The Meaningful Life with Andrew G. Marshall

Are you living a life you really believe in, or are you filling in time until your “real life” begins? Are you waiting on marriage, a better job, a new exercise regime or a beautiful house to create an authentic life? Humans do need to have goals and plans, but it is also destructive to ignore those inner voices telling us what would bring us individual meaning. In this classic episode, Andrew and PHILIP CARR-GOMM discuss how to start developing your authentic self right now, rather than endlessly kicking that important ball further down the road. Philip Carr-Gomm is an expert in psychosynthesis, an “awe-inspiring territory that has the power to transform us”. He believes that something magical happens when the worlds of modern psychology and ancient spiritual teachings are brought together. Philip has studied Druidry extensively and from 1988-2020 was the leader of The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. He has a degree in Psychology and has trained in psychotherapy, play therapy, Montessori education, yoga nidra, mindfulness meditation and Sophrology. Philip recently created an online school, The Art of Living Well, to offer courses combining psychological and spiritual understanding. If You’re Looking for More…. You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50. This week supporters will hear: Three Things Philip Carr-Gomm 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 Attend Andrew's new men's retreat, Reconnect With Yourself, this autumn in the Brandenberg countryside near Berlin https://andrewgmarshall.com/mens-retreat/ Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things https://andrewgmarshall.com/download/ Take a look at Philip Carr-Gomm’s website Find out more about the courses offered at Philip’s online school, The Art of Living Well Follow Philip on Instagram at @philipcarrgomm and on Facebook at @philip.carrgomm 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

How do you keep the spark alive in your relationship when there are kids involved and you have ten, twenty, or thirty years on the clock? This week I talk to CAROLYN SHARP, a US-based marital therapist, and the author of Fire It Up: Four Secrets to Reigniting Intimacy and Joy in Your Relationship. We cover: Purpose: could you define a purpose for your marriage? Sex: how to talk about it honestly and effectively. Conflict: handling disagreements better Happiness: the habits that create lasting joy Acceptance: how practicing radical acceptance will feed your relationship. Carolyn has a master of social work from Portland State University and has extensive training in attachment, neuroscience, trauma, and mindfulness. She is an experienced couples therapist and coach, with twenty-five years of training and practice in helping people build vital, vibrant, and secure functioning relationships through one-on-one and group couples coaching, workshops, retreats, and intensives. She and her husband and dogs live in northern Massachusetts. If You’re Looking for More…. You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50. This week supporters will hear: How to totally accept your partner Three Things Carolyn Sharp 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 Attend Andrew's new men's retreat, Reconnect With Yourself, this autumn in the Brandenberg countryside near Berlin Read Carolyn Sharp’s book, Fire It Up: Four Secrets to Reigniting Intimacy and Joy in Your Relationship. Take a look at Carolyn Sharp’s retreats and couple coaching work, or at her therapy website, Follow Carolyn Sharp on TikTok, Facebook and Instagram @secureconnectionscoach and on YouTube @carolynsharp9053 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

“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation” (Henry Thoreau). In this classic episode, Andrew interviews therapist SIMON ROE. Simon has based his life’s work on helping men live an authentic life. After himself going through a period of quiet desperation in his mid-thirties, he went on to help men break the silence, find “the song inside” and overcome their experiences of depression, violence and loneliness. Simon has also worked extensively with boys and their fathers to create rites of passage that help boys claim a strong, authentic sense of their developing manhood. Simon Roe originally trained as a body psychotherapist, and is also a co-leader of the Mandorla Men’s Rites of Passage programme. He has worked extensively with perpetrators of domestic violence, and is a Respect approved trainer and supervisor. Simon is also trained in process oriented psychology. Simon and Andrew also discuss the idea of answering “the call to adventure”, an idea powerfully captured in this poem by Rainer Maria Rilke: Sometimes A Man Stands Up During Supper Sometimes a man stands up during supper and walks outdoors, and keeps on walking, because of a church that stands somewhere in the East. And his children say blessings on him as if he were dead. And another man, who remains inside his own house, dies there, inside the dishes and in the glasses, so that his children have to go far out into the world toward that same church , which he forgot. Rainer Maria Rilke ( trans. Robert Bly) If You’re Looking for More…. You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50. This week supporters will hear: Three Things Simon Roe 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 Attend Andrew's new men's retreat, Reconnect With Yourself, this autumn in the Brandenberg countryside near Berlin. Visit Simon Roe’s website Learn about the Kingfisher Project, a community dedicated to rites of passage for boys aged 13-16. 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

Many women long to be in a happy relationship, in which they feel safe, heard and understood, but have given up after years of disappointment and heartbreak. This week dating coach EVAN MARC KATZ joins Andrew to discuss why it’s so hard for women to find a man who wants to commit and to build a genuine relationship. They cover: How to get psychologically prepared to date successfully. Knowing which compromises to make in the service of love. The difference between compromise and “settling”. The importance of accepting men as they are, rather than viewing them as fixable works in progress. Balancing chemistry and compatibility in your relationship decisions. Evan’s personal experiences of dating frustration, and how they led him to write one of the first and most popular books about online dating. Evan Marc Katz is an author, CEO, podcaster, dating coach and former screenwriter who works to support strong, successful women to find lasting relationships. He has been featured by Today, the New York Times, and CNN. A total of 13,000 women from 40 countries have graduated from Love U, his coaching course and community that helps women understand men and find love. If You’re Looking for More…. You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50. This week supporters will hear: Dealing with Unavailable Men. Three Things Evan Marc Katz 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 working with Evan Marc Katz on his website Read Evan Marc Katz’s books Listen to Evan Marc Katz’s Love U podcast Follow Evan Marc Katz on Facebook @EvanMarcKatzfan, on Instagram @realevanmarckatz and on Twitter/X and YouTube @evanmarckatz. 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

