The Gathering Room Podcast

On a recent morning walk, I wondered what would be recognized as king of the forest: Oaks? Bears? Bambi’s father? As it turns out, it’s fungus! In this Gathering Room, I explore Suzanne Simard’s discovery of the “woodwide web” underground, and why our lives are better seen as a compilation of connections than of achievements. I’ll also guide you in meditation and answer your questions on yearning, creativity, and finding glimmers. If you’re tired of always striving to achieve, come connect with me.

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As life in this day and age gets more unpredictable, the best plan you can make is one you’re willing to change. On this episode of The Gathering Room, I talk about the paradox of living by signs and symbols, and why absolutism, whether in science or religion, will tank you when life keeps right-angle-turning. I’ll share what Asian traditions taught me about the present moment, and how the American football trick “calling an audible” can help you trust yourself and let the day unfold. Come join me!

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I’ve spent a lot of my life “reconstituting” my memories, and I didn’t even know I was doing it! On this episode of The Gathering Room, I talk about Memory Reconsolidation Theory—how we can change the emotional impact of painful memories without changing the facts of what happened. I’ll help you look for one tiny good thing connected to a difficult experience, then guide you through a meditation to discover how a memory that once dragged you down may become something that lifts you up. Come join me!

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We’re living through a “phase transition,” but I believe it’s what our souls signed up for. In this “Listen Again” episode of The Gathering Room Podcast, I explore why the chaos of our times isn’t a sign of collapse, but of metamorphosis. Using the metaphor of ice to water to steam, I talk about how relaxation is the key to navigating radical change. I’ll also guide you in meditation—and share why your wackiest fascination may be your best compass right now. Join me, and let’s learn to fly.

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I’ve discovered a new favorite psychologist, Dr. Marisa Franco, and in this Gathering Room, I’m talking about her book Worth: The New Science of Self-Esteem and Secure Attachment. We’ll get into how self-esteem differs from self-worth, why praise can backfire, how sitting with our wounded feelings helps build self-worth, and why the Tao Te Ching says success can be as dangerous as failure. I’ll also guide you in meditation and answer listener questions about parenting, shame, and money. Join me!

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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.

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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!

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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!

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