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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 produced by WaitWhat in partnership with Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global. 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! Thank you, Salesforce, for sponsoring Meditative Story.

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 produced by WaitWhat in partnership with Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global. 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! Thank you, Salesforce, for sponsoring Meditative Story.

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 produced by WaitWhat in partnership with Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global. 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! Thank you, Salesforce, for sponsoring Meditative Story.

Language:

English

Episodes

Twenty-one meals with my family, in seven days

1/14/2021
For Jai Punjabi, the most powerful connection to home is through food – specifically the wonderful Indian cuisine he was raised on. Hoping to preserve the recipes of his beloved family dishes, Jai returns to his parents’ home in Bombay, only to discover that the secret lay not in the ingredients, but in a way of being.

Duration:00:33:29

Diana Nyad: I couldn’t have done it a fingernail better

1/6/2021
By the 1980s, Diana Nyad had left competitive swimming behind, embarking on a successful career as a sports broadcaster. But after a meeting with “Superman” actor Christopher Reeve — whose throw from a horse left him paralyzed from the shoulders down — she is reminded of a challenge that fueled her early athletic ambitions, and re-commits to living everyday just past the limit of what seems endurable. Get the transcript: meditativestory.com Sign up for the weekly Meditative Story...

Duration:00:36:57

An open doorway, a conversation with a friend

12/30/2020
“Pay attention to the small transitions, the ones whose potential is always here but sometimes overlooked.” Host Rohan Gunatillake tells three simple stories to draw our attention to the spaces where we realize change is happening. Standing in a doorway outside a school, he sees his small son growing, learning to take on the world. And sitting with the loss of a friend, he explores how we think about larger changes, ones we may yet need time to come to terms with. Sign up for the weekly...

Duration:00:11:39

Introducing … Spark & Fire

12/28/2020
Hi, listeners. I want to recommend a new podcast for the New Year that you can subscribe to now. It’s called Spark & Fire, and its aim is to help you live a more creative life. On each episode of Spark & Fire, an admired creator shares the story of their path to creating a beloved work of art – a book, a building, a musical collaboration. For example, Susan Orlean talks about writing The Orchid Thief, and Yo-Yo Ma explains how he created the Silk Road Project. It's created by the same team...

Duration:00:05:37

Nothing beats a failure but a try, by Kaya Henderson

12/23/2020
Kaya Henderson has spent a career reimagining urban education for the 21st century. But Kaya’s faith in her own potential is tested during her first semester at a top-tier school. When she falls well short of her own standards, Kaya's exacting mother helps reframe her perspective on failure, turning what feels like the end of the road into a loving provocation to push on. Get the transcript: meditativestory.com Sign up for the weekly Meditative Story newsletter, to get a timely episode...

Duration:00:35:35

Home will be with me wherever I go, by Nadia Owusu

12/16/2020
As the daughter of UN diplomat, Nadia Owusu grows up across several worlds. Trailing her father from Africa to Europe before moving to the United States for university, Nadia grapples with her fractured identity. But when Nadia returns to her father's village in Ghana, she finds an unexpected and affirming answer to who she is. Get the transcript: meditativestory.com Sign up for the weekly Meditative Story newsletter, to get a timely episode reminder and a mini meditation in your inbox:...

Duration:00:33:23

What's most vital is right in front of me, by Stephen Wilkes

12/9/2020
Stephen Wilkes has a unique approach to photography that requires a sustained focus to capture subtle changes in light and perspective. The same could be said of the way he cared for his mother, whose resilience and love belied the trauma she experienced as a refugee from the second world war. Though it often falls on young Stephen to manage her spells, he is able to transcend his family’s haunted past by turning his gaze outward when the darkness threatens to consume him, transforming it...

Duration:00:33:24

Stories of new beginnings

11/18/2020
As we transition into a new season, and look forward to a new year ahead, we’re sharing these five short stories of people in motion. Listen for stories of birth, creative rebirth, and stories of starting over. Because the human spirit can continually find a new way to begin again. Featuring stories from writer and midwife Elizabeth Lesser, cowboy poet Waddie Mitchell, country singer/songwriter Mickey Guyton, musician Andrew Bird, and the Reverend Otis Moss III. Look forward to Season 3 of...

Duration:00:31:11

Stories of faith, patience, resilience

11/3/2020
Times like these require faith, patience, and resilience. This short episode brings together moments from four beloved stories. Sharing a pivotal moment from their lives, these four storytellers explore the large and small insights that helped them find balance and connection in uncertain times. You'll hear from Wajahat Ali, Keith Yamashita, Judith Grisel, and Ghuan Featherstone, with gentle meditation breaks from our host, Rohan Gunatillake. Season 3 of Meditative Story begins in December,...

