USM Prison Project - Explaining the Unexplainable?

Congratulations! The USM Prison Project wins best Short Documentary at the Cannes Film Festival, May 16, 2009.  

The first time I heard of the USM prison project was in 2005 during my first year at USM.  It tugged at my soul and I knew it was something  I wanted to do, or better put “had” to participate in.

In September of 2006 I was chosen to join the October Prison Project team and could hardly contain my enthusiasm. To this day, I’m still quite unsure why I was so strongly drawn to a woman’s maximum security prison. Oddly enough, I did not feel the least bit unnerved walking through the prison yard. On the contrary, I felt very at home (perhaps I myself was an inmate in another lifetime). On an intuitive level, I knew this would be an experience that I would never forget. What I didn’t expect was the profound impact that the inmates of Valley State Prison for Women would have on my life from that moment on.

For those who may not know, the USM volunteers go to the prison to present a workshop called “Freedom to Choose”. The Freedom to Choose Workshop is partly based on the writings of Viktor Frankel, a Jewish Psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor. In his book “The Meaning of Life”, he wrote;

…We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way…”

It would be simple enough to explain the techniques used in these workshops; three days of familiar trio formats while utilizing a handful of basic skills tailored to the inmates. The workshop is facilitated by Drs. David and Bonnie Paul, who are inspiring, compassionate, and comforting beings of light.  While be assisted by 40 beautiful, loving angels, affectionately known as USM volunteers. Perhaps that may be enough for some to understand how those involved experience transformation.

After participating at the past three workshops, it recently dawned on me that the magical moment occurs when the walls and inhibitions have crumbled, allowing communication with an open heart and without any blame or judgment. It’s immediately apparent; a sudden shift in awareness, eyes welled with tears, faces beaming with a long forgotten familiarity. For myself, in those moments I experience a sudden dizziness, similar to a feeling of drunkenness that overwhelms the equilibrium.

What I believe to be true of what truly transpires are human beings experiencing their divinity in a communion of souls. In those moments, no known words in any language can even begin to shed light on the unfolding miracle. How do you explain the beauty in a sunrise? Or, your first kiss with someone you love deeply? Even as I write this, I’m struggling to communicate with words an explanation for an experience that transcends our humanness. And to have this experience in a prison is truly sublime. To see the divinity in these women and to have them reflect my divinity back to me provides a direct experience of what we all know is true: that we are ALL divine beings having a human experience.

My wife Sherry Martyn (USM 2003) and I attended the last two Prison Projects together. The morning after returning home we sat in our kitchen sipping our coffee, and after several silent minutes we turned to look at each other and noticed tears trickling down each other’s faces. Without a word we burst into laughter. There was no sadness but a shared knowingness of the profound divine experience we both experienced at VSP.

At USM I’ve learned that compassion is the willingness to allow someone the dignity of their process. If I were to have the same life experiences as another, who is to say that I would not end up in their identical circumstances. I can think of no other experience where this awareness is put into practice so genuinely.

Occasionally I find myself thinking about the women at VSP, particularly the ones in my trios. I wonder how they are managing their relationships with their family, friends or significant others? Did they make peace with their parents or children? Did they make parole? Other than being divine beings having a “prison experience”, I’ve recognized their issues are identical to yours and mine.

As for my other learnings and manifestations, that is another chapter that I look forward to sharing with you in another post. 

Peace and blessings to all, and light to the Valley State Prison for Women.

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