Meditative Story-logo

Meditative Story

Arts & Culture Podcasts

Meditative Story combines extraordinary human stories with meditation prompts embedded into the storylines — all surrounded by breathtaking music. Think of it as an alternative way into a mindfulness practice, through vivid stories and cinematic music and production values. Meditative Story is an original series produced by WaitWhat and supported by our members. Our community tells us that they listen to the same episodes over and over again, and according to data provided by Apple Podcasts, Meditative Story may have the highest engagement of any podcast in the world. And that makes us proud!

Meditative Story combines extraordinary human stories with meditation prompts embedded into the storylines — all surrounded by breathtaking music. Think of it as an alternative way into a mindfulness practice, through vivid stories and cinematic music and production values. Meditative Story is an original series produced by WaitWhat and supported by our members. Our community tells us that they listen to the same episodes over and over again, and according to data provided by Apple Podcasts, Meditative Story may have the highest engagement of any podcast in the world. And that makes us proud!

Location:

United States

Description:

Meditative Story combines extraordinary human stories with meditation prompts embedded into the storylines — all surrounded by breathtaking music. Think of it as an alternative way into a mindfulness practice, through vivid stories and cinematic music and production values. Meditative Story is an original series produced by WaitWhat and supported by our members. Our community tells us that they listen to the same episodes over and over again, and according to data provided by Apple Podcasts, Meditative Story may have the highest engagement of any podcast in the world. And that makes us proud!

Language:

English

Episodes

Riding waves, by Paola Antonelli

7/28/2021
One summer night Paola Antonelli, now curator and head of R&D at MoMA, sets sail off the coast of Sardinia – snaking through the wavy sea with friends. She jumps off the boat, slides into the water, and makes her way to the rocks as her friends hang back, making dinner aboard. While keeping her eyes on the horizon and the setting sun, her mind wanders to the rockier questions in her life: How will she make the right choice for her future? The answer, she realizes, is right in front of her....

Duration:00:25:45

A fan’s notes on meditation: Rohan Gunatillake

7/21/2021
Loving football – specifically loving England’s team during a cup final – means resigning yourself to heartbreak, over, and over, and over. In this meditation, Rohan Gunatillake explores the singular anguish routinely visited upon dedicated fans of a favorite team. Within a mindful life, that anguish can become its own kind of beauty. Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter, to get a timely episode reminder and a mini meditation in your inbox: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD NEW: Become a...

Duration:00:19:50

Showing up is never an end in itself, by Cal Ripken Jr.

7/14/2021
Best-known for his record-setting streak of 2,632 consecutive games played, Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. is widely regarded as one of Major League Baseball’s greatest all-time players. But for Cal, just showing up is never an end in itself. It’s how he shows up that distinguishes his legacy as an athlete, a lesson Cal learns by observing his father – a baseball legend in his own right – whose dignity on and off the field extends far beyond hard work and fair play alone. Sign up for the...

Duration:00:28:15

Letting the lightness in: Stories of re-emergence

7/7/2021
All our problems haven’t magically vanished after the dark year gone by, but perhaps we’ve begun a new chapter, a slow re-awakening. In this collection of short stories, Rohan finds moments from four storytellers – Diana Nyad, Nalini Nadkarni, Franklin Leonard, and Florence Williams – that explore the singular moments that set us on a new path. Sometimes, it’s a single, pointed question. Other times, it’s an unexpected invitation. And sometimes, that moment arrives in a full-on...

Duration:00:22:19

A nurse's story, by Wayne Little

6/30/2021
Fresh out of nursing school, Wayne Little finds a treasured mentor in his first job – a nurse whose lifelong mission inspires his own. Years later, in the middle of a global pandemic, he calls on those lessons he learned so long ago. Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter, to get a timely episode reminder and a mini meditation in your inbox: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD Become a member of Meditative Story to support the show as we move away from a corporate advertising model. Your annual...

Duration:00:31:37

What holds the world together, by SG Goodman

6/24/2021
As a young girl, mowing her neighbor's lawn in the Kentucky heat, SG Goodman learns many important things: how to avoid running into the chain-link fence, the art of blowing the grass away from the house ... and the way these small, regular acts of community become the glue holding the world together. In caring for Miss Betty across the street, and in caring for the land her father farms, SG learns to love the world and its stories, its songs, its connections that sustain us. RSVP for The...

Duration:00:31:33

Robert Reich: The accounting of this parenting business

6/17/2021
It's 1996, and Robert Reich has the job of a lifetime – one that's taking a steady toll on his family. In a story he’s never told before, Reich shares the pivotal moment when he turns his economist’s eye on his own life, and realizes: It's fallen out of balance. On a muddy cross-country field, watching his older son run through the rain, he realizes what he must do to fix things. Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter, to get a timely episode reminder and a mini meditation in your...

Duration:00:33:03

A taste of Sleep Song, from the creators of Meditative Story

6/14/2021
A new bedtime experience born out of the intense love among the community for the original music of Meditative Story. Fall asleep to unforgettable, custom dream scores that settle your mind, allowing you to wind down into a sound night’s sleep. Subscribers will gain access to an archive of one-hour Sleep Song episodes plus new episodes released biweekly. Now available via subscription on Apple Podcasts and via membership to Meditative Story. Original music from Ryan Holladay, WaitWhat Music...

Duration:00:10:22

A meditation for sleep, by Rohan Gunatillake

6/12/2021
In a meditation for all the senses, Rohan guides you into a relaxed state that will quiet your mind and help you drift to sleep. Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter, to get a weekly episode reminder and a mini meditation in your inbox: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD NEW: Become a member of Meditative Story to support the show as we move away from a corporate advertising model. Your annual membership supports making the show available for free! More:...

