QiGong Prison Ministry

A new facet of my Call, has been slowly evolving and now seems ready for exposure beyond the few men inside and few friends outside that have helped nudge this forth.

We believe that fundamental to the transformation of our criminal justice system, and specifically our prison system, is the transformation of our society's collective heart when it comes to caring for those who transgress against us.  Our collective approach to punishment has magnified criminal activities and behavior.  Vengeance brings short term relief, not healing.  We are our society.  Each of our opinions, viewpoints and prayers merge together into our collective approach.

Changing a system as challenged and quagmired as our prison system, requires a deep shift.  It requires the expression of hope, the belief in human potential, and the trust in human creativity to find a better way.

We believe that fundamental to inviting change into our way of punishment, is to invite prayer into our hearts.  By taping into the spiritual power of our own desires for a better way to be found, multiplied thousand fold, the Creative Power will be released and new choices will arise.  We must want a new and better way, that does not destroy, but builds new lives for those incarcerated, and a new inclusive community of caring.

This campaign began with the recognition that our "prison problem" is a spiritual problem.  At all levels, we are not loving our neighbors. So we turned to seeking spiritual answers because the situation is dire, and most importantly to unleash the potential creative powers of the Holy Spirit.  You don't put a band-aid on cancer. You don't send a politician down to reform Hell.

We started gathering monthly in prayer and visioning.  From this arose simple prayer campaign:  "May our prisons become places of healing and peace." A prayer card came next, then an inspirational essay to color the simple prayer with our intentions. There is a two page version focusing in on the prayer, and a four page booklet encouraging us to turn to the true source of transformation for help.

Way has begun to open for circulation of these ideas, prayers and materials through numerous churches, prayer circles and good people everywhere.  We hope soon to have someone help us with a web site, until then we have a blog at www.prayingforourprisons.blogspot.com.

Won't you join us in prayer?

Praying for our Prisons
to become places of healing and peace.

"Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering."
Hebrews 13:3 NIV

How many times have you heard of some terrible crime and prayed a prayer for the bad guy to get all the punishment he could, "Rot in hell,"  you cursed, or thinking of our current prison system, "You'll get what you deserve!"

When we cast someone into hell in our hearts, with our words, with our tax dollars, with our votes, when we pray to throw them into our current prison system forever, to lock them up and throw away the key, we pray a prayer of vengeance.

Consider a different approach.  "May they never do harm again" is prayer that will lift you up when you pray it.  Pray that they find a love-filled purpose to their lives. Pray that somehow, some way, a healing grace penetrates all obstacles and breaks open the old patterns and guides a new way forward, for them, for everyone.

Next time you hear of a tale of crime, be shocked, and despair over the broken lives that have broken more lives. Then pray. Invite love and hope, rather than fear or hatred, to flow through your heart.

Pray for ourselves: Begin with me. Unlock the prison gates of my heart and release my stereotypes and negativity. Let my compassion flow into the darkest places within the world and within me.

Pray for the victim:  May their healing come quickly. May they grow even stronger through this ordeal. May they receive the support and love they need to not become bitter. May their anger be released in healthy ways as they rise above this turmoil to find peace again.

Pray for the witnesses and the families of the victims:  May the horror of these days awaken a deep compassion in their hearts. May the support they provide for their suffering loved one open up a flow of love inside their families that bring healing for generations.
Pray for the officers, judges, jurors, and other professionals tending to the investigation, arresting and prosecuting:  May they be open to possibilities and unbiased in perception. May they know peace in their hearts and firmness in their resolve to best serve all.

Pray for the perpetrators of the crime:  May they awaken to the human consequences of their actions and take responsibility for their lives.  May they know the character building consequences of remorse, and find their own way through despair into an opening of self understanding and honest rebuilding of their lives.  May they receive the healing resources that match their needs and abilities to change and grow.  May they find love and strength as a consequence of the discipline and hardship which they must bear as a result of their incarceration.  May they serve their time in a manner that brings forth the best in themselves and their prison-mates. May they never intentionally harm another person again. May those who cannot or will not be healed be cared for with respect and protection from their own worst nature.

Pray for the families: May they have the strength to persevere in their support and visits despite so many hardships. May the families of those incarcerated get the support they need to find their way without their father or son, mother or daughter. May the "sins of the fathers" be healed so that their children might realize their own potential as healthy contributing citizens.

