Are you feeling stuck, disconnected, or like there’s a spark missing from your life?

Imagine unlocking the tools to free yourself from old patterns, connect with your higher self, and step into your most empowered, radiant version.

In this post—and the latest episode of Raw & Radiant—you’ll discover how breathwork, soul contracts, and the transformative energy of Sedona retreats can help you rewrite your story and reclaim your power. If you’ve been waiting for a sign, this is it. Let’s dive in.

🎧 [TAP HERE] How Breathwork, Soul Contracts & Sedona Retreats Transform Your Life

In this episode, I sit down with two incredible women who are masters of transformation:

 • Ashley D’Adam: Intuitive homeopath, breathwork facilitator, and co-host of this enlightening discussion.

 • Dr. Melissa Betance: A naturopathic doctor whose journey into spirituality and holistic healing will inspire you to see the world in a new light.

Together, we explore how the Roots Reclaimed Retreat in Sedona catalyzed healing, empowerment, and deep transformation for everyone involved.

Listen Now: [CLICK HERE]

Breathwork: Unlocking the Power Within 

Breathwork isn’t just a wellness trend—it’s a life-changing tool that helps you access your deepest emotions, release trauma, and gain clarity. This practice is the key to reconnecting with your body and opening the door to self-healing.

 “Through breathwork, I unlocked the courage to step out of the cage I had built around myself and reclaim my life.” —Victoria Starr

If you’re ready to experience the profound effects of breathwork, this episode will guide you through its transformative power.

Soul Contracts: Understanding Your Journey 

What if the people and challenges in your life weren’t random but carefully chosen to help you grow? That’s the essence of soul contracts—pre-birth agreements designed to teach you lessons, ignite growth, and help you step into your fullest self.

 “Every relationship and experience is divinely orchestrated to guide us back to who we are meant to be.” —Dr. Melissa Betance

Learn how understanding these contracts can help you release blame, embrace gratitude, and see your challenges as stepping stones to expansion.

The Magic of Sedona Retreats 

Sedona is a spiritual haven known for its vortex energy and healing properties. During the Roots Reclaimed Retreat, women stepped into a space of sacred connection and transformation through:

 • Guided vortex hikes that tapped into Sedona’s mystical energy.

 • Breathwork sessions that unearthed emotions and brought clarity.

 • Healing ceremonies designed to nurture the mind, body, and soul.

Our guests didn’t just leave with new insights—they left as new versions of themselves, radiating confidence, peace, and purpose.

 “Sedona’s energy doesn’t just shift your mind; it awakens your soul.” —Victoria Starr

3 Steps to Start Transforming Your Life Today 

 1. Try Breathwork: Explore guided online sessions or join a live experience to unlock emotional clarity and self-empowerment.

 2. Reflect on Your Soul Contracts: Journal about your relationships and what they’ve taught you. Awareness is the first step to growth.

 3. Plan a Transformative Retreat: Step away from your routine and immerse yourself in a healing, soul-expanding environment like Sedona or Colorado.

Join Us for Naked in Nature 

Are you ready to take your transformation to the next level? Join the waitlist for Naked in Nature, our upcoming retreat in Colorado this July. Designed to reconnect you with nature, your soul, and your inner power, this retreat is your next step toward freedom and radiance.

Join the Waitlist Here 

Transformation starts with one small step. Listen to the latest episode of Raw & Radiant to learn how breathwork, soul contracts, and retreats can guide you toward the life you’re meant to live.

🔗 Listen Now: [JOIN THE SHOW]

💬 Share Your Journey: Leave a comment below—what tools have helped you transform your life? Let’s connect!

TRANSCRIPT:

Victoria Starr:
Welcome to Raw and Radiant, the podcast that ignites your spirit and empowers your soul. Are you ready to embark on a transformative journey? Here, we give other women permission to embrace their truth, to find the courage to choose themselves first. Because guess what? You are not alone. Join us in this massive journey of empowerment and courage. Together we'll illuminate your inner spark, empowering you to embrace the radiant light within and show you how magical you are. It's time to unleash your potential and make a difference in this world. Are you ready to step into the raw and radiant version of you? Hello, beautiful raw and radiant tribe. Welcome back to another episode. I am so freaking excited that you are here. I'm so freaking excited for these two guests that I have on the show today. And I think I say that every time that my soul sister is on this podcast, Ashley D. Adam, this is I think we just counted her fifth time being on the show. And you know what, I'm just gonna drop it in the space. Maybe raw and radiant just becomes a co hosted show between you and I. But for now, I know you already had that thought, but for now I want to introduce my other guest, Dr. Melissa Batants. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you so much for allowing us to see your beautiful face and for allowing my community to be able to feel and witness your magic as we drop in together in this beautiful container. Before they introduce themselves on the show, I just want you, those that are listening, to recognize that we created this massive bubble around us because there has been ultimate fuckery with the system today that has really allowed me to tap into my highest power and just laugh at the fuckery. So I created this magical bubble that's around us. And inside this bubble with the three of us, we are fucking power. We are fire. And we are here to bring one today. So thank you so much for being here. Ashley, introduce yourself. Just a real quick hot minute for those that have not heard you on the show before.

Ashley D'Adam: Yes, my name is Ashley DeAdam. My training is a naturopathic physician. However, I don't really identify with that anymore. I identify more with my sole purpose as being an intuitive homeopath and a breathwork facilitator.

