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 …
Category: Personal Experiences
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 …
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 …
The Role of the Rich White Guy
On a fundamental level, I think everyone wants to feel loved. The paradox is that in order to get others to love you, you must love them first. To be able to love someone else, you need to love yourself. To love yourself, you need to learn how to accept yourself and your …
The future I live in now
When I was a young adult the ‘future’ held the promise of transformation of a better life to the one I was living. Everything was in the future: work would only happen if I could get the funding; the places I would visit when I had someone to travel with; the people I would reconnect …
Year 2 as a Delaware High School Teacher
Life keeps moving along. I've got some good news to report. Dhamma Delaware is working on a huge expansion which will increase capacity from 15 to around 60 students. After a year away from the Center, I've accepted an invitation to join the Trust. The Catholic High School I teach at will be starting the Second …
A lovely hug
Even before Joely or JJ, my daughter, was born nearly two years ago, I struggled with prioritising making two hours available for meditation every day. But most days, first thing before the day had begun, I would make sure I got onto my mat for an hour. In addition, blessed to be living in a …
Love the World, Don’t Try to Change It
As a youth, I wanted to change the world. More accurately, I wanted to fix it to my desired state, and be the glorious hero. On my quest, I acknowledged the failures of our world, developed the ego required to know what's best for others, and the nurtured the arrogance that I could change people …
Everyone Can Be Happy If We Stop Trying to Win
Survival of the fittest is awesome because it turns everything into a game. If I'm bigger, faster, and stronger, I will win and survive. I can spend my whole life playing endless games to acquire wealth, fame, and power. Unfortunately, this this scientific theory that we dedicate our lives to applies to species, not individuals. …
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Living Vipassana 