Tami Simon, founder of the spiritual wisdom publishing house Sounds True, goes through much of her life feeling like an alien. Often misunderstood, Tami yearns to discover where she fits in. In today’s episode, she shares the story of how an otherworldly experience teaches her that she can tune into the frequency of finding belonging. Listen to Henry Shukman's Meditative Story here: https://listen.meditativestory.com/HenryShukmanNL Find out more about the incredible offerings from Sounds True here: https://www.soundstrue.com Find Sounds True on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/soundstrue/ If this episode resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story in your podcast player. It helps other listeners find their way to the show, and we’d be so grateful. Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.com Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: https://meditativestory.com/subscribe See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What can we discover about time when we slow down and focus on each passing moment? This Leap Year gives us a special opportunity to reflect on our relationship with time. Join Rohan in this guided meditation about the nature of time, and how to embrace the fact that time, at its core, means change. We value your input. Please find the Meditative Story Survey here: https://meditativestory.com/survey If this episode resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story in your podcast player. It helps other listeners find their way to the show, and we’d be so grateful. Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.com Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: https://meditativestory.com/subscribe See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tony and Academy Award-winning actress Marcia Gay Harden recognizes that, like so many of us, she is who she is because of the people that raised her. In this episode, Marcia Gay tells the story of how she’s learned to reevaluate all that she inherited from her parents, and to let go of learned patterns that no longer serve her. To hear more from Marcia Gay, check out her upcoming children’s mindful bedtime podcast “Snoriezzz,” co-produced by Natalie Peyton. Listen to Shawn Colvin's Meditative Story, "What my father gave me": http://listen.meditativestory.com/ShawnColvinWW Find out more about Marcia Gay here: http://theofficialmarciagayharden.com/ Find Marcia Gay on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/mgh_8 We value your input. Please find the Meditative Story Survey here: https://meditativestory.com/survey If this episode resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story in your podcast player. It helps other listeners find their way to the show, and we’d be so grateful. Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.com Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: https://meditativestory.com/subscribe See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Growing up, Rachel Cargle was used to seeing things her family couldn’t afford. As she got older, became a writer, lecturer, and philanthropist, she continued to seek opportunities just beyond her grasp. Hard work and creativity allowed her to grow successful as an entrepreneur, but deeper challenges still remained. In this episode of Meditative Story, Rachel unfolds how she found fulfillment by turning her gifts outward. Listen to Larry Jackson’s episode of Meditative Story, "To visualize ... and make it so": http://listen.meditativestory.com/LarryJacksonSeason1 Learn more about The Loveland Foundation, Inc., Rachel's non-profit organization offering free therapy to Black women and girls: https://thelovelandfoundation.org/ Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.com Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: https://meditativestory.com/subscribe See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Academy Award-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter has long been able to tap into her unique gifts as an artist to create beauty. In today’s episode, she shares how she learned to use her gifts to create opportunities for healing as well, especially when mourning the loss of her friend and colleague Chadwick Boseman.  Find Ruth on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealruthecarter/ Find Ruth’s book, The Art of Ruth E. Carter: https://www.chroniclebooks.com/products/the-art-of-ruth-e-carter If this episode resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story in your podcast player. It helps other listeners find their way to the show, and we’d be so grateful. Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.com Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: https://meditativestory.com/subscribe See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When life pulls us in a million different directions, it’s easy to feel distracted. The harder it is to quiet our minds, the more difficult it can be to find the moments of peace that are so essential to our well–being. In today’s meditation, Rohan guides us through three tools that can help us build our practice of finding steadiness and stability.  If this episode resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story in your podcast player. It helps other listeners find their way to the show, and we’d be so grateful. Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.com Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: https://meditativestory.com/subscribe See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lawyer and master communicator Jefferson Fisher loves taking care of other people. You can feel this in the supportive videos he posts on his wildly popular social media channels. Again and again he puts the wants and needs of others ahead of his own. In his story this week, Jefferson discovers the power of showing up for himself, and when he does, he’s given the chance to show up more fully for others. Listen to Jane McGonigal's Meditative Story, "Finding my own reflection": https://listen.meditativestory.com/JaneMcGonigalPIO Find Jefferson on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jefferson_fisher Find Jefferson on Facebook: https://facebook.com/justaskjefferson Find Jefferson on TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@justaskjefferson If this episode resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story in your podcast player. It helps other listeners find their way to the show, and we’d be so grateful. Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.com Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: https://meditativestory.com/subscribe See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lulu Wang, writer-director of The Farewell, and Expats, grows up in a family where the expectations for her future are clear: she’s destined to become a piano prodigy, and she must be grateful for the sacrifices her parents have made to give her that opportunity. In today’s episode, Lulu tells the story of how she finally finds her own space away from those expectations, and in doing so, unlocks the joy of making her own discoveries. Listen to Franklin Leonard's Meditative Story, "Writing the main character": https://listen.meditativestory.com/FranklinLeonardPIO Lulu’s new show, EXPATS, can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/Expats-Season-1/dp/B0CMHGXRHN  Find Lulu on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thumbelulu/ Find Lulu on X: https://twitter.com/thumbelulu If this episode resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story in your podcast player. It helps other listeners find their way to the show, and we’d be so grateful. Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.com Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: https://meditativestory.com/subscribe See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Garrett McNamara is a legend in the surfing world who’s ridden some of the biggest waves on the planet. To maintain his surfing career, Garrett spends all his time and energy chasing the next big swell. But when he unexpectedly gets knocked off his board, he has to step away from doing the thing that makes him the happiest. He tells the story of how he learns to embrace all the moments life has to offer, rather than always chasing the next wave. Garrett’s television show “100 Foot Wave” won an Emmy award for Outstanding Cinematography For A Nonfiction Program at the 2024 ceremony. Listen to Keith Yamashita's Meditative Story, "Starting the story of my life again": https://listen.meditativestory.com/KeithYamashitaPIO Find out more about Garrett and the McNamara Foundation: https://www.garrettmcnamara.com Find Garrett on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mcnamara_s/ If this episode resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story in your podcast player. It helps other listeners find their way to the show, and we’d be so grateful. Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.com Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: https://meditativestory.com/subscribe See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

CNN’s 2023 Hero of the Year, veterinarian Dr. Kwane Stewart, has long had a passion for helping animals. Yet when a difficult work environment leaves him entirely depleted, he starts to consider walking away from his profession forever. It’s only when an unexpected encounter reminds him to return to the fundamentals, that he rediscovers the magic of his craft. Listen to Hrishikesh Hirway's Meditative Story, "Giving myself permission to create": https://listen.meditativestory.com/HrishikeshHirwayPIO Visit Dr. Stewart's website: drkwanestreetvet.com  Find Dr. Stewart on Instagram: https://instagram.com/drkwane Fine Project Street Vet on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thestreetvet Discover Dr. Stewart's book, What it Takes to Save a Life: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/what-it-takes-to-save-a-life-kwane-stewart?variant=40766843846690 Learn more about Dr. Stewart's CNN Hero Award: https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/10/world/cnn-hero-of-the-year-dr-kwane-stewart-homeless-pets/index.html If this episode resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story in your podcast player. It helps other listeners find their way to the show, and we’d be so grateful. Each episode of Meditative Story combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with immersive music and gentle mindfulness prompts. Read the transcript for this story: meditativestory.com Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: https://meditativestory.com/subscribe See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.