Victoria Starr: Thank you. You're welcome. All right and Dr. Melissa Batants, she has this lovely bio that really doesn't even articulate the beauty and magic that if you could see her in this space and maybe you are watching her on the YouTube and you can just see what a joy and what a bright light that she is. But she has just attended Ashley and I's retreat in Sedona. Roots Reclaimed A Sacred Journey in Sedona that we just hosted, co-hosted, November 1st through the 5th. And there's one of those fuckeries.

Ashley D'Adam: I am so sorry. It's literally on sleep mode, so I don't even know how that happened.

Victoria Starr: That's how it's going to go. That's how this show is going to go. But Melissa is here. She attended the retreat, and I know that I would love to have her share her experience about the retreat. But before she goes into the retreat and how she is feeling post-retreat, I just would love to have you introduce yourself. Tell us a little bit about you, Melissa.

Melissa Betance: Sure, sure. Thank you. It's so wonderful to be in the presence of you beautiful souls again, and thank you so much for having me as a co-guest today. My name is Dr. Melissa Batantz and I am a divine being who is stepping into my soul purpose. I am truly on a journey towards spiritual enlightenment and towards awakening And I'm using my affinity towards natural health, practice of naturopathy and frequency medicine, specializing in metabolic health, mental health and female health to help serve my larger vision, which is to raise the vibration of the collective consciousness. So in this current human experience, My belief really is that I'm going to be a guide to help facilitate or at least be a contribution to help transition into this 5D reality, new earth, golden era. So I'm looking forward to speaking with you both on that today.

Victoria Starr: Okay. I don't know about you, Ashley, and those that are listening, but I have full body freaking goosebumps right now. Holy cats, Melissa. Thank you so much for sharing that. And thank you for stepping into your power because truly Ashley and I both witnessed before the retreat started in Sedona, before we held you in these safe spaces, You were a completely different person that left the retreat than the person that came to the retreat. How does that feel?

Melissa Betance: The word that comes to mind is transformative. It was a beyond transformative experience, and it was just a few days. My like I mentioned, you know, my my goal was really towards spiritual enlightenment and by far this was one of the best decisions I have made on that path towards spiritual enlightenment to attend your Roots for Claim retreat in Sedona, Arizona with the both of you beautiful, very gifted, beyond gifted women and I could tell you a little bit about my experience if you'd like.

Victoria Starr: Please do. Yes. Thank you for those words. I'm fully received. I appreciate you sharing that fully received. How about you, Ash?

Ashley D'Adam: Yeah, I mean, totally. Melissa and I have chatted outside of this, too. And yeah, just witnessing your transformation has been super fucking dope. And I can't wait to see, like, what comes through, like in the physical here, because we're what we're like 10 days out past it. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, I'm excited to see what comes through here for you.

Melissa Betance: I feel beyond different in the best way. I really, you know, the reasons why I wanted to come to this retreat was to deepen my personal growth, deepen my spiritual enlightenment, and then also just, you know, follow my intuition so that it best serves my highest self and live a more peaceful human experience and another vital reason like I mentioned already in the beginning in attending was to deepen my spiritual enlightenment and to be a part of raising the vibration of this collective consciousness. I can say with absolute confidence that I accomplished all those things and so much more with the both of you who have helped guide me to that. Without you I don't think I could and I truly believe that every experience is divinely orchestrated. And the beauty that YouTube brought to this space, I mean, everything from the high frequency food, the vortex hikes, the meditations, the ceremonies, the guests, everything was so intentful and so lovingly well thought out. And the energy of their mind, body, and spirit, both Ashley and Victoria, is palpable. And they poured themselves into this entire experience. And it was very evident in how they did this for every individual's ideal manifestation. So if you're someone who resonates with what I'm saying or wants more for yourself because you do deserve it,

Victoria Starr: This is for you. Thank you, Melissa. Thank you for sharing that. And I just want to drop into the space to maybe you haven't listened to the last week's episode yet where Ashley and I just talked about the retreat and talked about the women that showed up for themselves and the women that that have gone through this big transformation. So for those of you that are listening for the first time, our retreat that we co-hosted in Sedona, we had six magical women. We had women that literally came in as one version of themselves and left as another version, like I said, and we have actual picture proof to just like to see that because Ashley had this beautiful idea to take a picture of the women. We had six women there to take a picture of them before before we started any of the deep immersive experiences within those three days and then she took a picture after our closing ceremony and to see the transformation that literally was physically witnessed within the picture of their transformation, their growth. Like women looked younger, women looked less like, I'm just going to say like bloated or puffy within their face. Like it is so magical to be able to see and witness that in a picture form, but also within your energy. Melissa, yeah. Ash, you want to have anything to share? Anything to add there?

Ashley D'Adam: No, I'm just like brewing up questions for Melissa because you're such an interesting person. So when that time comes, but I'm good right now.

Victoria Starr: Okay, cool. All right. So I have a question for you, Melissa. So like for some of those, like I originally started the podcast for women to be a conduit to be of service to recognize that there's so much more for them, so much more than their limiting minds can fathom, and so much more than their past stories, their past trauma. And to be this conduit for women to be able to recognize within them that they have a light, they have a spark, and it's to lean in, to lean into the modalities that I know Ashley and I are so passionate about bringing forth into the world, which is breathwork and microdosing. And for her, I mean, really, Ashley, like you're so gifted and intuitive with your homeopathy. For me specifically, the crystal remedy is like there are so many modalities out there that allow the women that have been trapped and have been playing small in this 3D reality to bring forth this spiritual enlightenment. Melissa, share with the listeners, what does spiritual enlightenment mean to you?

