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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.
Episodes
Monday Jul 31, 2023
Monday Jul 31, 2023
How can we find the joy, connection, healing and sense of the miraculous that so many of us crave? For poet and spiritual teacher Clark Strand, the answer lies in writing Haiku.
The ancient Japanese art of Haiku is the only form of poetry in all of world literature that makes nature into a spiritual path. Its message is simple: Haiku teaches us to return to nature by following the seasons—seventeen syllables at a time. By finding a connection to nature in this way, we can find resilience and hope amidst the world’s chaos.
In this episode, Andrew and Clark discuss Clark’s spiritual journey; how to begin a Haiku practice if you’ve never written a poem in your life; and Andrew shares his own experiences of writing a Haiku every day for a year.
Clark Strand has been writing poetry for fifty years and teaching haiku for thirty. He is a former senior editor at Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, and has been Vice President of the Haiku Society of America. He has written for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and the Washington Post/Newsweek “On Faith” blog. He is the co-founder of Way of the Rose, a growing nonsectarian rosary fellowship open to people of any spiritual background. His latest book is an updated version of his classic book of Haiku, Seeds from a Birch Tree, and he is also the author of Waking Up to the Dark, Waking the Buddha, Meditation Without Gurus and How to Believe in God.
If You’re Looking for More….
You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.
This week supporters will hear:
⭐️How your paleo brain wants to sleep.
⭐️Three things Clark Strand 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
Read Andrew’s new Substack newsletter The Meaningful Life, and join the community there.
Read Clark Strand’s updated classic, Seeds from a Birch Tree
Read Clark Strand’s other books Waking Up to the Dark, Waking the Buddha, Meditation Without Gurus and How to Believe in God.
Study Haiku with Clark Strand.
Read the book by William Elliott mentioned in this episode, Tying Rocks to Clouds: Meetings and Conversations with Wise and Spiritual People
Follow Clark Strand on Instagram and Twitter @clarkstrand
You might also be interested in our other episodes: John McCullough on Seven Ways Poetry Could Make Your Life Richer, Deeper & More Meaningful; and Henry Emmons on The Road to Calm and Joy.
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
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