The Gathering Room Podcast

Did you know that we’re energetically connected?We all have the ability to feel each other’s energy: if someone is happy and calm, we can feel it, and when someone is angry or dangerous, we can feel that as well. What’s more, we’re each projecting our own energy all the time.However, when you’re not aware of the energy you’re giving off, you inadvertently create what Martha calls “energetic dark spots”—and these make you vulnerable to people with negative energy who want to prey on you in some way.In this episode of The Gathering Room, Martha talks about how you can mend any energetic dark spots you may have and create an integrous energy that is calm, pure, and doesn't attract negativity.She’ll walk you through the process she uses to heal her own energy shields—using questions she learned from the work of Byron Katie—and she’ll also lead you in her Space, Silence, and Stillness meditation to help you visualize the energy that connects us all.Plus, Rowan Mangan will join Martha at the end for a very exciting announcement, so be sure to tune in for the full episode! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Facebook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Waves of shame. They're icky, they're toxic, and they're not easy to escape. In this episode of The Gathering Room, Martha is talking about how we can move past this particularly intense form of anxiety and swim on to better horizons.Shame attacks us at the level of basic self-identity and makes us believe that our vulnerabilities are permanent, personal, and pervasive. It also wants us to keep secrets and hide things. So, Martha says, by being open and sharing our humiliating moments—the opposite of what shame wants us to do—we can actually reduce our feelings of shame. And often, the more embarrassing your “shameful” moment, the more it can be turned into a freeing kind of humor that helps you feel safe. To learn how to share your vulnerabilities safely through openness, humor, and the step-check-step method, don’t miss this liberating episode. It also includes Martha’s guided Silence, Space, and Stillness meditation—with a special devotion to the parts of you that have ever felt shamed. CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Facebook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many of us have heard about the mind-body connection, but have you ever tried sense-memory therapy? Martha recently lost her sense of smell to a sinus infection, and instead of worrying that she'll never get it back, she's trying sense-memory therapy—she holds her favorite pine-scented candle close to her nose while relishing the memory of smelling that candle. Recalling positive sense memories creates connections in the brain that reinforce positive, joyful times instead of fear or anxiety, and that's what Martha is talking about in this episode of The Gathering Room. Martha believes this methodology can help with every aspect of life—from physical ailments to social anxieties to financial struggles and more—and literally bring the good times back! We can even touch into the memory of what it was to be pure spirit, completely unafraid, and create brains that can go to the place of no suffering, deep wisdom, and the peace that passes all understanding. Want to learn how? Tune in for the full episode, where Martha will also guide you through a powerful Space, Silence, and Stillness meditation to help you drop out of matter and connect with the deepest sense memory. Join her! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Facebook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did you know you were born a creative genius? All of us are, Martha says, but we are socialized out of our genius by the structures of culture. Why? Because the culture wants everyone the same, but genius doesn’t homogenize well. However, your genius is still calling to you, and in this episode of The Gathering Room, Martha shares how you can recognize—and follow—its call. She says your genius will have three main characteristics: It hides in plain sight—it’s the thing that for you is so easy you think surely anyone could do it. (Spoiler alert: They can’t!) It makes you curious. When you see something that’s related to your genius, you perk up and go "Hmm…” If it makes you curious, your mind is already shaping itself around that activity. It makes you feel something called the “rage to master” where you not only feel curiosity, you feel an ache in your heart that says, "Oh, if only I could do that!" If it’s aligned with your genius, you’ll get the “ignition message” to begin doing that thing. Martha says that when something that's connected to your genius pulls you in and won't stop pulling you in, the worst thing you can do is decide that the time for you to do that thing has passed—because it is never too late. Sometimes it's an inspiration, sometimes it's a state of consciousness, sometimes it's a way of healing, sometimes it can't be even seen.  “Anything can be part of your genius,” Martha says. “Just go for it!” To find out more about the genius that’s calling to you and how you can answer the call, be sure to tune in for the full episode! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Facebook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The world can be a hard, inhospitable, downright hostile place, and people can quite often be less than kind. Yet Martha says that by practicing what she calls “kindness in motion,” we can start to change the whole complexion of the world.  Martha defines kindness in motion as “kindness while doing things” and she’s sharing how to do it in this episode of The Gathering Room. As Martha describes it, all of our perceptions come through the filter of the mind. The voice in our heads that we think is coming from the outside actually isn’t. So, as she tells us, “we can unilaterally shift the screen inside the head so that it only brings kindness.”  