Meet Claudia Davis

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Claudia Davis. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Claudia, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.

For most of my life, I was the polar opposite, self-conscious so much that I had difficulty articulating thoughts. I was quiet and detached, a result of a childhood filled with trauma. I adorned masks and overextended myself to please others, to be seen as sweet and kind. I was in complete disconnection with my power, insecure, filled with feelings of unworthiness. At the age of 40, I suffered a bilateral thalamic stroke. This event, to me, was a sort of awakening or a dramatic shift in perception. The thalamus is a crucial brain structure involved in integrating sensory, emotional, and cognitive processes. Damage to both thalami can lead to altered states of consciousness, including hyper-awareness, changes in self-perception, or dissociation.

Although the left side of my body was partially paralyzed, my senses were magnified to such an extent that the way I perceived life itself completely shifted. As if a filter lifted and I could see through walls, to a greater understanding of what I was and what life was about. I felt a wave of undiluted love, effortless for myself and everything around me. I was able to perceive that our cracks are not to be berated but to be embraced in its beauty with compassion and acceptance – for they are proof of our evolution – of the momentum of life, of living. A continuum that propels us towards a better understanding of what it means to be here. How we respond to, choose to, and search for balance between our inner world and our external reality. The more understanding I gain, the more love I feel for the opportunity to be alive, to be me, the more limitless I feel and by extent the more confident I become 🙂
In the end what is confidence and self-esteem but an expression of self-love. A surrender to the accumulation of our imperfections from where our uniqueness – perfection, stems from.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am not a fan of putting myself in boxes of definition. I am continually striving to break free from these confinements because I find them restraining in the sense that it invites one to settle in that box without reaching for something new. Graduating from film school I pursued filmmaking and photography, developing skills in both areas to be financially independent, investing in my first little business later on. However, post-stroke I found myself using these skills to tell my story in the hopes that it might inspire others to break free from their perceptions and see their existence to be as invigorating and worth living as I came to be in every sense of the word. I write, coach and continue photographing life and connection. My own experience has given me the ability to have an insight on how to reverse a chronic stressful – Burnt out – life experience into one that is fulfilling and even blissful by simply learning how to find equilibrium between the body and mind activating and deactivating parts of your brain to shift the way you think, perceive and live your life – to bring change that is aligned with the highest version of who you wish to be.
So What is mind and body mastery? It’s the equilibrium in which our complex system strives to achieve. When a system is dysregulated It suffers giving rise to sickness, physical and mental. Body and mind in a dysregulated state withers. We live in a world that pulls us outward, it entices us with distractions and stimuli that might seem pleasurable and exciting however in excess or unchecked can create a gap, a disconnection with your inner world. One can not be sustained without the other. How many people suffer from burnout, mothers especially suffer in silence until some autoimmune disease arise, or hormones become disregulated enough that they suffer. Having the understanding and awareness, the tools to regulate and process old wounds can empower any individual to take charge of their own selves no matter what the world around them might look like. This power is inside each of us we are often too disconnected to tap into it.
For my coaching you can look at my Instagram account @awakenmethods_ , my photography www.twigsandforest.com, I am currently writing a book of my experience but if you follow me you will know when it is out 🙂

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

When it comes to alignment I seek to cultivate these 3 things, Knowledge, Openness/Flexibility and Presence.

Knowledge – never stop learning, seeking, new things

Don’t settle ever, keep feeding your curiosity, challenging your views for knowledge is power in of itself, your brain literally thrives when absorbing new things (environment, information, experiences). The more disconnected we are the more settled we become, in an auto-pilot state, where we stop connecting, listening, questioning and trying new things. Continue searching for a better understanding. Knowledge teaches you how to regulate your nervous system to understand your brain- the most advanced body part of our human existence, to question societal expectations and structures, and to empower you to be whoever you wish to be. It gives you the skills to thrive and excel in all areas of your life independently of your environment.

Openness and flexibility

Rigidity in all things stunts and isolates you from growth and from thriving. It can isolate you from yourself, giving rise to low self-esteem, feelings of unworthiness, fear, and skepticism. All incredibly dense states of being, where you feel powerless to your reality. Through open understanding, empathy and compassion arises uniting one another without judgment, competition, nor criticism. Life is an ebb and flow, the more you push the more resistance you create. Staying flexible and away from rigidity helps you navigate the lows and the highs in grounded alignment.

Presence

Most of us live in the paradox of time, either in the past, by which most of us define our present and future selves by, or in the assumption that what’s to come is already predicted by your own tragic views of your past, initiating a loop of generational patterns.
Both are illusions and NOT real. We are the only ones that give meaning to our pasts and future. The only Real thing we have, is right now, the PRESENT. Here you have power, choice and autonomy over everything. In presence lies confidence, understanding, and contentment. Happiness.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

Yes, my desire is always to learn more from others and share my insights to those who can benefit from my own experiences and might be feeling lost and unsupported in their own life. We are not meant to go through life without a community without connection. Podcasts, events, and workshops- it all interests me. If my story compels you to learn more about me and my work, please reach out via my instagram page @awakenmethods_ or email [email protected].

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @awakenmethods_
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudia-davis-didomenico-9b77b38b