Melissa Betance: Again, the first word that comes to mind is conscious awareness. Awareness of who we truly are and this remembering or realization of the fact that we've done this before and I think you both helped ignite or re-spark that remembering within me. I feel that I was always drawn towards this spiritual growth for a while, you know, when I started my career path it really opened my doors to the spiritual community but the words that do come to mind with your question is just conscious awareness and having this remembering of the activation and the insights that are already within us. So I almost feel as if you both helped reignite that warrior within me that's always been there. And on that topic of spirituality, I really am drawn towards again consciousness i'm drawn towards our reality what is reality um i i definitely have um some thoughts on our current reality of being the 3d reality just being that physical state we're in a lot of negative emotions we're in a lot of low vibrations a lot of low frequencies um i'll mention you know david hawkins is the one who developed the um numeric scale of of these of the way to basically measure different emotions. And in the 3D reality, we are supposed to be here. It's our part of the evolution. But as everyone knows, there's a lot of negativity within it right now. But we are going through quite a bit of a transition. So there are different dimensions. There are different realities. The 3D reality is what we're currently living and we will be jumping into the 5D reality very soon. So there's hope, you know, if people are feeling that they are lost or if they feel that they are unhappy or that this reality is not for them. cling on to this spiritual path, you know, develop your spiritual skills so that you can better transition into what is coming. We are entering a 5D reality and what we call a golden era, a new earth. So I am so excited, I'm so excited to see everyone blossom and I really encourage anyone who resonates with what we're talking about to deepen their their spiritual practices. You know that could include meditation, prayer, Reiki, breath work that you both introduced me to, which has been metamorphic cathartic. So the words that come to me come to mind, you know, and then also expressing those high vibration emotions. So gratitude, joy, love, those are the highest and enlightenment is actually the highest. So we're we're talking about 700 Hertz and above. So When we feel and express those emotions, we are living the ultimate goal of spiritual growth, which is what the 5D reality is all about.

Victoria Starr: Okay so that was a loaded question and you answered it so eloquently and I know Ashley has some things to drop in but before I open it up to Ashley like I have this wrapper that's sitting on the van I have windows open in the van there's no other papers moving within the van like I have things that are in here that are not moving, but as soon as you said 5D reality, this breeze came in and knocked this wrapper off my countertop and I'm like, oh, okay, here you are, let's freaking go.

Ashley D'Adam: Yeah, I mean, I think we're gonna get feedback like that. I mean, even when you and I are together, there's always something, something that goes on. So like with another powerful being, it's just up leveling it even more. Exactly, exactly. Can I ask a question? Of course. OK, so my question, Melissa, is I love the remembering piece, like just reclaiming who you are through all time and space, all dimensions, all timelines, all realities. I feel like that is a big part of what Victoria and I do. I don't know that we've ever worded it that way, though. So thank you for like bringing that forth, because that totally resonates with me. It's just a process of remembering like who the fuck you are. Right because you're not like you're not just like okay hold on back up. When we did the one on one session, which I won't go into detail with here right because that's for you, but are you okay if I just bring something forth and I feel like you know what I'm going to say.

Victoria Starr: This is the one-on-one session at the retreat. Just so you know that during the five days that we were in Sedona, Ashley and I held one-on-one sessions for the retreat guests that were there along with breathwork sessions and plant medicine and some other beautiful ceremonies. But now that there's a little bit of context, thanks, Ashley.

Ashley D'Adam: Go for it. Yeah. Yeah. So right. Melissa is a naturopathic doctor. And when I did this one-on-one session with her, I could just literally like feel her potency. So here in this 3D realm, you identify as a naturopathic physician, but as I reflected back to you, that feels so small and so insignificant as to who you are in your totality of your being. So my question is, and maybe you've already alluded to this and answered this, but I guess, can you go into more detail of the remembering of who you are through all time and space like 5d 10d like whatever we're labeling the dimensions as and i know it's hard to put into words but like who do you remember of who you are how do you feel of who you are as this just potent being oh yes i it's it's

Melissa Betance: I'm in the midst of it now, and I'm figuring it out now, and I'm remembering now, and you really helped bring that out of me. And I'm fully aware that now I am, that this is going to be just a stepping stone for me. I don't know. what it's going to look like for me. But I deeply feel that I came here, I've always felt like I shared with you guys that I felt different. From that, instead of me coming to this to this human experience, I felt different. I always knew that there was something bigger for me i just didn't know what and i feel i feel now that this is a large stepping stone i'm so grateful to have this because it's opened a lot of my doors for me um but ultimately i keep coming back to this desire this deep desire within me to raise the vibration of the collective consciousness I feel that I am doing that in a way now with my work, right? I'm helping to raise people's vibration by working on their health. And I'm just so excited to see where this is going to evolve for me. I think the deeper that I really hold on to that spiritual growth and deepen that practice and continue to believe in myself, the belief that you've given me, which is such a gift. I could cry about it now. I have so much belief in myself that I am going to be doing something much larger, on a larger scale, serving on a larger scale. And I can't wait to see how that evolves.

