lived the full arc of the self-improvement and convenience era; the body checking apps, the therapy speak, the Instagram wisdom, the delivery apps. And they've watched something quietly shift. The tools designed to help us know ourselves better have started to build walls where they were supposed to build bridges. In this first full episode of Existential Thread, they get into what self growth without the self obsession actually means; the conditions that created it, the price we're paying in real relationships and real community, and what it looks like to recentre something bigger than the self without abandoning it entirely. If your brain is tickled and you want to sift a little deeper or practice imperfectly. We have more resources for this episode right here. If anything in this episode stirs something big, please bring it to a friend, a therapist, or someone who loves you. Made with intention by Meus Studios. Instagram: meusstudios_ Threads: meusstudios_ Podcast Resource Hub www.meusstudios.com Inquires at hello@meusstudios.com

Introducing Existential Thread

The architecture of human belonging because it’s cool to care, and fun to give a fuck. Prepare to get out of your journal and into your life. Chantelle and Caitlin, Co-founders of Meus Studios, are two yappers obsessed with the way people experience the world and believe in the necessity of navigating this wild ride with others. Each episode is for the endlessly curious and delightfully unhinged who believe in self growth without the self obsession, are playful but not playing and despite all odds are resisting the dread and still believing in better. And it's more than a podcast. Hearing that little nugget that gets your brain spinning over, when your curiosity to learn or grow has been throughly tickled - we want you to have tools and resources to go deeper. To sit with it. To explore it some more. To make changes. To take action. You can expect additional resources to sit alongside our episodes so that you can listen and then practice imperfectly. Take a peep at our Resource Hub. If anything in this episode stirs something big, please bring it to a friend, a therapist, or someone who loves you. Made with intention by Meus Studios. Instagram: meusstudios_ Threads: meusstudios_ Podcast Resource Hub www.meusstudios.com Inquires at hello@meusstudios.com