Pray for the parolees: May they find "welcome home" banners in their neighborhoods and churches. When they leave prison, may they receive the support they need to lead an honorable life.

Pray for the men and women who have the jobs to supervise and care for the incarcerated: May the officers who must remain vigilant watching for wrongdoing, also have the compassion to guide these men forward with a positive tough love.  May the administration find its way through the bureaucracy of logistics and legal maneuvering to create policies to transform the lives of the incarcerated and the whole prison system.  May our prison system become respected for its applications of the best in human potential wisdom.  May we measure our success in the ever-diminishing need for prisons, and our the ever-increasing feelings of safety.

Pray for the parole officers: May they find an engaged society where businesses feel protected and comfortable taking a risk and hiring these newly trained and transformed individuals.  May they find fulfillment through successful reentry with adequate resources.

Pray for the chaplains, teachers and mental health professionals:  May they apply the best of their tradition's wisdom for healing and transformation.  May they be capable of the personal challenges of helping people heal who have violated our sense of what's right. May they know they are not alone in their efforts and caring.

Pray for the prison environment:  May the cell-blocks and yards be cleansed of the build-up of fear, hatred, revenge, violence and terror that has saturated their walls. May the atmosphere transcend fears and find forgiveness, release despair and discover hope, surrender shame and encounter creativity, find no place for revenge and abundant room for the practice of compassion.

Pray for the spiritual well being of all concerned:  May all the guides, angels, ancestors and teachers of divine nature be aroused and activated.  May we all learn how to ask for, and receive God's grace. May the will of God for each human to achieve their fullest potential be realized through our correctional system.                                        Amen

To Pray for Our Prisons is to call upon the Light of God, already deep within each of the incarcerated, within each of the employees, and within every family that has been affected. To pray for our prisons is to call upon God to heal us all.

To Pray for Our Prisons is to call upon this Force that cares not just for the future of each of the individuals involved, but for the very fabric that binds us all together. We pray so that we may heal the notion that we can cast off any part of our community, or any member of our human family.  We pray for our prisons so that we may live in communities that are safe, healthy and full of kindness.

To Pray for Our Prisons is to acknowledge that what we know (of causes and solutions) is only partial. The answers lie not in us, but in inviting the Power of Love to move through us.

Love is seeking a way forward.  Prayer will open many pathways for our criminal justice system and our prison system to become institutions  promoting healing and peace, safety and justice.  Prayer begins in our hearts. Let us pray.

For the story behind this project and support materials:  
www.prayingforourprisons.blogspot.com

Abbreviated from a longer essay by Judy Tretheway and Myrna Echols of Compassionate Action in Sacramento, CA. This 2 page prayer is available as a pdf booklet, and as a word document.  The longer version is available as a pdf for your own reading, reprinting, or contact us for copies.

As I begin preparation for our start up on October 12 of the Circle of Life inside C Yard, New Folsom, I have been exploring the Inside Circle web site.  Our program will be 2nd and 4th Wednesday evenings.  On the 1st and 3rd some of those participating are a part of the Men’s Support Group.  These groups are run by the Inside Circle (see link to the left).  The men on C yard have written their own guidelines and told their stories in this downloadable or html document. Many voices are represented in this collection of letters, essays, and poems.  All of them  add something to the flavor of the Folsom Prison men’s support group experience.

msg_webversion.2.pdf

For the wonderful work of the Inside Circle, please go to

http://insidecircle.org

More and more prisons realizing the benefits of body based therapy. Here is a Yoga story from Pittsburg my daughter sent me.

Click here to access the story:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05272/579551.stm

Sister Antonia was finally able to begin her personal prison ministry, here is her report:

Good News!  I finally got in Somerset County Jail August 29 and Labor Day.  Two more 1 1/2 hr visits are planned.  We were given a space that can hold one long table and stack chairs with one wall lined with books, their "library".   Four women attended first class, three the second... those three walked into the room with smiles ear to ear.  It is a small start, but the emphasis is on start.  
Rev. Kathleen Roney and I began discussing the possibility of TCC in Jail back in November, last year.... 10 months isn't too bad, especially since I began to talk about it in two State prisons about 7 years ago.

Stay tuned!

