Meditative Story

Krista Tippett’s early years aren't what you’d expect knowing who she is today. As a journalist and political aide in divided Berlin in the '80s, she led a life of importance, where she was surrounded by power, where every decision mattered. But when a window opened to step away from that heady life, she found a new space – and time to ask herself what mattered. She shares her story to remind us h...

A California native, Chip Conley grew up visiting the towering redwoods and indulging his curiosity about wise and aging things. But as an adult pioneering a boutique hotel company, he begins to feel the weight of middle age and loses the curiosity that once drove him to innovate and explore. In his story, Chip shares the journey that led him to founding the Modern Elder Academy and how he learned...

Today, Rohan shares a Lovingkindness Meditation born out of a Spring walk around Oxford. In this practice, phrases are repeated that gradually move our focus from another, back to ourselves, and, finally, to larger and larger circles, encompassing the entirety of the universe. As Rohan shares, kindness is a natural quality of the heart that we all have to some degree — and with the right technique...

Bakari Sellers made history when he became the youngest African American elected official in the United States. But beneath the surface of his successful career, Bakari is consumed by anxiety about his own mortality. This week, Bakari shares how living life in 24-hour increments empowers him to contend with his greatest anxieties and get more out of every moment. If this story resonates with you,...

Actress Zuri Adele, known for playing Malika Williams on the popular Freeform show Good Trouble , spent parts of her childhood largely isolated. But while attending Spelman College in Atlanta, Zuri becomes immersed in the rich history and ritual of the African diaspora. This week, Zuri shows us how embracing her community and her unique place in history allows her to trade her feelings of isolatio...

Climate activist Varshini Prakash first became aware of the effects of a changing planet when her grandparents’ village in India was flooded in a monsoon. A child then, she felt overwhelmed and powerless. In this week’s episode, Varshini shares how she came to find hope and build courage through the large and small communities in her life. Varshini Prakash began her activist career protesting univ...

Sometimes on Meditative Story, we break from our usual episodes to share a reflection from our host, Rohan Gunatillake, occasioned by moments that we might like to take a beat to sit with. Today, Rohan welcomes the interstellar shift in our solar system that produces the Spring Equinox. On our special planet we call home, we only experience two days per year where day and night measure equal lengt...

As a WNBA player, AD is used to saying, “I’m good” as an automatic response, no matter the injury. It’s what allows them to be a successful athlete, and to wrap their whole self around that identity. But when basketball is fully stripped away from them, they have to look inward to explore who they are — and the full range of identity available to them. Each episode of Meditative Story combines the...

Best-selling author Isabel Allende has led an extraordinary life marked by moments of tragic loss. A coup in her home country of Chile forces her family into exile, and an unexpected illness takes away one of the most important people in her life. And yet, at 80 years old, Isabel feels a lightness that contradicts the attachment she felt in her youth. In this episode, Isabel teaches us how the mos...

Like so many of us, Chad Sanders wants to feel a sense of belonging — but as he grows up, he feels too often like he's living in the shadows of other people’s judgment. Fortunately, life has a way of giving us glimpses into our limitless possibility. A magical high school English class and, later, an auspicious walk with the filmmaker Spike Lee give Chad two unforgettable windows to his creative f...

Through his long and storied career as a stuntman, Curtis Rivers has appeared in scores of films and television shows, ranging from James Bond movies to Captain America to Game of Thrones. He has won a Screen Actor Guilds Awards as well as membership in the Hollywood Stuntmen’s Hall of Fame. The Briton is also a two-time Guinness World Record Holder, in the longest-duration parachute jump (45 minu...

Valentine’s Day is an opportunity to celebrate love of all kinds — whether it’s the unconditional love of a pet, the instinctual reflex to help those who are suffering, or, perhaps most important, the time we take to send love back to ourselves. Love has many dimensions, and it doesn’t always involve a heart-shaped box of chocolates. Take some time with Rohan as he guides you through a celebration...

