How can we find meaning in our lives?
We believe that our lives can be more meaningful. This podcast series explores how you can be more “you”.
How can you get up everyday and feel calm and at one with the world? How can you conquer the demons of anxiety and burnout? And how to make your relationships more loving, nurturing and equal?
We find some of the answers (and more of the questions) with Andrew in warm, relaxed conversations with therapists, authors, academics, philosophers and poets.
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Popular Episodes
The Meaningful Life now has over 220 episodes – here are some of our listeners’ favourites:
Matthew Fray: How Good People Mess Up Their Marriages
Nobody sets out to ruin their relationship but because we think it is the big things – infidelity, money problems and in-laws – that lead to divorce, we overlook the small quiet problems that spread like cancer. By the time you spot them, the marriage is already in the emergency ward.
Matthew Fray is the author of viral hit blog post: ‘My wife divorced me because I left the dishes by the sink’ and the book ‘This is how your marriage ends’. Andrew and Matthew discuss how the small things – like when men do not clean up after themselves – can lead to not just long running rows but women feeling their husband is not taking them seriously and ultimately that they can’t trust him. A must listen for every couple because it prompts a productive conversation about your everyday fault-lines.
Dr Kathryn Mannix: How to Listen, Really Listen
Everyone thinks they can listen; it’s just a matter of not interrupting your partner! But do you REALLY listen, take on board what they are saying and explore their truth?
Dr Kathryn Mannix is a consultant in palliative care medicine and has spent a life time giving end of life care to patients and supporting their families. She is the author of ‘Listen: How to find the words for tender conversations.’
Andrew and Kathryn discuss how to approach difficult subjects, when to sit with silence and when to talk and how to be there for each other. Full of moving stories from Kathryn’s case book, this episode is a masterclass in better communication.
Dr. James Hollis: How to Be Resilient
If you want to know Andrew’s favourite guest, it has got to be Jungian Analyst and author James Hollis. When Andrew has been facing difficult challenges himself, he has always turned to his books. He is the author he recommends most often to his clients too.
James talks about resilience and how to find the “strength within”, not just from a professional perspective, but from a personal one too. At the time of the recording, he was 80, recovering from a hip replacement and dealing with two types of cancer. However, he was still seeing clients and writing his books. Andrew and James talk about the most important question that you can ask yourself: What is trying to come into the world through you? They also offer guidance on how to start to answer it.
Prof. Paul Gilbert: Compassion: How to Develop Self-Acceptance
Have you ever wondered how much better life would be if you could just be a little less self-critical and kinder to yourself? That’s why I invited one of the leading figures in the field of compassion onto my podcast.
Paul Gilbert is a Professor of Clinical Psychology at University of Derby and the founder of their Centre for Compassion research and training. We discuss why self compassion isn’t weakness and some practical ways to be more compassionate including mindfulness, how to deal with the inner bully and dealing with anxiety and anger. Being compassionate is so much more than being nice, tune in and find out how.
Dr Anna Colton: How to Sit With Anxiety
Do you feel restless and wound up? Do you have difficulty concentrating? Are you irritable? Do you have headaches and other unexplained pains? Do you worry a lot? Perhaps you are struggling to cope with anxiety? Maybe you suffer from anxiety attacks or, like many people today, you have been given a mental health diagnosis which includes one of the anxiety disorders. And the more, you look into this area… the more anxious you become.
That’s why I have decided to take a deep dive into the topic of anxiety with who is a clinical psychologist who specialises in working with teenagers – in particular performance anxiety. Among the topics we discuss is how to tell difference between anxiety we should listen to and the kind stopping us from growing.
Robert Jackman: Healing Your Lost Inner Child
Do you find yourself repeating patterns you know are not good for you? Do you have an internal voice saying ‘you must…’ or ‘you’ll never…’ Perhaps you’re confused about why you’re unhappy, sad, trapped but can’t get to the bottom of it. These are all signs that you might need to heal your Lost Inner Child.
My witness is Robert Jackman who is a board certified Psychotherapist and the author of ‘Healing your lost inner child: How to stop impulsive reactions, set healthy boundaries and embrace an authentic life’. We discuss some of the common ways of hiding the lost inner child. These include discounting (how serious problems have become), normalising the abnormal, avoiding bad memories, and prioritising protecting other people’s feelings over your own healing. It is one of the most popular episodes and a must listen.
Shelia Rubin: Embracing Shame and Turning it into a Powerful Ally
What is the feeling we will do almost anything to avoid? Of course, we don’t like anger, fear and anxiety, but there is a feeling we want to get even further away…. What is it? SHAME.
My witness Sheila Rubin - a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a co-founder and co-director - of the Center for Healing Shame, a clinic in Berkley California, and the co-author of the book ‘Embracing Shame; How to stop resisting shame and turn it into a powerful ally’. We discuss Sheila’s shame filled childhood, how she overcame it and three most common ways of managing shame – which don’t work. These are pendulating, resourcing and counter shaming.
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What they say
About Andrew
Andrew G. Marshall is a marital therapist with 35 years of experience, as well as a journalist, writer and podcaster.
He is the author of the international best-seller I Love You But I’m Not in Love With You, as well as two memoirs and over twenty other books on love and marriage.
Listeners say that Andrew’s warm, compelling voice helps guests “really open up”, that “you seem to scour the world for the most thoughtful and thought provoking guests” and that “you go deeper than other podcasts”.
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