Cenk, Trygve, John, and Patrick have decided to stop sharing their stories on this blog so they can focus on their personal lives. I just wanted to take a moment to thank them for their contributions to Living Vipassana and with them good luck moving forward. I know they've all helped me in my personal …
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.
To Child or not To Child
The question of whether to build a family has always befuddled me. On one hand, it would be wonderful to help build a loving home for these little beings I helped create to grow in. I would feel quite satisfied knowing I contributed to the happiness of my children. Children could give my life meaning …
Accepting is Loving
Most of my life I've been working to make the world around me better. I would find problems, or at least declare that something is a problem, and I would try to fix it. I'm learning that a different strategy is needed to make the world a better place to live. By seeking out problems …
Looking for a New Writer
Hi all. I'm looking for a new author who could share a unique perspective on their experience with Vipassana. Ideally I'm looking for a woman, possibly a mother, or someone outside of North America but anyone who is interested should let me know. It would be best if you could write every week or two, but …
A Better World
The problems that currently face the world seem impossible to overcome. If humanity is doomed to fail what is the motivation to try to make a difference? We don't know for sure what the future holds so maybe we should simply be content with doing the best we can? I've found meditation to be the …
Is My Life Boring?
I'm in bed by 10pm. The highlight of my day is usually something inside my own body or head. Someone watching my life would certainly be bored, but does that mean it's boring? This is a strange shift for me. As I think back, I used my free time to do interesting things, tell people about …
A Dhamma Relationship
After spending 7 months at a center I knew two things; 1) I wanted to be open to a new relationship 2) I wanted to maintain my practice and sila. Growing up in a culture where physical intimacy is part of dating, I was really concerned about how to do this. Ideally I would like …
Building Around Dhamma
Dhamma has become the foundation stone of my life but I've had little clarity regarding how to build a life around dhamma. It took several years to understand where I naturally fall on the path. I've always tried to figure out how to maximize what's important to me so it would cross my mind that …
The Right Type of Encouragement
I've always found the question of proper encouragement to be an interesting topic because determining what's right and wrong can be subtle and personal. For example, a Christian missionary believes people who don't believe in Jesus will go to hell so he or she is willing to do whatever it takes to convert people. She is …
The Myth of the Serious Meditator
I was talking to a new meditator about her understanding of what it means to commit to he practice and discovered that she believed all serious meditators meditated two hours a day. In addition, to be a good meditator, she felt obligated to sit two hours a day. She was concerned and overwhelmed by the …
Living Vipassana 