Gathering Gold

Four years ago, we shared an episode on dream work and the gifts that emerge from remembering, recording, and reflecting on our dreams in solitude. Today, we're returning to the subject—this time exploring the power of sharing dreams within a trusted community. What unique wisdom can emerge when we invite others to reflect on our dreams—and when we do the same for theirs? How can dream work expand...

Sheryl and Victoria reflect on their experiences of Sheryl's first-ever in-person retreat: Another Way. For five days, nestled in a Colorado valley, the retreatants engaged in dream work and rituals; practiced council ; moved mindfully; and connected to creativity. Inside a circle of compassion and wisdom, tears and laughter flowed with ease. A web of deep, healing connection was woven--invisible...

Sheryl and Victoria share a favorite bonus conversation from the Patreon library ("Dear Highly Sensitive Parent") and current reflections on why it still resonates so deeply--especially now. Sheryl shares some of her most potent, painful, and life-changing experiences in early motherhood and the practices that held and grounded her in the toughest moments. And, she and Victoria discuss Sheryl's fi...

Sheryl and Victoria unpack how children—and adults—can become pigeonholed as “the smart one,” “the athlete,” “the good girl,” or “the creative one,” and what happens when those identities start to feel limiting. Through personal stories about parenting, childhood passions, sibling dynamics, and evolving career paths, they reflect on the importance of allowing young people the freedom to grow, pivo...

In today's episode, we are exploring the emotional intensity of the middle school years, reflecting on both the pain and the “gold” of this stage—revisiting experiences of loneliness and self-consciousness alongside connection, self-discovery, and courage. We discuss how shifting attention from family to peers can deepen feelings of rejection, while also opening the door to more meaningful friends...

When the topic of spiritual practice comes up, what comes to mind? Going to a religious service? Connecting with nature? Meditating? There are so many ways to connect of a sense of something bigger than ourselves. There is one vital pathways that is sometimes overlooked: Connecting with each other. In today's episode, we're exploring how connecting with other people -- both real and imaginal, in o...

"I don't like change." Many highly sensitive souls have uttered these words at one time or another. Perhaps we've said them recently, as we watched neighbors move away, or babies grow into toddlers, or winter slip into spring. Maybe we haven't dared speak them aloud since childhood, decades ago, when someone rolled their eyes in response and told us to buck up. In today's episode, we are exploring...

Note: We've decided to take a pause on the topic of romantasy, but we may come back to it down the road :) In this special episode, we are sharing our recent webinar with Daev Finn, an artist, psychotherapist, and Sheryl's loving husband.  After years working as a visual effects artist, Daev realized it was time for a change, and he made the transition to become a psychotherapist. Here, he reflect...

"Be glad of your human heart....Pity those who don't feel anything at all.” What if the meteoric rise of the romantasy genre isn’t about fae courts and dragon riders—but about our deepest and most human longings? Romantasy has taken the publishing world by storm. While some dismiss these stories as escapist fantasy, we believe their deeper power lies in how they illuminate the human heart. In this...

In today's episode, we dip a toe into the icy waters of body shame: the waters that take our breath away, that make us run for cover. How do we anchor our bodies in the warmth of true safety, of acceptance that frees us to open up to life and all it has to offer? Sheryl explores themes of body shame, body love, and so much more in her course Sacred Sexuality. Registration for the next round closes...

In this month of January, the beginning of the New Year, some of us may be looking at our current habits and patterns, returning to practices that have fallen away, reinvigorating activities that have lost luster, and exploring new ways of caring for and connecting with our selves. Journaling might be one of those practices that you are thinking about engaging with -- or perhaps feel like you shou...

As Sheryl and Victoria lean into the rhythm of the holiday season, resting and connecting with family at the end of the year, we invite you to return to our most-listened to episode of 2025. * * * “Energy moves in waves. Waves move in patterns. Patterns move in rhythms. A human being is just that, energy, waves, patterns, rhythms. Nothing more. Nothing less. A dance.” --Gabrielle. Roth Our heartbe...