For Andrew, it is the writings of Dr James Hollis, one of the world’s most eminent Jungian analysts, that have “sustained me through my dark times”. Dr Hollis’ books also regularly help Andrew’s marital therapy clients create change in their relationships and recover from infidelity. In this classic reissued episode, Andrew speaks to James Hollis about what it means to be resilient - how do we discover and develop the strength nature gives us to “walk through the forest” when we inevitably hit dark times? Bookshops and the internet are full of “five steps to happiness” style self-help manuals, telling us that if only we wake up earlier, change jobs, or eliminate caffeine, we will solve all our problems. In fact, life is fractious and difficult, and requires us to persist. The best way to do this is not an external solution, but to find and trust the strength within ourselves. Dr. James Hollis is a Washington D.C. based Jungian psychoanalyst and the author of seventeen books. He was Executive Director of the Jung Educational Center in Houston, Texas for many years and Executive Director of the Jung Society of Washington (JSW) until 2019. He also worked as a Senior Training Analyst for the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts, as a Director of Training of the Philadelphia Jung Institute, and is Vice-President Emeritus of the Philemon Foundation. If You’re Looking for More…. You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50. This week supporters will hear: Three Things James Hollis 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 James Hollis’ website Read James Hollis’ book, Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life Read Andrew’s review of James Hollis’ book Swamplands of the Soul: New Life in Dismal Places: 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

Is your relationship a refuge from stress in a turbulent and demanding world? Do you always have each other’s backs? OR has the stress you face at work or in the culture seeped into your home life and created a rift between you? Marital therapist ELIZABETH EARNSHAW, the author of Til Stress Do Us Part, works with couples to identify and address the life stress that is undermining their partnership. In this episode, Andrew and Elizabeth discuss: Setting effective boundaries Self-soothing when life gets rough Taking responsibility for what makes you happy Communicating with compassion rather than resentment Elizabeth Earnshaw is a marital therapist from Philadelphia in the US. She owns the practice A Better Life Therapy, and over the past 15 years she has supported thousands of couples as they navigate the ups and downs of life. Elizabeth has been featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, and other national and international publications. She is also the author of I Want This To Work, 'Til Stress Do Us Part, and a therapist's guide called The Couples Therapy Flipchart. If You’re Looking for More…. You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50. This week supporters will hear: How to Deal with Hot Button Topics Three Things Elizabeth Earnshaw 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 Buy Elizabeth Earnshaw’s book, Til Stress Do Us Part: How to Heal the #1 Issue in our Relationships Visit Elizabeth Earnshaw’s website Follow Elizabeth Earnshaw on Instagram @lizlistens 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

When women and men argue, women can often be more comfortable in expressing their feelings of hurt and anger. Men can feel distressed by this strength of feeling, and may pull away emotionally. They may feel a very strong urge to occupy the ground of rationality and objectivity, which in turn leads their partner to push harder, desperately seeking emotional connection. Dr Avrum Weiss is a US-based author and psychotherapist specialising in the internal lives of men. His writing and his work with couples help men and women understand each other more deeply and build a stronger connection. In this classic reissued episode, Andrew and Avrum discuss the emotion of anger and how our childhoods can influence our adult experiences of it. They share insights from Avrum’s book Hidden in Plain Sight: How Men’s Fears of Women Shape Their Intimate Relationships , and look at how men and women can better understand each other’s internal world. If You’re Looking for More…. You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50. This week supporters will hear: Three Things Avrum Weiss 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 Buy Dr Avrum Weiss’ book Hidden in Plain Sight: How Men’s Fears of Women Shape Their Intimate Relationships Find Dr Avrum Weiss’ other books via his website Follow Dr Avrum Weiss on Facebook @AvrumWeissAuthor Read Andrew’s books on relationships and self-development 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

Does something feel off about your intimate relationships? According to author and couples therapist Dené Logan, the answer to your problem may lie in the interplay of your masculine and feminine energies. Masculine and feminine polarities are present in every person and relationship. When we’re out of touch with the energetics within ourselves and those around us, it can create an internal struggle and sense of disharmony in our partnerships. In this episode, Andrew and Dené discuss: Understanding the polarities in your partnership Integrating masculine and feminine energies Moving away from a codependent, transactional view of your relationship Some of the historical and cultural reasons our relationships turn out the way they do. Dené Logan is an LA-based marriage and family therapist, who takes a depth psychology approach. She is also a group facilitator, public speaker, yoga and mindfulness instructor, and the co-host of the Cheaper than Therapy podcast. Dené is also a mentee to acclaimed couples therapist Esther Perel. Her book, Sovereign Love, was published in May 2024. If You’re Looking for More…. You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50. This week supporters will hear: How to heal the patriarchal mother wound. Three Things Dené Logan 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 Dené Logan’s book, Sovereign Love Follow Dené Logan on Instagram @dene.logan and on TikTok @denelogan 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

Life brings to all of us long periods where we feel lost or confused. We don't know how to get what we want, or even what it is that we want. The struggle to articulate the thing that might really make us “come alive” can be profound, even if we enter therapy. Charlotte Fox Weber is a psychotherapist, author and the founding head of The School of Life Psychotherapy. Her bestselling book, Tell Me What You Want, explores how to identify and navigate our deepest longings. In this classic episode, Andrew and Charlotte discuss the idea that we have 12 fundamental desires: to love and be loved; understanding, power, attention, freedom; to create, to belong, to win, to connect, to control; and to want what we shouldn't. Identifying how these desires play out in your life can be liberating and beautiful, even if you also realise that acting on them is impossible. If You’re Looking for More…. You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50. This week supporters will hear: Three Things Charlotte Fox Weber 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 Charlotte Fox Weber’s new book, Tell Me What You Want Follow Charlotte Fox Weber on Instagram @charlottefoxweberpsychotherapy and on Facebook @charlottefoxweber 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

