Hello, the lovely peoples. This is Marty, Martha, inviting you to a free masterclass that I have made called

Five Paths to Your Purpose. Probably the most common question I get from people is, how do I find my purpose?

Why don't I feel that I'm on purpose? Well, it turns out there are certain things you have to do to find your purpose, and I broke

them down into five, and I made a little masterclass about it. So if you'd like to see it, just go to

marthabeck.com slash purpose, and you will be able to watch it without any charge at all.

Welcome to the Gathering Room podcast, the audio version of my weekly gathering room broadcast. I'm Martha Beck. If you come to the gathering room often, you know that we frequently talk about

a transformation of consciousness or an awakening experience, which I believe we are all meant to have.

The standard training in, like the religious traditions that have talked about enlightenment,

most of them in Asia, but also a different version here in the West, certainly Western mysticism,

there's this idea that you have to strive toward your own awakening.

And that, well, there is an awake state that is within all of us, but we have to work

to get rid of it.

So I've been thinking about this a great deal lately.

As I know, I spend a lot of time doing spiritual practices, everything from doing the dishes in a very centered space

psychologically all the way to dreaming huge dreams and watching magic make them come true.

And I have a lot of, you know, tips and tricks of the trade that help me feel like I'm making progress.

But here's the thing. Lately, the message I'm getting is that so many of us are trying way

harder than we need to, that we are pushing ourselves to do and do and do, even if the goal is, I will not do.

I will, that's the paradox of it. I will strive harder to do, not doing. I will strive harder

to think about not thinking. The whole idea that somehow we have to make this happen, I will confess it. It runs through all my work.

All my work is like, here's a technique, here's a practice, here's what you could do every day.

And I, ironically, I'm going to give you another one today. but it's meant to get us not through the

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