Blessings,
Antonia

Sister Antonia is the Guide for the Tai Chi Chih community and visited Folsom prisons last February (see web blog for  Feb 14 or http://chifully.blogspirit.com/archive/2005/02/14/feb_10_2005_sr_antonia_s_visit.html)

Friends Committee on Legislation Education Fund
FCL Research Page

Reform Our Systems of Justice, End Violence and Terrorism

Prayer request:

Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) was once very active and successful at Folsom Prison.  The men inside would appreciate your prayer support as they are seeking all avenues to get this life changing program reinstated.
May our prayers empower their efforts.

Here's a good article about AVP's prison efforts:
fcl-mar04.pdf

   The Work (see link on right side bar) is a healing process that has been a small part of my life since I attended the New Directions in Corrections conference back in 1999.  I just got their newsletter and thought my readers might like to know about their efforts.  Congratulations on their award!
    For more details: http://www.thework.com/> .  

The Work in Prisons and Hospitals

The Insight Prison Project (of which The Work of Byron Katie group is a part, along with twelve steps, yoga, and non-violent communication) was recently selected from 285 nominations to receive the 2005 Community Leadership Award from the San Francisco Foundation. The award is made for organizational initiatives in response to a significant contemporary problem; it comes with $20,000 for in-prison rehabilitation programs and creates much public awareness of these wonderful programs. IPP received the award for ?pioneering effective in-prison rehabilitation programs and for being a model for catalyzing statewide prison reform.? Thank you Jacques, Adam, Kathy, Sara, and everyone who is making real rehabilitation possible in prisons everywhere.

Here is a recent letter from Kathy and Sara:

The Work class at San Quentin started its new quarter last Monday. Twenty men signed up. Ten old-timers are back who have taken the twelve-week class already once or more. In the dyads the old guys worked with the new ones. At one point the men were chanting ?Judge your neighbor, write it down, ask four questions, turn it around??it was great! We introduced the turnarounds and as the men worked in dyads with each other many men had real insights, shifts and felt relief. Such simple elegant powerful work. They are learning the process quickly and it is beautiful to see them doing The Work together.

One newcomer whose written work was about wasting his life in prison shared, after doing The Work, that he got to see he?s saving his life?with the tools he?s getting in the class, whereas out on the street he might be dead by now. At the end of the class one new guy said, ?I thought I was signing up for a meditation class. This is meditation and so much more.? Another guy said that in the class he gets to be real with others, dropping the macho stance that goes on in the yard and dorm. Another new guy said, ?I?m excited about taking this class?it?s helping me with my anger. I?m seeing it?s about my thinking!?

The old timers share how they?re using it in there lives in prison, in relationship to the guards, to the inmates, and with their families. Tobacco has just been banned, so we did The Work on their anger at the prison for taking away smoking. One beautiful man who?s been in prison 23 years of his life was afraid he wouldn?t be okay without smoking. We had him experience his breath, his butt on the chair, and from down in his body answer ?Is it true in this moment, right now, that you?re not okay?? He got it, and with a smile said, ?Yeah, I?m okay.? At the end of the class he said he was going away with gratitude knowing that he can find his way with the addiction.

Thank you, Katie, for gifting the keys to freedom for so many!

Today a beautiful new sangha began to take shape, at B yard chapel of New Folsom prison: about 12 men came together for the first time, almost all of Vietnamese or Laotian backgrounds, seeking to learn about Buddhism and meditation. Several of them said their families had some kind of practice, but now they want to begin to investigate for themselves. The Muslim chapel clerk has offered us the mats and rugs which The Nation uses; one inmate asked if he could bring a picture of the Buddha from his cell so that we have a centerpiece (no altar, no bell, we just sit in a circle); and all are very keen to know that they can come back each week.  They say there's at least 100 more men interested.
 
In the C yard chapel at New Folsom,  BPF volunteers are making possible another wonderful new sangha, which brings together a diverse group of experienced practitioners and men expressing a deep desire to learn inner peace and truth.  At Old Folsom prison, chapter members have led the Tuesday evening Buddhist services for over 7 years, blessed by supporters who've donated funds for zafus and materials, including a new quarterly english-spanish newsletter written by inmates and volunteers.  How wonderful to experience the seeds of practice blooming in these harsh environments!