“Keep it Moving” is the theme of Lena Stevens’ February 2012 Forecast. I especially liked the part about keeping our thoughts and emotions moving so they don’t get stuck. She writes, “Allow yourself to feel, and then to feel differently, and yet again to feel something else.” (To read the rest of Lena’s forecast, please click on the title above.)

A few days after reading that monthly forecast, I was out on a brisk walk about town, and as I ascended a hill that I’ve walked up many times, I felt exasperated and my first thought was, ‘I can’t believe I’m still here in this town, after almost 19 years!’ As soon as I thought that, I remembered Lena’s words about keeping our feelings and thoughts moving, so I decided to try it out, and I quickly thought, ‘I am a multi-dimensional star being, and it doesn’t matter where I am on the earth!’

Well, as soon as I thought that, I felt so incredibly free, and so it really did work: I changed my thoughts, and then my feelings immediately changed. As I kept moving up the hill surrounded by the all-too-familiar Ashland scenery, I felt liberated from the limiting prison of my mind! 

Deep thanks to Lena Stevens for inspiring me to keep things moving…

May all beings be happy and free.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

P.S. Happy ShivaRatri (tonight in U.S./tomorrow in India) to one and all!

Photo of Stargazer Lilies by Teja Shankara.

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When I googled “Turkey animal medicine” I was disappointed to read that the Turkey represents the spirit of giving and sacrificing, since it gives everything away so that others may live. Hmmm… That symbolism is quite questionable to my way of vegan thinking. I seriously doubt that all those turkeys really want to be killed so that human beings can feast on their dead bodies. Whilst allowing myself to grieve for the suffering that millions of turkeys will endure this month (in the U.S.), I’m also intending to spend some time chanting (singing) for the turkeys on Thanksgiving Day.

In my last blog article, “A Plea for Everyone in the U.S. to Consider Going Vegetarian/Vegan this Thanksgiving!” I pointed out that the meat industry contributes to about 18% of global green house emissions. With that being the case, even if people simply reduce the amount of meat they consume, that reduction will help the environment. For many people, it is difficult to give up animal products all at once, primarily because the body-mind is attached to (and also addicted to) the animal products. Thus, I am simply asking that people begin by reducing the amount of animal products that they ingest.

Why not begin with this Thanksgiving Day? There are so many delicious ways to go vegetarian or vegan on this U.S. holiday! For example, here is the vegan menu that I prepared for Thanksgiving, 2009:

~ Teriyaki tempeh: tempeh marinated in toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, agave syrup, and orange zest… then cooked in a skillet on medium heat.

~ Stuffed squash: baked winter squash stuffed with a sauté of extra virgin olive oil, onions, garlic, sunflower seeds, pecans, walnuts, dried cranberries, Himalayan krystal salt, oregano, and sage. 

~ Festive rice: brown rice and wild rice cooked together, then tossed with coconut oil, dried mint, cumin powder, dried figs, and shredded coconut.

~ Raw salad: arugula, oranges, raw ginger root, raw turmeric root, carrots, and fresh lemon juice.

~ Cooked beets.

~ Curried onion soup.

~ Cranberry sauce (out of a can, but organic!)

~ Almost raw pumpkin pie, recipe adapted from “Raw Pumpkin Pie Recipe” by The Raw Foods Witch. (Her recipe calls for raw pumpkin, but I used cooked pumpkin.)

In my soup cookbook, Love Soups: A Vegetarian Soup Cookbook Inspired by the Soup Devas, the soups are arranged by season, and a few of the Fall and Winter Soups would grace the Thanksgiving table in a lovely way… I’m thinking of Butternut Squash Soup, Coconut Spiced Yam Soup, and Harvest Moon Soup. You can read the Harvest Moon Soup recipe on the “Book Excerpts” page of this website.

Currently I am planning my vegan Thanksgiving menu for this year, so I will soon share details here on the Teja Blog. One thing that has already occurred to me is that I don’t want to make any more “stuffing” ~ no more “stuffing” bread into dead birds for this vegan yogini! Instead, I plan to create something called “Teja’s Turkey-Free Thanksgiving Vegan Delight”.

