The Meaningful Life with Andrew G. Marshall

What is personality? Can it change over time? How does our personality influence the ways we find meaning in our lives? DR RALPH PIEDMONT has spent decades answering these questions; training under the original developers of the Big Five personality model, and focusing also on the spiritual and transcendent dimensions that give life deeper meaning. This week Andrew and Dr Piedmont discuss: The Big...

If you often feel depressed, anxious, victimised or disappointed, you may be carrying a heavy load of unresolved emotional pain.  Psychotherapist and author Robert Jackman suggests that this pain, and associated patterns of behaviour, often stem from our lost inner child. This inner child brings with him or her a false narrative; played on repeat.  Painful childhood experiences can show up in adul...

Are narcissists capable of love? Is it possible for them to achieve emotional transformation through therapy? And what does it mean to be the partner of a narcissist? Jungian psychoanalyst and friend of the podcast DR SUSAN SCHWARTZ joins Andrew this week to discuss her new book, An Analytical Exploration of Love and Narcissism: The Tragedy of Isolation and Intimacy .  Drawing on Jungian concepts...

How can we have more meaningful, connected sex? Many couples today are stuck in a low-sex or no-sex dynamic, while others struggle to break a routine that feels unbearably dull. In this classic reissued episode, Jan Day, a relationship expert and psycho-spirital teacher,  discusses “Living Tantra”. Andrew and Jan cover how to “resensitise” in a world where there is not enough touch. Coming off aut...

If you’re feeling exhausted and unmotivated, clinical psychologist and author Dr Diana Hill suggests that you may be channelling your energy in the wrong direction. Many of us feel that we do too much, and yet get nowhere - this is because we are misdirecting the precious resource of our energy.  In this episode, Andrew and Diana discuss: The high-achiever at work whose patterns backfire in relati...

If you could write a letter to your own anxiety, what would it say? This is just one of the ways therapist Dr Kathleen Smith befriends her anxiety and in the process, moves it into the back seat of her life.  If you can’t sleep, can’t focus and are constantly pushing down the frustrations you experience in your relationships, you will know that you probably need to deal with your anxiety. In this...

With the help of artificial intelligence (AI), we now know almost everything there is to know: except perhaps who we are and actually what matters to us. With notifications pinging and algorithms grabbing our attention, THAT kind of clarity perhaps feels even harder to find.  In this episode, author and entrepreneur SOREN GORDHAMER discusses with Andrew what AI has already changed about the experi...

“Narcissist” has become the insult of choice for many of us caught on the wrong side of arrogance, self-absorption or monotonous bragging. Narcissism is more complex than that, however, and an empathetic understanding of it can make it much easier to deal with partners or family members with narcissistic traits, or with full-blown narcissistic personality disorder. In this week's classic reissued...

Many of us believe that suffering is inevitable. We endure the inner turmoil associated with stress, shame, depression or loneliness and try to soldier on. Author PETER RALSTON believes, however, that most suffering can be avoided.  In this week’s episode, Andrew and Peter discuss the dynamics of the mind that set the stage for distress and get us into trouble. Peter explains: How mental states of...

Most of us have a conversation we’re avoiding: a child coming out to their parent, a family losing someone to terminal illness, a friend noticing early signs of dementia. There are moments when we simply must talk, listen and be there for one another. DR KATHRYN MANNIX, a consultant in palliative care medicine, has spent her career having what she describes as “tender conversations” with bereaved...

At some point in our lives, we all step into the void. Something so big happens that we struggle even to make sense of it.  This week Andrew is in conversation with artist JESSA FAIRBROTHER about finding our way through the pain of these unwanted experiences without getting trapped in repeating loops.  We discuss: How grief over the loss of her parents and experiences of infertility have shaped Je...

Are you being held back by darker moments from your past? Would you like to find the courage to shine a light on some of the tragic or shameful moments that you don’t like to think about? In this classic reissued episode, author and therapist MALCOLM STERN joins Andrew to discuss his book Slay Your Dragons With Compassion . Malcolm and Andrew talk about confronting your fears and working through b...