Hannah Cross is a licensed clinical social worker, devoted to helping people with emotional and behavioral concerns. The way she approaches her work is rooted in a life-changing early job, one she almost didn’t take — at a youth incarceration center. Working with these young people, she comes to realize that while the textbook approach might sometimes fail, there’s a reliable healing power in a si...

What’s the hardest part about being the main character in your own life? You’re also writing the script as you go along. And sometimes it’s hard to know when you need a scene change. Filmmaker Franklin Leonard encounters plenty of dramatic moments as he seeks to follow his creative dream. But those big moments, he comes to realize, aren’t what will change him into the person he truly wants to be....

As a teenager, Jade Bowler is laser-focused on her dream of leaving home, with ambitious plans for the future. It’s only after her plans fall apart that Jade realizes big achievements aren’t the only thing that can bring her happiness. Reveling in smaller, quieter moments of casual magic shows her the beauty of everyday existence. Listen to Jacob Sartorius' Meditative Story "I take a breath. I buy...

Figuring out how to express your authentic self is a journey in discovering what lights you up. For Eric Whitacre, the choral composer and conductor, these lessons came to him through his passions for outer space, water, and music. Join Eric and Rohan in this conversation about how Eric learned to channel his energy into creating meaningful connections and finding his place in the world, and consi...

Michelle Thaller is an astronomer and science communicator who helped unveil the latest images from the Webb Telescope — the one that's currently sending us never-before-seen images of deep space. In her Meditative Story, she explores the significance of a single human — you — in a universe so immense that your very existence is of no consequence ... yet of every consequence. Each episode of Medit...

Choral music composer and conductor Eric Whitacre directs choirs around the globe, but as a kid in northern Nevada, he feels like the black sheep. He doesn’t know how to channel his endless energy to create meaningful connections or find his place in the world. His remarkable experiences with outer space, multi-part harmonies, and a (literal) leap of faith teach him crucial lessons about embracing...

Staying connected with our loved ones is not always easy, especially if, like Jai Punjabi, you live far away from home. As a founder of Wait What, the company behind Meditative Story, Jai’s work in New York means his once-a-year visit to the family home in Bombay, India, is precious time. Made even more so by the food he eats when he’s there with his family. But what makes the dishes so delicious?...

Growing up in the Kennedy family, Tim Shriver sees close relatives compete at the highest level of U.S. politics and learns a very specific definition of what it means to be a winner. As a result, a fierce competitiveness finds its way into every aspect of his life. But as the years go on, Tim begins to question whether this winner-takes-all mentality is the healthiest way to live. Maybe there’s a...

What would it be like to turn your New Year’s resolutions on their head, by resolving to focus our attention in an entirely different way? That’s what Rohan is proposing with this holiday meditation designed to zoom in on the small wins from the year just past. Orienting ourselves toward small victories — whether it's making time to be with those we love, trying something entirely out of our comfo...

When life is overwhelming, sometimes the smallest action — even one that seems insignificant in the moment — is what helps us move forward. Cristina Mittermeier is a nature photographer and adventurer who's used to navigating treacherous situations in the name of protecting the climate. But when her life takes an unexpected turn, she learns how to take small steps forward to begin unlocking her po...

How can we maintain a sense of freshness, awe, and wonder in our perspective on the world? Today’s Soul Curriculum episode finds Rohan diving deeper into this question with nature filmmaker and author Tom Mustill. Tom shares more about his experiences living close to our animal kin, and what he’s learned from their behavior, both spectacular and mundane. With great warmth and heart, Tom talks abou...

Over a tiny table in a crowded bar … on a bike crossing at the Mexican border … standing at the edge of a windswept cliff: There are places and moments where life comes into crystal-clear focus, and you realize something (or maybe everything) needs to change. In this episode, we've collected 4 powerful, personal stories of wake-up calls, when the universe showed these storytellers an entirely new...

Before his rise to fame, David Duchovny is a popular kid – charming, funny, bright, and athletic, beloved by friends and teachers alike. But there’s one teacher who puts David off-balance, calling him out for foolishness where others see charm. Years after graduation, struggling to make it as an actor in Hollywood, David finally comes to recognize that what he mistook for dislike was in fact an en...