May all meat-eating human beings consider reducing their consumption of animal products.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Teja’s Vegan Thanksgiving (2009) by Teja Shankara. Love Soups book cover designed by Gaelyn Larrick.

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Lately I’ve been thinking about the word “fun” and what it means to me now, at 41 years of age. I mean, what I consider to be fun now is very, very different than what I considered to be fun twenty years ago! Back then I was a party girl, and even though it wasn’t deeply fulfilling, I thought it was great fun to go out drinking with friends. Now I haven’t had a drink, not even a glass of wine, for almost four years, and the thought of drinking does not sound at all fun.

So what is “fun” for me now? Well, basically it’s anything that opens my heart and makes me laugh and/or cry! I have the most fun chanting the Names of God, dancing barefoot on this sacred earth, preparing organic vegan food, giving Reiki healing energies to others, and communing with Nature. One of the absolute most fun days of my life was the day I went hiking alone – and barefoot – at Red Fir Flat on Mt. Shasta. I chanted the Hanuman Chalisa sweetly to that enchanted forest, and then I chanted Om Namah Shivaya all the way back to my car. I took a little 21-second video of that barefoot chanting which you can watch by clicking here: Yogini-Bliss on YouTube. 

I also snapped some photos on that hike, including the one here of my feet on the rocks. The forest was quite magical, although it wasn’t as bright as it appears in this photo. Another thing that I have “fun” doing is fully saturating the color of photos! Born in the Chinese Year of the Rooster, I just love bright colors! To read more about my fun hike that day, please click here: “Happy Teja Chanting the Hanuman Chalisa on Barefoot Hike at Red Fir Flat (on Sacred Mt. Shasta)” 

What do you have fun doing? Please feel free to share in the comments section below this article.

May all beings have fun on this playground of life. May all beings be free.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Teja’s barefeet (color saturated) taken by Teja Shankara.

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Photo by Ashley Marie - CC license

In 2010 the theme of this newsletter was Cultivating the Witness. For 2011, the theme is committing to regular, daily spiritual practices. On this playground of life, we get to choose how we spend our time: we can choose to run around doing things that lower our vibrations, OR we can choose to commit to regular, daily spiritual practices that raise our vibrations. Each small change that we make within ourselves then ripples out and benefits all of Creation. This year I intend to help raise the vibration of the human species, through my work as a cheerleader for spiritual practices.

Here’s some recent news from the playground of my life ~

~ On December 19^th, at the Winter Solstice Gala (fundraising event for the Goddess Temple of Ashland that will open on March 19^th, 2011), I transmitted Lalla’s poetry and led a short Om Namah Shivaya chant. I am so excited to share the video with you – it is so much more than just a video, since it is a transmission of a bright Light from Medieval Kashmir. I hope you enjoy the experience: Teja Transmits Lalla Poetry.

~ One night in August, 2010, I dreamt that something intense was going to happen on October 10^th and that there was going to be a “Christmas Day Catastrophe.” Well, on October 10^th, my 96-year-old Grandma fell down and her hip injury resulted in a very intense time for my family… So, on Christmas Day, I was watching for some “catastrophe” to occur, but didn’t notice anything. On the contrary, my boys and I had one of our most fun Christmas Days ever. We were all so happy all day long. That evening, while they watched a movie, I was doing the dishes from our amazingly delicious vegan dinner, when the phone rang. It was my former husband calling to say that he had just found out that his father had died that afternoon. Stunned, I hung up the phone and prepared myself to tell the boys that their Grandfather had died that day. It was a very sad ending to such a joyous day, and then over the next few weeks a friend of mine died and I also ended the unrequited love lila. Thanks to all my daily spiritual practices, I was able to allow all that grief to pass through me, while keeping my thoughts positive.

