Meditative Story

The strawberry field past the maple tree. A hidden nook beneath the stairs. The magical hour before anyone else is awake. Throughout her life, Angela Ahrendts has sought out sanctuaries – sacred spaces to reconnect and to dream, quiet moments to visualize what her next big decision might lead to, to stay open to the signs that help guide her. Now, after a series of bold career choices, Angela refl...

In precisely chosen words, the writer, artist and Zen priest Zenju Earthlyn Manuel tells a story from her girlhood, a road trip from LA to Louisiana in 1957. While five-year-old Zenju sits in the back seat dreaming of cowboys, her parents navigate an altogether different landscape. From them, from the trip, Zenju now believes she’s learned how to find her way in the world, in her skin. See Privacy...

How do you find joy in your life? For entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and author Reid Hoffman, it’s through the act of genuine, honest, and intimate conversations with friends. Once a self-described misfit, in college, Reid finds his place. He connects with people who share not necessarily his interests but his curiosity, and his dedication to asking big questions. It is in asking the big questi...

Having trouble quieting your mind at night? Join Rohan for this soothing, nighttime meditation designed to ease your body and mind into a restful sleep. Drawing on the close connection between mindfulness and relaxation, Rohan takes you step by step through the process of turning down your senses until all that remains is the quiet calm of rest. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and...

Morgan Saylor is an actor of stage and screen, best known for her portrayal of the teenage Dana Brody in the series “Homeland.” But, before acting, her first passion was mathematics. Morgan unfolds how math has given her a way to approach the unknown with trust and openness, accepting that each moment and every relationship contains infinite possibilities. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/p...

By the 1980s, Diana Nyad had left competitive swimming behind, embarking on a successful career as a sports broadcaster. But after a meeting with “Superman” actor Christopher Reeve — whose throw from a horse left him paralyzed from the shoulders down — she is reminded of a challenge that fueled her early athletic ambitions, and re-commits to living everyday just past the limit of what seems endura...

As a legendary Jazz trumpeter, winner of 5 Grammy Awards, and composer of over 60 films including the works of director Spike Lee, it’s easy to assume Terence Blanchard is someone with a lot of confidence. But growing up in New Orleans, he’s just a shy kid with glasses and a lot of uncertainty. In this week’s episode, Terence tells the story of how his mentors, teachers, and heroes gave him the co...

Kathryn Nicolai, creator of the Nothing Much Happens podcast, learns at an early age to diminish her own needs. She never wants to become a problem for other people, so she pretends like she’s always okay. When she gets an opportunity to study abroad in Italy, a difficult experience with her host family causes her to retreat further into herself. It’s only when she feels the compassionate concern...

Today’s meditation features a special guest, Rohan’s 7 year-old son, Arne.  Letting go can come in stages, or so Rohan experiences on a recent holiday with his family. As his 7 year-old son Arne builds his swimming skills, Rohan realizes he’s gone from an active, hands-on support role, to one of a patient observer. It’s in this letting go that both he and Arne can progress, enjoying the freed...

We all need to love and be loved, we all want to feel not alone in this world. And this is true for all of the living world, says ecologist and author Carl Safina. Carl has spent his whole life interacting with the wild, from raising pigeons on a Brooklyn rooftop to trekking through the frozen landscape of Antarctica and the vast African savanna. And one thing he’s learned is that humans and anima...

Ghuan Featherstone is determined to go his own way – to live with courage, kindness, and faith in justice. To be a cowboy. But growing up in a neighborhood rife with gang violence, the forces marshaled against him feel beyond his control. After visiting a little-known horse stable in South Central LA, Ghuan discovers a path to honor on the back of a horse, casting the most iconic American her...

What do you do when your own body feels like the enemy? Spoken word artist and activist Andrea Gibson ( You Better Be Lightning ) spends years struggling with chronic illness, feeling as if their body is at odds with their anxious mind. It’s only when they learn to surrender control and embrace their physical sensations that they allow their body to guide them back to joy.  Each episode of Me...

