Meditators and non-meditators all want to live happy, healthy, and productive lives. There are so many ways to make incremental improvements to our lives that we all share and understand. Healthy eating, exercise, education, family and friends each contribute to our lives in positive ways. Everyone can relate to this. But things start to get …
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.
Yoga
Yoga is helping me see the physical impact of meditation on my body. I've always carried a tremendous amount of tension in my shoulders. When I started meditating I could basically count on some uncomfortable gross sensation in my left shoulder and arm. For about 1.5 years my arm carried these ever-changing uncomfortable sensations until as some point they stopped …
Keeping Focused on Meditation
I've had a great start to the year. My primary goal was to build up my community of support and friendship and on all accounts I've made positive steps forward. I've found some skilled and dedicated writers to share this blog which as caused the viewership to basically double. My very small group sitting (sometimes …
Nightmares
I've been curious about dreaming since I was a little kid. Where do they come from? What do they mean? Why was I in control in some and just watching in others? Why were some realistic and others complete fantasy? These questions are still a mystery to me, but I have discovered that meditation helps …
Don’t Compare Yourself To Others
This is a nice idea but unless there's a good alternative it's hard to escape the world of comparison. We are constantly compared when applying for jobs, loans, and friends. The best example for me is knowing that most Americans have more gadgets that someone from the 1980s could imagine but it's still not enough. Live …
Committing To Metta
After completing my first course I rarely practice metta. I almost always had a gross painful sensation somewhere in my body at the end of a sit, and to be honest, I was usually ready to get up when my timer went off. It took me about 6 months to really get my daily practice going …
Eating Meat
I was raised eating meat. A lot of meat. Basically, it wasn't a meal unless it had meat. When I first really committed to my daily practice, I decided to stop eating meat all together, and I held true to this for a while, but I'm back to eating meat. Technically, I'm not breaking my …
Passionless Sex
In response to my post on masturbation a reader introduced me to the idea that the orgasm is the part of sex that results in craving, not the sex. I've been thinking about this idea and there are definitely aspects of it that resonate with me. These are currently just thoughts for me, but it's …
Life Direction
My internal compass has always lead me in a slightly different direction than my peers. I've had trouble finding satisfaction in the more traditional trajectories. I always felt that there was more to life than just building a career, getting married, and having kids. What was the point of living a predictable path where every …
Facing Discomfort
Life can be challenging. We all face difficult life changing moments. How we respond in these moments help define who we are. I've alway evaluated myself and others when adversity arises. We often see the a persons true nature in these difficult moments. I've always strived to face these challenges head on. My willingness to fight …
Living Vipassana 