~ Through that experience of maintaining my center within the swirl of sorrowful emotions, I got the Cosmic Joke on a much deeper level, and so much inspiration continued to flow into my being. So I wrote a lot of articles for this Teja Blog. Here are a few recent titles: “A Bhakti-filled time in San Rafael”; “Sitting in the Lap of Santa-ji”; “Encouragement Received in Amma’s Wonderland”; “Bowing before the altar to Santa-ji”; “Yogini Sets Computer Curfew”; “Stargazing on New Year’s Eve”; “Yogini Tejaswini’s Intentions for 2011”; “Yogini Tejaswini’s Vegan Winter Stew for You”; and “A Yogini “Poll” on Facebook”.

~ As I look ahead to publishing many more articles in 2011, I ask you, my readers, to please send me any burning questions or issues that you’d like to read about on the Teja Blog. You can send them through the Contact page on this website.

~ I now have a Facebook button on this website, which allows you to easily join the Teja Shankara Books page on Facebook. On that page, I post quotes from my books, photos from my life, and uplifting quotes and links by others. You are welcome to post inspirations on that page, and you can read reviews of my books there under the “Notes” tab.

~ The weekly Radiance Rising Circles continue to be an absolute joy. I am grateful, grateful, grateful for the sweet feeling of family that arises in those circles.

~ Lately I am channeling Reiki healing energy in a variety of ways. The Teja Challenge: For Healing, Light, Peace, & Love is one way that I am sending Reiki energies. In this challenge, I send Reiki daily for three months in exchange for people committing to give up addictions and do daily spiritual practices. Please read this challenge and help me spread the word about it: The Teja Challenge: For Healing, Light, Peace, & Love. Beyond The Teja Challenge, I am sending Reiki healing energies each day to U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, and to all the beings in all the worlds. I also visualize our sacred planet Earth filled with golden healing Light.

I’ll end this newsletter with a quote from Sri Ramakrishna, saint of India,1836-1886:

“A single glance from the Goddess transmits enough spiritual illumination to teach for an entire lifetime.”

May great sparks of Light ignite within you in 2011. May you enjoy the playground of your life.

May all beings be filled with Light.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Click here to see Teja Live on YouTube

Photo of Teja leading chant by Howie Morningstar. Photos of holiday cheer and candle lights by Teja Shankara.

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This is the third time I’ve presented The Teja Challenge. As the old saying goes, “The third time is the charm!” And so it is.

All addictions stem from a lack of self-love. Once you really, truly begin to love yourself, you then experience your whole being, including your physical body, as a temple for your soul. When you really love yourself, you will no longer choose to engage in addictions that are harmful to your body, mind, heart, and soul, such as: tobacco, alcohol, ganja (also called pot/weed/marijuana) and other drugs, as well as any other addictive substance or activity like spending too much time on the television or computer, overeating, obsessive worrying, futuristic fantasizing, and so on.

Regular, daily spiritual practices help develop self-love. It is my intention to assist many people in making a commitment to healing themselves from the inside-out. Once inner healing begins, the essential Radiant Light rises within, and the heart catches on fire with a desire to love self and others more and more deeply. This Radiance rising spontaneously creates Peace within the system, and then that Peace ripples out to benefit others.

Self-Love is about healing yourself so that you can be a Light for others. To commit to this healing journey, please consider taking The Teja Challenge: For Healing, Light, Peace & Love. Here are the terms of this challenge ~

~ You will agree to give up tobacco, alcohol, ganja, and other drugs (and any other addictive substances and/or behaviors), for 3 months, during which time you will read my pocket book, Radiance Rising: Spiritual Practices for Daily Living (copy included in this challenge), and you will commit to doing daily spiritual practices, with the minimum requirement being a twenty-minute silent meditation each day.

~ You will agree that after you complete the 3-month challenge, you will post a comment, sharing your experience, here at the end of this blog article. Once you post the comment, you will be gifted with one book of your choice – either The Rita Lila: A Western Yogini’s Journey to Bliss or Love Soups: A Vegetarian Soup Cookbook Inspired by the Soup Devas.

~ I will agree to send you Reiki healing energies by distance each day, and I will be available for guidance on spiritual practices, by email, as needed. (For people who need an intensive amount of email support, an extra financial donation may be necessary.)

