Meditative Story: Recent Episodes
WaitWhat
Meditative Story combines extraordinary human stories with meditation prompts embedded into the storylines — all surrounded by breathtaking music. Think of it as an alternative way into a mindfulness practice, through vivid stories and cinematic music and production values. Meditative Story is an original series produced by WaitWhat and supported by our members. Our community tells us that they listen to the same episodes over and over again, and according to data provided by Apple Podcasts, Meditative Story may have the highest engagement of any podcast in the world. And that makes us proud!
"Are you going to do this? Ever?" Standing at the edge of the highest diving board at the aquatic center, a young Adam Grant tries and tries, and tries to leap off. But he can't face down his fear — not so much of falling as losing control. So there he stands at the end of the board, paralyzed. In this story, Adam Grant, now a famed organizational psychologist, shares how a wise diving coach helped him outsmart fear — and take the leap.
Visit Adam’s website: https://adamgrant.net/
Follow Adam on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adamgrant
Discover more about Adam's latest book, Hidden Potential: https://adamgrant.net/book/hidden-potential/
If this episode resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story in your podcast player. It helps other listeners find their way to the show, and we’d be so grateful.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: https://meditativestory.com/subscribe
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
What do you do when your own body feels like the enemy? Spoken word artist and activist Andrea Gibson (You Better Be Lightning) spends years struggling with chronic illness, feeling as if their body is at odds with their anxious mind. It’s only when they learn to surrender control and embrace their physical sensations that they allow their body to guide them back to joy.
Listen to Kino MacGregor's Meditative Story, "My grandfather the Aikido master": https://listen.meditativestory.com/KinoMacGregorPIO
Learn more about Andrea: andreagibson.com
Follow Andrea on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreagibson
Follow Andrea on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndreaGibsonPoetry/
Follow Andrea on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andreagibsonpoetry
Follow Andrea on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreagibson
Subscribe to Andrea on YouTube: http://youtube.com/@andreagibsonpoetry
Read Andrea's writings on Substack: andreagibson.substack.com
If this episode resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story in your podcast player. It helps other listeners find their way to show, and we’d be so grateful.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: https://meditativestory.com/subscribe
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
As he helps his youngest child prepare for her first day of school, Rohan offers us all a chance to practice three unique approaches to learning. Whether we’re hearing a new idea, analyzing that new idea, or putting that idea into practice, the steps laid out in today’s meditation lead us towards deeper understanding. Above all, Rohan suggests infusing our studies, or mindfulness practice, with a sense of play, a sense of fun, which can help us eagerly seek out opportunities to refine our skills.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: https://meditativestory.com/subscribe
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Kathryn Nicolai, creator of the Nothing Much Happens podcast, learns at an early age to diminish her own needs. She never wants to become a problem for other people, so she pretends like she’s always okay. When she gets an opportunity to study abroad in Italy, a difficult experience with her host family causes her to retreat further into herself. It’s only when she feels the compassionate concern of someone who tells her it’s okay to have needs that she learns that it’s okay to take up space.
Listen to Ginger Zee’s Meditative Story, "I’m not just observing the winds, I’m riding them": https://listen.meditativestory.com/GingerZeePIO
Listen to Nothing Much Happens: https://www.nothingmuchhappens.com
Listen to Kathryn’s short meditation podcast, First This: https://www.nothingmuchhappens.com/first-this
Find Kathryn’s book, Nothing Much Happens: Cozy and Calming Stories to Soothe Your Mind and Help You Sleep: https://bookshop.org/p/books/nothing-much-happens-cozy-and-calming-stories-to-soothe-your-mind-and-help-you-sleep-kathryn-nicolai/14382227?ean=9780143135913
If this episode resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story in your podcast player. It helps other listeners find their way to show, and we’d be so grateful.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: https://meditativestory.com/subscribe
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
As Rohan prepares to sell his home, he guides us through a meditation on our mind’s capacity to hold memory, impart meaning, and attach emotions to everyday objects. Reflecting on the duality of emptiness and fullness in his house — where everything has been boxed up for the movers — Rohan invites us to explore this same dance between the substance and impermanence of the things that surround us.
If this episode resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story in your podcast player. It helps other listeners find their way to show, and we’d be so grateful.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: https://meditativestory.com/subscribe
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In 2009, Eddie Huang, author of the acclaimed memoir Fresh Off the Boat, opens Baohaus, his first Taiwanese restaurant on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. It’s a wild, chaotic gamble that exemplifies Eddie’s spirit. But as the restaurant’s success grows, Eddie is faced with the challenge of either sticking to his principles or living someone else’s dream for his life.
Listen to Michael Imperioli's Meditative Story, "Having the courage to create": https://listen.meditativestory.com/MichaelImperiol2iPIO
Find Eddie on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@separatebedrooms
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mreddiehuang/
And, Twitter: https://twitter.com/mreddiehuang
If this episode resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story in your podcast player. It helps other listeners find their way to show, and we’d be so grateful.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: https://meditativestory.com/subscribe
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Growing up, actress, writer, and director Zoe Lister-Jones admires her mother’s confidence and her willingness to stand up for what she believes. But as a shy kid that’s wary of the dangers in the world, Zoe isn’t sure she’ll ever be able to use her voice the same way. It’s not until she’s confronted by a dire situation that Zoe learns her self confidence can come from difficult circumstances, as long as she’s willing to trust her individual voice.
Find Zoe on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoelisterjones/
If this episode resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story in your podcast player. It helps other listeners find their way to show, and we’d be so grateful.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: https://meditativestory.com/subscribe
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Robin Arzón is a star fitness coach at Peloton, beloved for her high-energy coaching with more than a dash of tough love. In this story, join Robin on the longest run of her life: the Florida Keys 100 Ultramarathon. As difficult as it is to run 100 sweaty miles in the South Florida heat, far more challenging is the mental fortitude to keep doubt at bay.
If this episode resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story in your podcast player. It helps other listeners find their way to the show, and we’d be so grateful.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: https://meditativestory.com/subscribe
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In the UK, Joe Wicks became a household name early in the pandemic with his daily workouts, called “PE with Joe,” that helped millions of us keep moving and laughing. Early on in his own life, Joe learns first-hand how fitness can help people survive hard times, as he runs miles to escape from a chaotic childhood. As he begins his adult life, he embarks on a 2,000-mile bike ride — but this time, he realizes, he’s not racing away from his fears, but running toward his purpose.
Learn more about Joe: https://www.thebodycoach.com
Follow him on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebodycoach/
Subscribe to his YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAxW1XT0iEJo0TYlRfn6rYQ
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: https://meditativestory.com/subscribe
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Journalist and beloved podcast host Leila Day grows up being told that she should “tone it down.” When she moves to Cuba in her early twenties, she finally finds a place that embraces her whole identity — or so she thinks at first. It’s only after making one simple change that Leila sees how quickly others treat her differently, and she realizes she has something to say about it. By expressing her authentic voice, she finds her authentic power.
Listen to Leila on The Stoop: Thestoop.org
Find Leila on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestooppodcast/ and https://www.instagram.com/dayfound/
Find Leila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/theStoopPodcast
Listen to Chad Sanders' Meditative Story, "Finding my flow state": https://listen.meditativestory.com/ChadSandersPIO
If this episode resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story in your podcast player. It helps other listeners find their way to show, and we’d be so grateful.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: https://meditativestory.com/subscribe
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Rohan offers strategies for clear transitions from the demands of work, to being present with our families, pets and friends. Whether it’s putting on a record, lighting some incense, going for a walk, or noticing the patterns in your own breathing, join us in exploring how clear transitions help set a fresh, new tone, and allow us to move more peacefully through our day.
If this episode resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story in your podcast player. It helps other listeners find their way to show, and we’d be so grateful.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: https://meditativestory.com/subscribe
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
As a former broadcast journalist and anchor for major networks like NBC and CNN, Soledad O’Brien understands the value of telling people’s stories in the correct light. In this week’s episode, she shares how experiences from her own life helped her recognize the importance of identifying people’s strengths and how reflecting those strengths back to them allows people to achieve their full potential.
Listen to Rachel Cargle's Meditative Story, "My side hustle to a better life": https://listen.meditativestory.com/RachelCarglePIO
Find out more about Soledad: https://soledadproductions.com/soledad
Follow Soledad on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soledadobrien/?hl=en
Follow Soledad on Twitter: https://twitter.com/soledadobrien
If this story resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story in your podcast player. It helps other listeners find their way to show, and we’d be so grateful.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Many of you have let us know how much you love the music which accompanies each episode of Meditative Story. You’ve also expressed that Meditative Story helps you wind down and get a better night’s sleep. So today, we’re introducing Sleep Song, a beautiful companion to our classic Meditative Story episodes. Created by our gifted in-house composers, Sleep Song is designed to help you enter a relaxed state, conducive to a good night’s rest – but it’s also a wonderful complement to studying, journaling, painting, yoga, or mindfulness practices. We hope you enjoy today’s Sleep Song, and invite you to explore the full library by following Sleep Song wherever you get your podcasts.
Follow Sleep Song, from Meditative Story: https://listen.meditativestory.com/sleep_song
Music adapted from Michelle Thaller's Meditative Story, "Finding meaning in the vastness of the universe": http://listen.meditativestory.com/ThallerWW
Original music from composer Ryan Holladay.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Meredith Goldstein writes the wildly popular Love Letters column in the Boston Globe, but for much of her life, she’s viewed romantic relationships as a trap. Meredith grows up seeing the limitations of her mom’s insular life, and knows she wants more for herself. It’s only when the pandemic forces her to slow down that she realizes the beauty in giving attention to each moment, rather than always thinking about the next five things. Years after Meredith’s mom passes away, she emulates the way she lived her life, and finds that leaning into simple routines unlocks a surprising feeling of euphoria.
Listen to Vanessa Hua's Meditative Story, "From dark times come new discoveries": https://listen.meditativestory.com/VanessaHuaPIO
Listen to "Love Letters": https://link.chtbl.com/meditativestoryloveletters
If this story resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story in your podcast player. It helps other listeners find their way to show, and we’d be so grateful.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Today’s special meditation features a parable from our friends at The One You Feed podcast. If there are two opposing forces working within us, a proverbial good wolf and a bad, how do we foster the positive attributes we’d like to see grow, while keeping the less desirable traits at bay? In celebration of our collaboration with The One You Feed, Rohan leads us through a meditation on how to defang our inner “bad” wolves with compassion, and embody the positive qualities we’d like to cultivate.
Listen to Rohan’s appearance on The One You Feed: https://www.oneyoufeed.net/how-to-embrace-mindfulness-in-everyday-life/
If this episode resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story in your podcast player. It helps other listeners find their way to show, and we’d be so grateful.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Silvia Vasquez-Lavado is the first openly lesbian woman to climb the famous Seven Summits, a bucket list of the highest mountain on every continent. But while preparing for the seventh summit, a peak that has eluded her climb after climb, she realizes that she can’t charge forward with the same conquering mentality. Denali — the highest mountain peak in North America — leads her to discover the importance of self-compassion over the desire for conquest when dealing with life’s greatest obstacles.
You can purchase her new memoir, In the Shadow of the Mountain, which further explores her journey to the Seven Summits and the trauma that it unpacks, here: https://amzn.to/3uaJh2b
Listen to Donald Miralle’s episode of Meditative Story, “Where the water takes me": https://listen.meditativestory.com/DonaldMiralleSilviaep
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Throughout his life, pastry chef Duff Goldman — best known for this long-running Food Network show Ace of Cakes — is driven by his desire to make things and see them out in the world. As chef, painter, woodworker, and musician, he strives to deliver a visceral sensation with his art that is sometimes hard to express in words. This week, Duff shares the story of how the things we create often communicate our thoughts and feelings more clearly than spoken language ever could.
