3

MEDITATION FOR PRISONERS

I started studying meditation because I firmly expected to go to prison as a result of my refusal to participate in the Vietnam War. I knew instinctively that I would have to find resources within myself to prepare for and protect from long hours of boredom, hostile strangers and oppressive situations. These studies took me around the world and, although I never actually entered prison, I gathered what I needed to arm myself against the sudden deprivation of material comfort and freedom.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

This book contains 31 meditations, one for each day of the month. Use the meditation that corresponds to the date of the month. Find a comfortable place and read the introduction and meditation once. Then say each line of the meditation aloud if possible, silently if necessary. Concentrate on the meaning. Close your eyes, quiet your mind, watch your breath, observe your thoughts and, most importantly, follow your intuition.

THE MIND TURNS TO LIBERATION

I write for those few brothers and sisters who are forced by circumstance to contemplate the meaning of liberation. I write with a sense of camaraderie because everyone is, in some sense, a prisoner. True, for most people imprisonment is self-imposed. Nevertheless, once imposed, the mind turns to liberation.