The Meaningful Life with Andrew G. Marshall

How do we live knowing that we will die? How can we face death, and how should we prepare for it? Dr Kathryn Mannix has spent her professional life working in palliative care, and the teams she has worked on have been involved in 10-15 thousand deaths. In this classic episode, Kathryn shares her insights into what it’s like to die and how we can love and support someone approaching the end of their life. If you struggle with thoughts of death - be it from a generalised fear, a terminal diagnosis, or the loss of loved ones - Kathryn’s calm and honest approach will help.  As well as working as a consultant in palliative care medicine, Kathryn is the author of With the End in Mind: How to Live and Die Well, a collection of powerful human stories of life and death. The book draws on a lifetime of clinical experience to offer advice on facing death and living life in its shadow. 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 Kathryn Mannix 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 UpG Andrew is appearing at the Unlocking Love Summit, where he will be working with a couple recovering from infidelity. Register for the free summit here.  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 Kathryn’s book With the End in Mind: How to Live and Die Well   Follow Kathryn on Twitter Find Oliver Sacks’ book Gratitude written at the end of his life. Read Andrew’s book on grieving the loss of his partner My Mourning Year 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 

Is there an uncomfortable gap between your life goals and the way you are actually living? Do you tell yourself what you want is financial security, but then rack up big online shopping debts? Or perhaps a solid, connected relationship is your goal, but instead you're prioritising work and ignoring your partner’s needs. This week, counselor and author Thais Gibson joins me to talk about SELF-SABOTAGE. According to Thais, self-sabotage arises from your subconscious, which wants something very different than your conscious mind is telling you. To move forward, you’ll need to uncover and challenge the patterns that are keeping you stuck.  Thais Gibson is a counsellor, best-selling author and co-founder of The Personal Development School. She has a Ph.D. and over 13 certifications in modalities ranging from CBT, NLP, somatic experiencing, internal family systems, to shadow work and hypnosis. Thais had nearly a decade of experience running a successful private practice and founded The Personal Development School, an online learning platform, to provide a more accessible, authentic way for clients to transform their lives. Thais is the bestselling author of Learning Love, and she and her husband split their time between Austin, Texas, and Toronto, Canada. 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:  The Four Attachment Styles Three Things Thais Gibson 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 Learn more about Thais Gibson’s work: Website: The Personal Development School Instagram: @thepersonaldevelopmentschool YouTube: The Personal Development School The Personal Development School Attachment Style Quiz: Take the quiz to find out your attachment style 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 

Itoro Bassey, a Nigerian-American writer and mindfulness educator, shares insights on healing the mother/daughter relationship. She emphasizes the importance of addressing inherited trauma for personal growth. The conversation dives into nurturing the inner child, recognizing flawed maternal figures, and the significance of boundaries. Itoro discusses how cultural expectations shape self-worth and offers strategies for self-acceptance. Through her experiences, she champions the journey of self-discovery and breaking silence to foster healthier familial bonds.

Many of us feel like we don’t quite “get” mindfulness. Even more have struggled to create a successful meditation practice. Andrew Holecek, author of I’m Mindful, Now What?, joins us this week to broaden and deepen our understanding of mindfulness, and show us how to integrate it into our daily lives.  Our host Andrew talks with our guest Andrew about: Why everyone can meditate, and how to start right now. The importance of connecting with your physical body.  The benefits and limitations of mindfulness Coping with emotions like anger, jealousy and fear using meditation and mindfulness. Andrew Holecek is a renowned author and humanitarian who teaches internationally on spirituality, meditation, lucid dreaming, and the art of dying. He has studied sleep yoga, bardo yoga, and other traditional practices with living masters in India and Nepal. Andrew’s books include Dreams of Light, Dream Yoga, and Reverse Meditation. His work has appeared in Psychology Today, Parabola, Lion’s Roar, Tricycle, Utne Reader, Buddhadharma, Light of Consciousness, and many other periodicals. He hosts the popular Edge of Mind podcast and is the founder of the Night Club community, a support platform for nocturnal meditations.  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:  Nocturnal Meditations Three Things Andrew Holecek 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 G. Marshall’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things  Read Andrew Holecek’s new book, I’m Mindful, Now What? Follow Andrew Holecek on Instagram and Facebook @andrewholecekauthor  Visit Andrew Holecek’s website https://www.andrewholecek.com  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 

In this classic episode, Andrew speaks with coach and teacher Dena Justice about the work she does with women experiencing burnout in their careers and relationships.  Despite loving her career, Dena hit a point where she felt empty - she was a classic case of a high performer and leader hitting burnout. That led her to choose a powerful pivot out of conventional employment and into her own business. At the same time, Dena also consciously decided to up-level ALL of her relationships, including spending 3 years intentionally single so she could identify and change the patterns she was repeating that were contributing to relationship dissatisfaction.  Combining all of her experience, Dena now helps other women who are high performers hitting burnout and are scared to admit they’ve hit a plateau or a wall. She helps them get out of their own way and move to the next level to increase their impact so they feel fulfilled and inspired again, as well as helping them create the relationships they want in their lives. Dena Justice is a coach, mentor and teacher. She is the creator of The Ecstatic Collective. Dena’s lifelong interest in mentoring and coaching began at age seven, when she took her first social-emotional training program. At 15, she taught her first personal development course. She has undertaken years of training in conflict management and mediation, leadership, communication, facilitation, and has two Master’s degrees. 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 Dena Justice 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 the courses Dena Justice offers in NLP and anxiety management, on her website  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   

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.