Listen to Hrishikesh Hirway's Meditative Story, Giving myself permission to create: https://listen.meditativestory.com/Social_HrishiHirway
Find Duff on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Amazon
If this story resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story in your podcast player. It helps other listeners find their way to show, and we’d be so grateful.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In 2009, Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter Jason Mraz is having one of the busiest years of his life. A nonstop tour schedule and monotonous daily routine have completely drained him of the energy he needs to create — the one thing that gives him the most joy. In this episode, Jason shares how an opportunity to disconnect on a four-day hike through the Peruvian Andes is just what he needs to remind himself that there is an infinite source of energy all around us.
Listen to Krista Tippett's Meditative Story, "I let go of my plan — and found myself": https://listen.meditativestory.com/KristaTippettPIO
Visit Jason's website: Jasonmraz.com
If this story resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story in your podcast player. It helps other listeners find their way to show, and we’d be so grateful.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
As a young writer and performer, Sara Benincasa found her voice doing stand-up comedy. For years, it seemed better than therapy. But slowly, doubts surfaced. While the external validation she received made her feel successful and even loved, something was missing. In this episode of Meditative Story, Sara shares how she came to look inward, instead of outward, for richer feelings of worth.
Sara Benincasa’s monthly podcast, "Well, This Isn't Normal," is about mental health and stress relief. Find it on Apple, Spotify, and Stitcher.
More about Sara Benincasa:
Her website: SaraBenincasa.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/SaraJBenincasa
Find her weekly newsletter, Saratonin: SaraJBenincasa.Substack.com
She writes essays here: SaraJBenincasa.Medium.com
Sara’s Patreon includes the newsletter, access to private essays, and an exclusive weekly podcast: Patreon.com/SaraBenincasa
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.com/sarabenincasa
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
No matter what emotions are brought up for you during the holiday season, the mindfulness techniques explored in this episode will leave you feeling relaxed even when the holiday brings challenges like tricky family dynamics, the difficulty of disconnecting from work, and the loneliness that can arise at even the most joyful times of year. Notice them, name them, release them.
To learn more about the RAIN mindfulness technique – an acronym first coined by senior Buddhist teacher, Michele McDonald – visit Tara Brach’s website (you’ll see how Rohan’s version relates to Michele's original technique and Tara’s revised one): https://www.tarabrach.com/rain/#rainchange
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
When life hands you an unimaginable sorrow, how do you begin to recover your joy, your connection, your creative spark? In a special crossover episode with our friends at the Spark & Fire podcast, comedian and actor Patton Oswalt (you might know him as the voice of Remy in “Ratatouille”) shares a powerful story about how he slowly reclaimed his creative spirit after a tragedy that left him questioning everything. It’s a story of family, community, and connectedness, co-hosted by Rohan and Spark & Fire host June Cohen.
Listen to the full episode of Spark & Fire at sparkandfire.com.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Sitting in the school library, staring down at his unfinished chemistry homework, pre-med student Case Kenny feels helpless. He faces a difficult choice: did I choose the wrong major? And who will I disappoint if I admit that? Now an acclaimed podcaster (New Mindset, Who Dis?), Case shares three stories from his early life about being wrong, and how he slowly learns what’s right for him. The key: Learning to see wrongness as a chance to re-examine who he is and what his right next step might be.
Find Case Kenny on Instagram: @case.kenny
Explore Case’s podcast: New Mindset, Who Dis
Case is the creator of mindfulness journals like The New Mindset Journal and But First, Inner Peace.
AND: he’s the creator of the dance music x mindfulness show Zen Disco.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at https://meditativestory.com/
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Just out of school, writer Alex Morris gets a job performing and teaching improv comedy in London, playing absurd characters night after night. But his knack for hiding his true self starts long before he ever steps onstage. Alex is hiding a secret — one that only his family and a few close friends know: he’s slowly losing his sight. He shares a story about his struggles living with a degenerative eye disease and the lengths to which he would go to pretend he didn’t need help.
Listen to Tony Tjan’s episode of Meditative Story, "Learning resilience from earth's edge": http://listen.meditativestory.com/TonyTjan_WWs
Follow Alex on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexinwriting/
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at https://meditativestory.com/
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Rohan sits down with author Florence Williams to talk about her award-winning Meditative Story, “To chase the sunset.” In conversation, Florence offers her candid perspective on how to face heartbreak with patience and compassion, by letting beauty mend our hearts. It’s a Soul Curriculum episode filled with wisdom and assurance that we too can accept our scars, and even learn to see the gifts they offer.
Listen to Florence Williams' full episode of Meditative Story, "To chase the sunset": https://listen.meditativestory.com/Florence2
Purchase Florence Williams' book, Heartbreak: http://www.florencewilliams.com/new-page
Or the audiobook here: https://www.pushkin.fm/audiobooks/heartbreak
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at https://meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Growing up, Rachel Cargle was used to seeing things her family couldn’t afford. As she got older, became a writer, lecturer, and philanthropist, she continued to seek opportunities just beyond her grasp. Hard work and creativity allowed her to grow successful as an entrepreneur, but deeper challenges still remained. In this episode of Meditative Story, Rachel unfolds how she found fulfillment by turning her gifts outward.
Listen to Larry Jackson’s episode of Meditative Story, "To visualize ... and make it so": http://listen.meditativestory.com/LarryJacksonSeason1
Learn more about The Loveland Foundation, Inc., Rachel's non-profit organization offering free therapy to Black women and girls: https://thelovelandfoundation.org/
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at https://meditativestory.com/kino-macgregor/
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
How do the challenges and trauma we encounter in our lives tie to our ancestral roots? How do we hold on to these experiences in our physical body? These are questions that we explore on today’s Soul Curriculum episode featuring author, entrepreneur, and yoga instructor Kino MacGregor. Rohan and Kino go deeper into how generational pain can become expressed in the body, and explore ways in which physical practices can provide an antidote.
Listen to Kino MacGregor's full episode of Meditative Story, "My grandfather the Aikido master": https://listen.meditativestory.com/KinoMacGregorEpisode
Learn more about Kino: www.kinoyoga.com
Learn more about Omstars, the world’s first yoga TV network: www.Omstars.com
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at https://meditativestory.com/kino-macgregor/
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
On the Mexican holiday Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead, we allow ourselves space for our memories and our grief about those we’ve lost — as well as for joy, and even humor, around the continuity between life and death. While many cultures try to tiptoe around death, the rituals of Día de Muertos ask us to look clearly at it, recognize death’s place in our lives, and honor both its everyday-ness and its mystery.
Read the transcript for this episode: https://meditativestory.com/rohans-meditation-day-of-the-dead/
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The strawberry field past the maple tree. A hidden nook beneath the stairs. The magical hour before anyone else is awake. Throughout her life, Angela Ahrendts has sought out sanctuaries – sacred spaces to reconnect and to dream, quiet moments to visualize what her next big decision might lead to, to stay open to the signs that help guide her. Now, after a series of bold career choices, Angela reflects on the decades-long journey that has brought her to this moment, and comes to realize that with each new day she has an opportunity to discover a new sanctuary – because the truest sanctuary is the one within us all.
Listen to Kaywin Feldman’s episode of Meditative Story, "Derailed by beauty": https://listen.meditativestory.com/KaywinFeldmanMS
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
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Midway through a grueling, muddy obstacle course, Shani Tran is so grateful for the support of her father, her teammate, who cheers her on and pulls her through. But in other parts of life, she knows, he’s just not there for her in the same way. And that’s ... okay. She shares three stories — with humor, and with honesty — that build to a lifelong lesson about seeing people for who they are, not who you wish they’d be, and learning to take responsibility for your own happiness.
Listen to Milana Vayntrub’s episode of Meditative Story, "Long-distance love": https://link.chtbl.com/Milana_WW
Follow Shani on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theshaniproject
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at https://meditativestory.com/kino-macgregor/
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In today’s Soul Curriculum episode, Rohan talks with the Paralympian and current world record holder in the long jump Lex Gillette. Lex shares his insights into how music allowed him to define himself on his own terms, and elaborates on his mantra: "No need for sight when you have a vision." Join Rohan for a deeper conversation with the extraordinary Lex Gillette about how to lead ourselves out of our comfort zones and soar.
Listen to Lex Gillette's full episode of Meditative Story, "To be seen on my own terms": https://listen.meditativestory.com/LexGilette_Sept1
Find Lex’s song, On the Stage, which is featured in this episode, here: https://music.apple.com/us/album/on-the-stage-single/520218668
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Sign up for the Meditative Story weekly newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Russ Ellis has led the kind of life they write books about. The first full-time Black professor at California’s Claremont Colleges. Acclaimed sociologist. Celebrated sculptor and painter. Even a recording artist. But as he reveals in this episode, even the fullest life can be haunted by a single event half a century earlier.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
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In today’s Soul Curriculum episode, Rohan and singer/songwriter Nataly Dawn invite us all to consider what it is to be a beginner, and why it’s so easy to experience shame when we’re completely new at something. Reflecting on the passage from beginner to mastery, Nataly and Rohan explore the wide range of feelings we can experience when facing the new, and the satisfaction of letting the process unfold. Join us for a delightful discussion with Nataly.
Listen to Nataly Dawn's full episode of Meditative Story, "My battle as a beginner opens up a world of wonder": https://listen.meditativestory.com/NatalyDawnepisode
Catch Nataly on the Gardenview U.S. tour, which runs from 9/30/22 - 10/22/22 across SF, LA, Seattle, Portland, DC, Philadelphia, Boston and New York. Tickets available at NatalyDawnMusic.com
Read the transcript for this story at https://meditativestory.com/soul-curriculum-nataly-dawn
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Sign up for the Meditative Story weekly newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Growing up half-Japanese in South Florida, Kino MacGregor spends a lot of time feeling uncomfortable in her own body. But her Japanese grandfather is always there for her, and they spend joyful hours together every day, playing hide-and-seek, cooking and eating, practicing aikido. Behind his joy, she learns only later, hides a profound grief — one that carries down the generations. In Kino’s Ashtanga yoga practice, she finds the tools to process this grief and sadness she’s unknowingly carried.
Learn more about Kino: www.kinoyoga.com
Learn more about Omstars, the world’s first yoga TV network: www.Omstars.com
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at https://meditativestory.com/kino-macgregor/
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
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In this episode of Soul Curriculum, Rohan spends time with Henry Shukman, author and spiritual director of the Mountain Cloud Zen Center in Santa Fe. The two dive into the theme of deep listening and what it can open up in us; how to hone our ability to be present to the world around us and to each other; and the importance of finding mentors to guide us along the way. Join us to hear two soulful meditation practitioners in candid conversation.
Listen to Henry Shukman's episode of Meditative Story, "What deep listening unlocks for me": https://listen.meditativestory.com/HenryShukmanWW
Henry Shukman is a Zen Master in the Sanbo Zen lineage and is the Spiritual Director at Mountain Cloud Zen Center, and co-director of the Rio Grande Mindfulness Institute. Before this, he taught poetry at the Institute of American Indian Arts and Oxford Brookes University. He has written several award-winning books of poetry and fiction, including the memoir One Blade of Grass: Finding the Old Road of the Heart. His new meditation program, Original Love, offers a broad, inclusive path of practice.
Read the transcript for this story at www.meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story weekly newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
As an author and poet, Mark Nepo has spent decades writing about spirituality and serenity. But his life wasn’t always as calm as it is now. Growing up, Mark feels challenged by the demands of his perfectionist father and struggles to feel seen. Years later, after surviving a battle with cancer, Mark looks back and realizes that watching his father refurbish a boat in their backyard provided one of the most important, surprising lessons of his life.
Learn more about Mark: MarkNepo.com
Fine him on Facebook and Twitter: @MarkNepo
Find him on Instagram: Mark_Nepo
For upcoming webinars: Live.MarkNepo.com
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
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In this episode of Soul Curriculum, Rohan speaks candidly with songwriter, poet, artist, and musician Morgan Harper Nichols about the creation of her Meditative Story. They explore the role art plays in helping her to connect with herself and others, and how to stay open to the unforeseen ways in which a sense of belonging may arrive in our lives. As Morgan reveals, sometimes it takes risk and movement to shake us up and discover a deeper understanding of who we are. Join Morgan and Rohan as they reflect on these themes in this intimate conversation.
