Born in NY City, Shields holds a Masters Degree in theology from St. Paul’s College in Washington, DC, where he worked with Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement. He went on to teach popular theology in Canada and the US. He left the church and moved to British Columbia in 1969. An interest in social justice led him to the labour movement where he was a champion for women’s equality work. He was President of the BC Government and Service Employees Union (BCGEU) for fourteen years. A deep interest in spirituality led him to contemporary cosmology, which is illuminating a deeper understanding of the universe. For the past twenty years he has explored the connection between science and spirituality. He now lives in Victoria, B.C., and has been teaching Labour Relations and Negotiations at Vancouver Island University.