~ For this healing process, a sliding scale love-money donation is requested: between $44-88 per month, so for the 3 months, between $132-$264 total. To take The Teja Challenge: For Healing, Light, Peace, & Love, please go to the Store on this website, and pay by using the “Donate” button. (10% of every sale and donation on this website goes to Amma’s charitable organizations. www.amma.org)

~ After you make the donation, please send me a message through the Contact page on this site, letting me know that you are agreeing to take The Teja Challenge. Please include your email address and whether you would like your copy of Radiance Rising: Spiritual Practices for Daily Living in the print or e-book version. (If you’d like the print version, please also include your mailing address.) I will then reply with an email containing the Terms of Agreement and a request for you to email me a recent photo of yourself.

If you have addictions that are blocking your experience of self-love, consider taking The Teja Challenge: For Healing, Light, Peace, & Love.

May all beings know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of candle lights by Teja Shankara. Photo of Teja by her son Gabe.

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On February 28^th, 2010, I posted a blog article entitled “The Teja Challenge” in which I challenged people to give up their addictions to harmful substances for one year in exchange for me sending them Reiki healing energies each day. Recently I became inspired to revisit and revise that challenge. This new challenge will include the substances from the original – tobacco, alcohol, ganja (also called pot/weed/marijuana), and other drugs – as well as any other addictive substance or activity, such as spending too much time on the television or computer, overeating, obsessive worrying, and futuristic fantasizing.

All addictions stem from a lack of self-love. Once you really, truly begin to love yourself, you then experience your whole being, including your physical body, as a temple for your soul. When you really love yourself, you will no longer choose to engage in addictions that are harmful to your body, mind, heart, and soul.

It has been more than 3 years since I quit drinking alcohol. I no longer even have a glass of wine with dinner, because I do not like how alcohol makes my energies feel so tweaked. Once I began doing regular, daily spiritual practices and I became more sensitive to energies, I began to really like how my own energies feel, without any alterations. I like how present I feel now that I no longer put mind-altering substances into my temple body.

Alcohol, tobacco, ganja, and other drugs interfere with spiritual purification and with the body’s natural healing processes. The way to free yourself from addictive substances or behaviors is to set the intention to really love yourself, and then choose the path that will lead you to that self-love. Once you dedicate yourself to really loving yourself, the way will open up for you.

This revised Teja Challenge is one way to begin the healing journey of freeing yourself from addictions. Here are the terms of this challenge ~

~ You will agree to give up tobacco, alcohol, ganja, and other drugs (and any other addictive substances and/or behaviors), for 3 months, during which time you will read my pocket book, Radiance Rising: Spiritual Practices for Daily Living (copy included in this challenge), and commit to doing daily spiritual practices, with the minimum requirement being a twenty-minute silent meditation each day.

~ I will agree to send you Reiki healing energies by distance each day, and I will be available for guidance on spiritual practices by email, as needed. (For people who need a lot of extra email support, an extra financial donation may be necessary.)

~ For this healing process, a sliding scale love-money donation is requested: between $22-88 per month, so for 3 months, between $66-$264. To take The Teja Challenge (Revised), please go to the Store on this website, and pay by using the “Donate” button. (10% of every sale and donation on this website goes to Amma’s charitable organizations. www.amma.org) After you make the donation, please send me a message through the Contact page on this site, letting me know that you are agreeing to take the Teja Challenge. Please include your email address and whether you would like your copy of Radiance Rising: Spiritual Practices for Daily Living in the print or e-book version. (If you’d like the print version, also include your mailing address.) I will then reply with an email containing the Terms of Agreement and a request for you to email me a recent photo of yourself.

Regular, daily spiritual practices help develop self-love. One of the spiritual practices that has helped me the most on my journey to self-love is Cultivating the Witness, that part of ourselves that objectively watches everything we are. Once we begin to witness, allow, and accept all parts of ourselves, then we begin to love ourselves unconditionally. I have found this process to be incredibly rewarding. It is my intention to assist many others in sparking the healing inner Light into a blazing Fire of Self-Love that radiates out to more and more beings.

