The Meaningful Life with Andrew G. Marshall

Martina Schneider is a psychologist and a teacher of Vipassana meditation. Her work with clients combines a therapeutic and a spiritual approach. In this episode, she talks with Andrew about her own spiritual journey, including intensive study of the Vedanta tradition in India and being ordained as a nun. Martina offers her thoughts on the time and the deep commitment it requires truly to understand the self and to be at peace with it.   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  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/  Read Andrew’s thoughts on what to do if you or your partner feel like you’re in the throes of what society would call a midlife crisis: https://andrewgmarshall.com/ten-tell-tale-signs-midlife-crisis/  Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on: Twitter https://twitter.com/andrewgmarshall  Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AndrewGMarshallTherapy  YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF5gT7ru5sblpFaU2-iWTTw 

Joe Horton founded Guild of Dads after losing his own father in 2015. This huge loss launched him on a journey of self-discovery, during which he was able to shape a vision for himself and begin to create a more meaningful life.  Joe’s Guild of Dads podcast and growing social movement now help many other dads to reflect on their own lives and pinpoint the ways they can take action to find meaning. Joe’s “Vision + Action = Meaning” equation is helping many men take back control and find the fulfilment they need. In this episode, Andrew and Joe discuss the ways in which lack of meaning is having a catastrophic effect on many dads’ lives. They talk through the main obstacles and “saboteurs” that prevent dads from making essential changes.   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 Joe’s Guild of Dads podcast here: https://bit.ly/GODpodcast  Get a free copy of Joe’s ebook The V.A.M. Blueprint: https://bit.ly/VAMebook  Drop an email to Joe at joe@guildofdads.com if you’re interested in joining his new support group for dads.  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://bit.ly/wakeupandchange  Read Andrew’s thoughts on what to do if you or your partner feel like you’re in the throes of what society would call a midlife crisis: https://bit.ly/midlifecrisisblog  Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on: Twitter https://twitter.com/andrewgmarshall  Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AndrewGMarshallTherapy  YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF5gT7ru5sblpFaU2-iWTTw 

In 2017, Rachel Weiss watched a TV programme about the menopause and was inspired to hold a Menopause Café. This has now turned into an international movement of pop-up events where women and the men in their lives meet to drink tea, eat cake and talk menopause. The Menopause Café is modelled on the Death Café movement, founded by Jon Underwood.  In this episode, Rachel and Andrew talk about women’s experiences of menopause and the impact on their lives and relationships. The menopause has long been a taboo subject, and raises profound issues of shame and silence around the female body. Women have suffered due to the lack of knowledge or public conversation about the menopause, and so have their partners.  The Menopause Cafe is playing a crucial role in an increasingly more open discourse on the menopause, helping women to live through this stage of their lives with understanding rather than fear and loneliness.  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  Find out more about the Menopause Café  www.menopausecafe.net Rachel has written about the Menopause Café in “M-Boldened: Menopause Conversations We All Need to Have” The world’s only Menopause Festival takes place on April 30th and May 1st 2021 #FlushFest2021 in Perth, Scotland, and online. The Menopause Café  was inspired by the Death Café - learn more here: www.deathcafe.com  Learn about Rachel’s work with coaching and counselling clients at Rowan Consultancy www.rowan-consultancy.co.uk or find out about enrolling on the COSCA Certificate in Counselling Skills, a 120-hour course online or face-to-face, starting August 2021. Find out more about dealing with midlife and the relationship issues it can cause in Andrew’s book It’s Not a Midlife Crisis, It’s an Opportunity  https://bit.ly/midlifecrisisbook  Read Andrew’s advice on some of the common issues faced inside long-term marriages in his article on avoiding the “silver divorce”: https://bit.ly/silverdivorce  Follow Rachel on:  Twitter: @Menopause_Cafe @Rowan_Rachel @Rowanconsult Instagram: @Menopause_Cafe Facebook: www.facebook.com/menocafe17 and www.facebook.com/RowanConsultancy YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/RowanConsultancy Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on: Twitter https://twitter.com/andrewgmarshall  Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AndrewGMarshallTherapy  YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF5gT7ru5sblpFaU2-iWTTw

