386 episodes
The Meaningful Life with Andrew G. Marshall The Meaningful Life
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- Education
Hello, I am a marital therapist, communications trainer and author. I have thirty-five years helping couples and individuals make better relationships. I have written twenty-plus self-help books which include the international best-sellers ‘I love you but I’m not in love with you’ and ‘How can I ever trust you again?’ My books have been translated into twenty languages. I trained with RELATE the UK’s largest counselling charity.
Perhaps it has been turning sixty but I have become interested in spiritual as well as psychological questions. Who am I? What are my values – as opposed to my parents, my teachers and the wider society? What makes my life meaningful? What do I believe about life, the universe and everything? Although my clients might come to me because of destructive arguments, falling out of love and infidelity, they are also interested in having more meaningful relationships and a more meaningful life.
So what is the meaningful life? Why do we so easily lose our way and get lost in depression, anxiety, doubt, addictions and obsessions: the swamplands of the soul? One thing I know for sure is that there is not one answer. Each of us has to find out for ourselves what makes our life meaningful. But we can learn from each other, share our experiences of how to navigate the journey, how to endure and learn from the swamp, and finally how to find solid ground.
I have decided to use my original training in radio and journalism to interview witnesses for what makes life meaningful. Each week, I invite someone who is a therapist, academic, self-help coach or who has an enlightening personal story to share their knowledge or experiences. I hope our discussions will help you discover what makes your life meaningful and find more purpose and contentment.
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Tracey Cox: Three Deep Truths
What do you know to be true? Deep down? The older I get, the less I feel I know but there are a few things that I know are truly, profoundly true. I think these truths say a lot about us. So for every guest, I ask them to share three things that they know to be true and we discuss them. For most guests, we also discuss what I learned from our interview, and I ask what being a witness on The Meaningful Life has been like for them…
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Tracey Cox: Great Sex After Fifty (Classic Episode)
The Meaningful Life Classic Episode: TRACEY COX on Great Sex After 50
No-one would deny sex is important to a meaningful life, but what that looks like changes as we age. In this first episode of The Meaningful Life, international sex therapist and Daily Mail columnist Tracey Cox discusses her book Great Sex Starts at 50: How to Age-Proof Your Libido.
While wild, lustful sex can certainly be a unique and special life experience, the sex that brings us meaning is different. It’s the sex that lasts past the orgasm, to include that afterglow as you lie together or even just make each other a post-coital cup of tea. It’s about building a sexual relationship that is not solely focused on orgasm.
Meaningful sex is also sex that the two of you work on - after twenty years you probably won’t want to rip each other’s clothes off, but you CAN plan time to devote to each other, to try new things and create desire. Trying new things is something the majority of couples never do - but it’s a simple recipe for exciting, meaningful sex, and Tracey and Andrew have plenty of tips on where to start.
Subscriber Content This Week
If you’re a subscriber to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Patreon), this week you’ll be hearing:
Three things Tracey Cox knows to be true.
AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees.
Follow Up
Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things.
Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools.
Buy Great Sex Starts at 50: How to Age-Proof Your Libido by Tracey Cox
Get the advice you need on your sex life from Tracey Cox.
Listen to Tracey Cox and Kelsey Chittick’s SexTok podcast
Follow Tracey Cox on social media: Instagram, Facebook and Twitter/X.
Put the spark back in your relationship with Andrew’s book Have The Sex You Want
https://andrewgmarshall.com/book/have-the-sex-you-want-a-couples-guide-to-getting-back-the-spark/
Read Andrew’s advice on what to do if your partner says the passion is gone
Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall and on Substack at The Meaningful Life. -
How to grieve the person you used to be
What do you know to be true? Deep down? The older I get, the less I feel I know but there are a few things that I know are truly, profoundly true. I think these truths say a lot about us. So for every guest, I ask them to share three things that they know to be true and we discuss them. For most guests, we also discuss what I learned from our interview, and I ask what being a witness on The Meaningful Life has been like for them…
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Shelby Forsythia: Can Grief Turn Toxic? The Different Ways We Cope With Loss
Grief is a painful and confusing journey. Often, the culture encourages us to “move on”, squashing our grief down so that those around us are comfortable.
This week Andrew talks to author and grief coach Shelby Forsythia. They discuss:
Whether grief can turn “toxic”
Coping with other people’s responses
Living with grief as your companion
Creating grief rituals
Different causes of grief - death, divorce, infidelity, loss of identity.
Shelby Forsythia is a grief coach, author, and podcast host. In 2020, she founded Life After Loss Academy, an online course and community that has helped dozens of grievers grow and find their way after death, divorce, diagnosis, and other major life transitions. Following her mother’s death in 2013, Shelby began calling herself a “student of grief” and now devotes her days to reading, writing, and speaking about loss. Through a combination of mindfulness tools and intuitive, open-ended questions, she guides her clients to welcome grief as a teacher and create meaningful lives that honour and include the heartbreaks they’ve faced. Her work has been featured in Huffington Post, Bustle, and The Oprah Magazine.
Subscriber Content This Week
If you’re a subscriber to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Patreon), this week you’ll be hearing.
How to grieve the person you used to be.
Three things Shelby Forsythia knows to be true.
AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees.
Follow Up
Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things
Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools
Visit Shelby Forsythia’s website
Follow Shelby Forsythia on social media Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | TikTok
Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall and on Substack at The Meaningful Life. -
Coping with the fear of being judged
What do you know to be true? Deep down? The older I get, the less I feel I know but there are a few things that I know are truly, profoundly true. I think these truths say a lot about us. So for every guest, I ask them to share three things that they know to be true and we discuss them. For most guests, we also discuss what I learned from our interview, and I ask what being a witness on The Meaningful Life has been like for them…
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Esther Zeledon: Successful But Not Fulfilled? How to Find Your Purpose
Are you successful in the eyes of family and friends, but still feel empty and a little lost? Is there a nagging voice telling you that your life could have been bigger?
Dr Esther Zeledon had scaled the heights of career success as a scientist and international diplomat, but suffered from a strong sense that things weren’t right. She left behind a successful career to become a life coach, author, speaker and workshop facilitator centred on the mission of helping others create their “limitless life”.
Andrew and Esther discuss:
Esther’s personal journey
Overcoming negative voices
Defining the meaning of success
Finding clarity on your next steps.
Dr. Esther Zeledón embodies the resilient spirit of a Latina immigrant. Her rich and diverse background has been the cornerstone of her trailblazing work as a life coach, speaker, workshop facilitator, former international diplomat, and scientist. With a commitment to inclusivity, Dr. Zeledón has transformed the lives of thousands worldwide, bridging gaps across communities, corporations, and countries. Dr. Zeledón's book, "Creating Your Limitless Life," blends her personal memoir and life-changing method and follows her journey from paycheck-to-paycheck to creating her limitless life. Through her work, she lives her purpose of elevating people and organisations to shatter limits and trailblaze.
Subscriber Content This Week
If you’re a subscriber to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Patreon), this week you’ll be hearing:
Coping with the fear of being judged.
Three things Esther Zeledon knows to be true.
AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees.
Follow Up
Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things
Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools
Read Dr Esther Zeledon’s book, Creating Your Limitless Life: On Your Terms.
Visit Dr Esther Zeledon's website
Follow Dr Esther Zeledon on Instagram @be.act.change
Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall and on Substack at The Meaningful Life.
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