Greetings Prosperity Paths From Death Row in Arizona,
I pray this finds you in good health and spirit. My religious provider here at the prison, Dr. Hari Simran Singh Khalsa from Phoenix, Arizona, suggested I share this story with you. I hesitate only because of embarrassment over my lack of writing abilities, but the thought that my story may help someone outweighs any personal ego trips on my part.
I have been meditating off and on, using different disciplines, for about thirty years. