The Gathering Room Podcast

Did you know you were born a creative genius? All of us are, but we’ve been socialized out of it by the structures of culture. Why? Because the culture wants everyone the same, and genius doesn’t homogenize well. However, I believe our genius never stops calling us, and in this favorite “Listen Again” episode of The Gathering Room, I share how you can recognize—and follow—its call. Join me! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As many of you Gatherers know, lately I’ve been feeling that something is changing in this world in a profound way...and I don’t think I’m the only one. There’s a sense of irrational hope, a strange joy, an anticipation that something wonderful is happening amidst all the horrors. On this favorite Listen Again episode of The Gathering Room, you’ll hear about my “Pyramid and the Pool” metaphor and discover if you’ve experienced any of the 12 signs of “pool consciousness.” Join me! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everything’s shifting in our world today—like ice turning into water turning into steam—and we don’t know what’s coming next. This time on The Gathering Room, I share why doing what you know doesn’t work in unprecedented times, and what our timid new shelter dog is reminding me about taking small, slow steps. I also talk about quelling anxiety and broadening our imagination to see new possibilities. If you’re in transition now and don’t know what to do next, this is the episode for you. Join me! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This time on The Gathering Room, I offer up a thought that’s helped me and my clients for years: We’re all meant to live in peace—that’s our real home. I share why chasing the future keeps us anxious, and how dropping into peace in the present moment is what actually allows good things to find you. We also do our guided meditation, and I answer listener questions on time, manifesting, skepticism, and staying peaceful through annoying tasks. Come join me and let’s all find our way home to peace. CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sometimes in life, things go bash and bonk us right in the face, knocking us completely out of the way we were living. When life shatters our familiar patterns this way, we look around in panic and ask, “Oh my God, what do we do now?” In this episode of The Gathering Room, I share how to step onto what I call Square One—the magical, liminal threshold where your old identity dissolves, your new life hasn’t kicked in yet, and you learn to catch messages dropped straight from your future self. Join me! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Recently I asked for a sign that a painting I’d been working on was the right course for me. The next day, a stranger’s near-death story described my painting almost perfectly. That coincidence reminded me of James Carse’s book Finite and Infinite Games. One is built on winning; the other on continuing to play. In this Gathering Room, I explore how shifting from chasing status to embracing growth and surprise can dissolve anxiety, deepen creativity, and open us to a much bigger, ongoing game. Join me! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sometimes there’s a book that stops me in my tracks, and that’s what happened when I found the work of Tracee Stanley. Today she joins me to talk about her new book, Living Ritual , which is timely not just for me, but for all of us. We discuss distraction as the great thief, how to honor transitions with sacred intention, and the new consciousness rising in the world. Tracee also shares her beautiful Purpose Stone ritual. If you long to add more meaning to your daily life, this conversation is for you. CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’ve noticed a pattern lately: hard workers, high achievers, people with strong identities all saying the same thing— “I just have to stop.” I’m taking it as an invitation. Like fascia releasing into strange, unplanned shapes, we may need to give up who we thought we were to receive what we truly need. In this Gathering Room, I talk frozen shoulders, trauma shaking, and how your body knows the way home. Join me to practice letting go and holding on loosely, so you can take your next “unthinkable” step. CONNECT WITH US • Follow Martha on Instagram • The Gathering Room Show Notes • Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever noticed that the things we enjoy tend to get worked to death in our culture? We push ourselves so hard that we sap the joy out of things we once loved to do. In this Gathering Room, we’re talking about “in-joy-ment.” I’ll share why joy is its own excuse for being, and how you can use your hard-core work ethic in the search for joy. Join me for exercises on relearning enjoyment as a primary feature of your life’s work. Step by step, we’ll enjoy our way into a state of bliss. Join me! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We love to think we can be “set for life.” But the thing is, life isn’t set. It’s not solid—it’s fluid. From my fast-growing chickens to my aging dog Bilbo, I’m constantly reminded that everything changes. In this Gathering Room episode, I share why gripping onto control is actually a form of suffering. Join me as we explore how to stop resisting and instead “trustfall” into the present moment. Once we let go of trying to set our lives in stone, we can finally experience the joyful state of flow. CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did you know there’s a whole different way of being when you start to think like water? I’ve been watching the world’s collective pyramid-shaped consciousness—based on rigidity, hierarchy, and materialism—start to dissolve into a fluid, egalitarian consciousness I call “the Pool.” In this episode of The Gathering Room, I offer you a crash course in “Pool School” where worth isn’t something you have to earn, rest needs no apology, and an ocean of love is supporting all of us, all the time. Join me! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of The Gathering Room, I revisit my “silly” spoon‑bending past and discover that it’s not so trivial after all. What if we can access states of well-being and healing that we can offer to other people and the world? I share how near‑death stories, dogs who feel their humans coming home, and our guided Silence, Stillness, and Space meditation share a common theme: that relaxed, joyful, loving communion can bend reality—whether it’s a spoon, a shoulder, or your whole life. Join me! CONNECT WITH US • Follow Martha on Instagram • The Gathering Room Show Notes • Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did you know that you can change your past? Negative experiences are the things that knock us around enough to seriously change us and lead us to epiphanies and awakenings. By assigning new meaning to old experiences, you can create higher-than-normal levels of joy, compassion, and connection. Join me for this episode of The Gathering Room to find out how to see your past with new eyes and start filling your whole timeline with light. Your past is not fixed, little timelings. Come find out why! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this “Listen Again” episode of The Gathering Room, I’m joined by special guest Dr. Lisa Miller, author of The Awakened Brain. In this conversation we discuss the surprising neuroscience of spirituality, ways to awaken your perception of the world around you, and how suffering can expand your spiritual awareness. Dr. Miller also shares some guided meditations to help you access your connection to the Divine. It’s an inspiring and moving conversation I think you'll want to hear. Don't miss it! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this special episode of The Gathering Room, I got to talk with Jonny Miles—musician, naturalist, and author of the one of the most extraordinary novels I’ve ever read, Eradication: A Fable . We talk about the mysterious process of writing, what it really means to heal a wounded ecosystem, why solitude is essential for original thought, and how great art dissolves our preconceived ideas rather than confirming them. It’s an inspiring conversation and an incredible book—you won’t want to miss either! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So many of us are trying way too hard on the path to awakening: straining to let go, striving to stop striving. In this favorite “Listen Again” episode of The Gathering Room, I talk about how you can actually let go of attachment, experience more peace, and access the support that’s always available to you. Tune in to discover the magic that can happen when we allow ourselves to be held by the loving “pool of consciousness,” rather than continuing to struggle all alone. Join me! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this special “Listen Again” episode of The Gathering Room, I explore the disorienting, identity-dissolving place we enter after major life changes...what I call “Square One” in my Change Cycle methodology. I walk you through all four stages of the Change Cycle, answer listener questions about navigating change, and lead a calming meditation to help you surrender the wheel and trust what comes next. If you’re in Square One and want to get through it with more grace and ease, this episode is for you. CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this special “Listen Again” episode of The Gathering Room, I talk about how to live through a time of societal upheaval and how we can still find our footing, even when the road ahead is uncertain. I explore how to navigate systemic collapse through Wayfinding: regulating our nervous systems, resisting panic and polarization, grieving fully, creating beauty, and building circles of community, integrity, and purposeful action. If you’ve been feeling alone or overwhelmed, this episode is for you. CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if your soul has been leaving you a trail to follow? In this special “Listen Again” episode of The Gathering Room podcast, I talk about tracking animals with my then-two-year-old and how it led me to ponder the question: How do we track our own spirit? In this episode, I share the three signs of a spirit track, how to tell spirit from fear, and why your body is not the enemy. I'll also lead you in a meditation to help you rest in stillness and listen for tracks of joy. Join me! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this special episode of The Gathering Room podcast, I sit down with the brilliant Eric Zimmer, author of How A Little Becomes A Lot —one of those rare self-help books that’s easy to read, backed by science, and deeply spiritual. In our conversation, Eric shares his “still points” for embedding tiny shifts into your busy life, “choice points” for building good habits, and Zen insights on the unbroken unity of everything. It’s a life-changing book and an inspiring conversation, so be sure to tune in! CONNECT WITH US Follow Martha on Instagram The Gathering Room Show Notes Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.