Guardian columnist Tim Dowling has spent thirteen years chronicling his marriage and family life for the Weekend magazine. His self-deprecating humour and determinedly cynical approach have made him hugely popular with readers. Rare is the Saturday Guardian reader who doesn’t flip first to the magazine to see what’s happening with Tim’s pets, banjo career and family.  In this episode, Tim and Andrew discuss the layers that go into a joke. What exactly is it that we’re doing when we laugh at ourselves and our own life? Humour can be about storytelling, making sense of the past, finding honesty and creating meaning. It can be a defence mechanism, and a form of self-protection for the intensely shy.  Tim’s readers have watched him move from the chaos of working and parenting younger children to a different stage of midlife. The column has changed, and so has everyone featured in it. Andrew and Tim discuss new hobbies, the relaxation that can come with being older, and the boundaries that need to go up when writing about family for so long.  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 Tim Dowling’s audiobook How To Be Happy All The Time: The Unexpected Joys of Being a Cynic: Everything Bad Is Good for You https://www.audible.com/pd/How-to-Be-Happy-All-the-Time-Audiobook/1529345014 Find out more about dealing with midlife and the relationship issues it can cause in Andrew’s book It’s Not a Midlife Crisis, It’s an Opportunity  https://andrewgmarshall.com/book/its-not-a-midlife-crisis-its-an-opportunity-how-to-be-forty-or-fifty-something-without-going-off-the-rails/  Read about Andrew’s memoir, My Mourning Year https://mymourningyear.com  Read about Ken Wilber’s book, No Boundary: Eastern and Western Approaches to Personal Growth https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/449818.No_Boundary  Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on: Twitter https://twitter.com/andrewgmarshall  Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AndrewGMarshallTherapy  YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF5gT7ru5sblpFaU2-iWTTw    

So much of the meaning we find in life comes from reaching out to help others. Charlotte Fielder has been the Head of Volunteering and Fostering at London’s famous Battersea Dogs and Cats Home since 2015. She finds intense meaning in giving animals a second chance and supporting the Battersea volunteers who work for love, not money.  Charlotte is herself a failed foster carer after rehoming Max in August 2017. Dogs have been an enormous part of her life, and she talks with Andrew about the magic of dogs in family relationships and the joy and meaning they bring to individuals.  Charlotte has also worked extensively to support children with upper limb difference. She is a patron of EDRIC (The European Dysmelia Reference Information Centre) a not for profit organisation that shares knowledge with those affected by congenital limb loss. She is also the author of ‘Shared Experiences,’ a resource for the families of these children. Charlotte worked for 33 years in UK Government agencies including the Home Office and National Criminal Intelligence Service before leaving to work in volunteer services at a hospice. Her desire was to spend the last ten years of her working life making a difference, and when she arrived in Battersea in 2015 she felt she was “coming home”.  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  Learn about the European Dysmelia Reference Information Centre https://www.dysnet.org  Discover Andrew’s memoir, The Power of Dog, about how his dog Flash helped him recover from the loss of his partner. https://andrewgmarshall.com/the-power-of-dog/  Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on: Twitter https://twitter.com/andrewgmarshall  Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AndrewGMarshallTherapy  YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF5gT7ru5sblpFaU2-iWTTw 

Why are so many working parents exhausted? Why does it often feel so unfulfilling switching between a demanding job and doing our best as parents? Anita Cleare’s new book, The Work/Parent Switch, explores the challenge of moving between driven, goal-oriented professional mode, and the looser, more mindful state needed to parent. Anita talks with Andrew about creative ways to switch between the two states, and about how modern parents can benefit from doing less for their children. Anita Cleare (MA AdvDip) is a parenting expert, writer and coach. She is the co-founder of the Positive Parenting Project, a social enterprise which aims to bring the benefits of proven evidence-based parenting strategies to as many parents (and children) as possible. 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  Get Anita Cleare’s new book, The Work/Parent Switch https://www.anitacleare.co.uk/get-support/the-work-parent-switch/ Read Anita’s blog, Thinking Parenting, and find out about her parenting webinars and private parenting coaching here: https://www.anitacleare.co.uk/ Read Andrew’s book I Love You But You Always Put Me Last: How To Child-Proof Your Marriage https://andrewgmarshall.com/book/i-love-you-but-you-always-put-me-last-how-to-child-proof-your-marriage/  If you’re struggling to connect with your partner and are labouring under the strain of work and parenting, read Andrew’s blog “Three Secrets of a Happy Relationship” https://andrewgmarshall.com/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 https://twitter.com/andrewgmarshall  Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AndrewGMarshallTherapy  YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF5gT7ru5sblpFaU2-iWTTw   

Please note - this episode of The Meaningful Life podcast contains references to gender based violence which may be distressing for some listeners In 2000, Susie Kalich survived a violent attack by a stranger in her home in Los Angeles. As part of her recovery, she sought martial arts training to learn self defense basics. She enrolled in Ninpo Tai Jutsu with Sensei Chad Minge at Studio City Martial Arts in the San Fernando Valley. Eight years later, she became the first woman in the history of the school to reach the rank Shodan Menkyu under her teacher’s system, and earn her instructor’s license.  In this episode, Susie talks to Andrew about rebuilding physically and emotionally after a severe trauma. She describes her pioneering work on making self defensible accessible and usable for women, culminating in her program and app, Pretty Deadly Self Defense. Pretty Deadly is based on Susie’s own experiences and recovery as a violent crime survivor, and on her day-to-day encounters in the real world.  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  Download Susie’s Pretty Deadly App for self defense https://prettydeadlyselfdefense.com/app Take a look at Susie’s programmes and courses on the Pretty Deadly website https://prettydeadlyselfdefense.com or learn more about her life and experiences here http://susiekahlich.com Listen to the Pretty Deadly Podcast: https://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:710830558/sounds.rss Read articles by Susie on Medium: https://susiekahlich.medium.com/ Follow Susie on social media:  Facebook https://facebook.com/prettydeadlyselfdefense Twitter: https://twitter.com/susiekahlich Instagram (Pretty Deadly): https://instagram.com/prettydeadlyofficial Instagram (Susie Kahlich): https://instagram.com/susiekahlich Read Andrew’s blog “Seven Ways to Cope with Painful Feelings” https://andrewgmarshall.com/seven-ways-to-cope-with-painful-feelings/  Get Andrew’s 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: https://twitter.com/andrewgmarshall  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndrewGMarshallTherapy  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF5gT7ru5sblpFaU2-iWTTw 

