Martha Beck

Photo of ()\

Martha Beck is a monthly columnist at O: The Oprah Magazine. She is the New York Times bestselling author of The Joy Diet (Crown, 2003), Finding Your Own North Star (Three Rivers Press, 2001), and Expecting Adam: A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magic (Berkley Publishing Group, 2000). Martha has coached hundreds of individuals over the past fifteen years, and recently, NPR called herthe best-known life coach in America.She has taught career development at the American Graduate School of International Management, performed research at Harvard Business School, and consulted to numerous Fortune 500 corporations.

Author photo © Phyllis Lane

Listen to Tami Simon's in-depth audio podcast interview with Martha Beck:
What Does It Mean to Be Faithful? »

Also By Author

Martha Beck, PhD: Beyond Anxiety

Just hearing the word “anxiety” can be enough to make you feel it. If you’re someone who’s struggled with chronic anxiety, panic attacks, or simply feeling safe in a world that seems far from it, this is a podcast for YOU. Here, Tami Simon speaks with renowned life coach and bestselling author Dr. Martha Beck about her new book, Beyond Anxiety. Enjoy this empowering conversation filled with science-backed techniques and spiritual insights to take a creative, whole-brain approach to freeing yourself from anxiety. 

Tami and Martha discuss why anxiety can’t just be ended—it must be replaced; the neurology of creativity; the left brain anxiety spiral and the negativity bias; the link between the right brain and our sense of purpose and meaning; the metaphor of the puppies and the cobra; the futility of trying to control the environment; the amygdala and the metaphor of the hall of mirrors; lovingkindness meditation; the power of a calm human voice and how to be an “anxiety whisperer” for yourself; self-care (including sleep!); HSPs (or highly sensitive people); the money excuse; the story of Griffin the therapy dog: a lesson on questioning our fears; the shift from fear to joy; the eureka effect and how the right brain “loves an impasse”; appreciation of the present moment; the mnemonic device, “KAT”: kindness, art, and transcendence; and more.

Note: This episode originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com.

Martha Beck: What Does It Mean to Be Faithful?

Martha Beck is a renowned life coach, New York Times bestselling author, and monthly columnist for O, The Oprah Magazine. In partnership with Sounds True, Martha released the audio program Follow Your North Star and will be a featured presenter in the upcoming online offering The Self-Acceptance Summit. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Martha and Tami Simon talk about the courage necessary to clearly evaluate difficult situations and to know when to leave when that situation no longer suits you. Martha speaks on her journey through “the center of hell” that came with her son’s Down Syndrome diagnosis and what that experience taught her about maintaining faith during times of change. Tami and Martha also discuss her experiences as a life coach and the many challenges that stand in the way of self-acceptance, especially relating to body image. Finally, Martha explains how she remains confident, positive, and joyful in her commitment to awakening consciousness and healing the natural world. (63 minutes)

You Might Also Enjoy

Connie Zweig: “Meeting One of the World’s Leading ...

As a new generation joins the search for understanding and meaning in our ambiguous and uncertain world, there’s a growing resurgence of interest in the Shadow—Carl Jung’s famous term for the aspects of ourselves that hide in our unconscious yet often drive behaviors we’d rather not repeat. In this podcast, Tami Simon speaks with acclaimed Jungian therapist and author Dr. Connie Zweig about her life’s mission to help us grow in self-awareness and move toward personal and collective healing by learning how to work with the Shadow. 

This aha-moment-filled conversation explores: meeting the Shadow on the spiritual path; ego formation during childhood; the concept of repression and the problem with the closet metaphor; why the Shadow hides—and when it erupts; “romancing the Shadow”; three cues to explore with respect to compulsive behaviors; “Shadow characters” and the practice of personifying aspects of the Shadow; the intergenerational aspect; engaging Shadow work at midlife; the superego; projection in relationships; sharing our secrets; money, sex, and power; shifting from a persona marriage to a Shadow marriage; the Vedanta tradition and the teaching on leshavidya, “the remains of ignorance”; the moral development missing in many spiritually advanced practitioners; illusions, idealizations, and archetypal projections; why the first reaction to meeting the Shadow is denial; Shadow projection in the politics of our times; step one: self-examination; bridging inner work and outer work wisely; how to practice “holding the tension of opposites”; cultivating nonduality in your own psychology; the “third thing” and the transcendent function; and more.

Note: This episode originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com.

Sheryl Lisa Finn: “Connection Is More Powerful Than ...

With so many valid concerns stoking fear in today’s world, it’s no wonder that more and more of us are living in a state of chronic anxiety that seems irreversible. If you’re feeling at a loss about how to reclaim your peace of mind, body, and spirit, Sheryl Lisa Finn has a life-changing suggestion: Don’t underestimate the power of connection. In this podcast, Tami Simon speaks with the author of The Healing Anxiety Workbook to share actionable insights and approaches for dissolving anxiety on the spot and experiencing inner safety and serenity (without “bypassing” the realities of our times). 

Enjoy this conversation on: anxiety in a nutshell—sensing a lack of safety; reverse engineering anxiety; working with trauma at the root; when anxiety seeps back in; finding a source of goodness bigger than yourself; grief; building a foundation of connectivity that we can source into in challenging times; creativity and working with our hands; receiving support from the “wise self” within; Jungian psychology, archetypes, and dreamwork; fighting the spiritual fight in the face of systemic problems; anxiety’s hidden agenda—to serve our evolution; a practice to release the anxiety-producing stories we tell ourselves; the power of ritual and the importance of getting out of our rational minds; the practice of asking your ancestors to take your worry from you; anxiety in relationships, and how connection becomes a remedy; panic attacks; anxiety as a friend in disguise; and more.

Note: This episode originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com.

Zach Leary: Psychedelics in the 21st Century and How t...

He’s the son of Timothy Leary and one of today’s leading voices in the psychedelic renaissance of the 21st century. But Zach Leary’s journey hardly unfolded in the way you might expect. In this deeply informative and myth-busting podcast, Tami Simon speaks with Zach about his new book with Sounds True, Your Extraordinary Mind. 

With a “friend to friend” approach to discussing the amazing potential for the safe use of psychedelics, Tami and Zach converse about: carrying forward the legacy of the front-runners of psychedelic exploration, including icons like Terence McKenna, Humphry Osmond, Dr. John C. Lilly, and of course, Zach’s father Timothy and Richard Alpert (Ram Dass); acknowledging the mistakes of the past and dispelling the myths and misconceptions about psychedelics; bringing legitimacy to the use of psychedelics for healing and insight; a review of the major compounds and their sources (natural and manmade), such as MDMA, psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca, LSD, and ketamine; the importance of the 3 S’s: set, setting, and sustainability; turning insights into action; challenging experiences (instead of “bad trips”); Carl Jung and shadow work; using psychedelics to overcome our fear of death; Zach’s personal battle with addiction and how psychedelics supported his recovery; the nature of consciousness; psychedelics as humanity’s evolutionary partner; and more.

Note: This episode originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com.

>