Ashley D'Adam: Yeah, beautiful. Thank you.

Victoria Starr: Go ahead. I can't wait to see how it evolves too, Melissa. So I want to just take a step back for a moment because in our reality, in this 3D reality that we're living on Earth, as women we have been suppressed for so long, we have been held back for so long, we have been placed into relationships that have kept our voices small, that have not allowed us to believe in ourselves, that have kept our lights from shining and when you say this belief in self like that gives me full body goosebumps Melissa because that's where it starts like maybe it doesn't resonate with with you um that what we're talking about but maybe it's just a question it's like do I believe in myself do I believe that I can be that I can be more do I believe that that I can do something different outside of the paradigm of the box of how we're supposed to live, right? And that's such a beautiful gift for you to offer to the listeners, Melissa, is how do you believe that you can show up? How do you believe that your light is a contribution to us women and the women that are to come? And even the women that have been generationally in the past, our ancestors, because as I was speaking with my daughter today, like we were talking about We're talking about witches, just gonna drop that in, and how the witches were so suppressed, but it really wasn't because of they were doing anything bad, air quotes. They're literally offering up the space of here's another way of thinking, here's some spiritual enlightenment, here's a nugget for you to open up your consciousness to think outside of the box. and with both of you doing homeopathy it's getting back to you that the magic and the wisdom within the body like that is so beautiful that we have to think and be programmed by western medicine by the them that says this is how we need to live yeah

Melissa Betance: And I'll add to that, it's not so much a knowing, but it's a feeling. It's a feeling that I have deep within me. And the further I deepen my spirituality, I feel more activations, more insights coming in and that are revealing themselves. The more that I connect to the universe, the more that I connect to the source, to God. I felt that, you know, and I feel that it's very hard for the logical mind the human mind to conceptualize the grandiosity of all of this. So I don't know that we're meant to I just feel deeply that we should whatever lights us up and for me and I think I can speak for the both of you. It's it's it is what we're talking about now this this attention to spiritual growth the conscious awareness to propel that forward to continue doing that um because it's it's a sign from our inner self our higher self um to to continue that path and um you know there are guides here that have helped me along the way you know i'll mention a few dolores uh canon uh joe dispensa diana cooper they're all you know spiritual leaders and authors in this community um and then also my family you know coming from a holistic household there's you know generations of knowledge of homeopathy as well there they have helped um you know provide that unconditional love for me and have helped me get me to where i am you know today and um to foster the spirituality so um i'm just so honored and i'm so grateful just so grateful

Victoria Starr: Thank you for sharing that and thank you for dropping into about your family and your lineage too of being in that safe space to explore the spiritual enlightenment, being in the safe space to explore what is conscious awareness because I think that Um, Ashley, I'm going to ask you that question to you. What is conscious awareness to you? Because maybe that's a new term for someone that's listening that doesn't quite understand, you know, what that means, but like, they're curious and there's a whisper. There's a, there's a, a nudge for them to find out more.

Ashley D'Adam: Yeah. For me, it's just mind expansion. Like how much are you willing to unlearn to then learn so that you can uplevel every single day, every single month, every single year, every single lifetime, because in the grand scheme of things, I really don't think time exists. Like, yes, it does here in this 3D reality, but overall, I don't know that it does. So for me, it's expanding your mind, maybe expanding the soul, because sometimes when I talk, It is in the 3D world, right? I don't think we have minds outside of this reality because we have a very physical expression of this reality here, so we have a physical body. But outside of here, I don't think that we have physical bodies. I won't go into that discussion because that'll get us on a long rabbit hole tangent. I feel myself going there, so I'm going to stop myself. But it's mind expansion because you can't, at least for me, you can't compress an expanded mind. So it's like that Pandora's box. Once you open it, You just want to keep knowing and you want to keep exploring and you want to keep finding out more and more and more. and to speak to what you were saying, Melissa. I don't know if this is what you were alluding to or not, but like right when we come here to this 3D reality, I don't know that it's set up for us to expand the mind. And I think there is a part of our soul that like maybe doesn't want to know. I think it's free choice when we come here. So it's like, do we want to know more or do we not want to know more? I personally think that we get wiped of memory, but it's for a reason. So I'm always going back and forth. It's like, well, memory was wiped for a reason. So what is that reason? Do I want to know who I was in past existences? And do I want to remember how powerful I was? Or was that a choice not to? So I kind of vacillate between the two. But if I had to choose, I'm always going to choose the conscious awareness and the mind expansion. Because my life has just gotten juicier and juicier and juicier with each expansion. And yes, there comes pain and like suffering and really hard shit that you kind of have to move through and be willing to let go of in order to keep expanding the mind. But I think that's all I have to say on that mind expansion. Final answer.

Victoria Starr: Melissa, is there anything you want to add to that?