This means that if there's something that's frustrating you, as you go through it, be as kind to yourself as you would be to a very vulnerable child who has never tried it before, using what Martha calls Kind Internal Self Talk.   Tell yourself things like: You are okay. You’re doing so well. You're doing things a lot of people couldn't do.  This is amazing. This is going to work out fine.   There’s always a place where you can be kind to yourself, Martha says, and soon you’ll start to see your self-kindness reflected back to you from others. To hear some inspiring stories of kindness in motion (plus a couple that might crack you up), tune in for the full episode, where Martha will also lead you through her Silence, Stillness, and Space meditation. Be extra kind to yourself and join her! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Facebook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you respond when you’re in a painful situation and there’s no way out? The answer is paradoxical. Come learn how to do it with this week’s Gathering Room! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Facebook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You’ve heard of the fight and flight reflexes, but what about flop and fake? Flop and fake (also known as fawn) are two of the other responses in the polyvagal system, a theory about how our nervous systems adapt to stress and the environment. Fake/fawn is a people-pleasing response, and flop means you just lie there unable to drum up motivation.  In this special “Listen Again” episode of The Gathering Room, Martha’s talking about polyvagal theory and how to regulate your nervous system when it gets hijacked by fight, flight, flop, fake, or freeze. One of the things polyvagal theory says is that we can never go into a calm, alert state unless our nervous systems are interacting with one of four things: self, others, nature, and spirit. The good news is that Martha has a process to help you do exactly that! If you’re feeling frazzled, overstimulated, or overwhelmed and you need some relief, tune in and let Martha guide you back to your center of calm. With a few prompts, you can start to regulate your nervous system and become conscious of the beauty, joy, and love all around you. CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Facebook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For this special “Listen Again” episode of The Gathering Room, Martha is sharing her conversation with Dr. Richard Schwartz, the brilliant creator of Internal Family Systems (IFS), a wonderful therapeutic model that Martha loves using! IFS provides an optimistic, empowering framework to help us focus on the different “parts” of our personalities so that we can shift into a state characterized by curiosity, calm, confidence, and compassion. Tune in for their conversation about Richard’s latest book, YOU ARE THE ONE YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR: APPLYING INTERNAL FAMILY SYSTEMS TO INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS, which is available at all major retailers.  If you’re interested in learning more about IFS, you won’t want to miss this one! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Facebook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are you in the mood to make some magic?  Martha is! And in this special “Listen Again” episode of The Gathering Room, she’s sharing inspiration from Suzanne Eder’s book, What You Want Wants You, to help you reconnect with your true desires so you can follow the path to your soul’s fulfillment. While our culture teaches us to associate desire with selfishness and even depravity—a.k.a. “base desire”—Eder’s book says this is a misinterpretation. Instead, real desire is an expression of the one soul that is the basic ground of being for all of us. As Martha elaborates, we’re all pure divine essence, and to be in physical form is to perceive an apparent separation between ourselves and all other things. The truth, however, is that we are all one. Tapping into that truth and being kind to the self are the ways we spark magic. To learn how to drop the illusion of separation, get in touch with your true desires, and start creating a life that works for you like magic, don’t miss the full episode! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Facebook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever experienced synchronicity?  As Martha defines it in this episode of The Gathering Room, a synchronicity is any event or experience that seems to confirm or indicate that the universe is not random—that there's something making all this happen. Martha has been re-reading The Awakened Brain by Dr. Lisa Miller, who writes about synchronicities and what she calls a “spiritual docking station” in the human brain. What Dr. Miller found in her research is that when people are open to the idea of spiritual realities like synchronicities, they have access to much more physical and mental health, and they’re more resilient and more resistant to anxiety and depression. Martha says that when she opens the docking station of her own brain, it feels like a loving, beautiful presence is able to move through her. It gives her the experience of seeming to do things herself but also relax into being moved by a loving, creative force. It’s only when we relax our nervous systems, Martha says, that we can feel the consciousness of the universe because the consciousness of the universe does not respond to anxiety and desperation. It responds to joy, love, and trust. To learn how to keep your spiritual docking station open so you can look for synchronicities in your own life, be sure to tune in for the full episode. Martha will also guide you through her Silence, Stillness, and Space meditation to allow those synchronicities to start showing up! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Facebook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Has anxiety been keeping you from your life’s mission? In this episode of The Gathering Room, Martha shares that the best way out of anxiety is not simply to calm yourself, but to get creative! When you take the creativity route, Martha tells us, you get so deep in the process of creating solutions to the problems that matter to you that it becomes literally impossible for your brain to be anxious. So how do you start living from a creative place? Martha says the key is getting curious, and to access your curiosity, there are three things that the brain always asks, in this order: Am I safe?  Am I loved?  What can I learn? Once the brain knows you are safe and loved, it can go into curiosity and start learning new things. And when you realize that you have the capacity to create around anything that makes you curious, you begin to drive your life towards your own unique mission.  To learn how to feel safe and loved so you can access your zone of genius and create your life’s mission, tune in for the full episode! Martha also guides you through her Silence, Stillness, and Space meditation to calm anxiety and stimulate curiosity. CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Facebook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is there something you’re having trouble with that you’re trying to do perfectly? If so, you’re not alone… As Martha reminds us in this episode of The Gathering Room, we are all trained by the culture to strive for perfection and to look for it in others. However, you are not going to show up perfectly—because it’s impossible! If you show up not to be perfect but to connect, nobody will care that you haven’t done it perfectly. As Martha says, we are here to be connected with a world in which all of us are imperfect. Martha is currently learning Spanish, and she recently stumbled her way through a conversation with a Spanish-speaking friend. Despite her less-than-perfect Spanish, the joy Martha felt connecting with her friend in that language was a “return to the sacredness of communion.”  If you've been struggling with the desire to be perfect, and you want to learn how to drop into imperfection and connect to yourself and others, be sure to tune in. You’ll also be able to experience connection through Martha’s guided Silence, Stillness, and Space meditation. CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Facebook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pleasure is something that many of us may think of as an indulgence, but Martha says it’s actually the gateway to the things that really enrich our souls… And we access this pleasure by relaxing. 🍃 In this episode of The Gathering Room, Martha shares an exercise you can do to drop into relaxation mode, and it doesn’t require a trip to the spa—you can do it anywhere! Using small, pleasant feelings to anchor the whole mind can lead to revolutionary changes, Martha says, and it begins with just two simple steps: First, clench your jaw. 😬 Then, release it. 😌 Repeat this a few times, and start to notice the feeling of release when your jaw drops. See if you can find something pleasurable in that release of tension because even the smallest sense of pleasure can pull your attention toward it—and away from negative feelings. You can extend this Relaxation Pleasure exercise throughout your whole body to help relieve anxiety, anger, or heartbreak. Want to learn how? Listen to the full episode where Martha will walk you through the steps and also lead you in her guided Silence, Stillness, and Space meditation. It’s a recipe for what Martha calls “a mighty pleasant moment” so be sure to join her! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes  Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Facebook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did you know that you have a superpower you might not know about? 🦸🏽‍♀🦸‍♂️ In this episode of The Gathering Room, Martha talks about how to tap into the creative impulses at the center of your psyche—a superpower we all have but may not realize it! Remember the things you did when you were a child or a teenager for no other reason than the pure joy of it? Maybe you still do these things now, but the culture dismisses them as unimportant “hobbies.” Martha says that the very things that brought you joy as a child, the things that just floated your boat and you had no idea why…those things have a magic to them. In fact, they’re the keys to unlocking your superpower! 🔑💥 You’ll be able to tell it’s your superpower because it will give you the feeling, the itch, the burning desire to go and play in creation. And, as Martha says, that's how we change the world. To learn more about how to recognize and follow the pulse of creativity to unlock your superpower, don’t miss this inspiring episode, which concludes with Martha’s guided Silence, Space, and Stillness meditation. CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Facebook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever tried to manifest something, but it just wouldn’t happen?In this episode of The Gathering Room, Martha shares how to use what she calls the “technology of magic” to make your deepest yearnings a reality.Martha says that having a thought or intention is a necessary but insufficient condition for manifesting the things you want. Your intention must be combined with invention—or as Martha calls it, “rolling up your sleeves and getting to work!” At the corner of your intention and your invention is where the magic happens. And it only happens, Martha says, when your intention comes to you as part of your life’s true mission. To learn more about using the technology of magic to manifest your soul’s intentions, be sure to tune in for this episode of The Gathering Room. You’ll also get to join Martha in meditation—and hear about her magical monkey manifestation in Costa Rica! 