Listen to Morgan Harper Nichols' episode of Meditative Story, "Heading halfway around the world to find myself": https://listen.meditativestory.com/MorganHarperNichols
Learn more about Morgan: https://morganharpernichols.com
Find Morgan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morganharpernichols/
Where to purchase Morgan's latest book, Peace is a Practice: https://morganharpernichols.com/preorder
Where to find Morgan's artwork: https://garden24.co
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Celebrity chef Carla Hall wasn’t always interested in cooking. As a child, she finds that puzzles and play help her to discover her true character. When she falls upon a hard time, she instinctively turns to memories of her grandmother’s kitchen for comfort. In this episode of Meditative Story, Carla shares how sensory play finally allows her to solve her biggest puzzle yet — herself.
Listen to Danny Meyer's episode of Meditative Story, "How to find — and feed — your passion": http://listen.meditativestory.com/DannyMeyerSeason1
Learn more about Carla: https://www.carlahall.com/
Follow Carla on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlaphall/
Follow Carla on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chefcarlahall
Follow Carla on Twitter: https://twitter.com/carlahall
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In the UK, Joe Wicks became a household name early in the pandemic with his daily workouts, called “PE with Joe,” that helped millions of us keep moving and laughing. Early on in his own life, Joe learns first-hand how fitness can help people survive hard times, as he runs miles to escape from a chaotic childhood. As he begins his adult life, he embarks on a 2,000-mile bike ride — but this time, he realizes, he’s not racing away from his fears, but running toward his purpose.
Listen to Robin Arzón’s episode of Meditative Story, "Even a superhero starts with small steps": http://listen.meditativestory.com/RobinArzon_WW
Learn more about Joe: https://www.thebodycoach.com
Follow him on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebodycoach/
Subscribe to his YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAxW1XT0iEJo0TYlRfn6rYQ
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Lex Gillette is a 5-time medalist at the Paralympic Games, and a world record holder in the long jump, but he’s more than that too. As he learns to navigate the world after losing his sight, he’s worried about being left out and overlooked — or, just as bad, being seen only in terms of his disability and his athletic gifts. Lex shares the story of how he began to forge his identity on his own terms, creating a spotlight that he steps into with his entire being.
Listen to Cal Ripken Jr.’s episode of Meditative Story, "Showing up is never an end in itself": http://listen.meditativestory.com/CalRipkenJrWW
Learn more about Lex: https://www.lexgillette.com
Follow him on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lexgillette
Follow him on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexgillette/
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
When Nataly Dawn’s family moves from the U.S. to a tiny town in the middle of France, she finds herself unable to speak, read, or even play the way the other kids do. It’s embarrassing, being a rock-bottom beginner in 5th grade — but as she slowly learns the language, she finds a new kind of joy in the process of discovery. The singer-songwriter who is one-half of the band Pomplamoose shares how a beginner’s mindset — even if it’s uncomfortable at first — can be a doorway to connection and joy.
Learn more about Nataly Dawn at NatalyDawnMusic.com — where you can snag tickets for her upcoming tour!
Listen to Vanessa Hua’s episode of Meditative Story, "Meditative Story From dark times come new discoveries": https://listen.meditativestory.com/Vanessa-Hua
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
As a boy in Oxford, England, Henry Shukman found refuge from chronic eczema through poetry and being in nature. But the beauty and clarity he found there was fleeting. A series of visits with a mysterious old family friend helped him to understand that experiencing beauty — and its extraordinary gifts — didn’t have to be isolated or chance encounters. It could become a guiding principle of his life. Through listening deeply, she shows him how to practice this.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
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Lehua Kamalu captains a vast, double-hulled ocean canoe crafted to the exact specifications of the seafaring vessels used by her ancestors. She and her crew are making a 2,500 mile journey between Tahiti and Hawaii, the same one original settlers of the South Pacific traversed, the same journeys historians once struggled to believe possible without today’s technology. The stakes are high and they sail the way their ancestors sailed, taking their cues from the water and wind. Lehua stays alert and patient hours on end. It’s only by being grounded in the signs that Lehua can anticipate the possibilities. And it’s only by staying present that Lehua can take in the magic of the open water — and draw from that magic to sustain herself when each journey ends, as they inevitably do.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Today’s episode takes you inside the intimate process behind creating a Meditative Story — and explores the musical wizardry behind each episode.
We hear from storyteller Dallas Taylor, the host of the 20,000 Hertz podcast, who gives us a peek behind the scenes in which Dallas describes his collaboration with the Meditative Story team. This exclusive excerpt comes from his companion podcast, MicroHertz.
Also, our host Rohan Gunatillake interviews our composer, Ryan Holladay, who shares how he approaches creating the music for Meditative Story.
Listen to Dallas Taylor’s episode of Meditative Story, “I focus on sensations that ground me”: https://listen.meditativestory.com/DallasTaylorMedStory
Listen to Dallas Taylor's podcast, Twenty Thousand Hertz: Apple | Spotify | Web
Listen to the companion podcast MicroHertz: https://glow.fm/20k/
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Today's storyteller Steven Ho grew up in a strict Vietnamese-American household where the stakes were always high. He felt an overwhelming pressure to walk the straight line set before him — a line of overachieving and excellence. As Steven grew up, he encountered places and circumstances that catapulted him into a deep curiosity and affection for the world around him. Steven began to wonder if there might be more than he could have ever expected, waiting for him outside the lines.
Listen to Steve Almond's episode of Meditative Story, "My roads diverging": http://listen.meditativestory.com/SteveAlmond_WW
Learn more about Steven: https://linktr.ee/steveioe
Find Steven on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steveioe
Find Steven on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/steveioe
Find Steven on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@steveioe
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Morgan Harper Nichols is a songwriter, poet, artist, and musician who was diagnosed with autism as an adult. Growing up, she yearns to see the wider world outside her rural home, and to embark on adventures like Bilbo Baggins. When she spends a semester studying abroad, she finds herself surrounded by the unfamiliar — and feeling rejected and lonely sometimes. But by stepping into the unknown, she begins to discover what is most important to her — and finds a new path to belonging.
Listen to Mickey Guyton's episode of Meditative Story, "Embracing what makes me different": http://listen.meditativestory.com/MickeyGuytonWW
Learn more about Morgan: https://morganharpernichols.com
Find Morgan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morganharpernichols/
Where to purchase Morgan's latest book, Peace is a Practice: https://morganharpernichols.com/preorder
Where to find Morgan's artwork: https://garden24.co
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Maya Shankar is a cognitive neuroscientist and host of the award-winning podcast A Slight Change of Plans. As a girl, she struggles with taking things too seriously: herself, the sufferings of others, the hypothetical misfortunes she imagines for the future. She turns to her father for perspective — and he takes her on a memorable walk, one that helps her understand her place in the universe (spoiler: it’s not not at the center of it). When her adult life brings a new and unexpected kind of sorrow, she turns to these lessons from her father again, to find a balance between the seriousness that comes with loving life and the wise perspective of knowing we're all just passing through.
Listen to Dr. Laurie Santos' episode of Meditative Story, "My monkey teacher": http://listen.meditativestory.com/LSantos_WW
Listen to Maya Shankar's podcast (selected as the Best Show of the Year by Apple in 2021), A Slight Change of Plans: https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/a-slight-change-of-plans
Follow Maya Shankar: https://www.instagram.com/drmayashankar/
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In this special episode, we spend more time with a storyteller who recently shared their Meditative Story with us, Sharon Salzberg. Rohan and Sharon wind their way back through Sharon’s story, exploring the key theme: Being kind, loving, patient with yourself. Together, they dive deeper into this idea, in a way that may just open up something special in you.
Did you relate to Sharon’s story? Email us at hello@meditativestory.com
Learn more about Sharon: sharonsalzberg.com
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
On his podcast and TV show Song Exploder, Hrishikesh Hirway digs deep into the creative process of legendary songwriters. But before Hrishikesh becomes a podcast creator, he's a working musician himself … who finds his ability to create being slowly drained away by self-doubt. He stumbles into a case of songwriter’s block that lasts him nearly seven years. Today, Hrishikesh shares the story of how he gets drawn back into creating music through an unexpected collaboration.
Listen to Andrew Bird's episode of Meditative Story, "Listening to the space around you": https://listen.meditativestory.com/AndrewBirdSpaceAroundYou
Learn more about Hrishikesh Hirway: https://hrishikesh.co/
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
By the time Sharon Salzberg is 16 years old, she knows the people around her don’t admit to suffering, much less talk about it. A year later, she makes a life-changing decision to travel alone to India to study meditation. It doesn’t all go as expected. Through the journey’s disappointments, discomforts, and surprise lessons, she finds an unexpected friend: herself. In today’s Meditative Story, Sharon talks about how being kind, especially to herself, became her biggest mountain to climb.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
Learn more about Sharon:
Website: sharonsalzberg.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/sharonsalzberg
Twitter: www.twitter.com/sharonsalzberg
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SharonSalzberg
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/SharonSalzbergVideo
Medium: www.medium.com/@sharonsalzberg
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/sharonsalzberg
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Broadcaster Dan Harris shares a candid look at his attempts to connect more with his son, Alexander, on their first father-son trip.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Gordana Biernat grows up in a household full of mayhem and darkness. But there’s one saving grace: her grandfather, who spins legendary stories of the quirky folkloric magic he sees all around them. In today’s Meditative Story, Gordana talks about reopening herself to the unseen and the “funny rushes of surprise” she encounters all around her when she stops dodging fear and starts seeking new chances to grow.
Read a transcript of this episode: https://meditativestory.com
Sign up for the weekly Meditative Story newsletter, to get a timely episode reminder and a mini meditation in your inbox each week: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
Learn more about Gordana Biernat’s work at: www.mypowertalk.com
You can email her at info@mypowertalk.com
Follow Gordana Biernat at:
https://twitter.com/MyPowertalk
https://www.facebook.com/SuperSoul100/
https://www.instagram.com/mypowertalk/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gordanabiernat
http://www.supersoul.tv/supersoul-100/soul-teachers/gordana-biernat
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Growing up on his father’s ranch in Elko, Nevada, Waddie Mitchell watches the cowboys around him with awe, silently absorbing their stories and manners – how to shoe a horse, start a colt, lead a crew and tell a tale. Through the buckaroos he learns that adventure and freedom aren’t things to seek elsewhere – that embedded in the raw materials of his own life, in the sounds and smells of the ranch itself, are the real rules for living that don’t get written down.
Learn more about Waddie Mitchell: waddiemitchell.com
Read a transcript of this episode: https://meditativestory.com/waddie-mitchell/
Sign up for the weekly Meditative Story newsletter, to get a timely episode reminder and a mini meditation in your inbox each week: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Today, Dallas Taylor is a creative director and creator of the beloved podcast Twenty Thousand Hertz. But before this, he had another life – one that brought immense pressure. He shares the story of how he comes to realize that feeling the weight of anxiety and fear doesn’t mean he’s broken. It means he’s human.
Listen to Dallas Taylor's podcast, Twenty Thousand Hertz: (Apple | Spotify | Web)
Listen to Aasif Mandvi's episode of Meditative Story, "Getting out of my own head": http://listen.meditativestory.com/AasifMandvi_WWs
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Writer Isha Sesay is happiest when she is caring for others; it’s a lesson she learns from her mother while growing up in Sierra Leone. But as an adult, there’s another lesson her mother teaches her, in quite another way: that even the most caring and giving among us must learn to receive help too. It’s through both giving and receiving that we become whole.