If you’re feeling anxious, meditation and mindfulness may not be the answer. Instead, author KARLA McLAREN would advise us to sit with the feelings of anxiety and hear the useful messages they’re bringing to help us cope with a tricky situation. In this episode, Andrew and Karla discuss: How anger, shame and sadness can be the bearers of crucial information. “Negative” emotions and the skills and energy they can provide. Why understanding our emotions is so hard. How to engage with challenging emotions, when society has taught many of us it’s better to repress them. Karla McLaren, M.Ed. is an award-winning author, educator, workplace consultant, and social science researcher. Her work revalues even the most “negative” emotions and opens startling new pathways into self-awareness, effective communication, and healthy empathy. She is the founder and CEO of Emotion Dynamics Inc. She is also the author of many books, including The Language of Emotions, The Power of Emotions at Work, and Embracing Anxiety, and she is the developer of the online learning site Empathy Academy. If You’re Looking for More…. You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50. This week supporters will hear: How to Deal With Confusion Three Things Karla McLaren 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 Karla McLaren’s new book The Language of Emotions Workbook Read Karla McLaren’s other books Visit Karla McLaren’s website Find out about upcoming courses at the online learning site developed by Karla McLaren, Empathy Academy Follow Karla McLaren @KarlaMcLarenAuthor on Facebook, @karlamclaren.m.ed on Instagram, @EmotionDynamics on YouTube and on LinkedIn. 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

Have you ever felt so defeated and frustrated that you want to just throw in the towel and run away? Author KAY HUTCHISON did exactly that, fleeing her annual holiday to the Cote d’Azur, moving out of her home, and leaving behind her marriage and a well-established career. In seeking to understand what forced this huge rupture in a previously smooth existence, Kay tried a range of mainstream and alternative therapies. In the end, she took part in 37 different forms of therapy to explore her particular midlife crisis and experience of the menopause. From colonic irrigation through to Shamanic therapy, Kay found solace and insight that she was able to share in her powerful book, My Life in 37 Therapies. In this reissued classic episode, Kay and Andrew explore the many different ways in which therapy can help us cope with midlife, and its tendency to throw at us so many of the unresolved issues of early life. 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 Kay Hutchison 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 Buy My Life in 37 Therapies by Kay Hutchison 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. 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

Society teaches men that strength lies in ignoring their feelings and “soldiering on”. Author and relationship coach BRYAN REEVES has seen the costs of this approach both in his own personal life and those of his clients. This week Andrew and Bryan discuss: Bryan’s story of finding direction after leaving the US Air Force. The reasons why men resist unwanted feelings The damage this causes to their relationships with family and friends. A former US Air Force Captain, Bryan is an internationally renowned author, relationship coach and men’s coach. His blog, videos, courses, and books have been consumed by 50+ million people. Bryan co-hosts the popular podcast, “Men, This Way,” and his newest book, Choose Her Every Day (Or Leave Her) has so far sold over 10,000 copies as a self-published edition. 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 Bryan Reeves knows to be true. Walk Away Man Syndrome 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 Read Bryan Reeves’ new book, Choose Her Every Day (Or Leave Her) Listen to Bryan Reeves’ podcast Men, This Way. Visit Bryan Reeves’ website Follow Bryan Reeves on Instagram @bryanreevesinsight and on Facebook and TikTok @bryanreevesofficial. Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools 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

Do you think about drinking alcohol more than you think about eating sandwiches? Do you spend significant amounts of time thinking about NOT drinking? Or are you one of the many with an uneasy feeling that alcohol is no longer bringing anything good into your life, and may well be holding you back? Therapist and sobriety expert VERONICA VALLI had a problematic relationship with alcohol for twelve years. She has now been sober for twenty years, and has helped countless others give up drinking. In this classic reissued episode Andrew and Veronica discuss: ⭐️How giving up alcohol can give you the energy and freedom to be your true self. ⭐️Why your friends may not always be your cheerleaders if you give up drinking. ⭐️Why a drinking problem is really a symptom of another, underlying problem. ⭐️What to do if your partner has an alcohol problem. ⭐️Extreme social pressure to drink and how to deal with it. Veronica Valli has worked in the field of alcohol recovery for almost two decades. She is an author, podcaster and former clinical psychotherapist. 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 Veronica Valli 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 Veronica Valli’s new book Soberful: Uncover a Sustainable, Fulfilling Life Free of Alcohol Take a look at Veronica Valli’s website Listen to Soberful: the Podcast Find out about the Soberful private group on Facebook Follow Veronica Valli on Instagram @veronicajvalli and on Facebook @soberfulpage 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

Where did you find inspiration and meaning in 2024? This week sex therapist and friend of the podcast TRACEY COX joins Andrew to reflect on another year of The Meaningful Life, and to discuss the episodes that meant the most to them. They share highlights from episodes with: Samantha Rodman Whiten (Dr Psych Mom) on Being an Adult Child of Dysfunctional Parents. Jessica Baum on Anxious Attachment. Douglas Thomas on What You Can Learn About Yourself from Your Sexual Fantasies. Robert Glover on People Pleasing Robert Neimeyer on the Six Tasks of Grief Joseph Lee on Jungian Dream Analysis (bonus material) Alan Pearce on Comas and Near-Death Experiences (bonus material). 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: More things we learned last year and first news on exciting new projects for 2025 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 Buy Great Sex Starts at 50: How to Age-Proof Your Libido by Tracey Cox Get the advice you need on your sex life from Tracey Cox Listen to Tracey Cox and Kelsey Chittick’s SexTok podcast Follow Tracey Cox on social media: Instagram, Facebook and Twitter/X. 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’s hard to move on social media these days without bumping into a post on gratitude. If you’re wondering what all the fuss is about, this week’s classic interview with Chester Elton, “the apostle of appreciation”, is for you. According to Chester, gratitude cuts to the heart of who we really are. Gratitude exists at an emotional level and is about WHO is in our lives, WHAT we find meaningful and HOW we live. If we make time for gratitude, we can find a way to live that makes everything less stressful. Chester and Andrew also discuss the ways we can build gratitude into everyday life, adding meaning and lightness to our daily routines. Chester Elton has carried out extensive research into how gratitude can help us lead in the workplace. His books, co-authored with Adrian Gostick, include Leading With Gratitude and All In: How the Best Managers Create a Culture of Belief and Drive Big Results. 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 Chester Elton 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 Chester Elton’s Leading with Gratitude Book Sign up for Chester Elton’s free LinkedIn newsletter, The Gratitude Journal Read Chester Elton’s article on Why We Should be Grateful for Hard Times Read Jay Shetty’s book Think Like A Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day 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