🐒🐒🐒CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes  Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Facebook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“How do we adjust to the drudgery?” Martha was asked this question by Ro when they returned home from a wonderful stay at the Imiloa Institute in the Costa Rican jungle. A lot of upkeep is required to sustain ordinary living, and much of daily life gets consumed by repetitive tasks. In this episode of The Gathering Room, Martha talks about a shift we can make to transform drudgery into beauty. In traditions where they have the concept of awakening or enlightenment, Martha says, the emphasis is not on what you do, but how you do it. It's the quality of presence in your body, mind, heart, and spirit while you carry out each task.  As the Zen saying goes, “Before enlightenment: Chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment: Chop wood, carry water.” When you are fully present and engaging with all of your senses, any experience can become sublime, even mundane tasks like washing the dishes. You can look at even the simplest object and say, “You are so beautiful.” To get more insights about transforming drudgery into a spiritual practice, tune in for the full episode, which also includes Martha’s guided Silence, Stillness, and Space meditation. And if a retreat with Martha sounds like just the thing to help you return to your life with fresh eyes, read about her Pure.Wild.Self Retreat in Costa Rica at the link below!CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes  Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Facebook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Where does your life want you to go sailing?In this episode of The Gathering Room, Martha is talking about the pull for adventure that all humans have but are often too scared to follow.To build up your adventuring spirit, Martha recommends going on “little adventures” every day—things that push you out of your comfort zone and into your growth zone. How do you do this?By consulting with your deep, deep essential self to see how you truly feel about all the different things you could do in a day. Then you do what feels “warmer”—what makes you happier even if it’s a little scary—and you do less of what feels colder.Because when you live your life in the growth zone, Martha says, it looks like all kinds of adventures are coming to you—because they are! For more travel and adventure inspiration, plus the opportunity to join Martha in a guided meditation, don’t miss the full episode. And to find out if Martha’s Pure.Wild.Self Retreat in Costa Rica is the adventure for you, you can check out all the details at the link below!https://marthabeck.com/retreat/ CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes  Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Facebook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you know when something is worth the trouble?That’s the question Martha’s exploring in this episode of The Gathering Room, and the short answer is: If it’s your passion, it’s always worth the trouble!Martha’s recent trip to New York with her family to see Ani DiFranco on Broadway ended up being an enormous amount of trouble—but when she finally got to see the show, she was blown away. She found that the joy it brought her was worth all the trouble it took to get there.She also realized that so much of the art and music and writing that inspires us—the astonishing art, the amazing music, the brilliant books—took an enormous amount of trouble to create. And the fact that these things take trouble to create means they’re worth the trouble.Are you looking for some creative inspiration? Want to find out if your latest passion is worth the trouble it’s going to take? Then this episode is for you! You can also participate in Martha’s guided meditation to help you tap into the creative power of silence, space, and stillness.CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes  Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Facebook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you feel in desperate need of a rest? Most of us are underestimating our need to rest to an almost criminal degree, and Martha is talking about why that is—and how to change it—on this episode of The Gathering Room. We live in a society that wants us to work constantly. However, nature says that we need to rest regularly—in fact, this is absolutely crucial. “You can live without intense activity,” Martha reminds us, “but you cannot live without rest.”  Rest is your connection to the Divine and comes in many different forms—it’s not just lying down and napping!—and connecting to the Divine is what gives you rest and nourishes your soul. Tune in to the full episode to learn how to respect your circadian and ultradian rhythms, how to come up with what Martha calls “cultural cover stories” when you need them, and how to cultivate low-demand living to help you get the rest you need.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What does it mean to “compose yourself”?  The usual definition is to calm down and control yourself, but Martha has a very different meaning in mind, and she’s exploring it in this episode of The Gathering Room: How to Compose Yourself. As Martha defines it, you are literally composing your life—the being that you are—through the act of creating something new. Whether it’s a watercolor you’re painting, a meal you’re preparing, a business you’re building, or a child you’re raising, the act of creation is also creating you—and according to Martha, this is the actual point of creating. (Not, as the culture would have us believe, to make money from it.) Tune in for the full episode to learn more of Martha’s insights about the beauty and importance of creating “for no reason” and to participate in her guided meditation on imperfection, impermanence, and the essence of creativity.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.