Bewildered Martha Beck and Rowan Mangan

In case you missed out the first time around, Martha and Ro are sharing some of their all-time favorite episodes in a series called The Best of Bewildered. First up, Elizabeth Gilbert Gets Bewildered! In this encore episode, Liz joined Martha and Ro to discuss why the culture is so hostile toward women who are childless by choice. Don't miss their engrossing conversation about resisting the patriarchy, the saving grace of oversensitivity, and how to trust the wisdom of the body to guide us to our truth.

Have you ever felt driven to do specific excruciating tasks, and you couldn’t explain why?  While the culture mindlessly tells us we should always work hard, there's also a place in our true nature for dogged, determined work. In this Bewildered, Martha and Ro talk about the “wild horses feeling” that's present whenever you’re working toward your heart’s desire. To learn the difference between culture and nature when it comes to hard work, and how you can find strength in the struggle, be sure to tune in!

Do you know what happens to a caterpillar inside its cocoon? It disintegrates into a gooey mass before its cells reform into a butterfly. Martha calls this state "bug soup." It's not pretty, but it's an essential part of change—including our own! In this episode of BEWILDERED®, Martha and Ro talk about how to allow yourself to dissolve, even though the culture teaches us to resist it like crazy. If you've been struggling with change and the process of letting go, this is an episode you won't want to miss.

You know those big, magical dreams you can't seem to let go of, the ones that could change the whole course of your life? Martha and Ro call these wild yearnings “way station dreams,” and you better believe the culture will try to crush them with everything it’s got. Tune in for this episode of BEWILDERED, Episode 58: Dream Dashers and Way Stations, to learn how you can discover what your own way station dreams are, overcome the culture’s inevitable objections, and make your wildest dreams come true!

On this episode of BEWILDERED® Martha and Ro answer a question from listener Laurel, who's struggling to focus on a big creative project in a world full of distractions. The culture tells us that we can be successful at our long-term projects if we just work harder. But since we’re human beings and not robots, Martha and Ro recommend a different approach. For their insights on how to commit to the flow of creativity, value surrender, and stake your claim to a creative life, tune in for the full episode!

"Should I stay, or should I go?" In this BeWild Files episode of BEWILDERED®, Martha and Ro dive into this question—and they say that the first step is to question our thoughts. Why? Because problems often come from our thoughts about our circumstances rather than the circumstances themselves. And our thoughts can be shifted once we get to a place of peace. To learn how to ground yourself, shift your thoughts, and use peace as a compass to make the best decisions for you, tune in for the full conversation!