The Meaningful Life with Andrew G. Marshall

Venus O’Hara plans to change the world, one orgasm at a time. She believes women are equally as sexual as men, and should have the time and space to embrace their multi-orgasmic potential. Venus is a British orgasm activist, author and feminist based in Barcelona. She has a hugely popular YouTube channel on which she discusses the female orgasm and leading a healthy and authentic orgasmic lifestyle. Venus and Andrew discuss many aspects of Venus’ journey, including her expertise in fetishism (which Venus sees as an intelligent, imaginative approach to sex, fascinating in its eroticisation of the non-sexual), and her career change from real estate sales to online businesswoman, writer and activist.  Follow Up 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: https://www.patreon.com/andrewgmarshall  Watch videos on Venus O’Hara’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/venusohara/about  Go to Venus O’Hara’s website and membership programme: https://venusohara.org  Follow Venus on Twitter @venusohara1111 and Instagram @venusohara  Take a look at the Pro 2 sex toy by Satisfyer: https://www.satisfyer.com/es/en/products/air-pulse-technology/air-pulse-stimulators/2/pro-2 Read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30186948-think-and-grow-rich  Read Andrew’s book Have the Sex You Want: A Couple’s Guide to Getting Back the Spark: https://andrewgmarshall.com/book/have-the-sex-you-want-a-couples-guide-to-getting-back-the-spark/ Read Andrew’s blog How To Have the Sex You Want: https://andrewgmarshall.com/have-the-sex-you-want-frequently-asked-questions/  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 

Who is your favourite literary character? According to Dr Josh Cohen, an academic working in literary theory and also a psychoanalyst, this can be a very important question. Josh Cohen’s new book is How to Live. What To Do: In search of ourselves in life and literature. He believes that there are major similarities between psychoanalysis and great literature. For one thing, neither offers simple answers to complex questions.  With books, you have the opportunity to see the world through the eyes of someone else, understand what makes them click and why they do what they do. With analysis, which is generally over several years, you do something similar with your unconscious, and come to understand yourself better. In this episode Josh and Andrew discuss the books that have stayed with them throughout their lives. They also touch on the essential quality of imagination in childhood, and why we all need to “be more Alice”.  Josh Cohen is a professor of modern literary theory at Goldsmiths, University of London, and a psychoanalyst in private practice. He is the author of many books on aspects of modern life. Follow Up 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 Read Josh Cohen’s new book How to Live. What To Do: In search of ourselves in life and literature  Read Josh Cohen’s book Not Working: Why We Have To Stop  Read Andrew’s book reviews on Goodreads Get Andrew’s advice on creating change in your life and relationships in his book Wake Up and Change Your Life: How to Survive a Crisis and Be Stronger, Wiser and Happier 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 

“Think globally, act joyfully” is Isabel Losada’s motto. Her most recent book is The Joyful Environmentalist, which shows how one person can make a huge difference to the health of the planet. Few of us these days are strangers to climate anxiety, and Isabel’s approach is the ideal medicine: her aim is to show her reader every single way that we can take care of our natural environment: how we live and work, travel, shop, eat, drink, dress, vote, play, volunteer, bank - everything Isabel Losada is a British author, journalist and public speaker who combines humour with a serious look at her subject matter. She has worked as an actress, broadcaster and public speaker as well as a comedian and author.  Isabel  remains firmly committed to narrative non-fiction & swimming against the tide. Follow Up 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. Read The Joyful Environmentalist Take a look at Isabel Losada’s website Explore Isabel’s other narrative non-fiction Follow Isabel on Twitter Facebook and Pinterest @IsabelLosada and on Instagram @isabeljmlosada Get Andrew’s advice on creating real change in your life and relationships in his book Wake Up and Change Your Life: How to Survive a Crisis and Be Stronger, Wiser and Happier:  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 

