Current Activities

John Steven Shealy, PhD
Current Activities

Beginning in 2006, my wife Jordan and I began exploring options for establishing a deep connection with the peoples of third world countries with an eye toward establishing a lifestyle built around service to underserved populations. In 2008, I closed my psychotherapy practice, got rid of all our stuff and headed off to Peru to test our wings living in a developing country. During the next seven months, we lived in a small ecological village in the Sacred Valley of the Incas near Cusco, traveled and volunteered in other areas of Peru as well as in Ecuador. Before closing my practice, we had began the application process for becoming volunteers in Peace Corps. We completed all the paperwork, phone interviews and the medical clearance process and in late June of 2009 we headed to Swaziland, Africa to serve as "HIV/AIDS Educators."

We were excited that this door of opportunity had opened up for us and felt blessed by the opportunity to serve. We learned a great deal about ourselves as we integrated into this rural African culture. We found many opportunities to deepen our spiritual practice as many mirrors were placed before us. It was an amazing trip! We wrote about our experiences in Swaziland and posted videos and photos on our Wordpress blog. We hope you find these posts interesting and encouraging of, to use Joseph Campbell's phrase, "following your bliss" to your own life's adventure.

In September of 2011, I completed my PC service. After a few months sitting and serving in a meditation center near Cape Town, I will be heading to India and Nepal to sit and serve in retreat centers and monasteries while scouting out a place for Jordan and me to settle. She will join me there next year after completing her third year with PC. Drawing from our Peace Corps training and experience living in a poor rural community, we will look for situations where a little money can make a meaningful impact. Following the golden rule of sustainable development, “help first those who have found a way to help themselves,” we expect to frequently be in a position to make a few dollars go a long way.

Flowing Dharma (our 501.c.3) will be the financial vehicle for this aspect of our work. In the coming years, along with other development projects, Jordan and I will seek out organizations that are already doing a good job of sharing the Buddha’s teachings, in whatever tradition, with those living in their community. We plan to carefully and strategically place a few dollars into the hands of those already making these teachings available to everyone regardless of financial standing. From our perspective, this is an excellent example of sustainable community development. As one’s mind and heart are cleared of greed, hatred and delusion, new and varied possibilities present themselves that otherwise would have remained obscured. Possibilities arise for income generation, food production, home security, education, and health maintenance. Living in peace and dignity may not require wealth but I suspect it does require a level of mental and spiritual clarity – qualities cultivated through disciplined meditation practice. Flowing Dharma is committed to helping people find a path to clarity of mind and heart, whether in Tampa Bay or in a developing country.

Jordan and I invite you to share in this work by making a financial contribution to Flowing Dharma. All donations are tax deductible and will be used in their entirety to support organizations engaged in sharing some form of Buddhist meditation practice with anyone regardless of their financial situation. Along with information about our 501.c.3, you will find a PayPal link at the bottom of this page: http://www.bemindful.org/tvg.htm

Thank you, and may God continue to bless and keep you and yours safe, peaceful and prosperous during these challenging times.

John

By the way, we are still working with our intention of offering small group retreats to wild and sacred places sometime in the future. Maybe something will come together in India or Nepal over the next few years. Stay tuned!

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Beginning in 2006, my wife Jordan and I began exploring options for establishing a deep connection with the peoples of third world countries with an eye toward establishing a lifestyle built around service to underserved populations. In 2008, I closed my psychotherapy practice, got rid of all our stuff and headed off to Peru to test our wings living in a developing country. During the next seven months, we lived in a small ecological village in the Sacred Valley of the Incas near Cusco, traveled and volunteered in other areas of Peru as well as in Ecuador. Before closing my practice, we had began the application process for becoming volunteers in Peace Corps. We completed all the paperwork, phone interviews and the medical clearance process and in late June of 2009 we headed to Swaziland, Africa to serve as "HIV/AIDS Educators."

We were excited that this door of opportunity had opened up for us and felt blessed by the opportunity to serve. We learned a great deal about ourselves as we integrated into this rural African culture. We found many opportunities to deepen our spiritual practice as many mirrors were placed before us. It was an amazing trip! We wrote about our experiences in Swaziland and posted videos and photos on our Wordpress blog. We hope you find these posts interesting and encouraging of, to use Joseph Campbell's phrase, "following your bliss" to your own life's adventure.

In September of 2011, I completed my PC service. After a few months sitting and serving in a meditation center near Cape Town, I will be heading to India and Nepal to sit and serve in retreat centers and monasteries while scouting out a place for Jordan and me to settle. She will join me there next year after completing her third year with PC. Drawing from our Peace Corps training and experience living in a poor rural community, we will look for situations where a little money can make a meaningful impact. Following the golden rule of sustainable development, “help first those who have found a way to help themselves,” we expect to frequently be in a position to make a few dollars go a long way.

Flowing Dharma (our 501.c.3) will be the financial vehicle for this aspect of our work. In the coming years, along with other development projects, Jordan and I will seek out organizations that are already doing a good job of sharing the Buddha’s teachings, in whatever tradition, with those living in their community. We plan to carefully and strategically place a few dollars into the hands of those already making these teachings available to everyone regardless of financial standing. From our perspective, this is an excellent example of sustainable community development. As one’s mind and heart are cleared of greed, hatred and delusion, new and varied possibilities present themselves that otherwise would have remained obscured. Possibilities arise for income generation, food production, home security, education, and health maintenance. Living in peace and dignity may not require wealth but I suspect it does require a level of mental and spiritual clarity – qualities cultivated through disciplined meditation practice. Flowing Dharma is committed to helping people find a path to clarity of mind and heart, whether in Tampa Bay or in a developing country.

Jordan and I invite you to share in this work by making a financial contribution to Flowing Dharma. All donations are tax deductible and will be used in their entirety to support organizations engaged in sharing some form of Buddhist meditation practice with anyone regardless of their financial situation. Along with information about our 501.c.3, you will find a PayPal link at the bottom of this page: http://www.bemindful.org/tvg.htm

Thank you, and may God continue to bless and keep you and yours safe, peaceful and prosperous during these challenging times.

John

By the way, we are still working with our intention of offering small group retreats to wild and sacred places sometime in the future. Maybe something will come together in India or Nepal over the next few years. Stay tuned!