SHADOW is a Jungian concept that refers to those traits we have suppressed in ourselves that may be waiting to find expression in our lives. This week Connie Zweig PhD returns to the podcast to talk about shadow-work for conscious relationships.  We explore: How the unconscious erupts in our lives and sabotages our relationships Why we can become caught up in repetitive arguments, criticism, dista...

We all know that good boundaries are essential if we want happy relationships. There is a lot of confusion, though, about what exactly a boundary is and how to make it work. Can we have too many boundaries? Should we ever compromise on the boundaries we set? In this week’s classic reissued episode, Andrew talks about boundaries with Graham Johnston and Matt Wotton from the London Centre of Applied...

There are people in our lives who mesmerise but at the same time diminish and damage us. They excite us about the possibilities life holds, while teaching us that we are not worthy of achieving them. Their impact can be so great that for years after we continue trying to replicate the intensity of our time with them, seeing everything through our monster’s lens.  Psychotherapist and author Charlot...

Throw away your FitBit, stop counting your daily steps, and instead learn to run mindfully. If you can find the three key elements of space, silence and patience, you’ll be far more able to tackle big problems at work and at home. William Pullen is a psychotherapist who helps clients using his revolutionary method of Dynamic Running Therapy. His work combines movement and talk therapy to harness t...

There’s no one set of rules that will see us through. Psychologist and author PROFESSOR ROSS G. WHITE works instead on the concept of psychological flexibility. If we have flexible habits and mindset, we can navigate life’s inevitable storms with at least a degree of strength and grace.  Ross believes that just as martial arts like jiu-jitsu train students to be grounded and focused, we can also t...

Have you ever experienced a strange, inexplicable coincidence that left you feeling “like a grand, mysterious character in a story?” One that seemed to suggest a particular relationship was “meant to be”, or, on the flipside, that it was time to let go? In this week’s classic episode, Andrew talks to Jungian analyst ROBERT HOPCKE about synchronicity: the strange coincidences that make us feel like...

Could changing the rhythm of your breath offer the breakthrough you’ve been looking for? This week, Andrew talks to psychologist and breathwork expert Dr. Richard Blake—known as The Breath Geek—about the profound impact that conscious breathing can have on mental and physical health.  Together, Andrew and Richard discuss: How breathwork can reduce anxiety and support emotional healing A simple bre...

Venus O’Hara plans to change the world, one orgasm at a time. She believes women are equally as sexual as men, and should have the time and space to embrace their multi-orgasmic potential. Venus is a British orgasm activist, author and feminist based in Barcelona. She has a hugely popular YouTube channel on which she discusses the female orgasm and leading a healthy and authentic orgasmic lifestyl...

Can you criticise your partner without starting a flaming row, or causing them to retreat into a wounded silence? If not, you’re not alone. Many of us struggle for years to find a way to manage relationship conflict in an honest, constructive spirit.  This week, Andrew discusses the secrets of better conflict with relationship coach JACK BOHANNON. Andrew and Jack cover: Attachment theory and how i...

So many of us have experienced depression, and if not, we’re likely to have seen people we love battle it. In this week’s classic episode, author KATE LUCEY, who specialises in writing about mental health, talks candidly with Andrew about her own depression and the six-year journey she’s been on since her diagnosis: including physical symptoms and the effects on her personal relationships.  Kate a...

Most of us dislike or even fear conflict with loved ones. Without it, however, you won't achieve sustained intimacy with your partner.  This week, Andrew talks to writer, psychologist and Jungian analyst Polly Young-Eisendrath, the author of Love Between Equals: Relationship as a Spiritual Path. They explore the challenges and possibilities of building partnerships based on respect, freedom and re...

Are you one of the many people who end up shocked by the ultimate similarity of romantic relationships that felt very different starting out? Why is it that we find the same patterns repeating, the same problems coming up over and over? In this classic episode, Andrew talks to author and attachment theory specialist Tara Blair-Ball. Tara explains how attachment theory - which is grounded in analys...

What does it mean to be truly seen and accepted in your sexuality? For those who identify as bisexual—or who experience sexual fluidity—the path to self-understanding and relational honesty can be filled with challenges, uncertainty, and social stigma. This week, Andrew talks with DIANE HASSALL, a Relationship and Psychosexual Psychotherapist, about how we explore and express our sexual identities...