Too many men struggle to be happy in their intimate relationships, and fail to find a healthy version of masculinity that works for them. Disconnected males, without a strong sense of inner guidance, can behave destructively and even abusively towards those around them.  In the fourth episode of The Meaningful Life With Andrew G. Marshall, Andrew talks to Jed Diamond PhD, founder of MenAlive, about his own journey. Jed explains how he came to heal his “family father wound” and how he has helped thousands of men to do the same.  A big part of this is investigating our “personal creation myth”: unearthing the trauma of our origins, dealing with the truth, and moving forward with honesty and love. Also crucial is learning to be in the company of other men. It is only when a man can be comfortable in his own skin, with other men, that he can build successful intimate relations.  Jed Diamond PhD has a Masters degree in Social Work and a PhD in International Health. He founded MenAlive in 1968 as a resource for men to build healthy lives and eliminate the stresses that undermine their health and wreck their relationships. He is the author of many well-received books on men’s health and masculinity.  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  Find out more about Jed Diamond’s book My Distant Dad: Healing the Family Father Wound https://menalive.com/my-distant-dad/  Read about Jed Diamond’s book 12 Rules for Good Men https://menalive.com/12-rules-for-good-men/  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/  Read Andrew’s thoughts on what to do if you or your partner feel like you’re in the throes of what society would call a midlife crisis: https://andrewgmarshall.com/ten-tell-tale-signs-midlife-crisis/  Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on: Twitter https://twitter.com/andrewgmarshall  Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AndrewGMarshallTherapy  YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF5gT7ru5sblpFaU2-iWTTw 

What is life like if you don’t fit into any of mainstream society’s ideas of gender or sexuality? Do any of us really fit those ideas, anyway?  In this episode, Finn Ballard talks about life as a transgender man, and his experiences growing up as a trans child in a traditional town in Northern Ireland. Finn talks about his search for an authentic life in a world that is so often hostile to trans people, and the empowerment and joy that has come from being open about who he really is.  Finn Ballard is a historian and tour guide based in Berlin, and also teaches Gender Studies and Media Studies at the Council on International Educational Exchange, an English-speaking institute in Berlin.  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  If you can make it to the glorious city that is Berlin, be sure to take one of Finn’s guided tours: http://www.finn-ballard-tours.com  Get Andrew’s advice on creating the positive change you’ve dreamed of making in your own life: 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 https://twitter.com/andrewgmarshall  Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AndrewGMarshallTherapy  YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF5gT7ru5sblpFaU2-iWTTw 

Have you ever felt so defeated and frustrated that you want to just throw in the towel and run away? Author Kay Hutchison did exactly that, fleeing her annual holiday to the Cote d’Azur, moving out of her home, and leaving behind her marriage and a well-established career.  In seeking to understand what forced this huge rupture in a previously smooth existence, Kay tried a range of mainstream and alternative therapies. In the end, she took part in 37 different forms of therapy to explore her particular midlife crisis and experience of the menopause. From colonic irrigation through to Shamanic therapy, Kay found solace and insight that she was able to share in her powerful book, My Life in 37 Therapies.  In this second episode of The Meaningful Life with Andrew G. Marshall, Kay and Andrew explore the many different ways in which therapy can help us cope with midlife and its tendency to throw at us so many of the unresolved issues of early 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. https://www.patreon.com/andrewgmarshall  Buy My Life in 37 Therapies by Kay Hutchison https://kayhutchison.com  Find out more about dealing with midlife and the relationship issues it can cause in Andrew’s book It’s Not a Midlife Crisis, It’s an Opportunity. https://andrewgmarshall.com/book/its-not-a-midlife-crisis-its-an-opportunity-how-to-be-forty-or-fifty-something-without-going-off-the-rails/  Read Andrew’s advice on some of the common issues faced inside long-term marriages in his article on avoiding the “silver divorce”: https://andrewgmarshall.com/are-you-facing-long-term-marriage-problems-how-to-avoid-the-silver-divorce/  Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on: Twitter https://twitter.com/andrewgmarshall  Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AndrewGMarshallTherapy  YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF5gT7ru5sblpFaU2-iWTTw