The Meaningful Life with Andrew G. Marshall

Where did you find inspiration and meaning in 2024? This week sex therapist and friend of the podcast TRACEY COX joins Andrew to reflect on another year of The Meaningful Life, and to discuss the episodes that meant the most to them.  They share highlights from episodes with: Samantha Rodman Whiten (Dr Psych Mom) on Being an Adult Child of Dysfunctional Parents. Jessica Baum on Anxious Attachment. Douglas Thomas on What You Can Learn About Yourself from Your Sexual Fantasies. Robert Glover on People Pleasing Robert Neimeyer on the Six Tasks of Grief Joseph Lee on Jungian Dream Analysis (bonus material) Alan Pearce on Comas and Near-Death Experiences (bonus material).  Subscriber Content This Week  If you’re a subscriber to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Patreon), this week you’ll be hearing:  More things we learned last year and first news on exciting new projects for 2025  AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees. Follow Up Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things  Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools  Buy Great Sex Starts at 50: How to Age-Proof Your Libido by Tracey Cox Get the advice you need on your sex life from Tracey Cox Listen to Tracey Cox and Kelsey Chittick’s SexTok podcast Follow Tracey Cox on social media: Instagram, Facebook and Twitter/X. Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall 

It’s hard to move on social media these days without bumping into a post on gratitude. If you’re wondering what all the fuss is about, this week’s classic interview with Chester Elton, “the apostle of appreciation”, is for you.  According to Chester, gratitude cuts to the heart of who we really are. Gratitude exists at an emotional level and is about WHO is in our lives, WHAT we find meaningful and HOW we live. If we make time for gratitude, we can find a way to live that makes everything less stressful.  Chester and Andrew also discuss the ways we can build gratitude into everyday life, adding meaning and lightness to our daily routines. Chester Elton has carried out extensive research into how gratitude can help us lead in the workplace. His books, co-authored with Adrian Gostick,  include Leading With Gratitude and All In: How the Best Managers Create a Culture of Belief and Drive Big Results. Subscriber Content This Week  If you’re a subscriber to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Patreon), this week you’ll be hearing:  Three things Chester Elton knows to be true. AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees. Follow Up Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things  Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools  Read Chester Elton’s Leading with Gratitude Book  Sign up for Chester Elton’s free LinkedIn newsletter, The Gratitude Journal  Read Chester Elton’s article on Why We Should be Grateful for Hard Times  Read Jay Shetty’s book Think Like A Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day  Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall   

Christmas is a time of heightened emotions: lots of fun, lots of food, plenty of arguments. This year Andrew invites friend of the podcast and love coach CATE MACKENZIE to explore what Christmas means to each of them.  Cate and Andrew discuss: Their best and worst Christmas experiences.  Christmas traditions that work. Most evocative Christmas songs Cultivating the right mindset to make the most of Christmas Accepting pain and disappointment if they arise.  Cate Mackenzie is a COSRT Accredited Sex and Relationship Therapist, Love Coach and Artist. Her passion is supporting people to fall in love with themselves, with life and with others. Cate was the dating coach for Channel 4’s 'The Undateables', a flirting coach on Channel 5's 'The Jeremy Vine Show' and a Sex Therapist on Channel 4's 'Kinky Britain'. Her heart paintings have been sold in 80 countries worldwide through IKEA. Subscriber Content This Week  If you’re a subscriber to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Patreon), this week you’ll be hearing:  Different Christmases for Different Times in Your Life Three things Cate Mackenzie knows to be true. AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees. Follow Up Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things  Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools  Visit Cate Mackenzie’s website  Listen to Cate Mackenzie’s podcast, Love, Pleasure and Joy with Cate Mackenzie Follow Cate Mackenzie on LinkedIn and Twitter @CateMackenzie and Instagram @Catemmackenzie Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall 

Do we need a complete rethink of the rituals we use to mark the end of life? This week Andrew talks to undertaker and author RU CALLENDER about what he’s learnt over the course of his career.  Ru Callender became an undertaker in order to offer people a more honest experience than the stilted formality of traditional ‘Victorian’ funerals. Driven by raw emotion and the unresolved grief of losing his own parents, Ru brought an outsider, ‘DIY’ ethos to the business of death.  Ru has carried coffins across windswept beaches, sat in pubs with caskets on beer-stained tables, helped children fire flaming arrows into their father’s funeral pyre, turned modern occult rituals into performance art and, with the band members of the KLF, is building the People’s Pyramid of bony bricks in Liverpool – all in the name of creating truly authentic experiences that celebrate those who are no longer here and those who remain. Subscriber Content This Week  If you’re a subscriber to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Patreon), this week you’ll be hearing:  How to design a ritual Three things Ru Callender knows to be true. AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees. Follow Up Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things  Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools  Read Ru Callender’s book, What Remains? Life, Death and the Human Art of Undertaking Follow Ru Callender on X/Twitter @wayswithweirds Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall   

