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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.
No Alcohol
Like so many aspects of meditation, I've struggled to explain the importance of the 5th precept. Like most people, I've enjoyed the boisterous experience and getting a little crazy with some friends over a few drinks. In fact, I would have argued that alcohol allowed me to be more present with my friends because it …
A Mindset
What do you want? I've heard and asked that question hundreds if not thousands of times. What do you want to do? What do you want to be? What do you want for dinner? What will make you happy? We are on an endless search for something better. Recently, I've discovered that this question creates …
Interested in Writing?
Are you interested in writing a post for this blog? Are you interested in contributing every week or every other week? If yes, send me an email at ryanshelton7@yahoo.com so we discuss your options. Happy meditating!
A Way of Life
Life is complicated and difficult. To deal with the stress and anxiety we search for various coping mechanisms. For quite some time I found meditation to be the ultimate coping mechanism to deal with life. As I've maintained my daily practice over several years, I've discovered a significant shift. Instead of helping me cope with …
Is our happiness relative?
Everyone wants to be happy but do we really know what is happiness? Do we understand that state of mind? Our definition of happiness is always relative to something. We rely on others for our own happiness. We rely on performance appraisals to make us happy, we reply on accolades from others to make us …
A New Understanding
By Naveen from Mumbai, Inda Vipassana was an eye opener. It was an amazing , out of life experience for me. It was as if the locked door of knowledge was opened. While I write this I would confess that to put my thoughts on paper will not be easy and may not be understood …
Glorify the Precepts
Life can be overwhelming. It might be overwhelming more often than not. We all of different strategies to recharge our batteries and one of the most abundant is to escape for a little while. People might go to a bar, on vacation, to a show, or simply turn on the television. These escapes allow us …
Meditation in San Francisco Schools
Check out this interesting article about how meditation is helping transform some rough schools in San Francisco. http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/openforum/article/Meditation-transforms-roughest-San-Francisco-5136942.php#src=fb
Stop Shutting Down
After going through a difficult time, I started observing a new pattern in my life. Instead of jumping head first into a difficult situation, I was shutting down when situations became complicated and confusing. I had made some mistakes that had hurt myself and others and I was afraid to make any further wrong decisions. …
Living Vipassana 