Melissa Betance: When you were saying those things I fully resonate with that is such a great way to put it Ashley and something else that's coming up for me is being a volunteer, I feel that we've been we are volunteers. to come to this 3d reality to this earth to help be a guide and facilitate this transition you know whatever that service looks like to you and um for the both of you right now at least who knows how that evolves it's it's holding that space for women who truly need that help um the breath work and and just activating that remembering in those people because i think we all have that that potential within us. We all have that power within us. We're all created from the same source. So it's just a matter of yes, we do have free will, which could be very limiting. It can be right. The human experience is very limiting. But you know, if you have been given the opportunity to have that remembering or that awakening, run with it and see how that evolves for you. And and again, you know, I feel that keeps coming into me that we were volunteers to come here to help this transition. And again, it's very hopeful. The future is very hopeful. We've been through a lot of pain and suffering and negativity, but there's a reason for it. There's always a higher purpose for the way things that play out personally and collectively. And we're on our way to Bliss and peace and harmony and prosperity and that's the way that Earth was supposed to be. But we are meant to evolve evolution is part of the process so. anything that happens to you anything that happens to you um you know whether it's good or bad it's serving a purpose just remember that and and ultimately um if you feel called or you feel resonating with what i'm telling you and and that being a volunteer foster your your talents foster those abilities and and see what happens and um just be hopeful

Victoria Starr: So what's coming to me is just, for those of you that are listening, is to be curious, just to simply be curious and to be open to listening, be open to hearing, being open to just something different than what we have been made to believe is our reality. So just be curious. Can I add to that, V? Yes, absolutely.

Ashley D'Adam: So I love that. Yeah, be curious. I also think some people like don't desire, don't desire more. So I think if you are the caveat, I would put that as if you're desiring more than be curious, and that's going to like lead to the next thing and the next thing and the next thing. I don't see I know duality exists like here, but I kind of live my life in this la la land with my own rules and my own way. I see reality. So, for me, duality doesn't always exist. So, it's not saying that just because you don't want more that's wrong, right? It just simply is. You're the creator of your reality. It's like how do you want to live your life? But yeah, I think I don't know that everyone wants to open that Pandora's box and wants to know more and wants to grow and wants to evolve. So, I think the curiosity comes when you are given an opportunity to see that there's more Because for me, I didn't know that I wanted more until I had more. And then I was like, oh, there's more? There's more than just this? OK. And then I kept opening the box. And we're still opening the box and going deep down within it and seeing what else is there. But I don't know, you said that, and I just thought of that, how not everyone's ready for more.

Victoria Starr: Right, right. Thank you. Yeah, thank you for that perspective. What I want to drop into this space now too is, and Melissa, we'll come back to you as you attended the retreat in Sedona with us, but for me, the tool, and Ashley, you can answer this question also, but for me, the tool of opening that box and being curious became very evident to me within a breathwork session, a breathwork session where I literally saw my soul trapped behind iron bars. And this soul was this light and that light was me and I was encaged. I was in this entrapment. And then through breathwork, I have been able to pull the iron bars open and then through breathwork and microdosing has given me even more ability to come outside of those iron bars and to step into like a life that is so on purpose a life for me that just lights me up and brings me joy and also gives me the opportunity of like okay this this is hard this hurts what am I What is it offering me to learn and grow and evolve through? So there's, there's different opportunities for us to see that enlightenment. And Melissa, I want to go back to you first. And Ashley, I'm going to ask you the same question. Like when in your life was it through the retreat? Was it through a different experience? Like, when did you see that you were trapped in a box or you were inside that Pandora's box wanting to come out?

Melissa Betance: it has been it has been an evolving process i feel that the question kind of lies in the same correct me if i'm wrong is when that spiritual journey began for you or when that realization began for you when did that curiosity begin for you i i like I mentioned, I've always felt different. I always felt like an outsider of the current reality that we're in. And the community that I have been surrounded by has helped me to open that curiosity, like you mentioned, Ashley. And it has just been evolving more and more over time.

Victoria Starr: Is there one specific moment where you can recognize that there was this way and now there's this way?

Melissa Betance: I think truly being in particular positions in my life or particular relationships in my life where i felt you know they were no longer serving me and at that point i needed to let go of what no longer was serving me that is really when i came to that realization is when i had stepped into this this current now full awareness of just knowing that there was more for me and needing to let go of of what no longer served my higher purpose or my higher self. So at that point is when I knew that I needed to delve into this full force.

Victoria Starr: So I'm hearing that there was like just this whisper and this nudge that was in the back of you and then it was just like you taking one tiny step forward, another step forward, another step forward. It wasn't like this conscious awareness where it was like, oh shit, here I am in this darkness. Maybe there's something else. Yeah, that's so beautiful. And having that loving family to be able to support you on that journey. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you for articulating that. Ashley, I want to ask you the same question.

Ashley D'Adam: Yeah, mine was not little footsteps. Mine was like I just jumped off this ginormous cliff and just kept falling and falling and falling. And I still have not landed. I think I shared with it maybe the first or second time I was a guest on Raw and Radiant. But for me, It was just being in a relationship that felt, um, felt not in alignment with what I actually wanted in a partner, but I didn't feel like I had like the courage to let it go or release it. So that was the first time, I think, when I was like, oh my God, there's more than just dating what we know is a fuckboy. That played with my emotions and was very traumatic, but also such a loving, beautiful, and expansive relationship all at the same time. So it was very confusing while I was in it. But then I decided to take a very large dose of psilocybin and go on my own little journey. And me and that person broke up during that journey because we journeyed together and have not seen or heard from him since. And for me, that was the very first time where I was like, oh my God, I am so fucking powerful. Like what am I doing in such a limiting relationship? Like what the actual fuck have I been doing with this person for the last four or five years? Like what? And that's when all of like, I just feel like the floodgates were like let open. And all of this self-awareness just flowed in and all of these limiting beliefs and the way that I was literally creating my own suffering. Because I spent a lot of time blaming him, blaming other people for like my life not being the way that it was, because that's what I grew up with. My mother has a tendency to do that, just blame everyone else. So it's all I knew, that's how it was programmed. And then once I had the opportunity to go offline and detach from my hardwiring and create a new software pathway for myself, once I initiated that, that's when I was like, whoa, we're not doing this anymore. And that was it. And we've been following ever since.

