The Gathering Room Podcast

Martha digs into the concept of “home” this week: how it seems to elude us, how much we long for it. Bring the part of yourself that feels homeless to the Gathering Room this week and discover how to find your forever home. (Originally aired, April 17, 2022) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Martha parses the song “Come Healing,” by Leonard Cohen. She uses the text as a basis for our understanding of the transformation of human consciousness and a lens to understand the good and bad of our own experiences. (Originally aired, April 10, 2022) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Martha talks about what to do when your enthusiasm has hit a wall—when you feel stumped and stuck. “The doldrums” happens to us all, but there’s a simple way to cope. (Originally aired, April 3, 2022) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of the Gathering Room, Martha talks PRESSURE. Taking it off ourselves, that is. How do we do it? What happens if we can? The answers will delight you! (Originally aired, March 27, 2022) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Martha takes on WORRY: that insidious mental autoplay that can ruin any occasion, no matter how joyous! Tune in to learn some simple but powerful tools to ease your troubled mind and discover that every little thing really IS going to be all right. (Originally aired, March 20, 2022) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on the Gathering Room, Martha introduces a radical new approach to healing: being kind to ourselves. You’ll be amazed how powerful this approach is, and Martha explains it brilliantly through her own experience. (Originally aired, March 13, 2022) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this unique one-hour Oprah's Book Club Edition of the Gathering Room, Martha talks INTEGRITY! She digs deeper into the ways that you can bring your life into more peace, freedom, belonging and joy. With questions from our new friends over at Oprah's Book Club and from our beloved regular Gathering Room peeps, this very special Gathering Room is sure to delight (Originally aired, March 6, 2022)...

In the Gathering Room this week, Martha tells you how to keep moving towards your heart’s desires, even when they seem unattainable. Also, some juicy listener questions in this episode! (Originally aired, February 27, 2022) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Life is full of ups and downs, and most of us get pretty knocked around by it. In this Gathering Room, Martha teaches us a simple psychological step that can instantly make suffering diminish and happiness increase. Listen to learn how! (Originally aired, February 13, 2022) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on the Gathering Room, Martha takes on embarrassment, which ensues when we reveal truths the ego would rather hide. We can react by hiding more (increasing shame) or watching our embarrassment calmly. Try the second option, and you’ll see your ego burning up in real time, leaving you freer. (Originally aired, February 6, 2022) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week’s Gathering Room, Martha talks about a concept that seems paradoxical in the context of our speed-obsessed culture. Look at that thing you think you need to do. Look at the time you’re estimating it will take you. Now double that time. What happens? (Originally aired, January 30, 2022) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Martha had an unexpected encounter with a wild animal this past week, and it gave her some insight about what to do when you’re freaking out. Listen in to learn the significance of “pulling over,” the role of co-regulation in dealing with fear and trauma, and the answers to listeners’ questions. (Originally aired, January 23, 2022) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Martha is joined this week by Rowan Mangan (https://www.instagram.com/rowan_mangan/) to talk about Ro’s concept of “Wild Inventures,” the idea of reframing our lives according to what is true within us instead of borrowing dreams from the culture. Have a laugh and learn some new skills with Martha and Ro as they talk past adventures, Ro’s passion for kidney beans, and the stillness that comes once...

We hear a lot about flow and ease, and these things are WONDERFUL. Yet part of what makes our human experience worth having is grit. Doing whatever we can to achieve something that our soul craves. Enter GRIT MAGIC. Start it when you don’t feel ready. Send your work in before you feel it’s complete. Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor. Learn how to harness your own grit magic today! (Origi...

In this week’s episode, Martha talks about living life the way an improv comedian works on stage. There is no set script, just as there is no set of absolute conditions that we’ll encounter through the coming year. Instead, we can follow the basic rules of comedy. Watch to find out how! (Originally aired, January 2, 2022) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At this time of year, some of us feel joy… while others are mostly feeling dread. If you’re in the second group, watch this week’s Gathering Room. Martha helps you make the worst of the holidays into the best. You can find a link to Dysfunctional Family Bingo in the show notes. (Originally aired, December 5, 2021) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stories. They have more power over us than we might think. But we can choose (yes, CHOOSE) to retell stories in ways that can re-train our brains! Join Martha for this week’s Gathering Room and learn how to teach the fear triggers of the brain to chill out. Just in time for the holidays! (Originally aired, November 28, 2021) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on the Gathering Room, Martha goes into the light. She talks about the shift from a bleak and difficult worldview to an experience of life that feels joyful and safe. She calls this the light at the end of the tunnel—but reminds us that the tunnel is one we have to dig ourselves. (Originally aired, November 14, 2021) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week's Gathering Room, Martha talks about the fear that can affect us without our conscious minds ever knowing why. A sight, smell or sound associated with negative experiences in the past can put us into fear or anger without a single verbal thought entering our minds. She explains how to remove the triggers that cause these deep and difficult fears. (Originally aired, November 8, 2021) S...

This week on The Gathering Room, Martha talks about intuition: how to nurture it, what it feels like, and why you should do what it says! Hear some top stories about times Martha followed her intuition and went where she was sent…and the large and small consequences of these moments. (Originally aired: October 24, 2021) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on the Gathering Room, Martha digs into the difference between getting older and becoming an “elder” of society. Learning to be an elder means aging in reverse—starting from a place where you feel cramped and stiff and then moving into more and more fluidity, joy, and playfulness. (Originally aired: October 17, 2021) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What’s the thing about pain? This week Martha talks about what Alan Gordon calls “neuroplastic pain” and some techniques for dealing with pain using only your brilliant brain! Plus, your questions and a Gathering Room huddle for all our peeps going into surgery this week. (Originally aired: October 10, 2021) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Martha offers some counterintuitive advice for how to keep going even when our goals feel far-off or the present moment feels difficult. Spoiler alert: the answer is all around you right now. (Originally aired: September 27, 2021) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Martha discusses the often tumultuous experience that accompanies a quantum leap in personal growth. Tune in to hear how bad skiing is the perfect metaphor for life changes, how our brains develop new skills through sudden leaps of insight … And how an anonymous mystical text from the 14th century probably holds the solution to your latest personal faceplant. (Originally aired: Septembe...

In this week’s Gathering Room, Martha talks about the art of asking. How to ask for what you want—whether it’s love, breakfast, or the fulfillment of your wildest dreams—is hard. And our culture has taught us to misunderstand what happens when you ask for what you want. Martha explains how the “calculus of matter” is misleading and how if we can recalibrate into the “calculus of magic,” life can b...