Free Since 1983 –
Sid Galloway BS, M.DIV.
(Chose to Not Complete my PhD – see the bottom of the page)
Just an Old Sheepdog Seeking to Encourage and Educate, not to Entertain
NOW RETIRED, this site reflects a lifelong commitment to a Good-Shepherd-type of Compassionate Love – meaning genuine concern and active care for everyone, especially the most vulnerable who are suffering — abused children, the oppressed, the disabled, and yes even sentient animals. I’m not at all a professional website developer, but somehow I’ve managed to personally create and maintain an online presence for over 30 years. Being more of a speaker, talker, and counselor than a writer, hopefully despite my lack of writing skill, at least my heart will still be clear. Most of all, I’m a life-long researcher of human, animal, and now including AI psychology and behavior.
Compassionate Agape-Love
Don’t worry! I am NOT promoting any particular religion. I enjoy learning from any and all worldviews, religions, and philosophies that promote the way of humility, compassionate love, and constructive cooperative conversation. Jesus of Nazareth said, “You will know them [followers of the way] by their fruit [the fruit of agape-love]”. So, in that light please note that I do not agree with the many commercialized or politicized expressions of “Christianity” common today. I am independent, not Republican nor Democrat. I recognize that both the left and the right have valuable insights that are necessary for the formation of balanced, wise principles, policies, and practices of life, family, community, and government.
For me, the term “God” is what I use for the ultimate Source of all things. Not only theology and philosophy, but now even quantum physics and cosmology potentially point toward a transcendent, yet immanent Source of the Universe — a mystery that cannot be fully understood by our limited minds — especially not through experimental, observational science. This is why humility is the best and the only starting place for learning, for constructive dialogue, and for growth.
A Simple Conviction
Selective compassion is not true compassion, it’s self-serving partiality.
Partiality is merely partial love – not pure or mature.
We all fall short of pure, mature compassionate love.
Specs About Me – Sid Galloway
BS (Psychology / Biology), M.Div. (Counseling-Psychology & Theology), PhD? (not quite, see below)
Retired counselor, educator, and lifelong “service-human”, natural-philosopher
- 40+ years counseling individuals, couples, and families
- Focus: agape-centered relational healing, informed by psychology, theology, and interpersonal neurobiology
- Incorporated animal-assisted therapy (AAT)
- Worked alongside medical and psychiatric professionals as needed
- Life-long researcher of human / animal behavior, psychology, sociology
- Educator (40 years)
- Taught counseling, science, philosophy of science, philosophy, and theology
- Combined classroom learning with nature and rescued animals
- Animal work (lifelong)
- Former caregiver/trainer (service-human) of elephants and large carnivores at the New Orleans Audubon (Conservation) Zoo
- Wildlife rescuer and rehabilitator for the LDWF
- Para-veterinary emergency service (domestic, exotic, wild animals)
* A STATEMENT ON ZOOS & CAPTIVE ANIMALS — The subject is understandably controversial, with many good people having different valuable perspectives. Have you had negative feelings about zoos and captive animals? I empathize with you! If you research carefully, you will find that good, bad, and very ugly exists across the wide range of facilities and activities. When it’s bad and ugly, it’s sadly easy to see — while the good and wonderful is often more subtle and behind the scenes. The best of facilities are motivated and designed around compassion, conservation, and education. Their animals are loved and protected by their caregiver keepers, and enjoy far better lives than those in the “wild” who must struggle and suffer violent competitive survival of the fittest, coolest, and cruelest, against predators, disease, drought, floods, fires, etc. Without captive animals, many species would otherwise go extinct. And the educational impact of new generations seeing, hearing, and caring about their local captive animal “friends” motivates actions to preserve and protect the world’s natural habitats and inhabitants.