Melissa Betance: I'll add to that, Ashley, if you don't mind, Victoria. I feel that we attract, we have a soul contract, right? We attract relationships. We attract people in our lives. We attract situations, families. You know, you choose those people before you come here to this reality to learn. Earth is a school, right? We learn lessons. And we have to go through those lessons, but we ultimately our soul had chose those people in our lives to facilitate this remembering our awakening and. and i think that's so beautiful to have to come to that realization is that you know it could feel so limiting so limiting when you're in it and it could feel very violent when you're in it too if it's not the right you know thing for you but ultimately it's it's um it's a lesson that needs to be learned so that you can awaken and it sounds like that exactly just that happened for you ashley um she's so beautiful to hear and yeah

Ashley D'Adam: Him and I have been choosing each other lifetime after lifetime, century after goddamn century. So it's – I totally resonate with what you're saying. I actually had a – I guess like an intuitive experience once where that was like confirmed for me by him that, you know, we signed up to play these roles. Like, what are you sad about? Like, why are you upset? We literally agreed to this before we came here. So it's not like you didn't know this. And it's like, oh, yeah. Like, duh. Of course I knew that. Yeah, I don't deny that and it was such a beautiful experience but also like we come here and have this human experience and get wrapped up in our emotions but I mean I always reflect on that relationship because it was so impactful for me and when I remove the human emotions Like it was such a beautiful experience, such a beautiful experience. But it's like the mind here that's like, you know, he played you, he this, he that. But like in reality, like I don't know if that's actually on a soul level what happened, right? That's just very much on the human experience what happened. So totally, totally agree with everything that you're saying. We attract in the people we do at that specific point in our life to up level. And that's a choice if we're going to up-level or not, right? Like I honestly could still be in that relationship. Like probably if one of us didn't decide like, hey, we're leveling up, we'd probably still be dancing the same dance we've been dancing all these times. So I totally, totally believe what you're saying.

Melissa Betance: We have similar stories, Ashley, for sure. I know, I know. It's wild. You know, the more that we got closer, especially in the retreat, it's just it's like, wow, you know, I almost feel like a mirror sometimes. We're all one, right? You have to remember that we're all one. But I did, too, experience with a healing dose of psilocybin years ago. And that, too, really helped open my eyes to what is truly out there. and you know what that plant medicine can do for you it's so beautiful it's from the earth it's it's it's you know the earth is created by the ultimate source so i believe that you know whatever is on earth it's meant to be medicine for us and we are just meant to fall upon it so you know um it could be used for wonderful you know um purposes and myself when I had experienced it for the first time. A healing dose, you know, versus microdosing, you know, is much different. Microdosing is much more, I would say, controlled in a way, but there's different reasons for different people who need them, right? A healing dose was just a larger dose and it was such a beautiful experience. I mean, it was a journey for sure and again, like I mentioned, it kind of opened my eyes to what is real and what isn't real and I just like the beauty of of emotion and just feeling I kept feeling and saying out loud to myself that everything is going to be okay and everything is going to be fine. I understand. I understand. I understand. It was like on repeat and it was just so beautiful. Such a beautiful experience. Um so yeah, I think um I resonate with everything you're saying too. Yeah.

Victoria Starr: Again. Yeah, thank you for sharing that, Melissa. That goes back to that previous question of asking you, like, was there that moment? And so it sounds like that was that moment for you. And I mean, yes, you're right, microdosing and microdosing is completely different. The microdosing is much gentler. And yeah, so we'll just leave it at that. What I want to ask you now, Melissa, is you have had this the spiritual enlightenment, the spiritual awakening, this moment within these five days together of this conscious choice of how you're bringing the new you, the evolved you, the enlightened you into your space as a doctor. Can you share with you, and maybe you don't know the answer, how that's going to show up with your patients, with your community, how, and if you do, that's what I'm asking you is how are you bringing that into being the doctor that you are?

