Through The Portal

Through the Portal — with Tory StephensImagining hopeful futures through story, vision, and embodied presence

In this episode, Maria Gehrke is joined by Tory Stephens — justice-driven storyteller and Creative Manager of Imagine 2200 at Grist — for a deep conversation on climate fiction, solarpunk futures, and the role of imagination in times of crisis.

Together, they explore:

Why dystopian stories dominate our cultural landscape — and what they do to our nervous systems

How hopeful storytelling can expand collective possibility without denying complexity

Solarpunk as a movement rooted in justice, community, and life-affirming technolo...

Duration: 01:05:19

Through the Portal — with Tylney Taylor

In this episode of Through the Portal, Maria Gehrke sits with strategist and coach Tylney Taylor for a spacious, embodied conversation on sense-making, leadership, and the courage to trust what the body already knows.

Together, they explore the tension between left-brain strategy and right-brain intuition, how real clarity emerges through integration rather than analysis alone, and why meaningful decisions are often somatic before they are rational. The conversation culminates in a guided inner-vision journey, where Tylney steps through the Portal into a symbolic landscape that reveals a simple but po...

Duration: 01:13:49

Through the Portal – with Joey Clifton & Solomon Mehta-Slade

Episode Theme: A journey into play, resilience, and collective tending

In this episode, Maria is joined by Joey Clifton and Solomon Mehta-Slade, co-founders of the Change:Maker Collective, an online community supporting purpose-led people who feel overwhelmed or isolated in their mission-driven work.

Together, they explore:

The origins of the Change:Maker Collective

Why play and experimentation are essential antidotes to burnout

How resilience grows through connection rather than isolation

Rhythmic, seasonal community practices that support sustainable im...

Duration: 00:57:37

In this episode, Maria guides guest Adam Dickinson — a former FBI analyst turned intuitive guide — through a conversation about inner transformation, embodied intelligence, and learning to trust the signals that come from beyond logic.

Adam shares how heartbreak became the doorway into meditation and deeper awareness, how the Akashic Records became a surprising tool for clarity, and why integrating intuition with rational analysis leads to more aligned decision-making.

Together, Maria and Adam enter a guided visualization, exploring Adam’s inner vision space. What emerges is a vivid scene of homecoming, warmth, community, and a clear messag...

Duration: 01:00:40

In this episode of Through the Portal, Maria guides guest Edward Zaydelman into an inner visioning practice that reveals the deeper currents beneath his work in regenerative land projects and community building. Together, they explore belonging, purpose, relational development, and the courage required to step into bold new possibilities. Includes a guided meditation and a rich conversation on creating both inner and outer ecosystems that support human flourishing.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit livelovemaria.substack.com

Duration: 00:57:18

Today’s Through the Portal session brings you into conversation with Rebecca Weston, a twelve-time Camino pilgrim and guide who helps people 45+ prepare for their own pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago.

In this episode, we explore what makes the Camino such a powerful container for transformation — not only through its landscapes, but through its community, its rhythm, and the way it quietly rewires how we move through our lives.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit livelovemaria.substack.com

Duration: 01:05:56

In this Through the Portal conversation, I met with Jacqueline (MamaJ) Hollows to cross the threshold between vision and embodiment.

From working in UK prisons to founding The Impact Activator, Mama J shares how she learned that money is simply another expression of love and how activating others can ripple healing through entire communities.

Guided by visualization, a luminous inner landscape unfolds for Mama J: a wall of smooth bright stones, a mountain, an eagle in flight, and a single message: “Be bolder.”

This episode explores what it means to build belonging stone by s...

Duration: 00:45:08

In this Through the Portal conversation, I’m joined by Carolina Wilke, co-founder of Sacred Business Flow, for a live journey into the heart of creation itself.We explore how destruction and renewal dance through every business, how embodiment anchors vision, and what it means to trust the unseen currents guiding our path.Carolina shares the luminous story behind Sacred Business Flow, and together we step through an inner visioning portal—into a world where trees and humans pulse with one radiant heart.

→ Explore her work and the Harmony Map at sacredbusinessflow.com

This is a p...

Duration: 00:56:33

In this episode of Through the Portal, I sit with Andrew Dunn, founder of the School of Wise Innovation.Together, we explore what it means to live in right relationship with vision — to move from chasing to embodying, from screens to soil.Our dialogue flows through innovation, initiation, and Earth’s dreaming, ending in a guided vision journey where the future becomes a living garden.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit livelovemaria.substack.com

Duration: 00:58:58

In this Through the Portal conversation, Maria Gehrke is joined by Makenzie Darling, founder of Movement Maker, for a luminous exploration of sacred leadership, ancestral healing, and the art of birthing the new earth. Together, they journey through embodiment, weaving modern strategy with ancient wisdom, and remembering that we do not have to hold our visions alone. This episode feels less like an interview and more like a ceremony — a space where movement becomes devotion and leadership becomes love in action.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or...

Duration: 00:55:06

In this first Through the Portal live session, I sat with Jim Palmer, founder of the Center for Non-Religious Spirituality and author of Deconstructionology.Together, we explored the journey of leaving religion, healing from spiritual wounding, and rediscovering a form of spirituality that feels alive, embodied, and self-authored.

It began gently—two voices meeting across a digital threshold.The soft sound of a dog in the background, laughter, and the warmth of welcome.A shared breath before stepping into a conversation about loss, liberation, and the quiet courage it takes to rebuild the sacred from within.

...

Duration: 01:03:15