What does it mean to be wise? Do we grow in wisdom as we age? Pioneering neuropsychiatric researcher Dr Dilip Jeste has spent years investigating the biological and cognitive roots of wisdom.  In this reissued classic episode, Andrew and Dilip discuss what we mean when we talk about wisdom, and whether we can, in fact, grow wiser. Dilip describes what he has established as the key components of the wise individual: Self-reflection Empathy and compassion (including for yourself) Emotional regulation and resilience Gratitude Openness to new experiences Spirituality Andrew and Dilip also talk about cultural differences in the treatment of older people, and how we miss out when we ignore the wisdom of our parents and grandparents.  Dr Dilip Jeste is a neuropsychiatrist, as well as the author of Wiser: The Scientific Roots of Wisdom, Compassion and What Makes Us Good. Dilip has spent more than 20 years studying aspects of wisdom and healthy aging, and is a professor of psychiatry and neurosciences and the director of the Center for Healthy Aging at UC San Diego. He is also a past president of the American Psychiatric Association.  Subscriber Content This Week  If you’re a subscriber to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Patreon), this week you’ll be hearing:  Three things Dilip Jeste knows to be true. AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees. Follow Up Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things  Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools  Read Dr Dilip Jeste’s book  Wiser: The Scientific Roots of Wisdom, Compassion and What Makes Us Good Visit Dr Dilip Jeste’s website Follow the UC San Diego Center for Healthy Aging on Twitter @UCSDHealthAging and Facebook @ucsd.healthy.aging Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall   

In this engaging discussion, Joseph Lee, a senior certified Jungian analyst and co-host of This Jungian Life, delves into the hidden meanings behind our dreams. He emphasizes the transformative potential of dream analysis as a tool for self-discovery. Listeners learn techniques to document dreams, interpret their symbolic significance, and explore the tension between personal fears and growth. Through the analysis of a vivid dream about a dinosaur egg, Joseph illustrates how dreams can catalyze profound changes in our lives.

Matthew Fray shares his poignant journey through divorce, emphasizing how small issues can lead to major relationship breakdowns. He discusses the importance of emotional vulnerability and the societal pressures men face in expressing feelings. The conversation also highlights the devastating effects of emotional invalidation and the necessity of clear communication in co-parenting. Fray offers tools for rebuilding trust and intimacy, aiming to equip men with the emotional skills to foster healthier relationships and prevent future failures.

Mark Dean, a Jungian psychoanalyst and former art therapist, shares insights on creativity as a healing tool. He discusses how art transcends rational thought, connecting us to our souls. Mark highlights the psychological benefits of engaging with creativity, even in areas where we feel least talented. He explores the interplay between dreams and consciousness, revealing how creative expression can aid self-discovery. The conversation also touches on nurturing relationships and the importance of self-care drawn from fairy tales and personal narratives.

“Midlife is when those dreams we had when we were young but put aside to earn a living or raise a family can finally be revisited; it’s never too late to be what you wanted to be”.  This is the philosophy of Noon, a community for women in midlife created by Eleanor Mills. Eleanor experienced her own reckoning with midlife after leaving her job with the Sunday Times, confronting an empty nest and dealing with Covid. She embarked on a journey to explore new ways of living and find her “next act”. In this classic episode, Eleanor and Andrew discuss shifting your perspective on midlife and seeing it as a space without a map. Unlike your twenties, thirties and even forties, there are few expectations around family and career, meaning you can chart your own way and be what you’ve always wanted to be.  If you’re feeling lost or alone after decades of putting other people first, or are exhausted dealing with midlife stresses like divorce, bereavement, redundancy, difficult teens, elderly parents or health problems, then this is the episode for you.  Eleanor Mills is a British journalist who has worked for titles including The Sunday Times and The Times. She was the editorial director of The Sunday Times and editor of its magazine until March 2020. Eleanor is also the founder of https://www.noon.org.uk and  inherspace.co.uk  Subscriber Content This Week  If you’re a subscriber to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Patreon), this week you’ll be hearing:  Three Things Eleanor Mills knows to be true. AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees. Follow Up Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things  Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools Visit the Noon website and community created by Eleanor Mills.  Follow Eleanor on Twitter @EleanorMills, on Instagram @eleanorkjmills and on LinkedIn Find out more about Claire Du Bois and her Tree Sisters organisation. Take a look at Jarvis Smith’s business My Green Pod. Read Raynor Winn’s book The Salt Path Join our Supporters Club to access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.  Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall 

In this captivating discussion, Robert Carabelli, a physician, author, and spiritual teacher, reveals his top strategies for reigniting passion in long-term relationships. He emphasizes the divine nature of sex and encourages couples to embrace ongoing growth in their intimate lives. Topics include understanding sexual dynamics and desires, the role of self-care in maintaining intimacy, and how tapping into energetic systems can enhance connection. With insights on communication and mindfulness, Robert provides a roadmap for couples to keep their love alive.