Duration:00:27:56

Ginger Zee: I’m not just observing the winds, I’m riding them

10/14/2020
As chief meteorologist for ABC News, Ginger Zee has traveled the world to cover historic storms and extreme weather. But her passion for storm chasing and adventure belies an emotional turmoil that’s been churning since childhood. It’s not until an assignment in Nepal, paragliding off a mountain cliff, that Ginger finally lays claim to the pain she’s long denied.

Duration:00:33:11

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

10/7/2020
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:00:30:25

Discovering the path to honor, by Ghuan Featherstone

9/23/2020
Ghuan Featherstone is determined to go his own way – to live with courage, kindness, and faith in justice. To be a cowboy. But growing up in a neighborhood rife with gang violence, the forces marshaled against him feel beyond his control. After visiting a little-known horse stable in South Central LA, Ghuan discovers a path to honor on the back of a horse, casting the most iconic American hero in his own image, and embracing the Cowboy Code he swore by as a boy. Learn more about Urban...

Duration:00:31:28

A cowboy’s rules for living, by Waddie Mitchell

9/16/2020
Growing up on his father’s ranch in Elko, Nevada, Waddie Mitchell watches the cowboys around him with awe, silently absorbing their stories and manners – how to shoe a horse, start a colt, lead a crew and tell a tale. Through the buckaroos he learns that adventure and freedom aren’t things to seek elsewhere – that embedded in the raw materials of his own life, in the sounds and smells of the ranch itself, are the real rules for living that don’t get written down. Learn more about Waddie...

Duration:00:29:21

Embracing what makes me different, by Mickey Guyton

9/9/2020
As a young girl raised on the gravel roads of central Texas, Mickey Guyton falls in love with country music – but as a Black woman in a traditionally white industry, her authenticity is constantly questioned: Too Black. Too white. Not country enough. Plagued by self-doubt, Mickey's breakthrough comes when she leans in to what makes her unique – and finds her true voice. Mickey Guyton's new EP, Bridges, featuring the songs "Heaven Down Here" and "Black Like Me," is available now. Read a...

Duration:00:30:34

That thing I'm missing is what makes me happy, by Jennifer 8. Lee

9/2/2020
When a years-long relationship ends, author and filmmaker Jennifer 8. Lee makes the startling discovery that she lacks an inner monologue – a voice inside articulating thoughts and feelings, reflecting on the past and planning for her future. At first she feels inadequate, as if she's missing a "sense" that everyone has but her. But the more she talks with others, the more she wonders if its absence may just be a blessing in disguise. Read the transcript for this story:...

Duration:00:24:57

Lang Lang: The teacher who asked a new question

8/19/2020
Considered a prodigy in China, Lang Lang arrives to the U.S. certain of what it takes to be the best pianist in the world – dedication, discipline, hours of solitary practice. But when a legendary teacher poses an unexpected question, Lang Lang comes to understand that becoming a true musician will require more than hard work – that it’s not so much what he puts out that matters most, but what he takes in: new music, languages, art, literature, foods, and friends. As Lang Lang’s world...

Duration:00:35:20

A home that had been waiting for me forever​, by Pico Iyer

8/12/2020
Facing a dreaded 20-hour layover after weeks away from home, Pico Iyer decides to leave the airport and explore the city outside. He walks down the quiet streets, hoping to distract himself with a few new experiences. What happens, though, couldn’t be more unexpected. A feeling of recognition and familiarity washes over him. He feels as if he’s been in this city all along. What begins as a layover becomes something else altogether. Read the transcript for this story at...

Duration:00:22:21

Life and love and the moment, by Arianna Huffington

8/5/2020
A glossy picture on the cover of a magazine. That’s all it takes for a teenaged Arianna Huffington to decide she’s going to leave her family and home – and the activity and warmth of her mom’s kitchen table – to start something new. Without speaking the language, or even knowing how to get there, Arianna decides she’s going to start a new life in a new place, propelled forward by her mom’s wise sense that life isn’t about winning or losing, it’s about having the adventure. Read the...

Duration:00:25:45

Have faith, but tie your camel first, by Wajahat Ali

7/29/2020
It's early morning. A hotel room. Wajahat Ali, playwright and author, is traveling for work when he gets a call from his wife – she's sobbing, panicked, heartbroken. Their tiny daughter, Nusayba, has been diagnosed with Stage IV cancer. And time stops. What can he do? Rage. Despair. Sob. Fight. Then ... let go. Waj shares the story of how his young daughter's fight with cancer taught him to strike a delicate balance between faith and action, between exhausting his efforts and accepting the...

Duration:00:34:00

What my father gave me, by Shawn Colvin

7/22/2020
Shawn Colvin grows up in a dangerous house. There’s a dad with a hair-trigger temper. But there’s also a dad who builds things, and who plays music, who teaches Shawn how to play a guitar. Years later, an out-of-the-blue phone call gives Shawn the opportunity to explain to her dad what her childhood was like – and to forgive him. In this act of compassion, Shawn is able to let go of her own burden and find compassion for herself — who she is now and the lost little kid she used to be. Read...

Duration:00:37:31

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