May all beings everywhere know the Bliss of Freedom from all addictions! If you have addictions, consider taking The Teja Challenge today!

May all beings everywhere know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of red feather tree lights by Teja Shankara. Photo of Teja by her son Gabe.

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About six weeks ago, I realized that I had a computer addiction, so I made myself a computer “curfew” and began turning off the computer by 6 or 6:30pm (most nights). As with all of my spiritual disciplines, I set a goal, but then I hold it with some flexibility, so as to not freak out my ego too much all at once!

There have been a few evenings that I allowed myself to stay on the computer past curfew, but the majority of evenings I have kept computer-free. I have also been shutting down the wi-fi for the night, and I noticed immediately that the quality of my sleep began to improve, and I felt calmer and less scattered. I also witnessed that my living space feels calmer. In this reduced-radiation environment, I am spending more time playing harmonium, chanting mantras, and sitting in meditation.

During the first computer-free evening, I reflected that years ago, when I got rid of television, I was amazed at how much time there was in an evening when it isn’t filled up with screen-time. Well, lo and behold, it was the same experience with taking away the computer-screen-time! I couldn’t believe it. Somehow the computer, with all its dazzling seductions (I Love Facebook!), had slipped in and replaced the television addiction. (To read my assessment of the television addiction, go the page on this website called “Tips From Tejaswini”)

How much time do you spend on the computer each evening? Is there something else you might enjoy doing, such as playing music, dancing, reading a book, or writing in a journal? If you decide to set your own computer curfew, let me know how it goes for you.

May all beings everywhere have food, clothing, shelter, peaceful sleep, and spiritual upliftment each day.

May all beings know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of ocean tree (at Festival of Trees) by Teja Shankara.

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Brahmacharya is a Sanskrit word that is used in several ways. In the context of this blog post, it means taking the vow of celibacy to focus purely on spiritual studies and practices. A Brahmachari is a male (and Brahmacharini a female) who observes sexual abstinence and devotes one’s life to surrendering to God. To read a much more detailed description, click on the word “Brahmacharya” above to link with the Wikipedia page.

I am a western yogini who is straddling two worlds. For several years I have been longing to renounce and be a sannyasini (female renunciate, like a nun in western terms), but I have not been able to take the required brahmacharini vow because of the strong seductive pull of the romantic lilas. “Lila” is a Sanskrit word that means “divine play” or “divine sport.” All of our human interactions can be viewed as lilas – as “God playing or sporting with God.” (For an entertaining read about some of my romantic lilas, in the context of me learning to apply spiritual teachings to break free from an addictive love pattern, check out my spiritual memoir, The Rita Lila: A Western Yogini’s Journey to Bliss, by my former pen name, Rita Ann Shankara.)

My spiritual teacher, who is named Basil in my books, left his body in July 2009, at a time when I was already going through some intense heartbreak. That would have been a really good time to take the brahmacharini vow, but I just wasn’t ready yet. Instead, despite all that I’d learned on the yoga path, I sought to escape all the grief and pain through some unhealthy romantic lilas. After nearly a full year of that, I realized that I needed to take the brahmacharini vow. For the first time, I knew that I could commit to at least six months, and maybe even twelve months. After taking the brahmacharya vow, I spoke with several women who had taken the same vow in the past, and they had really great experiences with it. Two of the women had started out like me, committing to a small bit of time, and then they just kept extending that time, until each of them ended up being brahmacharinis for 4 years.

Many modern brahmacharis commit to the vow for life, such as Mahatma Gandhi. He embraced the vow permanently at age 38. Swami Vivekananda spoke clearly about the importance of taking the vow for a minimum of 12 years! He said, “That power comes to him who observes unbroken Brahmacharya for a period of twelve years, with the sole object of realizing God. I have practiced that kind of Brahmacharya myself, and so a screen has been removed, as it were, from my brain.” (Wikipedia, on Brahmacharya.)

