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.

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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!

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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.

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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! 🐒🐒🐒

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“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!

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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/

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Is there something you really want to do, but the thought of it absolutely terrifies you? 😱

Martha has been there many times, and that’s what she’s talking about on this episode of The Gathering Room: Doing the Thing You Think You Cannot Do.

If you’re facing something in your life that you want to do but it makes you anxious, Martha says to remember that 99% of every original thing that has ever been done has been done by someone who didn’t think they could do it.

In other words, you’re in good company! 🏆

Listen to the full episode to find out how to recognize when it's love that wants you to do something that scares you—and how to work up the courage to run at it full speed. Martha also adapts her Silence, Space, and Stillness meditation to soothe your anxiety about the things you're scared to do.

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Sometimes we’re hit with a change so big it knocks us for a loop. We look around in a daze thinking, “NOW what?”

🦋 Welcome to what Martha calls “Square One” in The Change Cycle, a unique framework she developed to help people understand and navigate life’s transitions.

🦋 As Martha explains, life's changes aren't things we plan in our calendars. They are fundamental metamorphoses.

You will go through the four Squares of the Change Cycle over and over throughout your lifetime. And Square One is about not knowing exactly what to do or what will happen next. 

🦋 It’s about letting go and waiting to see what kind of butterfly you’re going to become.

If you’re in Square One and feeling scared or confused…and you want to learn how to get through it with grace and ease, then this episode is a must-listen. You’ll also be able to cultivate an immediate sense of calm by joining Martha in her Silence, Space, and Stillness meditation.

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