The Meaningful Life with Andrew G. Marshall

Can the ancient teachings of Zen Buddhism help us engage with the challenges work, family and relationships throw our way? Teacher, author and Zen Buddhist priest Peter Coyote believes that they can: his new book, Zen in the Vernacular: Things As It Is, argues that Zen can be both a creative problem-solving mechanism and a moral guide; ideal for the stresses and problems we face day-to-day. Andrew and Peter discuss: How Peter found Buddhism and became a Zen Buddhist priest.  Why Buddhism ISN’T about turning away from the world. Why we need more than just “self-help”. How Zen Buddhism helps us engage with the suffering we see in the world. The importance of meditation. The usefulness of Buddhist teachings like The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. Peter Coyote is an award-winning actor, narrator, and Zen teacher. He is recognized for his acting in 160 films including E.T., Outrageous Fortune, Bitter Moon and Cross Creek, and his narration work in over 140 documentaries. He narrated the PBS series The Pacific Century, winning an Emmy Award, as well as fourteen Ken Burns documentaries, including The Roosevelts, for which he won a second Emmy. In 2011 he was ordained as a Zen Buddhist priest and in 2015 received “transmission” from his teacher, making him an independent Zen teacher who has ordained his own priests. His latest book is Zen in the Vernacular: Things As It Is, and he is also the author of several volumes of poetry.  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 Peter Coyote’s book Zen in the Vernacular: Things As It Is Visit Peter Coyote’s website  Follow Peter Coyote on Facebook @AuthenticPeterCoyote   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  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 isn’t hard as a parent to find advice on breastfeeding, your child’s education or managing their behaviour. What’s rarer is insight into how the parenting journey changes us as a person. Yet, becoming a mother is a unique opportunity to realise the self more fully. In this reissue of a classic episode, Andrew and Lisa take a deep dive into motherhood: how it connects us to previous and next generations, how easy it is to be “devoured” by the experience of mothering, and what it means to feel rage as a mother.  Lisa Marchiano is a Jungian therapist from Philadelphia, the co-host of the podcast This Jungian Life, and the author of Motherhood: Facing and Finding Yourself. Lisa is also the parent of two young adults. 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 Lisa Marchiano 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  Take a look at Lisa Marchiano’s book Motherhood: Facing and Finding Yourself Listen to the podcast This Jungian Life  Find out about  Dream School, This Jungian Life’s twelve-month online course that teaches people how to work with their own dreams.  Follow Lisa Marchiano on Twitter and Instagram @lisamarchiano Find James Hollis’ essay “Free your children from you” in his book Living an Examined Life. 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. 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  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 

Many couples come to me complaining of a dissatisfying love life: some are in a low-sex or no-sex relationship, while others experience sex as boring and mechanical. In this episode, Diana Richardson shares her “Slow Sex” program, and suggests how you can create a more loving sexual partnership, well into old age.  We discuss: Tantric sex, love and sexual fulfilment. How to make sex a conscious decision, not an accidental encounter  How slowness increases sensitivity and awakens the body’s innate mechanism for ecstasy  The healing spiritual power of slow sex.  Diana Richardson is considered one of today’s leading authorities on human sexuality, and she is known as the pioneer of Slow Sex. She has written eight books on how a person can experience a more fulfilling sex and love life.  Born in South Africa in 1954, she first qualified as a lawyer and then trained as a massage therapist in the UK. Her interest in the body and healing prompted an intense personal exploration into the union of sex and meditation - the essence of Tantra. Since 1993, together with her partner, Michael, she has been sharing her insights and experiences with couples who travel from many different parts of the world to participate in their informative and life changing ‘Making Love’ Retreats in Switzerland. 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 Discuss Sex With Your Partner Three things Diana Richardson 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 https://courses.andrewgmarshall.com/relationship-tools  Visit Diana Richardson’s website. Watch Diana Richardson’s TEDx talk on The Power of Mindful Sex Read Diana Richardson’s books, including  Tantric Sex for Lovers  Tantric Orgasm for Women Tantric Sex for Men   Slow Sex  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 

Guardian columnist Tim Dowling has spent decades 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.  In this classic 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.  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 Tim Dowling 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 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 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. 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 engaging conversation, Bud Harris, a Jungian analyst with over 40 years of experience, offers insights on 'sacred selfishness'—a path to self-love and authenticity. He discusses how to balance self-care with family responsibilities and the importance of embracing one's shadow self for personal growth. The talk also highlights the significance of self-forgiveness, navigating loss, and the transformative journey of individuation. Harris encourages listeners to cultivate a life filled with meaning while maintaining genuine connections with others.

