Meditate This!

If you watched TV at any point between 1995 and 2011, there's a good chance you saw Paul Gilmartin co-hosting the very entertaining cooking/comedy skits on the TBS show Dinner and a Movie. You may also have seen him performing on the shows Politically Incorrect and The Late Show With Craig Ferguson, as well as his own half-hour special Comedy Central Presents Paul Gilmartin. What you didn't see, however, is the deep pain that Paul was often hiding. Throughout an impressive career he has struggled with severe depression, which he still works to manage through medication, meditation, and a general regime of healthy living.

Gilmartin was so inspired by the art of overcoming depression, he wanted to let others know they're not alone and, hopefully, offer some paths to possible solutions. Since 2011, The Mental Illness Happy Hour has been one of the most popular podcasts—featuring artists, comedians, and an occasional medical professional. The show has been acclaimed by The Atlantic, Psychology Today, and The New York Times, which calls it "a perversely safe place in which he and his guests talk about their fears, addictions, and traumatic childhoods."

Did you hit the gym today? Good!

Our guest Rich Roll did as well, but he may have stayed a little longer...

As one of the Top 25 fittest men in the world(!) according to Men's Fitness magazine, Rich does not do anything halfway. A former lawyer who changed his life after one fateful and frightening walk up the stairs, he has become a popular podcaster and a #1 bestselling author with Finding Ultra: Rejecting Middle Age, Becoming One of the World's Fittest Men, and Discovering Myself. Oh, and I guess we should mention that he once completed the Epic 5 Challenge—performing five ironman-distance triathlons on five Hawaiian islands in under one week.

Hear how ultra endurance is inevitably linked to ultra focus and why Rich credits mindfulness for keeping him moving when it' may seem impossible.

Scott Taylor is not your typical small business consultant. Sure, the former CEO can help you launch and grow your business as good as anyone, but he also brings an added bonus—an expertise in guiding others through a Near-Death Experience (NDE). Okay, let us explain...

Scott teaches a 6-day workshop exploring near-death experience and is author and voice of “Into the Light”, a CD produced by The Monroe Institute, a Virginia-based center devoted to the work of Bob Monroe (1915-1995)—a successful businessman who was committed to pushing the boundaries of the human mind. Through the years, Scott and his colleagues have educated tens of thousands of people through the institute’s residential and outreach programs in the art of enhancing their mental abilities, resolving emotional conflicts, experiencing consciousness outside of time and space, and more.

Put on your seat belt and get ready for a serious trip as Scott details the journeys he's been on and describes how you might take one too.

Scott Taylor is not your typical small business consultant. Sure, the former CEO can help you launch and grow your business as good as anyone, but he also brings an added bonus—an expertise in guiding others through a Near-Death Experience (NDE). Okay, let us explain...

Scott teaches a 6-day workshop exploring near-death experience and is author and voice of “Into the Light”, a CD produced by The Monroe Institute, a Virginia-based center devoted to the work of Bob Monroe (1915-1995)—a successful businessman who was committed to pushing the boundaries of the human mind. Through the years, Scott and his colleagues have educated tens of thousands of people through the institute’s residential and outreach programs in the art of enhancing their mental abilities, resolving emotional conflicts, experiencing consciousness outside of time and space, and more.

Put on your seat belt and get ready for a serious trip as Scott details the journeys he's been on and describes how you might take one too.

Shawn Stevenson has lived several lives: suburban dream, inner city survival, and now a path of being awake and in service. In the process, he's become an expert at empowering others to answer the harder-than-you-think questions of "why" and "how."

Shawn Stevenson has lived several lives: suburban dream, inner city survival, and now a path of being awake and in service. In the process, he's become an expert at empowering others to answer the harder-than-you-think questions of "why" and "how."

Just imagine being in charge of putting on 20,000 concerts a year—for the likes of Beyonce, Jay Z, Coldplay, Shakira, and John Mayer. As the CEO of Global Music for Live Nation, Jason Garner was a busy guy with a lot of important people depending on him. Then one day, he found out his mom had stage 4 stomach cancer, and all that just sort of...didn't matter anymore. Through six months of caring for her before she died, Garner came to realize that he needed more from life, and he set out to discover what that was. Traveling to China and spending hundreds of hours in training, he found a new path and tells the story of arriving on it in the book ...And I Breathed: My Journey From a Life of Matter to a Life That Matters. Hear what now inspires Garner each day and why he believes one doesn't need to lose their true self while discovering all they can be.

Ariel Garten does not like sitting still. But she does like being happy! So when the neuroscientist, fashion designer, psychotherapist, artist, and CEO of InteraXon started using her own product, Muse—a headband that acts as a brain fitness tool to help people start meditating—she was thrilled to discover the benefits of a regular mindfulness practice. Hear her explain how it might just change your life, and why mindfulness is the key to so many new beginnings. Also, check out her recent TED talk titled "Know thyself—with a brain scanner."

On the occasion of celebrating 40 episodes recorded, Pete & Jay look back at their eclectic list of guests and see if they can draw a few life lessons from all the wisdom they've been exposed to. Pete shares how mindfulness made a big difference during a recent traumatic family medical ordeal. In the process, Jay tries to understand physics and Pete talks more about his 6-pack. Enjoy this very special episode of Meditate This!

Armed with the savvy and wisdom only a Sagamore Junior High education provides and that one expects from a former Burger King "Employee of the Month," Anthony Del Broccolo is currently a writer and producer on the hit CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, with credits that also include Cheap Seats: Without Ron Parker, Lil' Bush, Zooey 101, Drake & Josh, and All That. And though he's spent his career making millions laugh, hear how the Long Island native endured decades of depression and anxiety until he was able to name his issues and confront them head on. You'll also get some very practical tools for managing anxiety from a guy who has invested years experimenting with just what works.

Do yourself a favor and give this one a serious listen. And then, do Anthony a favor and go watch the Big Bang Theory. (Hey, good ratings help manage stress too.)