1. The mind can be free even when the body is imprisoned.

Look for shared experiences. Certain sensations everyone can relate to regardless of gender, age, and life experiences, such as deprivation of oxygen. It is from this place of a shared raw human experience that I find connection with those who are incarcerated. The constricted feeling that comes with physical imprisonment is an ever present, underlying current.

Mental prison is another beast. The question arises daily— How can I invite students to travel within themselves to become more fully present in any given moment? How can I help them unlock the chains around the mind?

“I am more free now, while I am here in prison than I was outside. Out there, my body was free. But my mind was in prison. Now, my body is in prison but my mind is free.” ~ Malik, incarcerated male

I am inspired by students who embody this mentality. They are proof that doing introspective work is possible while in prison. These students enter the classroom calmly and look directly into my eyes when they speak. They listen to others with the patience of a wise teacher and respond with fairness and kindness.

1. Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.

Prisons and jails are an opportune place to experiment with this theory. When I connect to the truth that I am a conduit of energy the palpable negativity and anger that sometimes exudes from a frustrated teenager, dissolves. Using visualization and grounding techniques I connect with a greater source of energy beyond my physical body, and inevitably the incarcerated teenager or correctional officer responds by softening their stance.

1. What you practice, especially when things are not going as planned, is what you preach.

Respect “snap judgements.” Those who were “raised by the streets,” are exceptionally perceptive of other people’s motives. Their lives depended on this skill and being able to act immediately based on their gut feeling. Malcom Gladwell discusses the accuracy of intuitive snap judgements that rely on a “slice of experience,” and the unconscious mind. He cites Dr. Ekman’s Facial Action Coding System (FACS) which codified every one of the hundreds of muscles in the human face that comprise a facial expression, which he wrote about in his book, Blink. Many of the incarcerated adults and youth are in tune with this skill and use it to assess people’s motives. Teaching in prisons has made me more aware of my true motives and thoughts while teaching, because that’s what these students are picking up on.