Listen to Arianna Huffington's episode of Meditative Story, "Life and love and the moment": https://link.chtbl.com/ArianaHuffington-IshaSesay
Follow Isha Sesay on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamishasesay/
Isha Sesay’s podcast, The Accidental Activist: https://the-accidental-activist.simplecast.com/
Isha Sesay’s 2020 book, Beneath the Tamarind Tree: A Story of Courage, Family, and the Lost Schoolgirls of Boko Haram: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/beneath-the-tamarind-tree-isha-sesay?variant=32131159752738
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Every Thursday night, Matthew Mercer leads a merry band through a maze of goblins, spells, and enchantments, as he plays an immersive role-playing game. In our story, Matthew explores what these creative games open up in him and how shining his light into the world gives others permission to do the same.
Learn more about Critical Role: https://critrole.com/foundation/
Listen to Reid Hoffman's episode of Meditative Story, "Through friendship, a better version of myself": https://listen.meditativestory.com/ReidHoffman-Mercer
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In this episode — in this experiment — we’re inviting back a storyteller who very recently shared their Meditative Story with us, Kristin Windbigler. Together, Rohan and Kristin are going to wind our way back through Kristin’s story, and talk about the key theme that her story explores: “How can I connect with those who are different from me?” The goal of this experiment: to dig into this theme in a way that may just open up something special in you.
Did this experiment work for you? Email us at hello@meditativestory.com and take a moment to fill out this quick survey: medstorypod.com/NewEpisodeSurvey
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts.
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Like so many of us, Chad Sanders has strived to belong for as long as he can remember — thwarted in the shadows of other people’s judgements of him. Fortunately, life has its way of giving us glimpses into our limitless possibility, when we allow our natural creativity and curiosity to embody our highest expression, regardless of the friction that people and circumstances place upon us. A magical high school experience in English class, and later in life, an auspicious walk with the iconic filmmaker, Spike Lee, give Chad unforgettable windows to find his flow. Turns out, by letting go of how others think he should be, Chad is finally able to walk into every room and every environment as himself.
Listen to Franklin Leonard’s episode of Meditative Story, "Writing the Main Character": https://listen.meditativestory.com/LeonardSandersep
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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Rural California is all Kristin Windbigler knows as a child — its wild, green pastoral landscape, where living off the land and self-sufficiency is a choice to live abundantly. One evening, gathered around the television with her mom and dad, Kristin watches a news report that suggests families like hers, living below the poverty line, are in critical need of help. What the TV journalist misses is that it’s possible to live abundantly without a big paycheck, without the need for anything other than what the land and community already provide. The news report sends Kristin on a path to tell deeper, multi-dimensional stories. She ends up in San Francisco and discovers that city-living has its own charm, before coming home to country life where she is today. The stories Kristin shares are American narratives that add up to a universal truth: when we people work together to solve urgent problems, our differences fall away.
Listen to Waddie Mitchell’s episode of Meditative Story, "A cowboy’s rules for living": https://listen.meditativestory.com/WaddieMitchellWindbigler
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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As he sits with his wife in the waiting room of the pediatric cardiology unit, actor Joel McHale is struggling to feel anything but helpless. His infant son has been born with two holes in his heart; an operation is underway to repair them. But waiting in that moment, Joel begins to realize the unpredictable journey of parenthood that lies ahead. Life will happen. You just deal with it as best you can. And you love your kids, endlessly and endlessly and endlessly.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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Silvia Vasquez-Lavado is the first openly lesbian woman to climb the famous Seven Summits, a bucket list of the highest mountain on every continent. But while preparing for the seventh summit, a peak that has eluded her climb after climb, she realizes that she can’t charge forward with the same conquering mentality. Denali — the highest mountain peak in North America — leads her to discover the importance of self-compassion over the desire for conquest when dealing with life’s greatest obstacles.
You can purchase her new memoir, In the Shadow of the Mountain, which further explores her journey to the Seven Summits and the trauma that it unpacks, here: https://amzn.to/3uaJh2b
Listen to Donald Miralle’s episode of Meditative Story, “Where the water takes me": https://listen.meditativestory.com/DonaldMiralleSilviaep
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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“Nothing really prepares you for how to explain what an airstrike is to your six-year-old when waiting at a red light.” Such was the recent experience of our host Rohan Gunatillake. Like so many of us, Rohan is navigating the tragic daily news coming out of Ukraine. He offers words of calm and a simple way to balance our attention when we find ourselves glued to the headlines on our phones. He also walks us through two meditation techniques to help us during times of overwhelm and stress.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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For the first 22 years of his life, Al Harris singularly focuses on one single goal: to play basketball in the NBA. Although he’s an elite young player, Al’s dream comes to an end when he’s passed over during the 2008 NBA draft. In the ensuing years, Al is recruited to play professional basketball throughout Europe, where he meets and builds bonds with a diverse group of people — which likely would not have happened if his “Plan A” had succeeded. Instead, Al learns that the experience of impacting others along his journey is what will result in a lasting legacy.
Listen to Krista Tippett's episode of Meditative Story, "I let go of my plan — and found myself": https://listen.meditativestory.com/KristaTippettHarrisep
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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Morgan Saylor is an actor of stage and screen, best known for her portrayal of the teenage Dana Brody in the series “Homeland.” But, before acting, her first passion was mathematics. Morgan unfolds how math has given her a way to approach the unknown with trust and openness, accepting that each moment and every relationship contains infinite possibilities.
Listen to Michelle Thaller's episode of Meditative Story, "Our tiny meaningful lives in the vast universe": https://listen.meditativestory.com/MichelleThallerSaylor
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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When Fred Minnick returns from his military service as a photographer documenting the war in Iraq, he finds himself haunted by what he saw through the lens of his camera. Trauma, as a result of the battlefield and his childhood, holds a grip on him until a bag of barbecue potato chips unlocks something in his brain. An untapped talent — he was born with a remarkable sense of smell — serves as a lifeline back to the present moment, and back to himself.
Listen to Stephen Kuusisto's episode of Meditative Story, "Allowing sound to reveal life’s wonder": https://listen.meditativestory.com/StephenKuusistoMinnick
Learn more about Fred's work: fredminnick.com
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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Jacob Sartorius has been making music and short videos since he was a kid. By age 14, he had millions of social media followers who loved his honest, heartfelt content. But on the flip side of that love, he discovered a darker side to his celebrity — one that took him by surprise and threatened his own well-being. Until a simple technique, and a new friend, helped him find a way back to himself, one breath at a time.
Watch “Breathe: The Documentary” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0RBMwirwC4
Listen to “Fear of Intimacy” here: https://vydia.lnk.to/FEAROFINTIMACY
Listen to “Lost But Found” EP here: https://vydia.lnk.to/LostButFound
Follow Jacob on all socials @JacobSartorius
Listen to Jay Shetty's episode of Meditative Story, "The art class": https://listen.meditativestory.com/JayShettySartorius
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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We’re inviting you into the Meditative Story library to explore the idea: what’s possible when you reframe the question? You’ll hear excerpts from some of our most beloved episodes in which storytellers see challenges from a new perspective, reframe something that they might have been stuck on, and ultimately move forward with a new sense of possibility.
Listen to Meditative Story episodes featured in this episode:
Omar Wasow: https://listen.meditativestory.com/OmarWasowReframe
Vanessa Hua: https://listen.meditativestory.com/VanessaHuaReframe
Russ Ellis: https://listen.meditativestory.com/RussEllisReframe
Gracia María: https://listen.meditativestory.com/GraciaMariaReframe
Read the transcript at https://meditativestory.com/
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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Writer Florence Williams, grieving the loss of a long marriage, finds herself in Tulsa, Oklahoma; she's come to sit with Penny, her former mother-in-law, who is dying of cancer. Drawn together by the gravity of needing and being needed, the two women sit in the quiet house, in a space between life and death, between rootedness and uncertainty – and yet surrounded, always, by love. As Penny begins to withdraw from the world, she has one final question for Florence, and one final piece of advice.
Florence Williams explores more about this story – and the many ways that we humans respond to and recover from a broken heart — in her new book, Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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Rohan Gunatillake recounts his 2005 trip to Plum Village, the monastic community founded by the great Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh. Author of over 100 books across mindfulness, Buddhism, activism, and nonviolence, Thich Nhat Hanh inspired generations of people all around the world to explore mindfulness and meditation. Thich Nhat Hanh founded Plum Village in 1982, and it was where he lived since he was forced to leave his native Vietnam in 1966. That was until 2018, when he finally returned to Vietnam to live at the main temple for his Zen lineage, and that is where he died on January 22nd this year, aged 95. This special episode is dedicated to him.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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Boy meets girl, girl notices boy's squirrel painting, boy and girl fall in love. The plot of a classic Hollywood romcom? Not even close. But when struggling actor Randall Park meets the person of his dreams at an awkward LA art party, it is indeed the start of an epic love story – and a story of self-discovery too.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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Keith Ferrazzi is the author of Never Eat Alone, a classic book about working relationships. But before he became an expert on building bonds at work, Keith is busy building emotional armor around himself – to hide his background, his ambitions, even his true feelings. He shares his story of building that armor, and then slowly learning to dismantle it, piece by piece.
Listen to Adam Grant's episode of Meditative Story, "The fear never goes away. But it can be tamed": https://link.chtbl.com/AdamGrantFerrazzi
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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Gracia María is a modern-day medicine woman, practicing community rituals in the tradition of her Peruvian ancestors. In connecting with her ancient roots, though, she realizes she also needs to rebuild the bonds with her immediate family, in order to share with them the person she's become. She learns the value of staying centered in her authentic self – knowing it will eventually bring others to her.
Listen to Lucy Kalanithi's episode of Meditative Story, "My funny, feisty, thoughtful, brave girl": https://link.chtbl.com/KalanithiMaria
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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Fluent in cheating time to squeeze productivity out of every minute, entrepreneur Keith Yamashita recounts the frightening details of a devastating stroke as it is actually happening, and discovers the second part of his life. It isn't a medical recovery. It’s an awakening.
Listen to Franklin Leonard's episode of Meditative Story "Writing the main character": https://link.chtbl.com/LeonardYamashitaRe-run
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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As the pandemic drags on, Vanessa Hua finds herself in a dark place of panic and doom-scrolling. But that begins to change on one spring day, when she takes a walk outside with her kids – and recognizes a small jewel-green plant growing on the forest floor. Her discovery of wild food foraging helps her tapinto a body of shared, ancient knowledge, one that helps her find steadiness within the chaotic present moment.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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Under the starry night sky, Rohan shares with us a ritual of ending and beginning. Bring to mind something you want to celebrate from this past year; release something you want to let go of; and mindfully choose a word, a beacon, that represents, in this fresh and unwritten year ahead, something that you want to become.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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As an artist and writer, Beth Lisick has had her share of freelance side gigs. But nothing can prepare her for this latest assignment: tending to the unforgettable Bill, who leads Beth on an epic journey through New York City. What she learns along the way: Everyone’s struggles are not immediately visible. And neither are the gifts they have to offer us.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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Today’s Meditative Story departs from our standard format. It’s not a story. But it’s as striking and resonant as any wisdom we’ve ever shared on this podcast. In this episode, Austin Mao – a listener in our community and a friend – shares a love letter to his wife, Chuchu, and another to his mother. These two are letters of love, grounded in vulnerability and integrity. The lesson here: When we let go of judgement, there is freedom.
Listen to Hannah Brencher's episode of Meditative Story "One envelope at a time": https://link.chtbl.com/BrencherAustinMaoep
Read more about Austin: http://austinmao.com
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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The end of a troubled life ignites a search for answers – a truth long buried, and a truth not yet formed.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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For Jai Punjabi, the most powerful connection to home is through food – specifically the wonderful Indian cuisine he was raised on. Hoping to preserve the recipes of his beloved family dishes, Jai returns to his parents’ home in Bombay, only to discover that the secret lay not in the ingredients, but in a way of being. It isn’t the recipes to learn. It’s the process.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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All her life, Meredith Arthur is a model of competence and control, and it sweeps her higher and higher up the professional ladder. But inside, something isn’t right. After a painful wake-up call, Meredith drops the version of herself that she’s constructed and starts noticing the one she’s long neglected.
