28 Feb Healing, Sacrifice & Midlife Awakening: Near-Death, Menopause & the Power of Surrender
Day and night, count the rosary of your breath and stay put wherever you are. –Lalla
What happens when your identity dissolves?
When your body stops cooperating?
When death comes close enough to whisper?
In this deeply intimate and wide-ranging conversation, Cate Stillman sits down with longtime colleague and friend Dr. Claudia Welch to explore health crises, near-death experiences, menopause, mythology, and the spiritual art of surrender.
🌿 Episode Overview
Dr. Claudia Welch shares her powerful story of nearly dying from MRSA pneumonia.
Together, Cate and Claudia explore:
The true meaning of sacrifice — “to make sacred”
What health crises strip away from us (and what they reveal)
Surrender vs. control in healing
Identity shifts in midlife and menopause
Right brain vs. left brain ways of knowing
Why bewilderment may be more powerful than certainty
Death as teacher, not enemy
Mythology (Persephone, Demeter, chaos) as maps for second-act life
Moving into the vānaprastha (forest-dweller) life stage
This conversation moves from hospitals to ancient myths, from pelvic floor health to the philosophy of death, from Ayurveda to neuroscience.
And through it all, one theme emerges:
“Be ready to leave everyone and everything at any time.”
🔥 Key Takeaways
Healing isn’t always about doing more — sometimes it’s about surrendering more.
Identity can be the biggest obstacle to recovery.
Menopause is not just hormonal — it’s mythological.
We overvalue certainty and undervalue awe.
Letting go of attachment is a practice death — and also a rebirth.
Right-brain contextual thinking may be the medicine modern culture needs.
If you’re navigating:
A health crisis
Menopause or perimenopause
Midlife reinvention
Spiritual awakening
Burnout from over-identifying with productivity–
This episode might resonate.
⏱️ Timestamps
00:00 – Introduction & the meaning of sacrifice
03:30 – “Take away everything that isn’t horse”
06:45 – Attachment, tension & the art of letting go
08:30 – Health crises and identity collapse
11:20 – Dr. Welch’s near-death MRSA experience
14:00 – Surrendering control in healing
17:00 – The guru & snake story: karma and trust
20:30 – “Sell your knowledge, purchase bewilderment”
23:00 – Death awareness and readiness
26:00 – Cancer, grief, and “bonus time”
30:00 – Staying put: the rosary of the breath
33:00 – Midlife rebranding & creative rebirth
35:00 – Mythology as second-act medicine
38:00 – vānaprastha: the forest dweller stage
45:00 – Ian McGilchrist: left brain vs. right brain
49:00 – Hormones as contextual messengers
53:00 – Pelvic floor health & modern gaps in care
55:30 – Beliefs vs. reality: liminal thinking
56:00 – Closing reflections
🌐 Resources & Links
Menopause Chronicles (learning through story)
Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life (book)
Satsangam (Indian knowledge systems education)
Pelvic Floor Health Resource Mentioned:
Kim Vopni – The Vagina Coach / Buff Muff Method
🌿 About the Host – Cate Stillman
Instagram: @catestillman
LinkedIn: Cate Stillman