Staying insightful, playful, and alert, by Rohan Gunatillake

Staying insightful, playful, and alert, by Rohan Gunatillake

Author: WaitWhat April 1, 2025 Duration: 16:06
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. 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.

There’s a particular kind of quiet that happens when a story pulls you in completely, and that’s the space where Meditative Story lives. Produced by WaitWhat, this series weaves extraordinary, personal narratives from all walks of life with gentle meditation prompts that arise naturally within the tale itself. It’s not a guided meditation followed by a story, or vice versa; the two are seamlessly blended, all set against an original score of breathtaking, cinematic music. The result feels less like a traditional mindfulness exercise and more like being transported into a deeply reflective state through the power of nuanced storytelling and immersive sound design. Listeners often find themselves returning to favorite episodes, discovering new layers of meaning or calm with each revisit. This podcast sits at a unique crossroads of human experience, touching on themes of society, culture, health, and spirituality without prescribing a single path. It’s an invitation to pause, to listen closely, and to find a moment of mental clarity within the flow of a compelling human story. The production values are intentionally high, making each episode a rich audio experience that supports both engagement and relaxation. For anyone curious about an alternative, narrative-driven approach to mindfulness, this series offers a resonant and beautifully crafted journey.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Meditative Story
Podcast Episodes
Calming the mind and body for sleep, by Rohan Gunatillake [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:10
Having trouble quieting your mind at night? Join Rohan for this soothing, nighttime meditation designed to ease your body and mind into a restful sleep. Drawing on the close connection between mindfulness and relaxation,…
Trusting love’s infinite possibilities, by Morgan Saylor [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:43
Morgan Saylor is an actor of stage and screen, best known for her portrayal of the teenage Dana Brody in the series “Homeland.” But, before acting, her first passion was mathematics. Morgan unfolds how math has given her…
Diana Nyad: Giving life everything we’ve got [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:55
By the 1980s, Diana Nyad had left competitive swimming behind, embarking on a successful career as a sports broadcaster. But after a meeting with “Superman” actor Christopher Reeve — whose throw from a horse left him par…
Reaching our full potential is not a solo act, by Terence Blanchard [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:58
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…
Asking for what we need, by Kathryn Nicolai [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:17
Kathryn Nicolai, creator of the Nothing Much Happens podcast, learns at an early age to diminish her own needs. She never wants to become a problem for other people, so she pretends like she’s always okay. When she gets…
Building trust in ourselves, by Rohan Gunatillake [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:39
Today’s meditation features a special guest, Rohan’s 7 year-old son, Arne. Letting go can come in stages, or so Rohan experiences on a recent holiday with his family. As his 7 year-old son Arne builds his swimming skills…
Loving our living world, by Carl Safina [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:38
We all need to love and be loved, we all want to feel not alone in this world. And this is true for all of the living world, says ecologist and author Carl Safina. Carl has spent his whole life interacting with the wild,…
Discovering the path to honor, by Ghuan Featherstone [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:28
Ghuan Featherstone is determined to go his own way – to live with courage, kindness, and faith in justice. To be a cowboy. But growing up in a neighborhood rife with gang violence, the forces marshaled against him feel b…
Let your body be the guide, by Andrea Gibson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:49
What do you do when your own body feels like the enemy? Spoken word artist and activist Andrea Gibson (You Better Be Lightning) spends years struggling with chronic illness, feeling as if their body is at odds with their…
Stay open to find belonging, by Tami Simon [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:10
Tami Simon, founder of the spiritual wisdom publishing house Sounds True, goes through much of her life feeling like an alien. Often misunderstood, Tami yearns to discover where she fits in. In today’s episode, she share…