Christmas is a time of heightened emotions: lots of fun, lots of food, plenty of arguments. This year Andrew invites friend of the podcast and love coach CATE MACKENZIE to explore what Christmas means to each of them. Cate and Andrew discuss: Their best and worst Christmas experiences. Christmas traditions that work. Most evocative Christmas songs Cultivating the right mindset to make the most of Christmas Accepting pain and disappointment if they arise. Cate Mackenzie is a COSRT Accredited Sex and Relationship Therapist, Love Coach and Artist. Her passion is supporting people to fall in love with themselves, with life and with others. Cate was the dating coach for Channel 4’s 'The Undateables', a flirting coach on Channel 5's 'The Jeremy Vine Show' and a Sex Therapist on Channel 4's 'Kinky Britain'. Her heart paintings have been sold in 80 countries worldwide through IKEA. 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: Different Christmases for Different Times in Your Life Three things Cate Mackenzie 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 Visit Cate Mackenzie’s website Listen to Cate Mackenzie’s podcast, Love, Pleasure and Joy with Cate Mackenzie Follow Cate Mackenzie on LinkedIn and Twitter @CateMackenzie and Instagram @Catemmackenzie 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

Do we need a complete rethink of the rituals we use to mark the end of life? This week Andrew talks to undertaker and author RU CALLENDER about what he’s learnt over the course of his career. Ru Callender became an undertaker in order to offer people a more honest experience than the stilted formality of traditional ‘Victorian’ funerals. Driven by raw emotion and the unresolved grief of losing his own parents, Ru brought an outsider, ‘DIY’ ethos to the business of death. Ru has carried coffins across windswept beaches, sat in pubs with caskets on beer-stained tables, helped children fire flaming arrows into their father’s funeral pyre, turned modern occult rituals into performance art and, with the band members of the KLF, is building the People’s Pyramid of bony bricks in Liverpool – all in the name of creating truly authentic experiences that celebrate those who are no longer here and those who remain. 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 design a ritual Three things Ru Callender 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 Ru Callender’s book, What Remains? Life, Death and the Human Art of Undertaking Follow Ru Callender on X/Twitter @wayswithweirds 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

What does it mean to be wise? Do we grow in wisdom as we age? Pioneering neuropsychiatric researcher Dr Dilip Jeste has spent years investigating the biological and cognitive roots of wisdom. In this reissued classic episode, Andrew and Dilip discuss what we mean when we talk about wisdom, and whether we can, in fact, grow wiser. Dilip describes what he has established as the key components of the wise individual: Self-reflection Empathy and compassion (including for yourself) Emotional regulation and resilience Gratitude Openness to new experiences Spirituality Andrew and Dilip also talk about cultural differences in the treatment of older people, and how we miss out when we ignore the wisdom of our parents and grandparents. Dr Dilip Jeste is a neuropsychiatrist, as well as the author of Wiser: The Scientific Roots of Wisdom, Compassion and What Makes Us Good. Dilip has spent more than 20 years studying aspects of wisdom and healthy aging, and is a professor of psychiatry and neurosciences and the director of the Center for Healthy Aging at UC San Diego. He is also a past president of the American Psychiatric Association. 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 Dilip Jeste 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 Dr Dilip Jeste’s book Wiser: The Scientific Roots of Wisdom, Compassion and What Makes Us Good Visit Dr Dilip Jeste’s website Follow the UC San Diego Center for Healthy Aging on Twitter @UCSDHealthAging and Facebook @ucsd.healthy.aging 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

What if the answers you’re looking for in your life were available to you every night, if only you could learn to pay attention to your dreams? This week Andrew welcomes to the podcast the eminent psychoanalyst and This Jungian Life co-host JOSEPH LEE, co-author of the new book Dream Wise: Unlocking the Meaning of Your Dreams. Andrew and Joseph discuss how developing a practice of dreamwork can enable you to start a dialogue between your surface and your depths. For many, dream analysis quickly becomes an essential aid in achieving a deeper understanding of the self. Andrew and Joseph embark on an in-depth analysis of Andrew’s recent dream about an encounter in a science laboratory, offering a masterclass in the art of dream interpretation. Joseph R. Lee is a senior certified Jungian analyst; a leading podcaster who introduces Jung’s ideas to a broad national and international audience; a lecturer; and a seasoned clinician. His private practice focuses on the psycho-spiritual healing and strengthening of men. Joseph is also the co-creator of Dream School, a 12-month online program in the art of Jungian dream interpretation. 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: Joseph Lee shares what makes his life meaningful. Andrew reflects on the experience of having his dream analysed by Joseph Lee. 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 Dream Wise: Unlocking the Meaning of Your Dreams, by Lisa Marchiano, Deborah Stewart and Joseph Lee. Listen to This Jungian Life podcast. Take a look at Dream School, This Jungian Life’s 12-month online course in the art of Jungian dream interpretation. Get 10% off until December 31st with the code Holiday2024. Follow Joseph Lee on Instagram @jungiananalyst, and This Jungian Life on YouTube, Instagram and X/Twitter @thisjungianlifepodcast. 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