Learn more about Meredith's website Beautiful Voyager: https://bevoya.com
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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It happens not in a yellow wood, but in author Steve Almond's befuddled 20s, when he is facing for the first time a decision that might actually matter. To the left lies success. To the right, something more interesting.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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As a Night Minister with San Francisco Night Ministry, Rev. Monique Ortiz walks the dark streets of a beautiful and aching city – a city that transforms completely when the sun goes down. Reaching out to the most desperate souls, she learns to help in a way she hadn’t imagined.
Learn more at www.sfnightministry.org
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
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The chaotic nature and noise of life as a musician – touring from city to city – eventually erodes Andrew Bird's ability to hear the music that is really inside of him. In a courageous effort to understand the faint calling of sound playing in his head, Andrew deserts his Chicago apartment for a rural piece of land where he believes an old farmhouse might unlock his personal renewal as an experimental multi-instrumentalist musician. There inside the reverberating wooden walls of a dilapidated barn, he begins to recalibrate – seeing, sensing, and interpreting the space around him musically. Rather than imposing his vision on the world, Andrew's music becomes a reflection of what the surrounding environment is trying to tell him. He learns that sometimes a sense of connectedness is easier to achieve alone, where you're able to find out what's happening inside you in order to make it sing outwards.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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Before becoming a MacArthur award–winning entomologist, Dr. Marla Spivak is adrift – first as a young woman in search of direction, then deep in the Amazon, severely ill and fearing death. Time and again, it’s the hum of bees that shows her a path forward. Apiculture doesn’t just become her life’s passion, it reveals a deeper truth about the connections that bind us.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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What do we do with the not-quite-perfect relationships in our lives? Growing up, the comedian and actor Milana Vayntrub adores her father — but all their happy times together end with him getting back on a plane. What does it mean to love someone who insists on living on another continent? And what might it mean to forge a new kind of intimacy?
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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Years before his YouTube-phenomenon cooking show Binging with Babish, the filmmaker Andrew Rea finds himself slipping into despair. His day job is draining him; so is an unhappy marriage. He finds the courage to take big bold steps toward a new life that’s centered on his passion for food. But there's a Part Two of this story. Because even as he finds a more fulfilled version of himself, he learns to temper some of his younger ideas about happiness.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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You might know actor Michael Imperioli as Christopher Moltisanti from The Sopranos — and now The Many Saints of Newark. But before all that, he was a 17-year-old kid, adrift, curious about acting. His parents are baffled, but they give him an enormous gift: they trust him. As he grows as an artist, Michael realizes the way that the courage to trust – in your instincts, in your teachers, and in one another – is what forms the foundation for a brave, creative life.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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Russ Ellis has led the kind of life they write books about. The first full-time Black professor at California’s Claremont Colleges. Acclaimed sociologist. Celebrated sculptor and painter. Even a recording artist. But as he reveals in this episode, even the fullest life can be haunted by a single event half a century earlier.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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Learn these calming techniques to help navigate tricky family dynamics, the challenges of disconnecting from work, and the loneliness that can arise at even the most joyful times of year. Notice them, name them, release them.
To learn more about the RAIN mindfulness technique – an acronym first coined by senior Buddhist teacher, Michele McDonald – visit Tara Brach’s website (you’ll see how Rohan’s version relates to Michele's original technique and Tara’s revised one): https://www.tarabrach.com/rain/#rainchange
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
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A street in Honduras. A conference room. The fifth lap of a bike ride. Crisis can descend on you in unexpected places – and so can clarity. All that’s required of you, really, is to be there for it, and to stretch yourself in ways you hadn’t expected. Mariann Budde, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese in Washington, DC, tells of three defining moments of struggle and grace in her life.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Boy meets girl, girl notices boy's squirrel painting, boy and girl fall in love. The plot of a classic Hollywood romcom? Not even close. But when struggling actor Randall Park meets the person of his dreams at an awkward LA art party, it is indeed the start of an epic love story – and a story of self-discovery too.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Robin Arzón is a star fitness coach at Peloton, beloved for her high-energy coaching with more than a dash of tough love. In this story, join Robin on the longest run of her life: the Florida Keys 100 Ultramarathon. As difficult as it is to run 100 sweaty miles in the South Florida heat, far more challenging is the mental fortitude to keep doubt at bay.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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Arriving in a strange town, disoriented and desperate to crawl into bed, Kaywin Feldman realizes she is just steps from an eight-century-old art treasure: a small chapel covered floor to ceiling with one of Giotto’s most extraordinary frescoes. She wanders inside, and the course of her life abruptly changes.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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Psychology professor Dr. Laurie Santos is the host of The Happiness Lab podcast – and of Yale’s most popular course ever. (More than 3 million people have taken her "Science of Wellbeing" course online.) In this story, journey with Laurie to an island in Puerto Rico where she is one of only a few humans among thousands of monkeys. The company of non-humans, it turns out, can help us better understand ourselves.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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As he sits with his wife in the waiting room of the pediatric cardiology unit, actor Joel McHale is struggling to feel anything but helpless. His infant son has been born with two holes in his heart; an operation is underway to repair them. But waiting in that moment, Joel begins to realize the unpredictable journey of parenthood that lies ahead. Life will happen. You just deal with it as best you can. And you love your kids, endlessly and endlessly and endlessly.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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Before his rise to fame, David Duchovny is a popular kid – charming, funny, bright, and athletic, beloved by friends and teachers alike. But there’s one teacher who puts David off-balance, calling him out for foolishness where others see charm. Years after graduation, struggling to make it as an actor in Hollywood, David finally comes to recognize that what he mistook for dislike was in fact an encouragement to go his own way, in his own time.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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The heart of storytelling is a journey, across time and place. In these four short stories, travel to a remote and lonely farm … a village alive with family … an island teeming with unique life … and a city street that suddenly begins to feel like home. In stories from Andrew Bird, Nadia Owusu, David Whyte, and Pico Iyer, linked and contextualized with meditations from Rohan.
Listen to Meditative Story episodes featured in this episode:
Andrew Bird: http://listen.meditativestory.com/AndrewBirdCompilation2
Nadia Owusu: http://listen.meditativestory.com/NadiaOwusuCompilation2
David Whyte: http://listen.meditativestory.com/DavidWhyteCompilation2
Pico Iyer: http://listen.meditativestory.com/PicoIyerCompilation2
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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One summer night Paola Antonelli, now curator and head of R&D at MoMA, sets sail off the coast of Sardinia – snaking through the wavy sea with friends. She jumps off the boat, slides into the water, and makes her way to the rocks as her friends hang back, making dinner aboard. While keeping her eyes on the horizon and the setting sun, her mind wanders to the rockier questions in her life: How will she make the right choice for her future? The answer, she realizes, is right in front of her. Life is just like sailing: Some days there are bright skies, some days rolling waves. She just has to look for the right winds and waves to take her where she wants to go.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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Loving football – specifically loving England’s team during a cup final – means resigning yourself to heartbreak, over, and over, and over. In this meditation, Rohan Gunatillake explores the singular anguish routinely visited upon dedicated fans of a favorite team. Within a mindful life, that anguish can become its own kind of beauty.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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Best-known for his record-setting streak of 2,632 consecutive games played, Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. is widely regarded as one of Major League Baseball’s greatest all-time players. But for Cal, just showing up is never an end in itself. It’s how he shows up that distinguishes his legacy as an athlete, a lesson Cal learns by observing his father – a baseball legend in his own right – whose dignity on and off the field extends far beyond hard work and fair play alone.
Read a transcript for this episode: http://meditativestory.com
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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All our problems haven’t magically vanished after the dark year gone by, but perhaps we’ve begun a new chapter, a slow re-awakening. In this collection of short stories, Rohan finds moments from four storytellers – Diana Nyad, Nalini Nadkarni, Franklin Leonard, and Florence Williams – that explore the singular moments that set us on a new path. Sometimes, it’s a single, pointed question. Other times, it’s an unexpected invitation. And sometimes, that moment arrives in a full-on blizzard.
Listen to Meditative Story episodes featured in this episode:
Diana Nyad: http://listen.meditativestory.com/DianaNyadCompilation
Nalini Nadkarni: http://listen.meditativestory.com/NaliniNadkarniCompilation
Franklin Leonard: http://listen.meditativestory.com/FranklinLeonardCompilation
Florence Williams: http://listen.meditativestory.com/FlorenceWilliamsCompilation
Read a transcript for this episode: http://meditativestory.com
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD
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Fresh out of nursing school, Wayne Little finds a treasured mentor in his first job – a nurse whose lifelong mission inspires his own. Years later, in the middle of a global pandemic, he calls on those lessons he learned so long ago.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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As a young girl, mowing her neighbor's lawn in the Kentucky heat, SG Goodman learns many important things: how to avoid running into the chain-link fence, the art of blowing the grass away from the house ... and the way these small, regular acts of community become the glue holding the world together. In caring for Miss Betty across the street, and in caring for the land her father farms, SG learns to love the world and its stories, its songs, its connections that sustain us.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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It's 1996, and Robert Reich has the job of a lifetime – one that's taking a steady toll on his family. In a story he’s never told before, Reich shares the pivotal moment when he turns his economist’s eye on his own life, and realizes: It's fallen out of balance. On a muddy cross-country field, watching his older son run through the rain, he realizes what he must do to fix things.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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During some of the tougher days of the last two years, Rohan takes refuge in learning a new dish: aubergines with fermented chili bean paste and black vinegar. The project grounds him at an ungrounded time, and gradually leads to a singular form of mastery – no recipe required. A meditation about learning the ingredients, practicing the steps, and ultimately stepping into your intuition.
Cooking with Andong: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTEaFuNbbsM
Fuchsia Dunlop: http://www.fuchsiadunlop.com
Chinese Cooking Demystified: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC54SLBnD5k5U3Q6N__UjbAw
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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In a meditation for all the senses, Rohan guides you into a relaxed state that will quiet your mind and help you drift to sleep.
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Thomas Page McBee is an author and a journalist – and was the first transgender man to box in Madison Square Garden. But that fight wasn't about overpowering an opponent. It was about confronting his own fears – of masculinity, of aggression and inadequacy – and winning.
Read a transcript for this episode: http://meditativestory.com
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In the morning, Idaho pastor Tri Robinson herds cattle and mends fences; in the evening, he writes sermons. But the two parts of his life don't feel connected. He feels such a deep love of the natural world, in all its beauty, all its fragility. But what is he doing, as a leader, to help preserve that precious creation? As he carries that question with him on his daily rides, he realizes: he's about to make a monumental decision. To change the way he walks in his faith – and walks on the Earth.
Read a transcript for this episode: http://meditativestory.com
Learn more about Sleep Song at meditativestory.com/sleepsong
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As a young composer, Max Richter is searching for his voice, the sound of a music that is uniquely his. But what he has is only a box of fragments, song experiments, half-formed questions. He sits with them, he thinks on them, he lets them mature – and then he realizes: This is exactly the music he wants to make. As he shapes the fragments into his early masterpiece Memoryhouse, he finds the beauty in moving between modes, working in the mysterious space out of time that only music can create.
Read a transcript for this episode: http://meditativestory.com
Learn more about Sleep Song at meditativestory.com/sleepsong
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Twins Scott and Brian Nicholson are dancers and choreographers on tour with Ariana Grande. Onstage, the three of them move across the stage as a tight unit – Scott and Brian like a mirror image of protective energy around Ariana, like a stereo amplifying her energy. But when an unimaginable tragedy strikes, that energy is shattered. Until they realize – they must keep moving. Together.
