Meditation In Prison Gives Prisoners A Chance To Find Some Much Needed Answers
Some time ago, there was a lot of media attention being paid to meditation in prison, especially because meditation was supposed to have done a lot of good to the inmates of New York's Rikers Island Prison, where meditation was being used to treat criminals of unsound minds. It was felt that by introducing inmates to meditation in prison, the inmates would be able to find more spirituality and through meditation, there would also be a greater release in the prisoner's body of beta-endorphins that are generally closely linked with being able to feel better.
Time To Ponder Things Over
A person that has been put in prison has a lot of time in which to ponder about things, especially their own approach to life, and they will also have a lot of time in which to ring in some changes in their lives, if given the chance. Thus, they will be more receptive to learning about new ways of improving their well being and that is why the State Prison for Men in Concord, New Hampshire has used something along these lines in the form of allowing meditation in prison to help the inmates there.
Even parents of inmates are making many requests about allowing meditation in prison in the hope that their imprisoned children could get some alleviation from their harsh living conditions. Because inmates have to put up with harsh surroundings and are cut off from the outside world, and inmates can be subjected to a lot of cruelty as well (both from the guards, and from other inmates) it would be a welcome change for them to get a chance to try meditation in prison to get away from the cruelty, noise and other harsh conditions and instead, find some solace in a quiet and unobtrusive manner.
Since one of the things that is constantly bothering most inmates is the need to find answers as to how they got into such a predicament in the first place, and how they can make a change for the better, meditation in prison could provide them with an effective means of finding these answers, and thus help them improve them as people and maybe even show them a new life as well.
To be sure, there have been some particularly violent prison inmates that have actually greatly benefited from meditation in prison and have turned into gentle people that would rather protect weaker people than cause them harm. It is such examples that augur well for allowing meditation in prison, which should be something that more prisons need to permit in the near future.
It is not uncommon for criminals behind bars to turn to spirituality and religion as a means of coping with their condition, and so many of them would welcome an opportunity to practice meditation in prison, which would help them cope with the rigors of prison life and also perhaps bring about a positive change in their character and outlook in life.
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