“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”. 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 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.  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  Follow Up 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: https://www.patreon.com/andrewgmarshall  Visit the Noon website and community created by Eleanor Mills: https://www.noon.org.uk/about/  Follow Eleanor on Twitter @EleanorMills, on Instagram @eleanorkjmills and on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanor-mills-88a8a827/  Find out more about Claire Du Bois and her Tree Sisters organisation: https://treesisters.org  Take a look at Jarvis Smith’s business My Green Pod https://www.mygreenpod.com  Read Raynor Winn’s book The Salt Path: https://bit.ly/3d7af1S  Listen to Andrew’s interview with Kay Hutchison, author of My Life In 37 Therapies: https://bit.ly/3zUMLa3  Read Andrew’s advice on keeping a journal of your life and emotions at https://andrewgmarshall.com/top-twelve-benefits-of-journaling/  Get Andrew’s advice on creating real change in your life and relationships in his book Wake Up and Change Your Life: How to Survive a Crisis and Be Stronger, Wiser and Happier: https://andrewgmarshall.com/book/wake-up-and-change-your-life-how-to-survive-a-crisis-and-be-stronger-wiser-and-happier/  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 

So many of us have experienced depression, and if not, we’re likely to have seen the people we love battle it. This week’s guest, Kate Lucey, specialises in writing about mental health. She talks candidly with Andrew  about her own depression and the six-year journey she’s been on since her diagnosis: including physical symptoms and the effects on her personal relationships.  Kate and Andrew also take a deep dive into what depression means - what might cause it, how therapy can help, and some exercises that have helped Kate to manage when feeling overwhelmed.  Kate Lucey is an author, journalist and public speaker, who has been at the forefront of opening up the conversation about mental health. Kate also specialises in helping brands talk to millennials. Her most recent book is Get a Grip, Love: and Other Helpful Mental Health Advice  “a candid book that uses a mix of colloquial chat, peer and personal experience, and expert advice to talk about tackling mental illness as part of the generation so often poked fun at for having feelings – and who often call themselves out for it, too”. Follow Up 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. Read Kate Lucey’s book Get A Grip Love  Follow Kate on Twitter @KateLucey_  Read The Wisdom of Depression by Jonathan Zeuss Read Swamplands of the Soul by James Hollis Read Andrew’s blog “How to Heal from Trauma: Six Key Ways to Deal With Trauma” Read Andrew’s book on making meaningful change in your life Wake Up and Change Your Life: How to Survive a Crisis and be Stronger, Wiser and Happier 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 

If the thought of cooking another family dinner is making you tired, this week’s episode might bring joy back to your kitchen. After all, at its best, cooking for friends and family is a powerful way to express love. Food can also help to create a sense of adventure and cultural curiosity in our children. In difficult times, eating together can be healing and rejuvenating. This week’s guest is Claire Thomson, a British chef and food writer who has written five cookbooks. Claire is known to many via her Instagram account @5oclockapron, which documents a family life centred on cooking together using a wonderful range of inspiring ingredients.  Follow Up 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 Take a look at Claire Thomson’s website  Get Claire’s book Home Cookery Year And follow Claire’s hugely popular Instagram account @5oclockapron  Get Andrew’s advice on creating real change in your life and relationships in his book Wake Up and Change Your Life: How to Survive a Crisis and Be Stronger, Wiser and Happier Read Andrew’s book on building a stronger relationship as parents: I Love You But You Always Put Me Last: How to Child-Proof Your Marriage 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 you struggle to sleep, your mind buzzing with worries about the future? Do you compare yourself to others and find yourself always coming up short? This week’s episode is all about ditching overthinking and seeking happiness that isn’t determined by external circumstances.  Richard Paterson, my guest this week, has trained throughout his life to quiet the thinking mind and unearth “ a treasure trove of uncaused peace, joy, love and perfect contentment waiting to be discovered—your true Self”. Richard spent much of his twenties and thirties training in Indian ashrams, learning from spiritual masters about meditation and the causes of human suffering. He is trained in techniques of mindfulness and has taken vows as a monk. Richard has travelled the world teaching meditation and mindfulness and is the author of several books.  Follow Up 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. Take a look at Richard Paterson’s website  Read Richard’s books Kick the Thinking Habit and Awaken the Happy You  Read Andrew’s advice on keeping a journal of your life and emotions  Get Andrew’s advice on creating real change in your life and relationships in his book Wake Up and Change Your Life: How to Survive a Crisis and Be Stronger, Wiser and Happier 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 