Matthew Fray is the author of the viral article “My Wife Divorced Me Because I Left the Dishes By the Sink”. His divorce left him emotionally crushed: struggling not to cry all the time, and finding it hard even to breathe. In this reissued classic episode, Andrew and Matthew talk about the lessons of Matthew’s failed marriage, and about how Matthew is using his own experiences in his coaching work with men experiencing relationship difficulties. According to Matthew, “the things that destroy our relationships work like cancer…by the time we detect the problem, it’s already too late”. His work is based around helping men to see the problems earlier, and to build the emotional toolkit so many of them are missing. Matthew Fray works as a relationship coach and writer. He blogs at On the Rocks, and his latest book is This is How Your Marriage Ends: A Hopeful Approach to Saving Relationships. 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 Matthew Fray 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 Matthew Fray’s book This Is How Your Marriage Ends: A Hopeful Approach to Saving Relationships Read Matthew’s writing on relationships at his blog, On the Rocks. Follow Matthew on Twitter @MBTTTR and on Facebook @matthewfrayMBTTTR Read Andrew’s book Can We Start Again Please? Twenty Questions to Fall Back in Love 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

Whether you’re a talented artist or a complete butterfingers, art and creativity can be a gateway to healing. This week Jungian analyst and professional artist Mark Dean joins Andrew to discuss the connection between art and psychological growth. Mark and Andrew discuss: The power of exploring imagery, symbols and fairy tales. How art can help us transcend the rational and make contact with our soul. Why the creative field in which you’re least talented can sometimes prove the most psychologically fruitful. Mark Dean is a Jungian Psychoanalyst living and working in Pennsylvania. Mark formerly worked as an artist, an art therapist, and arts educator before turning his attention primarily to the practice of analysis. He currently is a senior supervising analyst with the C.G Jung Institute in Philadelphia and the Pittsburgh Society for Jungian Analysts. He currently is the Seminar Coordinator for the Philadelphia Association of Jungian Analysts. Mark is also a member of the Interregional Society of Jungian Analysts and the International Association of Analytical Psychologists. 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: What is a complex? How do I deal with mine? Three Things Mark Dean 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 Visit Mark Dean’s website Take a look at the courses Mark Dean offers for Jung Platform. 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

“Midlife is when those dreams we had when we were young but put aside to earn a living or raise a family can finally be revisited; it’s never too late to be what you wanted to be”. This is the philosophy of Noon, a community for women in midlife created by Eleanor Mills. Eleanor experienced her own reckoning with midlife after leaving her job with the Sunday Times, confronting an empty nest and dealing with Covid. She embarked on a journey to explore new ways of living and find her “next act”. In this classic episode, Eleanor and Andrew discuss shifting your perspective on midlife and seeing it as a space without a map. Unlike your twenties, thirties and even forties, there are few expectations around family and career, meaning you can chart your own way and be what you’ve always wanted to be. If you’re feeling lost or alone after decades of putting other people first, or are exhausted dealing with midlife stresses like divorce, bereavement, redundancy, difficult teens, elderly parents or health problems, then this is the episode for you. Eleanor Mills is a British journalist who has worked for titles including The Sunday Times and The Times. She was the editorial director of The Sunday Times and editor of its magazine until March 2020. Eleanor is also the founder of https://www.noon.org.uk and inherspace.co.uk 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 Eleanor Mills 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 Visit the Noon website and community created by Eleanor Mills. Follow Eleanor on Twitter @EleanorMills, on Instagram @eleanorkjmills and on LinkedIn Find out more about Claire Du Bois and her Tree Sisters organisation. Take a look at Jarvis Smith’s business My Green Pod. Read Raynor Winn’s book The Salt Path 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

If you and your partner feel more like roommates than lovers, this week’s episode is for you. Author, physician and spiritual teacher Dr Robert Carabelli shares with Andrew his top five strategies for keeping passion alive in a long-term relationship. According to Robert, sex is a gift from the divine, and you and your partner can reach “incredible heights”, no matter your age or level of work-related exhaustion. Andrew and Robert discuss how men can better understand what women want in the bedroom, assessing each other’s “energetic systems”, and why your sex life needs to change and grow as you age. Dr Robert Carabellli is a physician who lives in New Jersey in the US. He is also the author of Sexual Energy, Spiritual Power. 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 Be Better At Talking About Sex With Your Partner. Three Things Dr Robert Carabelli 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 Dr Robert Carabelli’s book, Sexual Energy, Spiritual Power Visit Dr Robert Carabelli’s 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: 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

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

How do we find meaning in a difficult childhood and a troubled mother-daughter relationship? In this classic episode, Nigerian-American writer, mindfulness practitioner and educator Itoro Bassey speaks with Andrew about how to mother the wounded child inside. Itoro now lives in Nigeria (after being born and raised in the USA) and is the founder of the digital course, From Surviving to Thriving: Becoming Your Own Inner Author. This course uses writing and energy work to bring students into the present moment. Itoro has published on culture, identity, and healing for over ten years and now offers intuitive counseling sessions for those in need of support. 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 Itoro Bassey 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 Follow Itoro Bassey on Instagram or contact her at [email protected] Read some of Itoro’s writing on culture, family and identity: How to let go of your family's expectations. Becoming My Own Woman... The Nigerian and tenderness How I’m Mothering the Wounded Kid Inside Who Just Wanted Love Read about Questions for Ada by Ijeoma Umebinyuo. 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