In this solo episode, Sheryl explores the potency of the present moment. With personal reflections and poetry, Sheryl illuminates how much depends upon noticing, holding, and imprinting in our soul the extraordinary mystery, love, joy, and pain in the moments we wish we could extend for a bit longer, live over again, remember all of our days. References: Gathering Gold episode "How to Slow Down Ti...

At this time of year, it can start to feel like time is speeding up. The holidays are here already? It's almost the end of 2025? Didn't the year just begin?! In a culture that begins celebrating Christmas before trick-or-treaters have even begun knocking on doors, this sense of rush and speed is amplified at every turn. In today's episode, we are exploring the question: how do we slow down time? H...

In today's episode, Sheryl and Victoria unpack an idea explored in Sheryl's upcoming course Open Your Heart: A 30-Day Course to Feel More Love and Attraction for Your Partner : a pattern of criticizing and micromanaging your partner is a surefire way to close your heart and add bricks to a wall between you. Sheryl and Victoria name the historical, cultural, and societal influences behind the word...

**Today, we are practicing what we preach: slowing down and giving ourselves a little break by re-airing this episode from last year. We hope you enjoy, and we are sending you well wishes for rest, rejuvenation, and tending to your own rhythms and self-care in this season of rooting!** Meaning making. Connecting to breath. Aligning with nature. So many actions, big and small, can help us dig a lit...

In today’s episode, we are slowing down and opening our hearts to the beauty and loss abundant in autumn, a season that can so poignantly reflect and hold our own grief. Sheryl shares reflections about the passage of time, her sons growing up, and the passing of her beloved soul cat Tashi. Victoria shares her recent experience of learning about the death of a friend she had lost touch with.  How d...

We pick up where we left off in our last episode to discuss a few myths about relationships, unpacking commonly-held beliefs and prescriptions regarding our romantic/sexual lives, our choices about whether we want to be parents, and experiences of parenthood. By pulling apart the threads of these myths, we hope to encourage a greater sense of acceptance, compassion, and celebration of ourselves an...

Have you ever felt like you should be able to figure out and answer all of life's questions--immediately? That if you could just find the one right lifestyle and location for you, your life would be all shimmer and shine? That you should just find life and adulthood easier? That everyone else finds it easier? These are myths about life that have their fingerprints all over our psyches. They weigh...

We used to try to keep up with the Joneses--the family behind the picket fence on that beautiful street the next town over. Now it's not just the local Joneses that we're trying to measure up to, but the influencers on Instagram, high school acquaintances that we still follow on Facebook, our past selves and our future potential.  Comparison has always been the thief of joy, but in the digital med...

There are many types of friendships, and they're all necessary. We need friends to chat with at work, neighbors to share metaphorical cups of sugar with. But we also need deep friendships built on a bedrock of safety--and those can be harder to come by. In today's episode, we are unpacking what it means to feel truly safe in a friendship. What qualities do we look for and offer to our friends in o...

We all want to experience joy, but sometimes it can feel out of reach. Sometimes, the more we chase joy, the faster it slips beyond our reach. And yet, as Sheryl so often teaches, what we water will grow. We can create conditions favorable to joy. In today's episode, we discuss joy as not a luxury but a necessity; joy as an act of resistance and a fraternal twin to grief; how joy lies hidden just...

Today's very special guest, Michael Alcée , is author of the book The Upside of OCD: Flight the Script to Reclaim Your Life . In our conversation, Michael explains what he means and does not mean when he talks about the "upside" of OCD; why Michael thinks all people with OCD start out as mini-existentialists and poets; and the key missing ingredient in many of our contemporary treatments for OCD....

It is a common refrain these days: we live in a culture of scarcity mindset. We are bombarded with messages of never enough, implicitly and explicitly warned that there is not enough money, time, attention, or even love for all of us. These messages shift us into fearful perspectives, limiting our ability to see and receive all the goodness around us. In a world where so many people are lacking ba...

We're sharing a Patreon exclusive to our Gathering Gold feed today! In this episode, we're responding to our patron Jenny's question about how to deal with the discomfort and fear that comes along with stretching our comfort zones. We talk about values-based actions, purpose and meaning, our individual window of tolerance, and the importance of self-compassion. Visit patreon.com/gatheringgold to g...