Read a transcript for this episode: http://meditativestory.com
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Standing at the door of the airplane, a new thing called “snow” swirling around her, Rohan’s mom is about to take a momentous step – making a life change that reverberates down the generations. A meditation about the steps we take when the outcome is uncertain.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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"Cape Spear always calls me back." Tony Tjan grows up in the cold and dramatic landscape of Newfoundland, where snow piles high and storms rage – but the neighbors always keep a door open to help one another. Returning home for a visit as an adult, he recalls childhood stories of abundance and adaptation, as he and his family learn to love this life on the Easternmost point of North America – in the place where the sun strikes first.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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When she went off to college, Hannah Brencher started a simple habit: exchanging handwritten letters with her mom. Inside the envelopes that arrived in her dorm mailbox, she begins to know her mother, for the first time, as a person – and as a friend.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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Omar Wasow had a fabulous life as a reporter and tech expert – he even taught Oprah how to use email! But an important piece of unfinished business from his college days kept nagging at him, and even tempted him to run away from his life and hide. Why did this one-time gifted kid struggle to complete something that mattered to him? Why couldn't he even get started? In another classroom, in the face of a small girl struggling with her own "impossible" task, he realizes the answer – and reframes the question.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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Love sneaks up on us. It’s a sudden awakening from the mundane. It’s divinity in the everyday. In this special episode, Rohan shares a trio of stories about his love, Lucy. The childlike purity and sweeping hold of love will wash over you in this intimate listening experience from Meditative Story’s very own Rohan.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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The strawberry field past the maple tree. A hidden nook beneath the stairs. The magical hour before anyone else is awake. Throughout her life, Angela Ahrendts has sought out sanctuaries – sacred spaces to reconnect and to dream, quiet moments to visualize what her next big decision might lead to, to stay open to the signs that help guide her. Now, after a series of bold career choices, Angela reflects on the decades-long journey that has brought her to this moment, and comes to realize that with each new day she has an opportunity to discover a new sanctuary – because the truest sanctuary is the one within us all.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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As the wind howls around his camping caravan on a remote Welsh farm, poet David Whyte sits at a table, trying – and failing – to write. He's worried he has lost his gift. He's worried he never had a gift at all. But just outside, invisible and unexpected, is someone who offers him help – and friendship – at the exact moment he needs it. Their lifelong friendship takes root here, in the magical, windswept landscape of Wales, where place-names are poetry, where memories live long in the rolling hills.
David Whyte is a poet and author. He has written 10 volumes of poetry and four books of prose, including the bestselling The Heart Aroused: Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America. His newest book is River Flow: New & Selected Poems.
Learn more at davidwhyte.com
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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The idea of a meditation retreat is deeply romantic. But the reality can be very different. Join our host Rohan Gunatillake on his first retreat, at a monastery in the English countryside, where he locks in to his meditation practice for the first time – and on the same night, almost gives it up altogether.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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When actor Michael Imperioli is 17, he makes an impulsive move: on the day he's supposed to drive up to college, instead he takes the train down to New York City and signs up for acting classes. His parents are baffled, but they give him an enormous gift: they trust him. As he grows as an artist, Michael realizes the way that the courage to trust – in your instincts, in your teachers, and in one another – is what forms the foundation for a brave, creative life.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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As the youngest of 10 kids, Majora Carter is used to being a little bit invisible, shyly watching the world around her as she draws with her crayons. But her first-grade teacher, Ms. Transport, sees that she has a special talent for art. She encourages Majora to share her gifts – and (the real challenge) to accept praise. Her rallying cry: "You deserve to take your flowers!" Years later, as a grown woman, Majora realizes she can return the favor.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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What’s the hardest part about being the main character in your own life? You’re also writing the script as you go along. And sometimes it’s hard to know when you need a scene change. Filmmaker Franklin Leonard encounters plenty of dramatic moments as he seeks to follow his creative dream. But those big moments, he comes to realize, aren’t what will change him into the person he truly wants to be. Change happens not in an explosion or a sudden shift of scenery, but slowly, in moments of reflection, and sometimes after years of pleasing others. What matters is … it happens.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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Writer Florence Williams, grieving the loss of a long marriage, finds herself in Tulsa, Oklahoma; she's come to sit with Penny, her former mother-in-law, who is dying of cancer. Drawn together by the gravity of needing and being needed, the two women sit in the quiet house, in a space between life and death, between rootedness and uncertainty – and yet surrounded, always, by love. As Penny begins to withdraw from the world, she has one final question for Florence, and one final piece of advice.
Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story at: www.meditativestory.com
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Behind her Grammy-nominated song “Black Like Me,” Mickey Guyton shares the story of her long journey toward embracing her voice as a country music star. As a Black woman in a traditionally white industry, her authenticity is constantly questioned: Too Black. Too white. Not “country” enough. Plagued by self-doubt, Mickey’s breakthrough comes when she remembers what matters to her and stops trying to fit in – instead, she leans in to what makes her unique. Whether you’re listening for the first time, or you’ve had this episode on repeat, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of why she chose to sing “Black Like Me” in an absolutely iconic performance at the 2021 Grammy Awards.
Read the transcript at https://meditativestory.com/mickey-guyton/
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When young Nate Berkus pushes open the door to his new bedroom, an unfinished space in his family home, he doesn’t know it yet – but he’s opening the door to a new vision of what his life can be. A life that he can design for himself. Because sometimes, choosing a new paint color is shorthand for choosing a new path.
Read the full transcript of Nate's story: https://meditativestory.com/nate-berkus/
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In telling three short stories from his life as a meditator, host Rohan Gunatillake explores the way a few simple words of wisdom, said at the right moment, can build your strength and resilience for a lifetime. He shares insights from his own early teachers as he leads us on a journey around the world, from an ancient monastery in Thailand to a silent retreat in the English countryside.
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"Are you going to do this? Ever?" Standing at the edge of the highest diving board at the aquatic center, a young Adam Grant tries and tries, and tries to leap off. But he can't face down his fear – not so much of falling as losing control. So there he stands at the end of the board, paralyzed. In this story, Adam Grant, now a famed organizational psychologist, shares how a wise diving coach helped him outsmart fear – and take the leap.
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As a young man, facing two great losses one after another, philosopher and neuroscientist Sam Harris falls into a deep sadness. He ruminates, feeling stuck, lonely, and lost. But in a chance experiment, Sam learns to explore the landscape of the mind. And he stumbles upon a breakthrough that gives him the ability to think more clearly about every experience, good and bad; to let negative, distracting thoughts come and go, while building a foundation for happiness. In his story, Sam describes how we can live a much better life by noticing the thoughts that arise in our consciousness, rather than merely being swept away by them in each moment. In his story, and the wisdom he shares through his podcast and the Waking Up app, Sam teaches us one simple, profound truth: "Your life is right here to be enjoyed," he says, "and it can only be enjoyed by you."
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Get a full transcript at https://meditativestory.com/sam-harris/
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Actor, writer and comedian Aasif Mandvi has given us so many laughs in his role as a correspondent on The Daily Show – on stage and in television and films. But when a doctor diagnoses him with tinnitus (ringing in the ears), he has to come to terms with his own vulnerability and the unpredictability of life. This eventually leads him to imagine a world with more possibilities, including falling in love – when he asks himself, "What could life be like, if I wasn't trapped in my own head?"
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Get a full transcript at https://meditativestory.com/aasif-mandvi/
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Before his rise to fame, David Duchovny is a popular kid – charming, funny, bright and athletic, beloved by friends and teachers alike. But there’s one teacher who puts David off-balance, calling him out for foolishness where others see charm. Years after graduation, struggling to make it as an actor in Hollywood, David finally comes to recognize that what he mistook for dislike was in fact an encouragement to go his own way, in his own time.
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Get a full transcript at https://meditativestory.com/david-duchovny/
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Ecologist Nalini Nadkarni – known as the "Queen of the Forest Canopy” – has spent a career clambering around tree tops, studying the interdependence of plants and animals in an ecosystem. But when an accident in the canopy brings Nalini's work to an abrupt halt, she is forced to reckon with interdependence of a profoundly different nature.
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For filmmaker Jai Punjabi, the most powerful connection to home is through food – specifically the wonderful Indian cuisine he was raised on. Hoping to preserve the recipes of his beloved family dishes, Jai returns to his parents’ home in Bombay, only to discover that the secret lay not in the ingredients, but in a way of being.
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By the 1980s, Diana Nyad had left competitive swimming behind, embarking on a successful career as a sports broadcaster. But after a meeting with “Superman” actor Christopher Reeve — whose throw from a horse left him paralyzed from the shoulders down — she is reminded of a challenge that fueled her early athletic ambitions, and re-commits to living everyday just past the limit of what seems endurable.
Get the transcript: meditativestory.com
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“Pay attention to the small transitions, the ones whose potential is always here but sometimes overlooked.” Host Rohan Gunatillake tells three simple stories to draw our attention to the spaces where we realize change is happening. Standing in a doorway outside a school, he sees his small son growing, learning to take on the world. And sitting with the loss of a friend, he explores how we think about larger changes, ones we may yet need time to come to terms with.
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Kaya Henderson has spent a career reimagining urban education for the 21st century. But Kaya’s faith in her own potential is tested during her first semester at a top-tier school. When she falls well short of her own standards, Kaya's exacting mother helps reframe her perspective on failure, turning what feels like the end of the road into a loving provocation to push on.
Get the transcript: meditativestory.com
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As the daughter of UN diplomat, Nadia Owusu grows up across several worlds. Trailing her father from Africa to Europe before moving to the United States for university, Nadia grapples with her fractured identity. But when Nadia returns to her father's village in Ghana, she finds an unexpected and affirming answer to who she is.
Get the transcript: meditativestory.com
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Stephen Wilkes has a unique approach to photography that requires a sustained focus to capture subtle changes in light and perspective. The same could be said of the way he cared for his mother, whose resilience and love belied the trauma she experienced as a refugee from the second world war. Though it often falls on young Stephen to manage her spells, he is able to transcend his family’s haunted past by turning his gaze outward when the darkness threatens to consume him, transforming it into art.
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As we transition into a new season, and look forward to a new year ahead, we’re sharing these five short stories of people in motion. Listen for stories of birth, creative rebirth, and stories of starting over. Because the human spirit can continually find a new way to begin again. Featuring stories from writer and midwife Elizabeth Lesser, cowboy poet Waddie Mitchell, country singer/songwriter Mickey Guyton, musician Andrew Bird, and the Reverend Otis Moss III.
Look forward to Season 3 of Meditative Story, coming in early December with all-new stories and storytellers.
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Times like these require faith, patience, and resilience. This short episode brings together moments from four beloved stories. Sharing a pivotal moment from their lives, these four storytellers explore the large and small insights that helped them find balance and connection in uncertain times. You'll hear from Wajahat Ali, Keith Yamashita, Judith Grisel, and Ghuan Featherstone, with gentle meditation breaks from our host, Rohan Gunatillake.
Season 3 of Meditative Story begins in December, with all-new stories for you.
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As chief meteorologist for ABC News, Ginger Zee has traveled the world to cover historic storms and extreme weather. But her passion for storm chasing and adventure belies an emotional turmoil that’s been churning since childhood. It’s not until an assignment in Nepal, paragliding off a mountain cliff, that Ginger finally lays claim to the pain she’s long denied.
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Best-known for his record-setting streak of 2,632 consecutive games played, Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. is widely regarded as one of Major League Baseball’s greatest all-time players. But for Cal, just showing up is never an end in itself. It’s how he shows up that distinguishes his legacy as an athlete, a lesson Cal learns by observing his father – a baseball legend in his own right – whose dignity on and off the field extends far beyond hard work and fair play alone.
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Ghuan Featherstone is determined to go his own way – to live with courage, kindness, and faith in justice. To be a cowboy. But growing up in a neighborhood rife with gang violence, the forces marshaled against him feel beyond his control. After visiting a little-known horse stable in South Central LA, Ghuan discovers a path to honor on the back of a horse, casting the most iconic American hero in his own image, and embracing the Cowboy Code he swore by as a boy.
