The Gathering Room Podcast

Solving the Puzzles of Our Lives

26 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Martha says one reason we humans are a strange species is because we love to make jigsaw puzzles—beautiful pictures that we cut up into tiny pieces ...

The Way Back to Happy

12 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Letting the Force Steer Your Life

05 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We're not trained to think of a spiritually led life as being hilarious or silly or goofy. But as Martha reminds us, laughter is the beginning of pray...

When Stopping Is the Way to Go

28 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

“Be prepared to stop.” This is serious life advice, Martha says, because no matter what we’re doing (or how much we want to continue doing it), ...

Dropping Anchor

21 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Are you familiar with polyvagal theory?  It may sound highly scientific, but Martha says polyvagal theory has a profound effect on spiritual practice...

The Best of the Gathering Room - Episode 110: How to Let the Light In

14 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It’s The Best of the Gathering Pod, and this week we’re revisiting another listener favorite from the vault—Episode 110: How to Let the Light In...

The Best of the Gathering Room - Episode 97: Building on Bright Spots

07 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve got another Best of the Gathering Room episode for you today, a listener favorite called Building on Bright Spots. In this episode, Martha tal...

The Best of the Gathering Room - Episode 109: How to Heal Your Heart

31 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

While Martha is out on vacation, we’re bringing you The Best of the Gathering Room—a treasury of Gatherers’ favorite episodes—starting with: H...

Special Gathering Room with Dr. Richard Schwartz

24 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Gatherers—I'm thrilled to be joined by Dr. Richard Schwartz, the brilliant creator of Internal Family Systems (IFS), a wonderful therapeutic model t...

Filling the Well

17 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Have you been feeling depleted? So many of us are tired, so much of the time. To find out what we can do about it, join Martha for this episode of The...

Wired to Awaken

10 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Did you know there is a powerful connection between spirituality and mental health?Martha recently read a book about this subject—The Awakened Brain...

Special Gathering Room with Emma Nadler

03 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Gatherers—I'm so excited to be joined by Emma Nadler, author of the lyrical, funny, and heart-healing new memoir, THE UNLIKELY VILLAGE OF EDEN.As a ...

How to Look for Help

27 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve all had times in our life when we’ve needed help—and we’ve all had times when we’ve received the help we needed. In this episode of Th...

Finding Your People

20 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There are more people on earth than ever before… yet so many people are lonely. The thing is, love and friendship aren’t a numbers game. There’s...

Keeping Your Seat

13 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Content Warning: This episode includes details of a beloved pet passing. “Keeping your seat” refers to finding the core of peace that is always p...

Calm Down, We Can Do Both!

27 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Gathering Pod: Calm Down, We Can Do Both!, Martha talks about how calming yourself frees the brain to come up with creative way...

The Secret to Safety

22 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The secret about how to claim that elusive feeling of safety is hiding in plain sight. But it is disguised! Listen to this week’s Gathering Room to ...

Living in the Learning Zone

25 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There are three zones we can inhabit. Two will shrink our lives and one will grow them. Learn the difference and how to stay in the sweet spot with th...

Tracking Your Spirit

18 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, we all go tracking! Your spirit is leaving footprints everywhere; join Martha to learn how to follow them!See omnystudio.com/listener for p...

A One-Word Recipe for Inner Peace

11 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We are naturally inclined to focus on things that frighten us. Lies spread six times faster than true facts. In fact, there’s only one thing that sp...

Special Gathering Room with Katherine May!

27 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Gatherers—I'm so excited to be joined by New York Times bestselling author Katherine May! If you don't know Katherine's work, do yourself an enormou...

Microdosing Joy

20 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Martha talks about new discoveries showing how drastically the arts can improve our health and our lives. Come learn how to microdose! (Wit...

Braver Than You Believe

06 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our comfort zones are always shrinking or expanding. In this Gathering Room, we discuss how to make sure they keep expanding. You really are braver th...

The Spirit of Audacity with Melissa Kiguwa

30 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For this very special Gathering Room, Martha is joined by extraordinary emerging thought leader Melissa Kiguwa. The two discuss why audacity is an und...

Befriending Ourselves

23 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We’re encouraged to “fight” in order to feel better, to love better, to be more successful. But what we fight fights back. Here’s another way....

The Helpers Who Never Leave

16 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How would it feel to know you were always loved, supported and cared for in every moment of your life? Well, maybe you are. Join Martha to learn how t...

Want out? Lean in!

