Bonus episode: Stories of acceptance

Acceptance is about honesty – radical honesty. Seeing the world for what it is, and using it as the platform for wise action. Enjoy four stories from Season 1 that share moments of insight, honesty and change, from Moj Mahdara, Catherine Reitman, Jane McGonigal and Thomas Page McBee.

Bonus episode: Stories of renewal

Sometimes life hands you an opportunity to renew. It may be a life-threatening stroke, a break in a relationship, or simply a growing sense that your direction needs changing. These five stories — of recovery, rediscovery and growth — come from Season 1 of Meditative Story. Listen all at once, or save each short story for when you need a mini break in your day. Sign up for theMeditative Storynewsletter, to get an episode reminder and a meditation in your inbox each Saturday: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD Follow us onTwitterandInstagram: https://twitter.com/MeditativeStory https://www.instagram.com/MeditativeStory/ http://podcast.meditativestory.com/p/29

Riding waves, by Paola Antonelli

One summer night Paola Antonelli, now curator and head of R&D at the MoMA, sets sail off the coast of Sardinia — snaking through the wavy sea with friends. She jumps off the boat, slides into the water, and makes her way to the rocks as her friends hang back, making dinner aboard. While keeping her eyes on the horizon and the setting sun, her mind wanders to the rockier questions in her life: How will she make the right choice for her future? The answer, she realizes, is right in front of her. Life is just like sailing: Some days there are bright skies, some days rolling waves. She just has to look for the right winds and waves to take her where she wants to go. Sign up for theMeditative Storynewsletter, to get an episode reminder and a meditation in your inbox each Saturday: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD Follow us onTwitterandInstagram: https://twitter.com/MeditativeStory https://www.instagram.com/MeditativeStory/

Making humanity appear, magically, by DeRay Mckesson

DeRay Mckesson is one of America’s most recognized and admired activists. But before that, he was a magician. Not the kind who pulls a rabbit out of hat, but the kind who makes communities magically appear out of thin air. Every school DeRay ever attends, his name appears on the ballot for president of the student body. Why? Because through something as simple as student government, DeRay is able to bring people together in astonishing ways you just can’t see coming. Through countless elections and one seemingly impossible feat after another, DeRay designs the kind of world we all want to live. There’s no illusion about it. But it is magic. Sign up for theMeditative Storynewsletter, to get an episode reminder and a meditation in your inbox each Saturday: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD Follow us onTwitterandInstagram: https://twitter.com/MeditativeStory https://www.instagram.com/MeditativeStory/

Through friendship, a better version of myself, by Reid Hoffman

How do you find joy in your life? For entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and author Reid Hoffman, it’s through the act of genuine, honest, and intimate conversations with friends. Once a self-described misfit, in college, Reid finds his place. He connects with people who share not necessarily his interests but his curiosity, and his dedication to asking big questions. It is in asking the big questions, in discussing the answers, that Reid learns and grows – and begins to discover the meaning of his life. Sign up for theMeditative Storynewsletter, to get an episode reminder and a meditation in your inbox each Saturday: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD Follow us onTwitterandInstagram: https://twitter.com/MeditativeStory https://www.instagram.com/MeditativeStory/

Finding a way in, by Sinéad Burke

How to teach a classroom full of "difficult" kids? By meeting them where they are, and finding a way in. This is something that Sinéad Burke sees every day in her teaching career. Her own life experience has taught her how to turn everything that excludes someone into something that includes, by looking for that common ground we all have with one another. What can you do to build a way in for someone? Sinéad Burke is the host of her own amazing podcast: As Me with Sinéad Burke. Listen: https://www.lemonadamedia.com/show/as-me-with-sinead-burke/ Sign up for theMeditative Storynewsletter, to get an episode reminder and a meditation in your inbox each Saturday: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD Follow us onTwitterandInstagram: https://twitter.com/MeditativeStory https://www.instagram.com/MeditativeStory/ Read thetranscriptfor this episode: http://podcast.meditativestory.com/p/29

My funny, feisty, thoughtful, brave girl, by Lucy Kalanithi

Watching her daughter chase a balloon through a graveyard, Dr. Lucy Kalanithi comes to realize that maybe she can learn from four-year-old Cady. After the death of her husband, Dr. Paul Kalanithi, author of "When Breath Becomes Air," Lucy focuses on Cady, on teaching Cady how to deal with grief and loss. But as Cady bounds through the cemetery, on the way to see her dad, she teaches Lucy. She sees things that Lucy misses. She doesn’t bring as many assumptions to situations, so it’s easier for her to see them as they are. For Cady, right now, at this age, things just are. Read "When Breath Becomes Air." Read thetranscriptfor this episode. Sign up for theMeditative Storynewsletter, to get an episode reminder and a meditation in your inbox each Saturday: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD Follow us onTwitterandInstagram: https://twitter.com/MeditativeStory https://www.instagram.com/MeditativeStory/

Acting as if you are bold, by A.J. Jacobs

How do you build rapport with another person quickly? How do you bond? Author A.J. Jacobs shares a Meditative Story about the day he found himself on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," and how courage to take a risk might just be the best way to connect with someone else. Sign up for theMeditative Storynewsletter, to get an episode reminder and a meditation in your inbox each Saturday: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD Follow us onTwitterandInstagram: https://twitter.com/MeditativeStory https://www.instagram.com/MeditativeStory/

Creating space to stand in truth, by Susan David

Psychologist and author Susan David invites us into the sad days after she loses her father as a child – and the kind teacher who helped her carve out space to feel her grief and sadness honestly. It's a lesson she takes into her own journey as a parent. "When we truly see ourselves, we’re more able to see others too." – Susan David Sign up for theMeditative Storynewsletter, to get an episode reminder and a meditation in your inbox each Saturday: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD Follow us onTwitterandInstagram: https://twitter.com/MeditativeStory https://www.instagram.com/MeditativeStory/

Learning to see what is in front of me, by Siri Hustvedt

To truly see what is right in front us, requires the practice of looking, of careful and sustained attention – without expectation or judgment. Join author and essayist Siri Hustvedt on an hours long trip to the museum spent in front of just one painting. And discover more than just what's on the canvas. Sign up for theMeditative Storynewsletter, to get an episode reminder and a meditation in your inbox each Saturday: http://eepurl.com/gyDGgD Follow us onTwitterandInstagram: https://twitter.com/MeditativeStory https://www.instagram.com/MeditativeStory/