Duration:00:12:15

Fighting my fears – and winning in spite of losing, by Thomas Page McBee

6/9/2021
Thomas Page McBee is an author and a journalist – and was the first transgender man to box in Madison Square Garden. But that fight wasn't about overpowering an opponent. It was about confronting his own fears – of masculinity, of aggression and inadequacy – and winning. Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter, to get a timely episode reminder and a mini meditation in your inbox: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD NEW: Become a member of Meditative Story to support the show as we move away from...

Duration:00:23:04

To walk the Earth, by Tri Robinson

6/2/2021
In the morning, Idaho pastor Tri Robinson herds cattle and mends fences; in the evening, he writes sermons. But the two parts of his life don't feel connected. He feels such a deep love of the natural world, in all its beauty, all its fragility. But what is he doing, as a leader, to help preserve that precious creation? As he carries that question with him on his daily rides, he realizes: he's about to make a monumental decision. To change the way he walks in his faith – and walks on the...

Duration:00:31:42

Max Richter: Music, memory, moments

5/27/2021
As a young composer, Max Richter is searching for his voice, the sound of a music that is uniquely his. But what he has is only a box of fragments, song experiments, half-formed questions. He sits with them, he thinks on them, he lets them mature – and then he realizes: This is exactly the music he wants to make. As he shapes the fragments into his early masterpiece Memoryhouse, he finds the beauty in moving between modes, working in the mysterious space out of time that only music can...

Duration:00:33:54

Alright after a fateful night, by Scott and Brian Nicholson

5/19/2021
Twins Scott and Brian Nicholson are dancers and choreographers on tour with Ariana Grande. Onstage, the three of them move across the stage as a tight unit – Scott and Brian like a mirror image of protective energy around Ariana, like a stereo amplifying her energy. But when an unimaginable tragedy strikes, that energy is shattered. Until they realize – they must keep moving. Together. Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter, to get a timely episode reminder and a mini meditation in...

Duration:00:33:25

Learning resilience from earth's edge, by Tony Tjan

5/13/2021
"Cape Spear always calls me back." Tony Tjan grows up in the cold and dramatic landscape of Newfoundland, where snow piles high and storms rage – but the neighbors always keep a door open to help one another. Returning home for a visit as an adult, he recalls childhood stories of abundance and adaptation, as he and his family learn to love this life on the Easternmost point of North America – in the place where the sun strikes first. Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter, to get a...

Duration:00:34:22

One envelope at a time, by Hannah Brencher

5/8/2021
When she went off to college, Hannah Brencher started a simple habit: exchanging handwritten letters with her mom. Inside the envelopes that arrived in her dorm mailbox, she begins to know her mother, for the first time, as a person – and as a friend. Read a transcript of this story at: https://meditativestory.com/ Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter, to get a timely episode reminder and a mini meditation in your inbox: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD NEW: Become a member of Meditative...

Duration:00:29:33

Getting unstuck, reframing the question, by Omar Wasow

5/6/2021
Omar Wasow had a fabulous life as a reporter and tech expert – he even taught Oprah how to use email! But an important piece of unfinished business from his college days kept nagging at him, and even tempted him to run away from his life and hide. Why did this one-time gifted kid struggle to complete something that mattered to him? Why couldn't he even get started? In another classroom, in the face of a small girl struggling with her own "impossible" task, he realizes the answer – and...

Duration:00:35:17

Three love stories, by Rohan Gunatillake

4/30/2021
Love sneaks up on us. It’s a sudden awakening from the mundane. It’s divinity in the everyday. In this special episode, Rohan shares a trio of stories about his love, Lucy. The childlike purity and sweeping hold of love will wash over you in this intimate listening experience from Meditative Story’s very own Rohan. Read a transcript of this story at: https://meditativestory.com/ Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter, to get a timely episode reminder and a mini meditation in your...

Duration:00:15:41

Creating my own sanctuary, by Angela Ahrendts

4/28/2021
The strawberry field past the maple tree. A hidden nook beneath the stairs. The magical hour before anyone else is awake. Throughout her life, Angela Ahrendts has sought out sanctuaries – sacred spaces to reconnect and to dream, quiet moments to visualize what her next big decision might lead to, to stay open to the signs that help guide her. Now, after a series of bold career choices, Angela reflects on the decades-long journey that has brought her to this moment, and comes to realize that...

Duration:00:34:13

We become the places we love, by David Whyte

4/22/2021
As the wind howls around his camping caravan on a remote Welsh farm, poet David Whyte sits at a table, trying – and failing – to write. He's worried he has lost his gift. He's worried he never had a gift at all. But just outside, invisible and unexpected, is someone who offers him help – and friendship – at the exact moment he needs it. Their lifelong friendship takes root here, in the magical, windswept landscape of Wales, where place-names are poetry, where memories live long in the...

Duration:00:38:55

Michael Imperioli: The courage to trust, the courage to create

4/14/2021
When actor Michael Imperioli is 17, he makes an impulsive move: on the day he's supposed to drive up to college, instead he takes the train down to New York City and signs up for acting classes. His parents are baffled, but they give him an enormous gift: they trust him. As he grows as an artist, Michael realizes the way that the courage to trust – in your instincts, in your teachers, and in one another – is what forms the foundation for a brave, creative life. Read the transcript at...

Duration:00:31:59

See More