02 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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’...

How to Spark the Magic

23 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this Gathering Room, Martha helps us reconnect with our true desires, which signal the path to the fulfillment of our destiny. (Inspired by Suzanne...

How to Begin

16 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Martha talks about the “genius, power and magic” of beginning (thanks, Goethe!). She proposes we look at beginning something new as an ...

A Strange Place to Find Comfort

09 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode of The Gathering Room suggests that you use your “discomfort zone” in a gentle but powerfully positive way. Curious? Come find out!Se...

The Grace of F-ing Up

02 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this Gathering Room, Martha discusses the insights and breakthroughs that can only come when we surrender to the fact that we’ve F-ed up. Listen ...

How to Let the Light In

26 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Martha talks about the paradox of imperfection: trying our hardest to do our best while still accepting that we will always make mistakes. ...

How to Heal Your Heart

19 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this Gathering Room, Martha talks about the “heart healer” within every person. When we’re heartsick, this is the only thing that heals us. L...

There's Less to Do Than You Think

12 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Gathering Room, you’ll learn how little you really have to do. If you think that sounds too easy, change what you think, not ...

How to Take a Break - Really

02 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How good are you at taking a break? This week, Martha explains that taking a break starts with letting go of our resistance to what we’re really fee...

Best of The Gathering Pod: Oprah's Book Club Edition

29 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We’re happy to announce that Martha’s bestselling book The Way of Integrity is out in paperback now!  In honor of this new release, we are replay...

Creating the Perfect Holiday Season—Seriously!

15 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As we head towards another holiday season, this week Martha wants us to know that the most important part of our holiday planning is the “refusal to...

When You Literally Can't Even

08 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Martha talks about what to do at those times when you can’t. She teaches us that even when there is literally no way forward, there is st...

What To Do While You’re Waiting

17 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Martha talks about waiting—defined by the dictionary as “delaying action until something else happens.” She says waiting is pointless...

Cooperating With Your Destiny

10 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever felt drawn toward doing something that doesn’t quite make sense? Does it feel warm and exciting for no apparent reason? Pay attention....

What You Want Wants You

03 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Martha previews an upcoming book by Suzanne Eder called “What You Want Wants You.” Listen to today’s episode to bring what you truly ...

How to Not Drown

27 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today we learn to do when we’re in over our heads and sinking in the complexities, challenges and overwhelms of life. Spoiler alert: it’s easier t...

The Great Thing About Getting Stuck

20 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week Martha talks about how to have major insights. It is not what you think. If you need to feel better about a project that seems to be going n...

When You Want Not to Want What You Want

13 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What can we do with desires for things we can’t have? This week Martha talks about the experience of wanting. She explains how to turn wanting into ...

How to Bounce Back

06 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Martha describes human life as a series of “bounces.” We fly high, we fall down, we hit bottom, and we rise. But it may not work the wa...

Building on Bright Spots

22 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Martha talks about following the almost invisible “bright spots” at times that feel dark and cloudy. Martha helps you part the clouds o...

The Gathering Room with Special Guest Linda Sivertsen

28 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week, special guest Linda Sivertsen joins Martha to talk about the spirit of writing after the publication of her new book, “Beautiful Writers”...

Hanging On by Letting Go

25 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Martha takes another look at the concept of “surrender”—the kind of surrender that happens when you literally can’t hang on anymore...

Triggering Bliss

18 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Martha describes a “brain hack” you can use to drop yourself into bliss with minimal effort. Bring your curiosity and a little da...

Your Perfect Problems

11 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Martha explains why our problems can be our best friends, our path to awakening. Each problem is designed to bother you enough to examine t...

The Hidden Door to Peace

04 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s Gathering Room, Martha talks about the “hidden doors” in our lives that keep us from seeing our own enlightened nature. Hint: look in...

One Fear at a Time

28 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s Gathering Room, Martha shares the secret of “ICK,” a new tool for calming your fears and finding the creativity to overcome them. (Or...

The Uses and Misuses of Imagination

21 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Martha talks about two ways we can use our imaginations. One buys into the culture and leads to despair. The other leads to our destiny and...

Outloving Your Fear

14 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week on The Gathering Room, Martha talks about getting in touch with the parts of ourselves that are afraid, and helping them feel supported and ...

You Did It!

07 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Gathering Room, Martha encourages all of us to stop striving and struggling—even to improve ourselves—and spend some time c...