Some of us try our best never to think about death, while some of us “live in death’s basement”. Composer, academic and psychoanalyst Paul Attinello lived through the suffering and loss of the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. After testing positive for HIV/AIDS, he built a creative and achievement-filled life, over which death nevertheless always loomed.  Then, the advent of lifesaving medications changed everything. Paul had to define a whole new relationship with mortality, as well as experiencing a profound sense of loss for what life might have been like without the spectre of HIV/AIDS.  In this reissued classic episode, Andrew and Paul discuss music, psychoanalysis, and the different ways humans live with the knowledge of their own mortality. Paul Attinello is an academic and psychoanalyst based in Newcastle University’s International Centre for Music Studies. He also taught at the University of Hong Kong and UCLA, living and working on four continents in the past three decades. 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 Paul Attinello 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 Find out more about Paul Attinello here  Take a look at Paul Attinello’s research work Watch Psychosocial Wednesdays, a YouTube channel hosted by Paul Attinello and his colleagues. It offers weekly salons on Jungian ideas and other aspects of psychoanalysis. Read Andrew’s memoir on grieving the loss of his partner, My Mourning Year  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 

Modern life - careers, technology, the pressures of parenting - can get in the way of our need to form strong attachments to other humans.  According to therapist and author Charisse Cooke, when it comes to our intimate relationships, we are increasingly acting from a place of fear. We're scared we will choose the wrong person, or the person we are with doesn't love us enough. We're scared to get close. We're scared to be on our own. We're scared the one we love is pulling away. We are not securely attached.  Often, our childhood experiences are at the root of our attachment difficulties, meaning that our need to protect ourselves can become greater than our need to love.  In this episode, Andrew and Charisse explore different attachment styles, as well as tools and strategies to create positive and secure attachments. 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 Nurture Trust Three things Charisse Cooke 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 Charisse Cooke’s book, The Attachment Solution  Visit Charisse Cooke’s website Follow Charisse Cooke on Instagram @charissecooke and on X/Twitter @CharisseCooke3 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 

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 this classic episode of The Meaningful Life, 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.  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 Jed Diamond 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  Find out more about Jed Diamond’s book My Distant Dad: Healing the Family Father Wound Read about Jed Diamond’s book 12 Rules for Good Men  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/  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 

Therapist and author Dr Kathleen Smith discusses breaking the pattern of seeking approval, building a solid sense of self, and forming authentic relationships. Topics include relationship dynamics, anxiety language, and setting boundaries.

We all think of infidelity as something that happens to someone else. When betrayal enters our own safe universe, it comes as a terrible shock. Many couples confronting infidelity end up re-examining just about everything in their lives: not just their marriage, but their work, their relationships with family and friends, and how they find meaning and fulfilment. Sometimes it can even be these couples who end up with the strongest partnerships of all. Caroline Madden, PhD is a Los Angeles based pro-marriage therapist who specializes in helping marriages recover after infidelity. Caroline is the author of several relationship books including: "Fool Me Once: Should I Take Back My Cheating Husband?" and "After a Good Man Cheats: How to Rebuild Trust & Intimacy With Your Wife” and “Blindsided by His Betrayal”.  In this classic episode, Caroline and Andrew draw on decades of shared experience working with couples affected by infidelity. They talk through the complex, painful process of rebuilding after the discovery of betrayal.  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 Caroline Madden 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  Listen to Caroline’s book Blindsided by Betrayal on Audible, and take a look at her other books, Fool Me Once: Should I Take Back My Cheating Husband? and After a Good Man Cheats: How to Rebuild Trust & Intimacy With Your Wife Find out more about Caroline’s work with infidelity survivors on her website Follow Caroline on Twitter  Read Andrew’s books on infidelity recovery: Why Did I Ever Cheat? Help Your Partner (and Yourself) Recover From Your Affair How Can I Ever Trust You Again? Infidelity: From Discovery to Recovery in Seven Steps I Can’t Get Over My Partner’s Affair: 50 Questions About Recovering from Extreme Betrayal and the Long-Term Impact of Infidelity 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