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

As children we were probably taught that being selfish was a great evil, to be avoided at all costs. Jungian analyst and author Bud Harris, however, feels that “sacred selfishness” can be a path to genuine self-love, forgiveness and the wholeness we crave. In this episode, Andrew and Bud discuss How to value ourselves and live meaningful lives we love. How to become authentic humans, who give back vitality and hope to others. How to love others without losing ourselves. What true self-love and self-forgiveness mean. Bud Harris, PhD, is one of the most prolific Jungian authors of our time. He has authored and co-authored over 20 books, and has been in the field of Jungian psychology for more than 40 years. After an early career in business, he experienced a call to become a Jungian analyst, and moved to Zurich, Switzerland, for his training. Now in his 80s, he lives and practices in North Carolina. 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 Transforming Power of Suffering. Three things Bud Harris 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 Bud Harris’s book Sacred Selfishness Visit Bud Harris’ 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

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

Would you like your life to be less focused on others’ reactions and more informed by your own principles? Would you like to stop feeling responsible for the experiences of others? This week I talk to therapist and author Dr Kathleen Smith about how to stop pleasing other people, find your authentic self, and, in the process, become less anxious and develop richer relationships. We cover: Identifying relationship patterns that keep you stuck. Relying less on praise and approval from others. Building a solid sense of self in anxious times. Building more authentic and rewarding relationships. 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: What is your anxiety language? 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 Kathleen Smith’s new book True to You: A Therapist’s Guide to Stop Pleasing Others and Start Being Yourself Read Kathleen Smith’s other books, Everything Isn't Terrible: Conquer Your Insecurities, Interrupt Your Anxiety, and Finally Calm Down and The Fangirl Life: A Guide to All the Feels and Learning How to Deal. Read and/or subscribe to Kathleen Smith’s Substack, The Anxious Overachiever Take a look at Kathleen Smith’s website Follow Kathleen Smith on Twitter @fangirltherapy and on Facebook @kathleensmithwrites 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

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

People who have near-death experiences or who survive medically-induced comas report back disturbing and beautiful experiences. Some encounter ultra-vivid nightmares, while others undergo a deep, spiritual oneness with the universe or say they have glimpsed the afterlife. Journalist and author Alan Pearce and his wife, Beverly Pearce, are the authors of Coma and Near-Death Experience: The Beautiful, Disturbing, and Dangerous World of the Unconscious. In this episode Andrew and Alan discuss some of the extraordinary states of expanded consciousness that arise during comas, both positive and negative. They explore some of the alternatives to medically-induced coma that are safer for treating critically ill patients and kinder for the patients and their families. Alan Pearce is a journalist, broadcaster, former BBC correspondent, and author of several books. He has contributed to numerous publications, from Time Magazine to The Sunday Times of London. He lives in Nouvelle Aquitaine, France. 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: Taking a forty-day dark retreat. Three things Alan Pearce 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 Buy Alan Pearce’s book Coma and Near-Death Experience: The Beautiful, Disturbing, and Dangerous World of the Unconscious Visit Alan Pearce’s 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

The Meaningful Life Classic Episode: Richard Paterson on “No More Overthinking”. Do you struggle to sleep, your mind buzzing with worries about the future? Do you compare yourself to others and find yourself always coming up short? This week’s episode is all about ditching overthinking and seeking happiness that ISN’T determined by external circumstances. Richard Paterson, my guest this week, has trained throughout his life to quiet the thinking mind and unearth “ a treasure trove of uncaused peace, joy, love and perfect contentment waiting to be discovered—your true Self”. Richard spent much of his twenties and thirties training in Indian ashrams, learning from spiritual masters about meditation and the causes of human suffering. He is trained in techniques of mindfulness and has taken vows as a monk. Richard has travelled the world teaching meditation and mindfulness and is the author of several books. Follow Up 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. Take a look at Richard Paterson’s website Read Richard’s books Kick the Thinking Habit and Awaken the Happy You Read Andrew’s advice on keeping a journal of your life and emotions. Get Andrew’s advice on creating real change in your life and relationships in his book Wake Up and Change Your Life: How to Survive a Crisis and Be Stronger, Wiser and Happier: 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

If you’re feeling “stuck” in your relationships, asking new kinds of questions can be a powerful way forward. This week Andrew talks with filmmaker and author Topaz Adizes about starting conversations that lead to a deeper, more authentic connection. Andrew and Topaz discuss Topaz’s new book, 12 Questions for Love, and highlight the importance of: Cultivating genuine curiosity. Asking open-ended questions. The “connective question”, which draws both the asker and the responder into a shared experience. Creating the right space to ask deeper questions. The difference between a question with an agenda, and a question with an intention. Topaz Adizes is an Emmy Award-winning writer, director, and experience design architect. He is an Edmund Hillary fellow and Sundance/Skoll stories of change fellow. His works have been selected to Cannes, Sundance, IDFA, and SXSW; featured in New Yorker magazine, Vanity Fair, and the New York Times; and have garnered an Emmy for new approaches to documentary and Two World Press photo awards for immersive storytelling and interactive documentary. He is currently the founder and executive director of the experience design studio The Skin Deep. Topaz studied philosophy at UC Berkeley and Oxford University. He speaks four languages, and currently lives in Mexico with his wife and two children. 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 Topaz Adizes knows to be true. How To Be More Vulnerable. 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 For more about The Skin Deep, visit TheSkinDeep.com. To learn more about Topaz Adizes and his work, visit TopazAdizes.com. Follow Topaz Adizes and The Skin Deep on Instagram, Twitter/X, YouTube and Facebook. 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 and on Substack at The Meaningful Life.