After I took the vow, I felt so great for over one month. I felt incredibly centered in my own being and in my own energies. I experienced many deep states of Bliss. I remembered again and again that the only True Bliss Channel is INSIDE, and I understood clearly that looking for Bliss externally brings inevitable sorrows.

But then, about ten days ago, the sorrow in my heart rose up again. No amount of intellectual rationalizing could stop me from crying. As I cried, I mentally reviewed the situation over and over again: ‘I’m in love with someone who I can’t be with, and the lilas involved in that situation were draining my energies. I want to surrender to God and give my life to serving others, and that is hard to do when I’m distracted by the magnetic pull of the lilas. I need to remember that I took the last name Shankara in order to be a bride of Shiva. It is my intention to keep my attention on the Highest Light.’

So, even with the brahmacharya vow, I continue to straddle two worlds. Last night I bowed down before my Gurus (Neem Karoli Baba and Ammachi), and asked for Acceptance of what IS. I’m a western yogini who aspires to renounce, but clearly isn’t ready to do so! I guess I just have to accept that I’m a sannyasini-wannabe!

May all beings everywhere know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Teja in sorrow by Teja Shankara’s ten-year-old son.

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It is a glorious blue sky day with warm sunshine here in Ashland. I'm sipping hot coffee (with a spoonful of maple syrup in it!), as I write this brief bit of news. Here's just a few of the things on my mind and heart ~

~ According to the Mayan Calendar, this Saturday and Sunday (July 17-18) is a really potent time for meditation. It is a portal in which to experience Unity Consciousness. A non-profit organization called Common Passion has information about this Conscious Convergence (including the many events scheduled around the world), on their website, www.commonpassion.org.

~ As I mentioned previously, I was scheduled to offer meditation sessions and Radiance Rising Circles at the Mystic Garden Party (July 21-26 in Corning, California), but a few days ago I went onto the Mystic Garden Party website to view the schedule, and I was dismayed to see that one of the focal points for the festival will be forums and presentations on entheogenics. (Entheogens are psycho-active plant based substances used for spiritual or religious reasons, such as ganja (pot), mushrooms, ayahuasca, peyote, etc.) I knew that people would be taking such substances at the festival, and although I prefer to not be around those vibrations, I planned to go anyway, so that I could soak in all the incredible kirtan (Dave Stringer! Bhagavan Das!), and the yummy yoga, and all the other delights.

If they were just offering one small workshop on entheogens, I would still have gone, but since entheogenics is going to be highlighted throughout each day and evening, I decided that I did not want my name associated with that festival. Ironically, I was preparing a brochure to bring that would explain the detrimental effects that ganja and other substances have on spiritual practices and on every aspect of healing. 

(Also, on February 28, 2010, I had posted a blog on this issue. You can read that post at: http://yogini-bliss.com/66-the-teja-challenge.html)

~ I am really enjoying writing the articles for this Teja Blog. Also, I am now posting my monthly newsletter (The Tejaswini Playground Press) on the Teja Blog, so you can either read the newsletters on the blog, or sign-up to receive the newsletters by email. 

(To sign up for the newsletters, go to: http://yogini-bliss.com/component/option,com_ccnewsletter/Itemid,61/view,ccnewsletter/)

~ In June I attended a program through Insight Prison Project, where I met two wonderful men who work for Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, an organization founded by Father Greg Boyle to help get gang members off the streets. Consider donating to this really great program: www.homeboy-industries.org

~ For those of you who live in the Ashland area, just a reminder that I still offer the Radiance Rising Circles every Monday evening, 7:30pm in the Jackson Wellsprings Community Room. We chant with my harmonium, sit in silent meditation, and share spiritual teachings. Free, open to men and women, and drop-ins are always welcome. (View the flyer at: http://yogini-bliss.com/Events-Calendar/2010-07-19/Radiance-Rising-Circles-with-Tejaswini-Rachel-Ann-Shankara/282.html)

~ Lastly, I am really enjoying Facebook these days.... find me there at: http://www.facebook.com/tejashankara

Well, sorry this wasn't as brief as I'd planned! Let's blame it on the coffee!