Learn more about Urban Saddles: https://www.urbansaddles.org/
Read the transcript for this story: https://meditativestory.com/ghuan-featherstone/
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Growing up on his father’s ranch in Elko, Nevada, Waddie Mitchell watches the cowboys around him with awe, silently absorbing their stories and manners – how to shoe a horse, start a colt, lead a crew and tell a tale. Through the buckaroos he learns that adventure and freedom aren’t things to seek elsewhere – that embedded in the raw materials of his own life, in the sounds and smells of the ranch itself, are the real rules for living that don’t get written down.
Learn more about Waddie Mitchell at waddiemitchell.com
Read a transcript of this episode: https://meditativestory.com/waddie-mitchell/
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As a young girl raised on the gravel roads of central Texas, Mickey Guyton falls in love with country music – but as a Black woman in a traditionally white industry, her authenticity is constantly questioned: Too Black. Too white. Not country enough. Plagued by self-doubt, Mickey's breakthrough comes when she leans in to what makes her unique – and finds her true voice.
Mickey Guyton's new EP, Bridges, featuring the songs "Heaven Down Here" and "Black Like Me," is available now.
Read a transcript of this story at http://meditativestory.com/mickey-guyton
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When a years-long relationship ends, author and filmmaker Jennifer 8. Lee makes the startling discovery that she lacks an inner monologue – a voice inside articulating thoughts and feelings, reflecting on the past and planning for her future. At first she feels inadequate, as if she's missing a "sense" that everyone has but her. But the more she talks with others, the more she wonders if its absence may just be a blessing in disguise.
Read the transcript for this story: https://meditativestory.com/jennifer-8-lee/
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Considered a prodigy in China, Lang Lang arrives to the U.S. certain of what it takes to be the best pianist in the world – dedication, discipline, hours of solitary practice. But when a legendary teacher poses an unexpected question, Lang Lang comes to understand that becoming a true musician will require more than hard work – that it’s not so much what he puts out that matters most, but what he takes in: new music, languages, art, literature, foods, and friends. As Lang Lang’s world expands, his ambitions move away from seeking fame alone to becoming an infinite student infinitely learning, eventually connecting him even more deeply with his own culture – and, ultimately, with himself.
Read the transcript for this story: https://meditativestory.com/lang-lang/
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Facing a dreaded 20-hour layover after weeks away from home, Pico Iyer decides to leave the airport and explore the city outside. He walks down the quiet streets, hoping to distract himself with a few new experiences. What happens, though, couldn’t be more unexpected. A feeling of recognition and familiarity washes over him. He feels as if he’s been in this city all along. What begins as a layover becomes something else altogether.
Read the transcript for this story at https://meditativestory.com/PicoIyer/
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A glossy picture on the cover of a magazine. That’s all it takes for a teenaged Arianna Huffington to decide she’s going to leave her family and home – and the activity and warmth of her mom’s kitchen table – to start something new. Without speaking the language, or even knowing how to get there, Arianna decides she’s going to start a new life in a new place, propelled forward by her mom’s wise sense that life isn’t about winning or losing, it’s about having the adventure.
Read the transcript for this story at https://meditativestory.com/AriannaHuffington/
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It's early morning. A hotel room. Wajahat Ali, playwright and author, is traveling for work when he gets a call from his wife – she's sobbing, panicked, heartbroken. Their tiny daughter, Nusayba, has been diagnosed with Stage IV cancer. And time stops. What can he do? Rage. Despair. Sob. Fight. Then ... let go. Waj shares the story of how his young daughter's fight with cancer taught him to strike a delicate balance between faith and action, between exhausting his efforts and accepting the outcome.
Read a transcript of this story at: https://meditativestory.com/wajahat-ali/
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Shawn Colvin grows up in a dangerous house. There’s a dad with a hair-trigger temper. But there’s also a dad who builds things, and who plays music, who teaches Shawn how to play a guitar. Years later, an out-of-the-blue phone call gives Shawn the opportunity to explain to her dad what her childhood was like – and to forgive him. In this act of compassion, Shawn is able to let go of her own burden and find compassion for herself — who she is now and the lost little kid she used to be.
Read a transcript of this story at: https://meditativestory.com/shawn-colvin/
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Twenty-four long miles into a grueling paddleboard competition, photographer Donald Miralle sights the buoy that tells him he's just a few miles from home. But what should offer a sense of relief provokes a feeling of dread. His body shuts down, his muscles refuse to work, his motivation dwindles. With nothing left to summon, he is desperate to quit. That’s when Donald spots a shadow in the water: a massive, majestic blue whale, serenely passing beneath his board. The rare sighting inspires awe in Donald, and an acceptance of forces beyond his control -- the wind, the waves, the tide and the whale. With restored confidence, Donald moves through his fear by leaning into the training that has prepared him for moments like this. And makes his way to shore.
Read a transcript of this story at: https://meditativestory.com/donald-miralle/
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The strawberry field past the maple tree. A hidden nook beneath the stairs. The magical hour before anyone else is awake. Throughout her life, Angela Ahrendts has sought out sanctuaries – sacred spaces to reconnect and to dream, quiet moments to visualize what her next big decision might lead to, to stay open to the signs that help guide her. Now, after a series of bold career choices, Angela reflects on the decades-long journey that has brought her to this moment, and comes to realize that with each new day she has an opportunity to discover a new sanctuary -- because the truest sanctuary is the one within us all.
Read a transcript of this story at: https://meditativestory.com/angela-ahrendts/
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As Senior Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Otis Moss carries the torch for generations of church and civil rights leaders, including his own father, a regional director in the SCLC, and a friend of Dr. Martin Luther King. But it is his late sister Daphne whose influence most impacts his ministry and social advocacy. A brilliant young woman who struggled with schizophrenia, Daphne introduced a young Otis to what he calls “the continuum” – a spirituality born of poetry, literature and jazz that has woven its way through our history. Drawing as much from the beats of J Dilla as from the speeches of Dr. King; from the politics of Public Enemy as from the poetry of Langston Hughes; from John Coltrane and Miles Davis as from Reinhold Niebuhr and Abraham Joshua Heschel, Pastor Moss shares a timely, deeply personal story about the American jazz narrative -- how a disparate and diverse people who are not supposed to make music together do – and do so beautifully.
Music by Ryan Holladay and Jonathan Mouton. Follow Jonathan on Instagram: @entertainer4lyfe
Read the transcript for this story at https://meditativestory.com/otis-moss/
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Judith Grisel is an internationally recognized behavioral neuroscientist and professor of psychology known for her research on the role of the brain in drug addiction. She is also a former addict. Years into her sobriety, Judy still labors to escape the painful feelings of loneliness and emptiness that have been with her since childhood. But when a friend presents her with a puzzling gift – an empty bowl – she is finally able to embrace the difficult feelings she’s spent a lifetime evading, and make peace with them.
Read the transcript for this story at https://meditativestory.com/judith-grisel/
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Gretchen Rubin is an expert on happiness, and she's spent her career helping people build the habits to achieve it. But she assumed that if something works for her, it should work for just about anyone. A series of chance encounters, and a healthy helping of curiosity, makes Gretchen realize that maybe there isn't one path to happiness after all. That there's no right or wrong way to build a meaningful life, just the way that works for you.
Learn more at https://gretchenrubin.com/
Find the Happier podcast at https://gretchenrubin.com/podcasts/
Read the transcript for this story at https://meditativestory.com/gretchen-rubin/
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For many of us, the days are stretching out, copies, duplicates of one another. But there is change happening around us, time is moving forward. This meditation, led by host Rohan Gunatillake, is about noticing that change – outside and within. Mediation can help you become an expert on your internal seasons and habits. When we begin to notice that we change, that seasons change, we start to disbelieve the story that ‘things are always going to be like this’ – and that is magic.
Read the transcript at meditativestory.com
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One icy morning on a Vermont farm, Elizabeth Lesser is witness to a miraculous thing: the birth of a bleary, bleating baby lamb. Years later, as a midwife, she is still filled with this sense of awe and wonder at every birth. It’s through that process of coaching new life into the world, she learns how to sit through the difficult – even the painful – moments in her own: a divorce, a new career, even death. She begins to understand that we must all stay open to the wild pulse of life to give birth to our wiser selves.
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The chaotic nature and noise of life as a musician — touring from city to city — eventually erodes Andrew Bird's ability to hear the music that is really inside of him. In a courageous effort to understand the faint calling of sound playing in his head, Andrew deserts his Chicago apartment for a rural piece of land where he believes an old farmhouse might unlock his personal renewal as an experimental multi-instrumentalist musician. There inside the reverberating wooden walls of a dilapidated barn, he begins to recalibrate — seeing, sensing, and interpreting the space around him musically. Rather than imposing his vision on the world, Andrew's music becomes a reflection of what the surrounding environment is trying to tell him. He learns that sometimes a sense of connectedness is easier to achieve alone, where you're able to find out what's happening inside you in order to make it sing outwards.
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Lehua Kamalu captains a vast, double-hulled ocean canoe crafted to the exact specifications of the seafaring vessels used by her ancestors. She and her crew are making a 2,500 mile journey between Tahiti and Hawaii, the same one original settlers of the South Pacific traversed, the same journeys historians once struggled to believe possible without today’s technology. The stakes are high and they sail the way their ancestors sailed, taking their cues from the water and wind. Lehua stays alert and patient hours on end. It’s only by being grounded in the signs that Lehua can anticipate the possibilities. And it’s only by staying present that Lehua can take in the magic of the open water — and draw from that magic to sustain herself when each journey ends, as they inevitably do.
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Krista Tippett’s early years aren't what you’d expect knowing who she is today. As a journalist and political aide in divided Berlin in the '80s, she led a life of importance, where she was surrounded by power, where every decision mattered. But when a window opened to step away from that heady life, she found a new space – and time to ask herself what mattered. She shares her story to remind us how we can find meaning in unexpected places.
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American cultural critic Thomas Chatterton Williams is deeply in love with his French wife, Valentine. Accustomed to exquisite command over the English language, Thomas loses agency over his life when he and Valentine move to Paris. And when they welcome their first child, Marlow, for the first time in his life he finds he can't disclose himself — not fully — to a person he loves through language. When words fail, it's his six-year-old daughter who builds the bridge to her father and helps expand his own sense of self — in language, in life, and in love.
Thomas Chatterton Williams's latest book is Self-Portrait in Black and White: Unlearning Race.
Follow him on Twitter at @thomaschattwill
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Jail has a way of warping time. Changes on the outside world are locked away from those inside. Upon his release after serving 17 locked-up years, Jule recounts the moment he first sets eyes on a smartphone. The prison noises he is escaping — the yelling, the constant blaring of the radio, metal-on-metal echoing of cell bars — are replaced by the incessant pings and notifications of his new iPhone. His novice observations about the technology we wrap our lives around reveal a truth that perhaps we can no longer see ourselves.
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We all need to love and be loved, we all want to feel not alone in this world. And this is true for all of the living world, says ecologist and author Carl Safina. Carl has spent his whole life interacting with the wild, from raising pigeons on a Brooklyn rooftop to trekking through the frozen landscape of Antarctica and the vast African savanna. And one thing he’s learned is that humans and animals alike, we’re all striving to connect. We’re all craving to establish bonds, to reach out, and to hold someone close. We all want to be loved – and to love ourselves.
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Shea Hembrey is 5 years old, walking along the road to his farmhouse on the edge of the Mississippi River Delta, where the floodplains meet the Ozark Mountain foothills. The undulating hills surrounded by dense rows of oak, sassafras, sugarberry, and persimmon trees. He spots a pale, smooth-polished fleck: an egg! “This is a baby bird,” he tells his parents. “And I’m going to hatch it.” From that point forward, his willingness to be patient – to let what is already there reveal itself – opens up the world to show its goodness. We all possess this kind of wonderful intuition, but you must pay attention to that knowing feeling and start to trust it.
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None of us has ever faced a moment like this. It is heartbreaking and exhausting and ever changing and yet ... days seem to blur together. In this Meditative Story, there is no storyteller – but there are stories. Host Rohan Gunatillake is here with a meditation that meets the moment, one that invites you to stop. Breathe. Name the difficult. And maybe, just maybe, find some hope in what is happening right now.