Tami Simon, founder of the spiritual wisdom publishing house Sounds True, goes through much of her life feeling like an alien. Often misunderstood, Tami yearns to discover where she fits in. In today’s episode, she shares the story of how an otherworldly experience teaches her that she can tune into the frequency of finding belonging. Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of...

Jon Foreman is a land artist who uses the raw materials of the environment to create breathtaking ephemeral pieces. His ability to see creative potential all around him is his superpower, but when his life presents him with the unexpected, he has to become more narrowly focused on his responsibilities. In today’s episode, Jon tells the story of how he eventually found his way back to his creativit...

At a time when it feels like the world needs kindness more than ever, Rohan and the Meditative Story team share a unique, immersive exploration of the ways kindness can show up in all of our lives, featuring contributions from the Meditative Story community. This purposefully crafted pause from the rigors of daily life is an invitation to cultivate your own small moments of kindness and envelop yo...

In 2009, Eddie Huang, author of the acclaimed memoir  Fresh Off the Boat , opens Baohaus, his first Taiwanese restaurant on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. It’s a wild, chaotic gamble that exemplifies Eddie’s spirit. But as the restaurant’s success grows, Eddie is faced with the challenge of either sticking to his principles or living someone else’s dream for his life. Each episode of Meditative...

Meredith Goldstein writes the wildly popular Love Letters column in the Boston Globe, but for much of her life, she’s viewed romantic relationships as a trap. Meredith grows up seeing the limitations of her mom’s insular life, and knows she wants more for herself. It’s only when the pandemic forces her to slow down that she realizes the beauty in giving attention to each moment, rather than always...

When Fred Minnick returns from his military service as a photographer documenting the war in Iraq, he finds himself haunted by what he saw through the lens of his camera. Trauma, as a result of the battlefield and his childhood, holds a grip on him until a bag of barbecue potato chips unlocks something in his brain. An untapped talent — he was born with a remarkable sense of smell — serves as a li...

No boys. No dresses. As a teen, Moj Mahdara, founder of the fashion media company Beautycon, knows she’s different. And growing up in a traditional Iranian household, she struggles to reveal her own true identity. When two long-term houseguests descend — her grandmothers — Moj is shocked to learn that each woman has a surprising story of identity of her own. She learns secrets. She also learns tha...

Lawyer and master communicator Jefferson Fisher loves taking care of other people. You can feel this in the supportive videos he posts on his wildly popular social media channels. Again and again he puts the wants and needs of others ahead of his own. In his story this week, Jefferson discovers the power of showing up for himself, and when he does, he’s given the chance to show up more fully for o...

One icy morning on a Vermont farm, Elizabeth Lesser is witness to a miraculous thing: the birth of a bleary, bleating baby lamb. Years later, as a midwife, she is still filled with this sense of awe and wonder at every birth. It’s through that process of coaching new life into the world, she learns how to sit through the difficult – even the painful – moments in her own: a divorce, a new career, e...

Love sneaks up on us. It’s a sudden awakening from the mundane. It’s divinity in the everyday. In this special episode, Rohan shares a trio of stories about his love, Lucy. The childlike purity and sweeping hold of love will wash over you in this intimate listening experience from Meditative Story’s very own Rohan. Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storyt...

Maya Shankar is a cognitive neuroscientist and host of the award-winning podcast A Slight Change of Plans. As a girl, she struggles with taking things too seriously: herself, the sufferings of others, the hypothetical misfortunes she imagines for the future. She turns to her father for perspective — and he takes her on a memorable walk, one that helps her understand her place in the universe (spoi...

Midway through a grueling, muddy obstacle course, Shani Tran is so grateful for the support of her father, her teammate, who cheers her on and pulls her through. But in other parts of life, she knows, he’s just not there for her in the same way. And that’s ... okay. She shares three stories — with humor, and with honesty — that build to a lifelong lesson about seeing people for who they are,...

From the outside, Niall Breslin — known by legions of Irish fans as Bressie — appears to have led a charmed life. He’s had a professional Rugby career, achieved national stardom as a musician, and been a coach on  The Voice of Ireland . But behind all those achievements lies Niall’s struggle with repressed emotions and generations of unresolved pain. In this week’s Meditative Story, Bressie s...