Fresh Morning in This Broken World

30 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Martha discusses how to handle bad news that rocks your world. This involves allowing oneself to “fall apart” in the grieving process, ...

Guided

23 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this Gathering Room, Martha addresses the idea that all of us have a metaphysical guidance system working on our behalf. She suggests ways to reque...

The Gift of Uncertainty

26 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Martha reflects on times of instability and uncertainty in our lives. Using the latest brain science, she shows us that accessing our curio...

Decoding the Helpful Universe

19 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Martha compares our waking life to the dreams we have at night. She describes her method of dream analysis and explains how we can use this...

Your Best Worst Thing

12 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Martha describes how all the worst things that happen to you can become the best things that happen to you. From major life events to the d...

Find Your Muse

28 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

On today’s Gathering Room, Martha sets out to connect you with your “Muse”—the thread of passion or curiosity that pulls you toward the creati...

Your Forever Home

21 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 homeles...

Come Healing

14 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 hu...

Ditch the Doldrums

07 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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, ...

No Pressure

31 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 w...

Every Little Thing is Gonna Be All Right

24 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 po...

Hardcore Kindness

17 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 ap...

Oprah's Book Club Edition

10 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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...

How to Have a Breakthrough

03 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 juic...

How to Make Everything Better

17 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 t...

The Gift of Embarrassment

10 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 m...

Slow is Fast

03 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

What To Do When You Don’t Know What To Do

27 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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...

How to Have a Wild Inventure

20 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 o...

Grit Magic

13 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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...

The Planless Plan For the Year Ahead

06 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Holiday Survival Tools

09 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 Roo...

How to Change Everything

02 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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! Joi...

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

18 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 t...

The Hidden Path to Peace

11 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 as...

Go Where You're Sent

28 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 to...

Elder, Not Older

21 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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...

The Thing About Pain

14 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What’s the thing about pain? This week Martha talks about what Alan Gordon calls “neuroplastic pain” and some techniques for dealing with pain u...

How to Keep On Keeping On

07 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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. Sp...

The Turmoil of Transition

30 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

How to Ask

23 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 fulfillme...

Riding the Maelstrom

09 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s Gathering Room, Martha talks about the times when change picks us up and throws us around. When we reach these “maelstroms” in ou...

Finding Second Sight

02 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Martha shares the secret of her own “second sight”—how being a visual artist has changed the way she physically sees the world. Using her own mo...

The Gathering Room: Why and How to Hope With Dr Jill Bolte Taylor

26 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this very special, hour-long Gathering Room, Martha talks to her friend and hero Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor about a subject we all need to hear more abo...

The Transformation of Consciousness is Now

12 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Martha has believed all her life that a transformation of human consciousness would take place in her lifetime. Over the decades, she’s met more and...

Tuning Yourself to Joy

05 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

When a guitar string is plucked, the note will spontaneously resonate with another guitar nearby—provided they are tuned the same. In today’s epis...

The Gathering Room: On Being an Empath, with Anita Moorjani

29 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On this very special Gathering Room, Martha was joined by Anita Moorjani. Anita’s new book, Sensitive Is the New Strong, is a must-read for people w...

Get it Wrong in all the Right Ways

22 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We’re often told it’s pointless to beat ourselves up for making mistakes, but Martha takes it a step further and says that error isn’t just usef...

A Little Healing Magic

15 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In his book Break Through Pain, meditation expert Shinzen Young says that pain separates us from the divine, and learning to handle it skillfully is a...

The Treasure in Every Problem

24 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We may conceptualize creativity as a free-flowing stream, but Martha points out that constraint is an excellent source of creative inspiration. When w...

The Gathering Room with Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor

17 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Gathering Pod welcomes neuroanatomist Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor to talk about her new book, Whole Brain Living, which Martha describes as “brain sci...

Don't Avoid the Void

10 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Most people in our community have explored meditation, centering prayer, or other forms of spiritual contemplation … and may have come face to face ...

The Cure for Overwhelm

03 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As we move toward life after Covid, many of us are feeling overwhelmed and paralyzed. We’re facing a deluge of decisions demanding attention, causin...

Mess For Success (Why It’s Good to Screw Up)

27 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As any artist will tell you, creativity is rarely tidy. Lately Martha has been expressing her creativity by drawing and painting, relishing the trail ...

The One Simple Skill that Makes Bad Times Shrink and Good Times Grow

20 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

While promoting her new book, Martha found herself tapped out and exhausted. She quickly realized she hadn’t been using the one skill that helps her...