The Meaningful Life Classic Episode: TRACEY COX on Great Sex After 50 No-one would deny sex is important to a meaningful life, but what that looks like changes as we age. In this first episode of The Meaningful Life, international sex therapist and Daily Mail columnist Tracey Cox discusses her book Great Sex Starts at 50: How to Age-Proof Your Libido. While wild, lustful sex can certainly be a unique and special life experience, the sex that brings us meaning is different. It’s the sex that lasts past the orgasm, to include that afterglow as you lie together or even just make each other a post-coital cup of tea. It’s about building a sexual relationship that is not solely focused on orgasm. Meaningful sex is also sex that the two of you work on - after twenty years you probably won’t want to rip each other’s clothes off, but you CAN plan time to devote to each other, to try new things and create desire. Trying new things is something the majority of couples never do - but it’s a simple recipe for exciting, meaningful sex, and Tracey and Andrew have plenty of tips on where to start. 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 Tracey Cox 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. Buy Great Sex Starts at 50: How to Age-Proof Your Libido by Tracey Cox Get the advice you need on your sex life from Tracey Cox. Listen to Tracey Cox and Kelsey Chittick’s SexTok podcast Follow Tracey Cox on social media: Instagram, Facebook and Twitter/X. Put the spark back in your relationship with Andrew’s book Have The Sex You Want https://andrewgmarshall.com/book/have-the-sex-you-want-a-couples-guide-to-getting-back-the-spark/ Read Andrew’s advice on what to do if your partner says the passion is gone 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 and on Substack at The Meaningful Life.

Grief is a painful and confusing journey. Often, the culture encourages us to “move on”, squashing our grief down so that those around us are comfortable. This week Andrew talks to author and grief coach Shelby Forsythia. They discuss: Whether grief can turn “toxic” Coping with other people’s responses Living with grief as your companion Creating grief rituals Different causes of grief - death, divorce, infidelity, loss of identity. Shelby Forsythia is a grief coach, author, and podcast host. In 2020, she founded Life After Loss Academy, an online course and community that has helped dozens of grievers grow and find their way after death, divorce, diagnosis, and other major life transitions. Following her mother’s death in 2013, Shelby began calling herself a “student of grief” and now devotes her days to reading, writing, and speaking about loss. Through a combination of mindfulness tools and intuitive, open-ended questions, she guides her clients to welcome grief as a teacher and create meaningful lives that honour and include the heartbreaks they’ve faced. Her work has been featured in Huffington Post, Bustle, and The Oprah Magazine. 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 grieve the person you used to be. Three things Shelby Forsythia 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 Visit Shelby Forsythia’s website Follow Shelby Forsythia on social media Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | TikTok 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 and on Substack at The Meaningful Life.

Are you successful in the eyes of family and friends, but still feel empty and a little lost? Is there a nagging voice telling you that your life could have been bigger? Dr Esther Zeledon had scaled the heights of career success as a scientist and international diplomat, but suffered from a strong sense that things weren’t right. She left behind a successful career to become a life coach, author, speaker and workshop facilitator centred on the mission of helping others create their “limitless life”. Andrew and Esther discuss: Esther’s personal journey Overcoming negative voices Defining the meaning of success Finding clarity on your next steps. Dr. Esther Zeledón embodies the resilient spirit of a Latina immigrant. Her rich and diverse background has been the cornerstone of her trailblazing work as a life coach, speaker, workshop facilitator, former international diplomat, and scientist. With a commitment to inclusivity, Dr. Zeledón has transformed the lives of thousands worldwide, bridging gaps across communities, corporations, and countries. Dr. Zeledón's book, "Creating Your Limitless Life," blends her personal memoir and life-changing method and follows her journey from paycheck-to-paycheck to creating her limitless life. Through her work, she lives her purpose of elevating people and organisations to shatter limits and trailblaze. 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: Coping with the fear of being judged. Three things Esther Zeledon 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 Dr Esther Zeledon’s book, Creating Your Limitless Life: On Your Terms. Visit Dr Esther Zeledon's website Follow Dr Esther Zeledon on Instagram @be.act.change 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 and on Substack at The Meaningful Life.

Grandparents love to spoil their grandchildren and make them happy, whereas as a parent, you take your responsibility for your children’s health and wellbeing seriously. This, together with different experiences of what childhood means, can be a recipe for anxiety and conflict. In this episode, parenting expert Sue Atkins talks with Andrew about how to have positive conversations with your in-laws. Andrew and Sue cover: When to start a conversation. Recognising the value of grandparents’ input. Discussing where shared values might lie. Finding balance and seeing the bigger picture. What to do if your in-laws just won’t observe your boundaries. Sue Atkins has over 35 years experience as a parenting coach and Deputy Headteacher, and has raised two children of her own. She is the Parenting Expert for ITV’s ‘This Morning’, BBC Radio, Disney Junior, Good Morning Britain and India’s Parenting World Magazine. Sue has a B.Ed (Hons) Degree and is a qualified Life Coach. She is also an NLP Master Practitioner & Trainer taught by Dr Richard Bandler & Paul McKenna. 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: Support yourself and your child through change. Three things Sue Atkins 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 Visit Sue Atkins’ website. Follow Sue Atkins on Instagram @sueatkinsparentingexpert, on Twitter/X @SueAtkins and on Facebook @SueAtkinsTheParentingExpert. 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 and on Substack at The Meaningful Life.

Parents like to feel they are independent individuals making their own decisions, but in reality parenting is hugely influenced by our own experiences of childhood. In this classic early episode, Andrew and therapist and author Philippa Perry talk about how we are “links in a chain", and why it is important for parents to recognise that and ensure their own links are shaped to the needs of their children. Philippa Perry is a psychotherapist and author of several books, including The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will be Glad That You Did) and How To Stay Sane. She has also presented a number of documentaries, is Red Magazine’s agony aunt, and writes for numerous British publications. Philippa has also starred alongside her husband Grayson Perry in the recent Channel 4 series, Grayson’s Art Club. 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 Philippa Perry 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 https://andrewgmarshall.com/download/ Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools Read Philippa Perry’s book The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will be Glad That You Did) Read Philippa’s advice column in Red Magazine Follow Philippa on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram Read The Orchid and the Dandelion: Why Sensitive Children Face Challenges and How All Can Thrive by W Thomas Boyce MD. Read Andrew’s book on building a stronger relationship as parents: I Love You But You Always Put Me Last: How to Child-Proof Your Marriage 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 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 and on Substack at The Meaningful Life.

