It's so easy to get sucked into technology. Waiting in the grocery store line? Why don't I check my email. Unwinding from work? Let's check out some Netflix episodes. Don't want to do your actual work on your computer? Why not scroll through Facebook for a little while. I started out convincing myself that this …
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.
Aaron Cashman
Introduction by Ryan Shelton: After making the move to Delaware in 2014, I met Aaron at a small Dhamma gathering. We were both in our 30s working on establishing our real world lives after years of seeking and exploring throughout our 20s. We both bought homes with our partners that we had introduced to Vipassana. Integrating …
Distracted By Meditation
Somewhere along the journey of supporting the spread of Vipassana I started thinking like a worker instead of a dhamma worker. Presented with too much work for to little time, I returned to problem solving in my head instead leaving the heavy lifting to dhamma. I like mental challenges so the various obstacles were little …
Nate Kretzschmar
Introduction by Ryan Shelton: I met Nate in 2008 on a random Saturday afternoon at a restaurant in Carrboro, North Carolina. We hit it off immediately spending the next 14 hours on a wild adventure that included kick ball, dancing, amateur boxing, and failing to balance on aluminum cans. Little did I know that Nate would …
New Life Goals
Three years ago I had a mission: create a life near an urban meditation center and help dhamma spread. This mission drove my wife and I to move to a new city, support the birth of a new Center, buy a house, and establish ourselves in new careers. I'm amazed how successful we were with …
Ryan Shelton
Introduction: This is the first post of the Friendship Chain. Dhamma Story: One of my biggest dhamma adventures was helping Dhamma Delaware become a Center. I was finishing graduate school at University of North Carolina, and I had a strong desire to create a householder's life near a Vipassana Center. Since most Vipassana Centers are …
Friendship Chain
One of the most important assets on the dhamma path is friendship. In a world unfamiliar with the benefits of meditating 2 hours a day, it can be hard to find people to walk with on this life altering journey. In the early stages, and sometimes even later on, this practice can feel isolating and …
Start Again
by Kendra Mulgrew she’s starting again with another chance of a new beginning after the end was found. & as always, the present chapter of the book she holds unfolding reads, "as it is." for it this way for a reason they say. so she erases all those memories and starts again. ahh, freshness at …
Virtual Group Sittings
While Goenka's Organization has done an amazing job introducing Vipassana around the world through 10-day courses, I always hoped they would find new ways to support old students with their daily practice. Today, I'm excited to see their new Virtual Group Sitting program. Students from around the world can download an app to their smartphone, and after …
The Struggle to Stay Universal
One component of Vipassana that I've been attracted to is the universal nature of the practice. I thougth, "Everyone can observe breath and sensations to learn about themselves so there's no reason to worry about forming a sect." Recently, I've thought about how the introduction of vocabulary like "dhamma" and the idea that this is …
Living Vipassana 