May all beings everywhere know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini (Teja Shankara)

Photo of Teja by Teja Shankara.

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The guard checked my driver’s license in the computer, waved a wand over my body, and motioned for me to join the others inside the gates. I was inside San Quentin prison, a California State Prison near San Rafael. The environment was so strange: the guards in big boots with guns, the stark surroundings, and the nauseating smells of the kitchen area. The gloomy, towering ceilings of the dining hall were covered with hundreds of chirping birds, which swooped down to the floor at times. Sitting at the large steel tables, each with four steel stools attached, you never knew when a bird might drop something on you.

Aside from the strange environment, I thoroughly enjoyed my day inside the prison. It was the third day of the Victim-Offender Education Group (VOEG) Facilitator Training Program through Insight Prison Project. The first two days we spent learning the VOEG curriculum in the classroom, and then inside the prison we got to experience the incredible results of the curriculum. There were twenty of us, and twenty prisoners, who they called the “men in blue” (since they were all wearing blue shirts), and we all sat in a circle and introduced ourselves. This particular group of prisoners had already been through the entire VOEG curriculum, and they were excited to share their experiences with us. They told us that they had been looking forward to us coming, and that it meant so much to them that people on the outside care about them. I’m teary as I type that.

Throughout the day, the men in blue explained the curriculum to us, by reading us an assortment of written homework assignments that they had completed as part of the work in their groups. This amazing curriculum, assembled by Rochelle Edwards/Insight Prison Project, requires the men to go through an extensive process of understanding how their childhood traumas and abuses shaped their past and the choices they made. The curriculum demands that they not only admit guilt to the crime that they came to prison for, but that they also hold themselves accountable for the impact that their crime had on their victims, on the victim’s families, on their own families, and on themselves.

Through this rigorous self-growth process, the men begin to understand how to recognize their own emotional states and how to take steps towards self-forgiveness. After working for nearly five months in their weekly group with ten people including the facilitator, the program brings in a panel of victims. The offenders read their crime impact statements and the victims read their victim impact statements, and in keeping with the philosophy of restorative justice, there is an invitation for healing to occur. Forgiveness is never required, though it sometimes happens spontaneously when the offenders and victims gain insight into the internal experiences of each other.

I was so inspired listening to the men in blue talk and witnessing their open hearts. So many of them talked about wanting to get out so that they can give back to society. Many feel especially inspired to help the youths. One man, who is a Zen Buddhist and sits in meditation each morning and each evening, just like I do, told me that if he had gone through a program like this when he was thirteen, then he wouldn’t be in prison today.

I have always believed that people can and do transform their lives for the better, and that day in San Quentin Prison proved my belief beyond any doubts. It was truly amazing to see how the VOEG curriculum works: how it holds the men accountable for their crimes, and gives them the skills necessary to understand the choices they made, AND how it teaches them the ability of witnessing themselves so that they can make new and different choices now and in the future.

I felt so comfortable talking with the men in blue. At the end of the day, I felt sad to leave. I felt the open-heartedness of the men in blue – I felt their willingness to learn and grow and change. I felt their sincerity and their love for each other and for us.

I feel really inspired to offer this curriculum soon. Since I don’t live near a large prison, perhaps I will offer it at a county jail or a youth center or a rehabilitation center.

There are so many broken lives – lives broken by poverty, drugs, despair, mental illness, and so on. I endeavor to be of service… to help bring opportunities for healing to more of these broken lives.

When it was time for the men in blue to return to their quarters, the guard checked us out. I walked out to my car noticing how free I was to go where I pleased. I turned around and took a photo of the prison. As I drove through San Rafael, I thought, ‘Whoa, reality check! I just shook hands with twenty men who have committed murder!’ I understand that I thought that because it was my first time inside a prison, but you know, not once did I think of those men as murderers when I was with them. All day long, I just felt so connected with everyone at the heart level, and I appreciated our shared humanity.

May all beings everywhere know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of San Quentin Prison by Teja Shankara.

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