Melissa Betance: Good question. I feel already since this experience with the reclaimed retreat that my conversations with my patients is already different. And the way that I approach my plans is a little bit different now to just realizing that we don't need need need need external things. we don't need outside forces there's there's so much healing within yourself you know there's so much that you can do just by yourself breath you know alone you are very powerful um of course i'm still there to guide them if they have those needs so i'll kind of dive into you know how i address um health right now and how i've been addressing health is um i i essentially come to a patient from a very holistic approach, you know, mind, body, spirit. So, I don't miss any of those pillars because all three of those are involved with someone's health. So, of course, the physical, right, the physical, we're dealing with, you know, certain symptoms and I will treat with diet, nutraceuticals, lifestyle, you know, herbs, but Ultimately, when we are talking about naturopathy, and Ashley, I'm sure you'll agree, is that, you know, for the viewers out there, listeners that don't know what naturopathic medicine is, it's in the name. We're treating pathology with nature. So we are utilizing natural sources. So for me, that looks like, again, homeopathy, right? It can look like a diet. It could look like lifestyle, mind, body practices. And I try to address these things at the root cause, right? So we're looking at the root cause, the reason why it's there in the first place, rather than trying to suppress anything that's happening. My role as a doctor in natural health is really to just create an environment that allows you to flourish your health. We are born, we have an innate ability to heal. So as long as I create that environment for them, the health is going to flourish and disease cannot exist. So the way that I approach these three pillars is through energy, environment and emotion. So with environment, I really like to handle it through nutrition. right, clinical nutrition, nutraceuticals, and diet. It's a huge, huge part of that. And then with the energy component, I like to utilize frequency medicine. So I'll definitely want to kind of talk more about frequency medicine, what that's all about, and homeopathy. And just opening that or reigniting that vital force that we all have within us. That's what homeopathy helps us do. And then the emotion, the third pillar, I address with Bachflower Essences. So Bachflower Essences, Bachflower Therapy, that is essentially a subset of homeopathy and it's a system of 38 different flowers that works on mental emotional imbalances. So That's how I've been approaching health, and I love it so much. But to answer your question, again, Victoria, the way that I see all of these transformative experiences helping me to help my patients, that was really ultimately my goal. is to foster and allow the ability of each person to remember that they are a powerful being and that they have all the abilities to heal themselves and i'm there just to be a guide to facilitate that i have been more so um encouraging patients to foster this spiritual aspect of their health. So, you know, when it comes to physical, mental, emotional health, you know, your spirituality has a lot to do with all of that. So I will encourage them to, you know, focus on gratitude, focus on journaling, meditation. And there's been many times now that I've been recommending breath work, which is new for me, and I can just see how this is going to blossom for me personally and blossom for my patient client base as well. remembering the power that they have to access health. You know, they have all that power within them. And I'm just so honored. And I'm just so excited to see how my plans, too, will change for patients and to see how people will gravitate towards and reclaim what they already have.

Victoria Starr: Ashley, you want to add anything to that? No, go ahead. No, okay. Thank you, Melissa, for allowing us to hold you, Ashley and I, in that space to be able to create this safe container for you to recognize and reclaim your power to step back into the wise soul that you are and to fully allow her to come online so that you can help raise the consciousness so that you can be of service for other humans. I know for me like it was simply this massive gift for me to be able to witness that transformation and for you to trust in my knowing and Ashley's knowing too. So thank you for saying yes to you. Thank you for coming to our retreat. There's the gratitude piece. The joy pieces is that to have you at the retreat going on the vortex hikes. There was so much joy walking silently with you in the vortexes. Just your energy just uplifted. I know everyone. And then just the love, like I know for me, like living full time in the van, I don't get much human physical contact. So to be able to have a hug from you and Ashley, for that matter, is such a gift. So thank you both for filling my cup, too, in those five days. But most importantly, I mean, I'm just so appreciative that you said yes to you, that you have said yes to humankind.

Ashley D'Adam: Yeah. Here's what I want to drop into for the listeners. Sorry, Melissa, I didn't mean to cut you off, but Melissa and I went to the same school. OK, so we literally like coexisted in the same environment for probably two years because she graduated a few years after me. I think like we knew of each other, but like we never connected, like we never hung out anything. So it was literally through Victoria and I creating the retreat that you felt that it was an alignment for you to join. And now you and I are like fostering this friendship, which I think is so beautiful because without this, like we wouldn't have realized like how freaking similar we are. Right. And you may not have connected with Victoria then too. So it's just it's really cool to see how there was probably that agreement already, right? Like before coming to earth, um, I feel like we all always find each other. Like it's a soul family. So I really believe that a majority of people that are in your life, um, are for a reason, like it's not random. So I just think it's really cool how like this literally all orchestrated itself perfectly. And like, now you're on a podcast with us. Like, I don't know. I just think that's cool.

Melissa Betance: Wild. I know. I fully agree.

Victoria Starr: So cool. It's so cool. So Melissa, I have, Ashley, do you have any other questions you want to ask Melissa? Anything else, Melissa, you want to drop into this space?

