Congratulations and thank you to all those involved in this great program!!!

What about going a step further and setting up jobs, living situations, sponsors for those released so that the community who supported their graduation could give them a helping hand if and when they get out so that they will be able to be functioning members of society again.

Why do we keep prisoners in jail after they've reformed their lives completely? Who is that…

By Kate Olson for PBS, May 10, 2013

KATE OLSON, correspondent: For most of its 160 year history, San Quentin has been known as a tough place to do hard time. But over the past two decades, this has begun to change.

Thanks to thousands of engaged citizens…

By Shannon Dininny, Associated Press, May 12, 2013

Six inmates, each shackled and chained to a chair,…

By Jen Mulson for The Gazette, April 30, 2013

There are a handful of yogic paths, and karma yoga is known as that of selfless service.

I've met several yoga teachers this year who are practicing karma yoga in our local criminal justice system. They are teaching prisoners and…

I just sent this to a number of folks who helped me when I was first learning of ideas I had a lot of resistance to (sitting, and Basic Goodness, for example):

 I had an interesting test tonight - well, technically, this morning.

I worked into the wee morning hours. I stopped at a filling station to get a pint of Ben & Jerry's. A man outside asked for money, and I said I wished him well, but just had a credit card.  Coming out, the man grabbed one of my breasts…

Today as I approached the Supermax prison, overhead was a crystal clear bold blue sky, a gentle cool breeze enveloped me, and the razor wire glistened in the warm morning sun.  I felt settled and good as I entered the prison entrance and was met by my favorite correction officer who greeted me with a smile and…

Feelings of guilt and hopelessness can put extreme pressure on prisoners. In one German prison, inmates are discovering a new sense of calm with regular meditation that also prepares them for life on the outside.

http://robertsturmanstudio.com/section/251871_P_R_I_S_O_N_E_R_S_Y_O_G_A_Click_images.html

Just wanted to share a story from one of our Path of Freedom participants here in Rhode Island about the recent Boston Marathon bombings.  This woman is in her 4th round of Path of Freedom and is serving time for "DUI-- Death Resulting" (a fairly common charge at Women's Minimum).  I will do my best to quote her…

This morning at the supermax was a study in contrasts.  Upon entering the prison there were two correction officers in uniform holding semi-automatic rifles. They were waiting to start their shift at one of the security towers. They cordially greeted me and I felt their warmth yet feared their…

One day at San Quentin State Prison, I was walking down the paved ramp towards the yard to my destination, the education building.  I like walking down this leisurely quiet route verses the stairway, which seems so abrupt and crowded. I admire the greenery on the side of…

I must say thank you to PDN for the inspiration to study and practice while I was in prison, and for the inspiration to continue these past 6 years while free.  Here is the link to my project "The Homeless Dharma Network":

http://homelessdharmanetwork.weebly.com

Stephen Conover (Sonam Dorje)

In 1959, the Chinese invasion of Tibet threw open the doors to the mysterious realm of Tibetan Buddhism and suddenly this rich, ancient tradition was propelled into the modern world. Half a century later, Padmasambhava’s prophecy has come true and the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism are found in every corner…

Intake

We make the short trip to the Denver Diagnostic and Reception Center (DRDC) from Adams County, there are two other guys in the van. They take away my county jail uniform and replace it with an orange jumpsuit. They give me a pair of state-issue shoes, heavy, black “Plainsman” work boots, with carefully notched soles to…

It's  been an interesting discovery: a knack and enjoyment for poetry writing.  At 47!!  It's never too late to hone a new skill. Around the same time that I was opening to the possibility of beginning my classes in meditation at the prison, I started to find inspiration bubbling up in the form of poetry. Because you know....we must find something meaningful in what we produce.  Brene Brown says that "unused creativity is not benign...it's malignant. It will…

I’m certain that I deserved to go to prison. I was not the innocent man, or the peaceful drug offender. I was among the lowest of street scum, a small time junky hood who would deal, con, rob and steal, often more out of sheer boredom than any genuine need for drugs. In that sense, I can say I was a success; that was who I’d set out to become, consciously, with premeditation after my own unarrestable but despicable…

All my adult life I have wondered why I rarely meet men my own age. Once I left high school, the mystery deepened. The men I met were either older than I or younger. I remember my first day of working for the Post Office in 1986. I was twenty-nine. There was myself and another new hire, a man who remarkably was the same age as myself. I scrutinized his face, his hair, his skin. So this is what it looks like, I thought. How unusual. Over the 13 years I…

Here are some thoughts to start with, from a few years back...

The Hostile Effects of Prisons and "Treatment" Programs on Drug Addicts

By Nicole Doll for KPTV Portland OR

Instructor Gina Kieval's Monday night yoga …