How can we learn to be at ease in our bodies so that we can be fully “in the moment” during sex? Anxiety about body image is one of the biggest obstacles to a happy, fulfilled sex life. Many people seek therapy to help them relax and enjoy sex with their partner, others struggle on in low-sex or no-sex relationships.  This week Andrew talks to Kate Moyle, Psychosexual and Relationship Therapist, about the knots we tie ourselves up in over how we look. Our culture’s esteem for youth and beauty, (expressed in social media images of physical perfection) can make it very hard to inhabit our normal, imperfect bodies. Yet the self-confidence we need to enjoy sex is grounded in how we feel, not how we look.  As well as her work as a therapist, Kate Moyle is host of The Sexual Wellness Sessions Podcast, and also appeared on BBC Three’s Sex on the Couch. Kate helps people to work through challenges in their sex lives and relationships; moving towards a place of sexual health, happiness and wellbeing. Her podcast hosts discussions that focus on normalising sex and relationships talk, and tackling the topics that are often left out of mainstream conversation; and she is a regular media contributor on the topic of sex and relationships.   Follow Up 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: https://www.patreon.com/andrewgmarshall  Listen to Kate Moyle’s The Sexual Wellness Sessions Podcast:  Take a look at Kate’s website Follow Kate on Instagram @katemoyletherapy Read Andrew’s book Have the Sex You Want: a Couple’s Guide to Getting the Spark Back Read Andrew’s blog Three Secrets of a Happy Relationship 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 

Are you one of the many people who end up shocked by the ultimate similarity of romantic relationships that felt very different starting out? Why is it that we find the same patterns repeating, the same problems coming up over and over? In this episode, Andrew talks to author and attachment theory specialist Tara Blair-Ball. Tara explains how attachment theory - which is grounded in analysis of how we bonded to our mother as infants - can help us understand these patterns. Andrew and Tara emphasise that rather than dwelling on the particular faults of partner A and partner B, we can try to understand how our earliest relationships in life have determined later ones. This will help us make the changes that can lead to more meaningful and more fulfilling relationships.  Tara Blair Ball is a Certified Relationship Coach, as well as the author of several books on love and relationships. Her content on relationships and dating has been viewed more than 6 million times.  Follow Up 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.  Take a look at Tara Blair Ball’s website Follow Tara on TikTok @tara.relationshipcoach or on Twitter @tarablairball Read Tara’s books The Beginning of the End and Stop Wasting Your Time on Women Who Don't Want You.   Read Emerson Eggerichs’ book Love & Respect: The Love She Most Desires; The Respect He Desperately Needs  Read Gary Chapman’s book The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts  Read Andrew’s book on making meaningful change in your life, which also discusses attachment theory Wake Up and Change Your Life: How to Survive a Crisis and be Stronger, Wiser and Happier 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 

Are you a prisoner of your own way of thinking about life? If we step back and reframe our thoughts about work, relationships or family, we can find that there is more meaning and happiness in our life than we ever expected. In this episode, Andrew talks to Elaine Dundon of the Global Meaning Institute about being a prisoner of our thoughts and about finding meaning at work, even if we see our job as unrewarding or uninspiring. Elaine also explains the profound influence of Victor Frankl’s work, in particular his book Man’s Search for Meaning. Elaine Dundon is the co-founder of the Global Meaning Institute and has also developed a unique study and practice of Meaning called MEANINGology. She has held senior leadership positions in three Fortune 500 companies, and developed a groundbreaking course on Innovation Management at the University of Toronto. She is the author of three best-selling books on meaning and innovation. She also writes regularly for Psychology Today.  Follow Up 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. Take a look at the website of The Global Meaning Institute Find out more about Elaine Dundon’s books Prisoners of Our Thoughts, The OPA! Way and The Seeds of Innovation  Read Elaine’s columns in Psychology Today Follow Elaine on Twitter Find Victor Frankl’s book Man’s Search for Meaning Read Andrew’s book Resolve Your Differences: Seven Steps for Dealing With Conflict in Your Relationship Read Andrew’s book on making meaningful change in your life Wake Up and Change Your Life: How to Survive a Crisis and be Stronger, Wiser and Happier 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