First day at Correctional facility

This is my first blog- not on this site but first ever! I just completed the first day of teaching at a correctional facility. I left with more questions that when I arrived- always a good sign!  I met with 4  men today for an hour. All seemed to want to find some peace with their mind. I decided to throw out the script  and just talk about what it is that creates our suffering- mine and theirs- no difference! What causes our suffering isn’t rocket science! Greed, hatred and delusion (not looking at what’s really going on) are always the culprits- they all agreed. We did about 15 minutes of breath meditation. I noticed that this may have been too long for them. Maybe I’ll shorten things up next week to a few shorter sessions . Anybody have any experience with this? The session ended on as good note with some feedback that this sounded like it could work. They said the last person who taught tried to “turn us into Buddhists”. I said you are fine just the way you are- don’t have to “be” anything. And that’s how we ended the hour. I would appreciate any suggestions- if no one responds you’re on notice that this could be my last blog!
May you all be well, happy and peaceful. PS Any suggestions on how to blog will also be welcomed.

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Comment by Paige Berg, MCF-Stillwater on October 26, 2011 at 8:48am
I work as a mental health therapist in a Minnesota prison and teach Anger Management to general population. I have incorporated "relaxation" skills into the curriculum and start by teaching about the fight or flight response and how proper breathing can fend that off. Then I move week by week into short breathing exercises, body scans, guided imagery, and then seem to have success refer to the breathing as meditation. These range in time from 5 to 25 minutes.
Comment by Kimberly Martin on October 16, 2011 at 9:24am
Just noticed an error with my previous message.  Should have typed "15 minutes shouldn't be too long:  : )
Comment by Marilynne Hahn on October 16, 2011 at 9:17am
Hi Floyd:  I work at a prison in a DV/AODA unit, and get to do treatment groups.  My supervisor said I can't do meditation as part of the group.  She was unwilling to discuss it further.  So we do "relaxation" exercises that are surprisingly similar to meditation :-)   We do a body scan and then follow breaths for about 1 - 2 minutes.  We do this 1 - 2 times each week.  I took the Path of Freedom Class and found it, and the workbook very useful.  Also attended two weekends with Fleet Maull in Milwaukee and those were useful.  So other activities we do in group are mindfulness based such as the speaking/deep listening activity which the programmers really like and which bring out a lot.  I have 12 men in the group and some are more interested than others.  Best wishes in your new teaching position and also in your new blogging career.  I am a rookie at it too and find that it's just like e-mailing in a group discussion.  PDN is the only place I blog on and still don't understand it entirely.
Comment by Kimberly Martin on October 15, 2011 at 3:35am

I think you will do fine.  15 minutes should be too long.  I'm a psychologist at a men's prison in Indiana, as part of group sessions, I have offered meditation and a mind body skills group.  When I see the men begin to "squirm" at the 15 minute mark, I typically will "chime" in again and encourage them to refocus on their breathing.  I recently started a new class, and at their restless mark, I allowed them to get up and stretch a little, then started a second round of meditation.  Best of success to you.

 

Comment by Kate Crisp (PDN Director) on October 14, 2011 at 9:14am
Hi Floyd...congrats on your entry to the blogosphere! The class sounds really great and thanks for reporting on it...I agree that shorter sessions mixed with some discussion works really well...as well as different types of meditation (breath counting, body scans, etc). What I always aim for is for folks to get some sort of feeling of 'success" that they can do it (thus they are more inspired to take it on as an ongoing practice). So even 4 or 5 minutes sometimes is good. Sometimes I even do a super short one minute 'being still' meditation that many report surprise that they can actually do (no movement whatsoever). Looking forward to hearing more reports!
Comment by Carter (PDN Admin) on October 12, 2011 at 12:32pm

Thanks for taking the plunge into the world of blogging Floyd! Its great for us to be able to share our experiences with others...

We've been going into the medium security prison here in Rhode Island teaching the "Path of Freedom" curriculum. Its been going really well. Its a men's facility that we're doing this in currently. It sounds like your approach is exactly what the guys your working with need...just a sense of openness, basic goodness and being clear that your not there trying to convert anyone to anything. It sounds like your on the right path!

Glad you doing this work!

Also, in the future, you may want to take our "Path of Freedom" online webinar:

http://www.prisondharmanetwork.org/pdn_path_of_freedom.html

The upcoming ones are:

2012 Dates (Mondays & Thursdays)
Jan. 16-Feb. 2
May 14-31
Sept. 10-27

Its specifically created for people who are offering trainings in the prison. It's a wonderful online class that offers very specific techniques (such as non violent communication, above the line/ below the line getting and staying off the drama triangle and lots of other stuff). Its taught by Fleet Maull (the founder of Prison Dharma Network)

Thanks again!

Madrone - PDN Staff

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