Each month, 20% of us embark on a new diet. Sadly, 95% of all diets prove unsuccessful. According to psychologist and author Dr Pam Spurr, emotional eating to soothe difficult feelings is to blame. This week Andrew and Pam discuss the ways emotional eating is culturally ingrained, other strategies to self-soothe and how you can develop a more holistic approach to your health. Pam also offers some advice to Andrew on his struggles with his doctor’s orders to cut back on crisps and crackers! Dr Pam Spurr is an academic and a psychologist who works mainly in the media, including as an agony aunt. She also works as a well-being consultant to city corporations where she triages employees for psychological services. Pam has written 15 self-help books on topics from happiness to dating and The Emotional Eater's Diet. Her first children’s book is Eva the Bear and the Magic Snowflake and has just been published. Pam has had countless magazine and newspaper columns over the years, including in The Times, the Sun, the Express and in media outlets from Cosmo Bride to MSN and many others. She regularly appears on TV programmes including Sky News, Talk TV, GB News and the BBC. She was a popular contributor on the Big Brother shows for 12 years. 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: Ten essential principles to change your life Three things Dr Pam Spurr 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 Dr Pam Spurr’s new book for children Eva the Bear and the Magic Snowflake Read Dr Pam Spurr’s book The Emotional Eater’s Diet Read Dr Pam Spurr’s other books about sex and relationships. Visit Dr Pam Spurr’s website Follow Dr Pam Spurr on Twitter/X and Instagram @drpamspurr 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

As a child, were you made to feel like your feelings didn’t matter, while your parents’ feelings loomed large? Were your boundaries repeatedly crossed? Were you emotionally neglected? If so, you may have been raised by emotionally immature parents. In this episode Andrew talks to TikTok's popular healing transformation coach Dr. Kai Tai Kevin Qiu, the author of Emotionally Immature Parents: A Recovery Workbook for Adult Children. Andrew and Kai discuss: How to know if your parents were emotionally immature. Creating boundaries in the present day Processing difficult memories Developing a non-judgmental approach towards yourself, others and even your parents. Dr Kai Tai Kevin Qiu is the founder of Boundaries to Freedom, a healing transformation coach, digital nomad, and digital creator. His holistic and practical approach is based on his experience studying medicine, personal development, positive psychology, Buddhism, and spirituality. He is a first generation Chinese-Canadian currently living part-time in Thailand, Canada, and Europe. 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: Setting consequences if your parents can't stay within the boundaries. Three things Dr Kai Tai Kevin Qiu 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 Visit Dr Kai’s website Get Dr Kai’s book Emotionally Immature Parents: A Recovery Workbook for Adult Children Take Dr Kai’s Am I Emotionally Immature Quiz Follow Dr Kai on Instagram and TikTok @hicoachkai 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

Gaslighting is an insidious form of emotional abuse in which a gaslighter undermines and controls another person by deflecting, twisting, and denying their reality. Gaslighting leaves victims second-guessing themselves, unable to make decisions and destabilised by constant shifts in reality. In this week’s episode, Andrew talks to author and psychoanalyst Dr Robin Stern about gaslighting, and how to pull yourself out of this form of emotional abuse. Andrew and Robin discuss what makes you vulnerable to gaslighting, how to build your capacity to trust yourself, and how to identify the gaslight effect in different relationships. Robin also shares her personal experiences of gaslighting. Dr Robin Stern co-founded the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence with Marc Brackett and currently serves as the senior advisor to the director. She is the author of The Gaslight Effect: How to Spot and Survive the Hidden Manipulation Others Use to Control Your Life, and a follow-up workbook edition, The Gaslight Effect Recovery Guide. She launched The Gaslight Effect Podcast in 2022. 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: Gaslighting in the workplace. Three things Dr Robin Stern 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 Dr Robin Stern’s books The Gaslight Effect: How to Spot and Survive the Hidden Manipulation Others Use to Control Your Life, and The Gaslight Effect Recovery Guide. Visit Dr Robin Stern’s website Listen to the Gaslight Effect Podcast Follow Dr Robin Stern on Instagram @dr.robinstern, on Facebook @drrobinstern and Twitter/X @RobinSStern. 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

Sex and pornography addiction is on the rise. It can affect young and old, rich and poor, male and female. Those who are in the grip of this type of addiction struggle to create and maintain "real-life" relationships, and their partners may experience feelings of grief and betrayal. In this episode Andrew talks with psychotherapist Dr Paula Hall about pornography and sex addiction. Andrew and Paula discuss: What we mean by “addiction” in this context. How pornography can wreck a couple’s sex life. Starting your recovery. Moving forward as a couple if one of you has a pornography or sex addiction. Dr Paula Hall is the founder of the Laurel Centre, and the author of 4 books on sex and porn addiction, as well as two Relate Guides, and Improving Your Relationship for Dummies. Her most recent venture is founding the not-for-profit organisation, Pivotal Recovery, to provide anonymous, accessible, professional self-help for people struggling with sex and porn addiction. 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: New life after addiction. Three things Paula Hall 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 Dr Paula Hall’s books, including Sex Addiction: The Partner’s Perspective and Sex Addiction: A Guide for Couples and Those Who Help Them. Visit the Laurel Centre website for resources on pornography and sex addiction, including videos, articles, courses and counselling options. ​ Watch the video The Road to Brighton, which is discussed in this episode. Visit the Pivotal Recovery website for an affordable, online therapy-based programme to quit porn addiction, sex addiction and compulsive sexual behaviours. Follow Dr Paula Hall on Twitter/X @paulahall_psych. 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