The Gathering Pod Martha Beck

Ready to connect with a community of like-minded seekers? Welcome to the Gathering Pod.

How do we find the balance between healthy skepticism and openness to magic? How can we tell coincidence from manifestations of our own inner power? Martha shares several of her own fabulously magical experiences and gives us a list of things we can do to bring real magic into our lives and recognize it when it arrives. (This conversation originally aired on August 19, 2019.)

"After a huge shock to your life, you may find yourself saying that you’re “back at square one.” Martha insists that, instead, you are “on to square one” and that it’s a sign of forward progress. And when we begin moving toward square two, we are so excited about our new selves that we begin to jettison old things: habits and beliefs, but also old clothes and objects. Martha points out that “spring cleaning” is tied to this internal cycle. (Originally Aired: May 26, 2020.)

Love, understanding, mutual respect. After watching the video of police officers killing George Floyd, Martha is struck by the disconnect between the forces that unite all humans and the atrocious ways we treat one another. She discusses the importance of recognizing the humanity of other people—especially Black people who have been so relentlessly oppressed and targeted—and resisting the urge to “other” anyone who is not exactly like us. (Originally aired: June 1, 2020.)

Martha dives into this episode by confessing that she thought she had a decent handle on what was going on in the world, but the global uprising against systemic racism made her realize her scope of knowledge was actually very narrow. Now, she is practicing her active listening skills and encouraging us all to do the same, saying that listening is powerful magic, but it does take careful practice. (This conversation originally aired on July 6, 2020.)

In this deeply emotional episode, Martha explains that while every human culture has created a sacred space where people can claim sanctuary, many of us feel unable to access any form of safety in modern times. She offers up a simple way to create personal sanctuary within ourselves through repetition and ritual, allowing us all to build a sacred place where no one can hurt us. (This conversation originally aired on July 13, 2020.)