214 episodes

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 Meditative Story

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.7 • 101 Ratings

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!

    Embracing everything life has to offer, by Garrett McNamara

    Embracing everything life has to offer, by Garrett McNamara

    Garrett McNamara is a legend in the surfing world who’s ridden some of the biggest waves on the planet. To maintain his surfing career, Garrett spends all his time and energy chasing the next big swell. But when he unexpectedly gets knocked off his board, he has to step away from doing the thing that makes him the happiest. He tells the story of how he learns to embrace all the moments life has to offer, rather than always chasing the next wave.

    Listen to Keith Yamashita's Meditative Story, "Starting the story of my life again": https://listen.meditativestory.com/KeithYamashitaPIO

    Find out more about Garrett and the McNamara Foundation: https://www.garrettmcnamara.com

    Find Garrett on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mcnamara_s/?hl=en

    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

    Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD

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

    • 39 min
    Sharon Salzberg: How I found kindness as my compass

    Sharon Salzberg: How I found kindness as my compass

    By the time Sharon Salzberg is 16 years old, she knows the people around her don’t admit to suffering, much less talk about it. A year later, she makes a life-changing decision to travel alone to India to study meditation. It doesn’t all go as expected. Through the journey’s disappointments, discomforts, and surprise lessons, she finds an unexpected friend: herself. In today’s Meditative Story, Sharon talks about how being kind, especially to herself, became her biggest mountain to climb.

    Learn more about Sharon:

    Website: sharonsalzberg.com

    Instagram: www.instagram.com/sharonsalzberg

    Twitter: www.twitter.com/sharonsalzberg

    Facebook: www.facebook.com/SharonSalzberg

    YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/SharonSalzbergVideo

    Medium: www.medium.com/@sharonsalzberg

    Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/sharonsalzberg

    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

    Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD

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

    • 35 min
    Tig Notaro: There’s more than one way to get there

    Tig Notaro: There’s more than one way to get there

    The many highs of Tig Notaro’s comedy career (Emmy and Grammy nominations, creating TV shows, and hosting the “Don’t Ask Tig” podcast) may seem predestined. Yet these are all things that seem beyond the realm of possibility for young Tig. In the early 2000s she’s told that because she’s a woman, and she’s gay, and she’s low-key and deadpan, she’ll never make it. Today, she shares the story of how she learns to keep going, no matter how impossible the road may seem, and to remember that there’s no one way to get somewhere.

    Listen to Michael Imperioli's Meditative Story, "The courage to trust, the courage to create": https://listen.meditativestory.com/MichaelImperioliPIO

    Find Tig’s tour dates, including her upcoming appearance in Las Vegas on June 2nd: tignotaro.com

    Listen to Tig’s podcast, Don’t Ask Tig: dontasktig.org and

    Listen to Tig's podcast True Story: headgum.com/tig-and-cheryl-true-story

    Follow Tig on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TigNotaro

    Follow Tig on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealfluffnotaro/

    Follow Tig on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tignotarocomedy/

    If this story 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.

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

    • 33 min
    Learning to heal by learning to feel, by Niall Breslin

    Learning to heal by learning to feel, by Niall Breslin

    From the outside, Niall Breslin — known by legions of Irish fans as Bressie — appears to have led a charmed life. He’s had a professional Rugby career, achieved national stardom as a musician, and been a coach on The Voice of Ireland. But behind all those achievements lies Niall’s struggle with repressed emotions and generations of unresolved pain. In this week’s Meditative Story, Bressie shares how he learned to embrace the parts of himself he once buried. The parts that showed him how to heal and led him to become one of Ireland’s leading mental health advocates.

    Listen to Henry Shukman's Meditative Story "What deep listening unlocks for me": https://listen.meditativestory.com/HenryShukmanPIO

    Find out more about Bressie: https://www.niallbreslin.com/

    Follow Bressie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bressie/

    Discover Niall’s podcast, Where is my mind: https://lemonadamedia.com/show/where-is-my-mind/#!

    Learn about Bressie's mental health charity, Lust for Life: https://www.alustforlife.com

    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

    Sign up for the Meditative Story newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD

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

    • 39 min
    Creating calm, inside and out, by Rohan Gunatillake

    Creating calm, inside and out, by Rohan Gunatillake

    In today’s Meditation, Rohan reflects on the theme of creating calm, inside and out. Please join us in applying some simple practices to help balance our outer and inner worlds.

    This year, we’re again marking Mental Health Awareness Month, an important campaign started by Mental Health America all the way back in 1949. The position of mental health and mental illness in our cultures has changed so much in those seventy odd years, but despite that change there still remains issues such as stigma, access to care and finding the right kind of support at the right time. Today’s meditation originates from the theme of this year’s campaign, Look Around, Look Within.

    For more information on this year’s Mental Health Awareness Month campaign, Look Around, Look Within, please visit Mental Health America’s website: https://mhanational.org

    Tools and resources for organizations, businesses and individuals: https://mhanational.org/mental-health-month

    We’d love to hear your tips and insights for creating harmony between our external and internal environments. Please send your thoughts to hello@meditativestory.com. We’ll then share back some of your ideas with the Meditative Story community later this month!

    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: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD

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

    • 10 min
    Reaching our full potential is not a solo act, by Terence Blanchard

    Reaching our full potential is not a solo act, by Terence Blanchard

    As a legendary Jazz trumpeter, winner of 5 Grammy Awards, and composer of over 60 films including the works of director Spike Lee, it’s easy to assume Terence Blanchard is someone with a lot of confidence. But growing up in New Orleans, he’s just a shy kid with glasses and a lot of uncertainty. In this week’s episode, Terence tells the story of how his mentors, teachers, and heroes gave him the confidence to find his voice and live to his full potential.

    Listen to Lang Lang's Meditative Story "The teacher who asked a new question": http://listen.meditativestory.com/LangLangWW

    Learn more about Terence: http://www.terenceblanchard.com/

    Find Terence on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/terence_blanchard/

    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: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD

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

    • 35 min

Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5
101 Ratings

101 Ratings

bfmarkham ,

Calming & Inciteful

Well produced podcast, great way to start the day with some meditative insights and calming music. Thanks guys!

TJ54yrs ,

I could listen to Rohan all day every day.

Lovely show, thank you 🙏🏼🥰

Atmo D ,

Beautiful ❤️

A beautiful uplifting podcast.❤️

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