On Wednesday I met with Dr Dylan Shanahan supported by
, and , a live conversation that we’d designed around Dylan’s resources, my questions sent in advance to him, the answers read out by Kimberly. Dylan is a duel doctorate graduate in Naturopathic and Classical Chinese Medicine from NUMN. In 2018 he was diagnosed with ALS but continued his studies, earning an honorary doctorate in 2019. The purpose of the conversation was to promote his memoir, The Liberation of Being, and selfishly, to get to spend time with him, his aura and vibration, the lessons he imparts by living them. He has eye movement, and one muscle beside his mouth can show a smile. He can cry. His memoir was completed in 2024, but even before the onset of ALS, Dylan was, as Kimberly reports, already deep in the practice of becoming a fully realised enlightened being. We could only wonder at the mastery of his light body as he described his ability to reach others through its extension. The full conversation is recorded here. Please do take your time, and enjoy.3rd May
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Housekeeping: Ben Wakeman and I will be in conversation today, 10am EDT / 3pm BST. In Substack terms, we’re old friends, we connected soon after I landed here. He ran the amazing community writing project Same Shoes Different Walk. Remember that? It was a technical feat and an inspiration. Here’s the first story I contributed, plucked from the archive…
At the very heart of this intense conversation, I find that I desperately need to understand Dylan’s point of view, born from experience this life has given him. Listening, learning, I feel as though this is the one and only opportunity to understand. How each of us processes this conversation becomes a visceral and physiological response. It is interesting to think that Dylan changes how we think and feel, with every answer he gives. And at the same time, ALS has not robbed him of his ability to think, to learn and to love. We are learning from each other. And I for one, am honored to listen in , and learn the lessons that will last a lifetime.
“The sun is always shining above the clouds”
Indeed.
Thank you ,Eleanor for finding a way for us to begin to understand, through the questions you have selected . And Kimberly, for never losing your connection with Dylan regardless of the difficult circumstances over time. You shine ever brighter throughout this entire relationship . And please give a gracious thank you to Dylan for allowing us in. To Vikki, proof that there are angels among us.
Thank you for your vulnerable, open heart, Eleanor. Your willingness to be seen in your longing to understand, to feel, to honor — it’s deeply touching. I’ve been fortunate to sit beside Dylan through many of these “silent” but powerful conversations, and they never fail to shift something bedrock in those who dare to listen. To witness his first essay in 2019 for the Unfixed docuseries slowly, quietly, blossom into a book seven years later — and now this conversation — has been a long, intimate journey. I'm tired, but full.