About Linda Galloway
My Wonderful Wife & Best Friend
BS, RN – Retired nurse, educator, and co-counselor
- Registered nurse for decades
- Nursing instructor (4 years)
- Homeschool educator for six children (13 years)
- Co-laborer in counseling ministry
NO NOT DR. SID – CHOSE TO NOT COMPLETE MY PHD
KNOW YOUR LIMITATIONS – HOLD TO YOUR PRIORITIES – AVOID UNNECESSARY STRESS
I eventually pursued a PhD in counseling psychology after a long academic and professional journey—beginning with psychology and animal science at LSU, then serving as a caregiver of elephants and endangered carnivores at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans and local para-veterinary work. Eventually, my heart shifted more toward helping people, so I initially worked toward a Master’s in psychiatric social work at LSU but later transferred to a seminary – earning a master’s (M.Div.) in counseling-psychology and theology, and ultimately entering the PhD program.
The doctoral studies were invaluable, but family medical needs and financial realities made completing the PhD unwise, so I withdrew from the program. In hindsight, those barriers were a gift, because the program’s time and stress would have hindered crucial family priorities. And the hindrance was not just the rigor and time involved. The stress was compounded by my personal combination (package) of abilities and disabilities. Even though I have been tested as having a high IQ, I also have many deficits that hinder the use of it. Two of those disabilities are SDAM (Severely Deficient Autobiographical Memory), and Aphantasia. Both of these involve the inability to form visual images of the past, present, or future. My type of memory storage is called semantic or highly conceptual memory, which allowed me to score a high IQ, but negatively makes it much harder to work with certain visual academic skills and tasks. My limited skill set works best extemporaneously and verbally during immediate activities such as counseling and teaching. During these extemporaneous activities, my past learned information flows to the surface of my mind conceptually and verbally so that I effectively interact with individuals (counselees) and with groups (families/classes).
Later, the opportunity to complete a PhD came back into my life—twice. Offers were made by two different colleges to provide funding to finish my PhD, including one offering to send me to Syracuse University for final doctoral study. But both offerings expected me to work full-time while also doing doctoral studies. By then, Linda and I fully understood our family limitations and needs more clearly. With six young children, two with disabilities, and an already well established counseling ministry, we chose family over ambition. Protecting our marriage and being present for our children was non-negotiable.
As a result of our own financial pressures, our eyes were opened to the reality of others who were in similar situations—people needing counseling but unable to afford it. So I responded by creating a FREE pastoral (Good Shepherd) counseling ministry that effectively served many people and families for over 40 years. We never had to turn anyone away for lack of money. People donated what they could for counseling, and the balance between our wealthy professional clients and our impoverished clients provided for our needs. Linda homeschooled our six children for 13 of those years full-time, and then went back to work as a nurse to secure better medical insurance. Our kids then entered a large private college-prep high school north of New Orleans.
During the last 20 years of my 40 years as a counselor, I reduced my counseling to part-time, and taught full-time biology, philosophy of science, and theology at the college-prep high school where my children attended. This allowed me to stay close to my children. That decision proved invaluable. Today, I, Linda, and our six adult children are best of friends. No PhD degree could replace that.
Throughout all of those 40 years, drawing on my earlier animal-related background, I often incorporated AAT (Animal-Assisted Therapy) in counseling, as a school teacher, and as a seminar speaker (psychology, counseling, philosophy of science). As a biological sciences teacher, my classroom was always full of orphaned or injured wildlife being rehabilitated for the LDW (Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife). * See our ANIMAL-THERAPY page.
SO, MY ONLY PhD is barely a “DOCTOR OF “PHATHERHOOD“ thanks to my six wonderful children and grandchildren.
Ambition must be weighed against capacity. Not every opportunity should be accepted. A well-lived life is not defined by titles achieved, but by relationships preserved and priorities rightly ordered.
Linda and I are not experts, just fellow learners. We’re just two old “service-humans”— still growing, still learning, still striving to love well.
Jesus of Nazareth — “Love one another as I have loved you.”
”Love your enemies, and do good to those who mistreat you.”
Agnostic, Marcelo Gleiser PhD – Theoretical physicist, cosmologist, philosopher of science
“….I honestly think atheism is inconsistent with the scientific method.
….I believe we should take a much humbler approach to knowledge,
in the sense that if you look carefully at the way science works,
you’ll see that yes it is wonderful — magnificent — but it has limits.
. There is a difference between ‘science‘ and what we can call ‘scientism‘,
which is the notion that science can solve all problems.”