Melissa Betance: No, I'm good. I do actually want to mention one other thing as far as, you know, to add on to your previous question, Victoria, of how I see myself, you know, transition as far as how I practice since the retreat and since I've been evolving with my spiritual growth. Another thing too that has been pretty profound for me personally in helping to expand my personal mental, physical and spiritual growth is really taking in all what has to offer frequency medicine. And you know, frequency medicine, Ashley, I'm sure you can agree with me, it includes homeopathy, it includes black flower essences. But something that's been new for me too that I've been utilizing quite a bit is something called a biocharger. And the biocharger, I'll kind of speak on this for just a bit. Basically, for those viewers who are not really sure what that is, it's a beautiful tool that has access to four different evidence-based therapies. One of them being PEMF. So we all know, Pulsed Electromagnetic Frequencies, right? You can probably see or have heard PMF mats being available. So they basically involve red light, infrared wavelengths to help with inflammation, basically also photo biomodulation. The other aspect or other part of the biocharger is going to be frequency and harmonic energies. So it's basically an electric discharge at customized frequencies. So there are thousands of different recipes that you can select tailored for whatever ailment you're trying to treat. And then voltage energy, so similar to lightning or solar flares, there are hundreds of millions of volts that will create an electric charge. and help to charge your essential electrolytes like magnesium, potassium to help detox and open those channels. And then the last is going to be, I think that I mentioned, I already mentioned PMF, voltage, frequency, and harmonics. I think I mentioned all of them, light. So all four of those basically are in this tool and it is Very powerful and it's one of a kind and it's the first time where all four of these evidence based therapies are into one machine called the biocharger. And if you know, ultimately, if you wanted to find out what kind of benefits you can get from this. reducing inflammation, increasing your energy, increasing nutrient, um, enhancement, uptake, um, stress reduction, um, recovery. So that's one thing that I have been doing to help recovery with mental, uh, uh, physical and emotional health. And, um, this is actually located at the float society in Willow Springs for anyone who's listening. And, um, there's a little spring. Willow Springs is in Illinois, thank you, Victoria, where you can access that tool. And then they also have a float deprivation therapy chamber. Basically, you're depriving all of your senses, getting into a deep meditative state, getting into a very relaxed state, absorbing a lot of magnesium from the salt, right? And then another business I'd like to highlight too is Little Buddha by Daisy. She is out of Chattanooga, Tennessee and in stores nationwide. Essentially she is a skin care and body care organic line. you know what you put on your skin also really matters as far as you know when we're talking about what we are reading or what we are seeing or what we're engaging in to facilitate that spiritual growth you want to make sure that you are cleansing yourself physically as well and what you apply on your skin really matters too so Definitely, as far as recovery and body care, I'm all about alternative therapies. So it really aligns with how I address health care. And I just wanted to highlight, you know, Float Society and Lenebuda. So if anyone has questions about those two companies, we'll be sure to link all the information with this podcast.

Victoria Starr: Absolutely, thank you for dropping all that in, Melissa. Yeah, I'm so curious about the biocharger. I just might have to drive that way.

Ashley D'Adam: Yeah, please do. You're gonna drive to Illinois, you're full of shit. I already know you're full of shit.

Victoria Starr: All right, maybe I won't, but… All right, you dropped all that in about the biocharger and the float deprivation chamber. Please drop into the space. where the listeners can contact you, where they can get ahold of you, how they can find you. Melissa.

Melissa Betance: You can connect, as far as my practice, you can connect with me. We're at Nourish Natural Healthcare. Our practice is located in Darien, Illinois. But you can also access our services virtually as well. I should mention our practice, we focus on internal medicine, myself, metabolic, mental, and female health. Muscle health is a big thing as well. But then the other side of the clinic, we also do integrative oncology, acupuncture, so cancer care, Chinese medicine. And then as far as our website is nourishnaturalhealthcare.org. And then we'll make sure to put those contact information pieces there. Little Buddha by Daisy, again, is littlebuddhabydaisy.com, I believe. Again, she's based out of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and she also has stores nationwide. You can access her products through her website directly. And then again, Float Society is out of Willow Springs, Illinois. Floatsociety.com is the website. And I, once again, I'll make sure to put all that contact information for you guys. And thank you so much, Victoria and Ashley, just for allowing me to speak on this and allowing me to foster what I believe is happening and it's going to be such a such a beautiful beautiful future and I have so much gratitude for you both for awakening this remembering in me and just giving me the most transformative experience of my life, my human experience life. And thank you from the bottom of my heart, truly.

Victoria Starr: You're so welcome. Thank you for saying yes to you. And know that I'll be dropping all the links to Melissa, Little Buddha, to the Float Society. I'll be dropping all those links into the show notes. And one final question, I told you I was gonna ask and you don't know what the question is. So here we go, Melissa. If you could go back to a younger version of you, how young would you go back to? How old would you be? And what would you tell yourself?

Melissa Betance: Oh, instantly, I thought of nine, nine years old, for some reason, my nine year old self. and just embrace her and hug her and tell her that to trust your intuition to trust your heart and then everything is going to be okay and all is going to be well and just blossom into who you're supposed to be

Victoria Starr: Hmm. Thank you for that. Thank you for sharing that. And I'm sending your nine year old self lots and lots of love, lots of hugs. Yes. Just loving on her. So, um, Ashley, anything else you want to drop into the space before we, um, pop off?

Ashley D'Adam: Uh, no, just, I mean, immense gratitude for both of you and Melissa for saying yes to yourself and making this all happen. So thank you.

Victoria Starr: Yeah. So before Ashley and I and Melissa hop off, I just want to invite you into the waitlist for our next retreat. Ashley and I are co-hosting our next retreat in Colorado. We're thinking in July. It is percolating, it is formulating, it is bubbling, and it is an opportunity for you to get on this waitlist so that you could be the first person. The first one's to receive all the information and sign up as soon as possible because this one is titled so eloquently naked in nature. And what that means, we haven't quite exactly figured it out, but it is coming to us. And I'm sure Ashley has a little more expansion in this retreat than I do. So it'll be an opportunity for me to evolve also. So until next time, all the links are in the show notes. I am so happy you're here. Please like rate and review this podcast so that we can continue our mission. And I say we, because it's the three of us plus the collective to continue our mission to allow you to be curious, to allow you to open up and to just be all that you are meant to be. So thank you so much. And until next time. You are the heart and soul of Living Raw and Radiant. Take this energy, this courage, and infuse it into every moment of your life. Remember, you have the permission to choose you. I invite you to stay connected, keep shining your light, and continue to embody the essence of Living Raw and Radiant. Together, we are igniting a movement of empowerment, authenticity, and soulful living. Until next time, my friends, keep living your soul's desires.