See a video version of this meditation on IGTV: https://www.instagram.com/tv/B-iasSeh1US/
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In this classic episode, while working on an experiment to measure the age of the universe, astronomer Michelle Thaller is reminded once again about both the impersonal immensity around us, and the deeply personal significance of each one of us.
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Jackals and leopards in the fields. The sound of a lion’s roar. Majestic African bush elephants outside the front door. This is childhood for Forrest Galante as a kid growing up on a farm in Zimbabwe. He’s adventurous and instinctive and connected to the living earth. But a sudden move to the U.S. puts him in a completely new territory. In discovering this new urban world in front of him, Forrest learns that the key for all of us, to key to survival, is to adapt.
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There he is: pacing around the campfire, contemplating, ruminating. Then, with a crooked, mischievous smile, he begins. “Here’s a story…” This is a memory violinist Lindsey Stirling will always carry of her dad, the tireless storyteller, telling the tallest of tales, dreaming the biggest of dreams. But also a man who couldn't quite see his life-changing impact on others because of the disappointments that befell his own life. In looking back, Lindsey comes to realize that whatever becomes of us, what endures are the stories we create while trying to figure it all out.
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"Why?” asks an insistent high school art teacher. “Why? Why? Why?” Staring blankly back, a young Jay Shetty has nothing to say. It’s an art project, it's just homework. A collage. It’s just … layers. The next day in a subway station, Jay's chance encounter with an ad peeling off the wall unlocks the truest answer. What he discovers that day about himself carries forward into college, when Jay meets a fellow student who's consumed by negativity and pain. There, the art project from so many years ago comes in handy in ways he never anticipates.
Read Jay Shetty's book Think Like a Monk (listen to Think Like a Monk as an audiobook read by Jay).
Jay hosts the podcast On Purpose with Jay Shetty.
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One summer night Paola Antonelli, now curator and head of R&D at the MoMA, sets sail off the coast of Sardinia — snaking through the wavy sea with friends. She jumps off the boat, slides into the water, and makes her way to the rocks as her friends hang back, making dinner aboard. While keeping her eyes on the horizon and the setting sun, her mind wanders to the rockier questions in her life: How will she make the right choice for her future? The answer, she realizes, is right in front of her. Life is just like sailing: Some days there are bright skies, some days rolling waves. She just has to look for the right winds and waves to take her where she wants to go.
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DeRay Mckesson is one of America’s most recognized and admired activists. But before that, he was a magician. Not the kind who pulls a rabbit out of hat, but the kind who makes communities magically appear out of thin air. Every school DeRay ever attends, his name appears on the ballot for president of the student body. Why? Because through something as simple as student government, DeRay is able to bring people together in astonishing ways you just can’t see coming. Through countless elections and one seemingly impossible feat after another, DeRay designs the kind of world we all want to live. There’s no illusion about it. But it is magic.
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How do you find joy in your life? For entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and author Reid Hoffman, it’s through the act of genuine, honest, and intimate conversations with friends. Once a self-described misfit, in college, Reid finds his place. He connects with people who share not necessarily his interests but his curiosity, and his dedication to asking big questions. It is in asking the big questions, in discussing the answers, that Reid learns and grows – and begins to discover the meaning of his life.
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How to teach a classroom full of "difficult" kids? By meeting them where they are, and finding a way in. This is something that Sinéad Burke sees every day in her teaching career. Her own life experience has taught her how to turn everything that excludes someone into something that includes, by looking for that common ground we all have with one another. What can you do to build a way in for someone?
Sinéad Burke is the host of her own amazing podcast: As Me with Sinéad Burke. Listen: https://www.lemonadamedia.com/show/as-me-with-sinead-burke/
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http://podcast.meditativestory.com/p/29
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Watching her daughter chase a balloon through a graveyard, Dr. Lucy Kalanithi comes to realize that maybe she can learn from four-year-old Cady. After the death of her husband, Dr. Paul Kalanithi, author of "When Breath Becomes Air," Lucy focuses on Cady, on teaching Cady how to deal with grief and loss. But as Cady bounds through the cemetery, on the way to see her dad, she teaches Lucy. She sees things that Lucy misses. She doesn’t bring as many assumptions to situations, so it’s easier for her to see them as they are. For Cady, right now, at this age, things just are.
Read "When Breath Becomes Air."
Read the transcript for this episode.
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How do you build rapport with another person quickly? How do you bond? Author A.J. Jacobs shares a Meditative Story about the day he found himself on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," and how courage to take a risk might just be the best way to connect with someone else.
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Psychologist and author Susan David invites us into the sad days after she loses her father as a child – and the kind teacher who helped her carve out space to feel her grief and sadness honestly. It's a lesson she takes into her own journey as a parent.
"When we truly see ourselves, we’re more able to see others too." – Susan David
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To truly see what is right in front us, requires the practice of looking, of careful and sustained attention – without expectation or judgment. Join author and essayist Siri Hustvedt on an hours long trip to the museum spent in front of just one painting. And discover more than just what's on the canvas.
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No boys. No dresses. As a teen, Moj Mahdara, founder of the fashion media company Beautycon, knows she’s different. And growing up in a traditional Iranian household, she struggles to reveal her own true identity. When two long-term houseguests descend — her grandmothers — Moj is shocked to learn that each woman has a surprising story of identity of her own. She learns secrets. She also learns that generations before her, family members had fought to define themselves. And it’s through these old souls that Moj finds the strength to stand in her own truth. Listen here.
Hear music from Moj's paternal grandmother, Moluk Anghoz (1934–2007), known as Afat:
See Afat performing at 5:17 in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQlCZ4_PEnk&feature=youtu.be&t=320
and at 9:51 in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW5Cez8pSs8&feature=youtu.be&t=591
One more song from Afat, accompanied by amazing photos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vog2KTa7Juw&feature=youtu.be
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Fluent in cheating time to squeeze productivity out of every minute, entrepreneur Keith Yamashita recounts the frightening details of a devastating stroke as it is actually happening, and discovers the second part of his life. It isn't a medical recovery. It’s an awakening.
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As an actor and a new mom, Catherine Reitman felt pulled between two competing identities. To capture her frustration, her sadness, her truth, she wrote it all down. In sharing her darkness, she found a way to turn a light on for someone else.
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Author and poet Stephen Kuusisto, who is blind, hears life expressed in sound, the weird and wonderful chance music of everyday life. And he's able to find meaning, big and small, in it all.
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When's the last time you hand-wrote a letter? Author Hannah Brencher shares a simple story about the value of connecting on paper.
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In precisely chosen words, the writer, artist and Zen priest Zenju Earthlyn Manuel tells a story from her girlhood, a road trip from LA to Louisiana in 1957. While five-year-old Zenju sits in the back seat dreaming of cowboys, her parents navigate an altogether different landscape. From them, from the trip, Zenju now believes she’s learned how to find her way in the world, in her skin.
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Tuxedo-clad, face covered in makeup, hair slicked and parted in the middle, jumping around a creaky stage, teenage Josh Radnor (now an actor, producer and director) makes a life-changing discovery: He can act. And he loves it. But what to do now? At 16 years old, all Josh knows is that his ambition to act is at odds with everything that surrounds him, and with what he thinks his family expects of him. He can’t imagine the future he is born to live — that is, until a guidance counselor calls him into her office. With a stern order to never stop acting, Josh is seen for the first time. He must borrow courage from that high school guidance counselor until he finds his own courage onstage.
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If you or someone you know may be struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or chat online.
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Host of NPR’s Wait, Wait...Don’t Tell Me!, Peter Sagal is wrecked and stuck in the wake of a divorce. Suddenly, he finds himself with two free weeks. In need of a healthy distraction, Peter jumps on his Harley for a long solo trip out west. Though he has a destination in mind, what he finds on those quiet, desolate, curvy roads is a new focus, a new voice. And though his aim was to fill his time, he begins to appreciate the quiet – where he can actually hear himself.
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What's is like to be an identical twin? Game designer Jane McGonigal tells a story of similarity and divergence as she explores the magic of sharing DNA while becoming an individual.
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Restaurateur Danny Meyer takes us back to where it all began for him: a family trip to Europe and a simple plate of pasta. That memorable meal sparked a lifetime practice of discovery that continues to feed his creativity and his soul.
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While filming one day in the Congo Rainforest, legendary photojournalist John Moore pursued the vision of a perfect photograph -- a vision that literally brought him to his knees. He shares the magic that can occur when you let go of the desire to control the outcome.
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Sitting around tables with arms experts, moving missiles around a map of Europe as if it were a gameboard, On Being's Krista Tippett grabs the moment to dislodge herself from the exhilaration of power. The journey that ensues leads her to a remote cottage in Spain where a chance encounter with a retired accountant, Robert, creates the space to redirect her life forever.
Read Krista's book "Becoming Wise."
Learn about The On Being Project
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Author and journalist Thomas Page McBee takes us into the boxing ring at Madison Square Garden, where he finds answers to some of his most profound questions through fighting – and along the way discovers what happens when you stop trying to win.
Show notes:
Book: Amateur, by Thomas Page McBee
Web: Learn more about writer Thomas Page McBee
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Broadcaster Dan Harris shares a candid look at his attempts to connect more with his son, Alexander, on their first father-son trip.
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For this human moment, join astronomer Michelle Thaller as she contemplates the night sky. We’re such a small part of the universe – and yet so significant within it.
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Renowned astronomer and science commentator Michelle Thaller shares a story about cosmic awe and deep connection — both to our fellow human beings and to the universe around us.
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In a tiny studio in Tampa, Florida, with new-to-the-scene Jennifer Hudson and a Pomeranian dog named Grammy, young music producer Larry Jackson begins to feel the heat. It’s his job to not only make music, but to make hits. And it’s not happening. From an early age, Larry has had to scramble to make things happen for himself – and chance luck has made him a bit superstitious. The creative process can be terribly disheartening when the elusive spark never comes. Sometimes the power of believing – of willing something into reality – is all we have. And that's where Larry's journey begins.
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A glossy picture on the cover of a magazine. That’s all it takes for a teenage Arianna Huffington to decide she’s going to leave her family and home – and the activity and warmth of her mom’s kitchen table – to start something new. Without speaking the language, or even knowing how to get there, Arianna decides she’s going to start a new life in a new place, propelled forward by her mom’s wise sense that life isn’t about winning or losing, it’s about having the adventure.
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Facing a dreaded 20-hour layover after weeks away from home, Pico Iyer sees his best option is to set out and explore a city he never planned to visit in the first place. Pico's expectations, like anyone traveling to a new place for the first time, are to distract himself with new experiences and try to make sense of the world around him. What happens, though, couldn't be more unexpected. A feeling of recognition and familiarity washes over Pico as if he's been there all along. What happens next is anything but a layover.
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Watching her daughter chase a balloon through a graveyard, Dr. Lucy Kalanithi comes to realize that maybe she can learn from four-year-old Cady. After the death of her husband, Dr. Paul Kalanithi, author of "When Breath Becomes Air," Lucy focuses on Cady, on teaching Cady how to deal with grief and loss. But as Cady bounds through the cemetery, on the way to see her dad, she teaches Lucy. She sees things that Lucy misses. She doesn’t bring as many assumptions to situations, so it’s easier for her to see them as they are. For Cady, right now, at this age, things just are.
Read "When Breath Becomes Air."
Read the transcript for this episode.
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Every week, you’ll receive a different Meditative Story from a storyteller who will transport you to the time and place where everything changed for them — a story you might find yourself relating to deeply. As the story unfolds, mindfulness guide Rohan will offer gentle prompts designed to calm your mind and help you connect with your own observations. Your entire experience will be elevated by gorgeous music that rides ethereally above the narrative. Shifting between music and vibration, the sound design brings each Meditative Story to life, with the aim of giving you the headspace to feel restored and refreshed.
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