It’s not surprising that Martha Beck, best-selling author and columnist for O, The Oprah Magazine, grew up as a high achiever. Attending Harvard University for both undergraduate and doctoral degrees, Martha spends years fighting to be the smartest person in the room and contending with serious anxiety. It’s only after a revelatory trip to Japan that Martha learns to put her rigid pursuit of intellect aside and find true happiness in the peaceful empty spaces between all things.

Listen to Nataly Dawn's Meditative Story, "My battle as a beginner opens up worlds of wonder": https://listen.meditativestory.com/NatalyDawnPIO

Learn more about Martha: marthabeck.com

Follow Martha on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themarthabeck/

Follow Martha on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themarthabeck

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 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

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Martha Beck: Letting our hearts take the lead

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!

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Reshma Saujani, activist and founder of Girls Who Code and Moms First, prides herself on being in control. She’s always been the one to say “I got this.” But after years of struggling to achieve her lifelong goal of being a mother, the weight of powering through the pain gets to be too much. In this week’s story, Reshma learns that instead of white knuckling through life’s unexpected changes, she can allow herself the time and space to properly feel them.

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.

Let them see you cry, by Reshma Saujani

Actor, writer and comedian Aasif Mandvi has given us so many laughs in his role as a correspondent on The Daily Show – on stage and in television and films. But when a doctor diagnoses him with tinnitus (ringing in the ears), he has to come to terms with his own vulnerability and the unpredictability of life. This eventually leads him to imagine a world with more possibilities, including falling in love – when he asks himself, "What could life be like, if I wasn't trapped in my own head?"

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.

Aasif Mandvi: Getting out of my own head

From the team behind Meditative Story, we're happy to share the first episode of Offsite Adventures, our newest show uncovering the gems, magical moments, and unique learnings in iconic business travel destinations.

Three minutes before midnight in Times Square, one of the most trafficked commercial centers in the world momentarily transforms into a vibrant digital art installation, providing a refreshing pause for locals and tourists alike. It’s called the Midnight Moment, and you won’t believe how something so unexpected came together. In this episode, Janet digs into the history of this unique collaboration between the advertising and arts communities before experiencing it herself with innovative, boundary-breaking artist Shahzia Sikander.

Offsite Adventures is a Masters of Scale Production presented in alliance with Capital One Business.

Special thanks to Jean Cooney and Times Squares Arts and artists featured as part of the Midnight Moment episode:  

Artist: Shahzia Sikander | Title: Reckoning | Video by Tatyana Tenenbaum 

Artist: Nora Maité Nieves | Title: Eyes of the Sea | Video by Tatyana Tenenbaum

Artist: LuYang | Title: DOKU: Digital Reincarnation | Video by Phatt Features

Special thanks to composer Du Yun for music featured in this episode.

See this story come to life in our video series on YouTube. Click here to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERpUrWKdCjE

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Introducing: Offsite Adventures

When Kelly Rizzo’s husband Bob Saget passes away without warning, she’s faced with the challenge of moving forward day by day without leaving her memories of Bob behind. As she processes her grief, Kelly reflects on the way her father left his home country and never returned, but realizes that his memories of that place will always be a part of him. Now she must find a way to honor her own memories even as her life moves forward.

Visit Kelly's website: http://www.eattravelrock.com

Follow Kelly on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eattravelrock

Follow Kelly on IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5544019

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.

Move forward without moving on, by Kelly Rizzo

This April Fool’s Day, Rohan embraces the sense of play that exists in all of us, designing a unique meditation to foster a feeling of alertness on this day of pranks. He then invites you to take on the mantle of the wise fool, that all-seeing court jester who upends convention and ensures that we all see the world through a brighter lens.

Meditative Story has received two nominations for this year's Webby Awards. Please consider voting for both categories:

Original Music Score / Best Sound Design: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2024/podcasts/features/original-music-score-best-sound-design

Health, Wellness & Lifestyle: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2024/podcasts/individual-episodes/health-wellness-lifestyle

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.

Martha Beck: Letting our hearts take the lead

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