What does it take to bring meditation into your life? How much effort is required to change your life patterns? More and more people are becoming aware of the benefits of meditation, but how do they start a meditation practice? How much time must they invest before they experience the benefits? Our lives are like freight trains. …
Author: Ryan Shelton
While my job description is to lead the science department and teach physics at Padua Academy in Wilmington, DE, my calling is to prepare teenagers to lead their communities towards a vibrant and healthy future. This purpose has lead to the creation of Loving Lives Delaware.
Before becoming a teacher, I explored many careers and had many adventures in search of the best way to make a difference in the world. I hiked over 1700 miles, traveled to 5 continents, managed a bakery, started a meditation center, counseled troubled teens, attended Duke, UNC, and Harvard, protected forests as a wildland firefighter, volunteered thousands of hours with Americorps, rafted the Grand Canyon, and SCUBA dived on the Great Barrier Reef.
My next adventure is starting a family with my beautiful wife in our Wilmington home. I'm sure there will be many mistakes along the way, but I hope we're able to create a loving household that's a beacon of support and clarity for others in our community. Thank you for all of your support throughout our journey.
Dhamma in My Catholic High School
I started teaching at a Catholic High School in August with the no intention of discussing meditation. I was hired to teach Chemistry and Physics, so that was my focus, but a strange series of events has caused the wheel of dhamma to start turning. When the administration informed me that their primary goal was …
Returning to Living Vipassana
I stopped writing regularly for this blog about 8 months ago. I had run out of things to say, and there were aspects of my life outside of dhamma that required my focus. Today, I feel new questions surfacing within me, and the answers aren't obvious. When I started this blog in 2012 I had …
Meditation Takes a Backseat
For 6 months, my afternoon meditation took a backseat to everything else going on in my life. My life was full of positive things that needed my attention (wedding, new house, new job), and my afternoon meditation just didn't make the list. My morning routine was strong enough that I continued to sit for an …
Every Step Helps
Long before I learned to meditate, I decided to dedicate my life to helping all people grow and live better lives. Along this journey, I discovered Vipassana, and I believe the 10-day course teaches a complete path to purification. I struggle with the gap between providing the teaching, and helping people walk the path. From …
Safe
I find it unspeakable to speak the truth. I find all shallow thoughts of men are my own. I find wholeness lights every way I can see. Now, moving in truth, I see no other way. I find myself feeling for sensation, when my heart is weary and tender. I find the cries of old …
Meditate or Sleep?
As I've transitioned back into a full time job with typical household responsibilities, my task list has grown, and the competition for my time has increased. In the past, I was able to choose to meditate over having down time, but my task list seems to keep me busy until bedtime and I'm stuck deciding whether …
My Return to Society
My busy summer included getting married, buying a home, and starting a new job as a high school science teacher. I live in a suburban neighborhood 10 minutes from Dhamma Delaware, a new Vipassana Meditation Center, and within 30 minutes of Philadelphia and Wilmington. Now I want to discover what Vipassana has to offer society, …
Closer to Christianity
I was baptized, but I've never claimed to be Christian. It made more sense to seek out truth independently than inside the walls of a church. The "leap of faith" a Christian takes seemed more like an accepted veil of ignorance for personal comfort than a divine guide. I got so caught up with the …
Local Surprise
Stranger: Are you new to the area? Me: Yeah, I recently moved here from North Carolina. Stranger: What brings you to Claymont, DE? Me: You know that old Children's Home on Green Street that's been abandoned for 8 years? I'm helping the organization that's trying to turn it into a Meditation Center. Since moving to …
Living Vipassana 