The Gathering Room Podcast

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 lig...

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&...

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&...

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 o...

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...

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 purposefu...

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 h...

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 unb...

“Always” and “never” feel so satisfying... But they’re almost always wrong. In this Gathering Room episode, I explore how absolutist language keeps us stuck in self-judgment, bad relationships, and susceptibility to false prophets. The antidote is one little phrase: “sometimes, maybe.” This cracks open curiosity, cools down conflict, and tells the truth. And once you loosen the grip of abso...

In this episode of The Gathering Room, I set out to interview author Eric Zimmer about his brilliant new book, How a Little Becomes a Lot, but life had other plans. Due to some frustrating tech failures, we were forced to reschedule. But in the shambles of my expectations, I felt inspired to talk about a core concept in Eric's book: the resiliency to bounce back after something hasn't worked. Tune in to learn how failing is essenti...

We’re living through a “phase transition,” but I believe it’s what our souls signed up for. In this Gathering Room, 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 share how relaxation, not clinging, is the key to navigating radical change. I’ll also guide you in our Space, Silence, and Stillness meditation and sh...

This Gathering Room was inspired by…my neck. Painful, stiff, and cranky, like it’s got a personal grudge against relaxation. As it turns out, it’s teaching me the ultimate lesson: that pain isn’t the enemy, but a doorway to awakening. In this episode, I share how a brutal bout of food poisoning finally cracked me open to Divine relief flowing down my spine, relaxing what I couldn’t relax on my own. If...

What if the way to “win” at life isn’t self-help, productivity, or prizes, but making deep connections with other people? In this Gathering Room, I share how a reality TV show made me realize that the clock time of modern culture has replaced the communion time that once shaped human days. To hear how to escape the tyranny of the clock, build community amid chaos, and win by connecting, join me for the full episod...

In this Gathering Room, I'm questioning the idea of accepted reality as I share stories of telepathy, near‑death experiences, animal visitations, and the ways that denial keeps our lives narrow. I talk about deciding to “live wide” by kicking down the walls of what our materialist culture tells us we should think, and opening ourselves up to magic, joy, and connection instead. If you'd like to discover how to live wide,...

In this episode of The Gathering Room, I share how a perfectly wonderful, creative day unexpectedly led to a moment of anxiety, and how that experience transformed my understanding of fear, struggle, and even death. We reframe the old familiar saying “waiting for the other shoe to drop” to acknowledge joy as our true, natural state. Join me for this conversation to explore how “dropping both shoes” can take ...

In this Gathering Room, I explore what it means to “let it be” when life feels unfinished, messy, or even painful. Through stories of near‑death experiences, spiritual teachers, personal loss, and wild synchronicities, I reflect on the idea that having experiences—good, bad, and everything in between—is the true meaning of life. I also lead you in a meditation and answer listener questions about spiritual by...

What if you could turn even your most painful moments into a pathway to bliss? In this episode of The Gathering Room, I talk about the Hindu concept of satcitānanda—which means the joining of truth, consciousness, and bliss—and how we can drop into this state by letting go of resistance. I’ll share a "formula" for how to do this that I learned from the zen monk and mathematician Shinzen Young, and I’ll guide...

Are you one of the millions of people who are struggling financially right now?

In this episode of The Gathering Room, I talk about how to navigate times when money feels tight and the old ways of surviving just aren’t working anymore. I share how “dancing sideways”—following flutters of discomfort that nudge us toward something new—helped me create work I love, and how it can help you too. We ...

In this “Listen Again” episode of The Gathering Room, I'm talking about synchronicities—moments that hint that our universe is not random. Drawing on Dr. Lisa Miller’s research from The Awakened Brain, I share how being open to spiritual realities can improve health, boost resilience, and protect against anxiety and depression. To learn ways to keep your “spiritual docking station” open—inc...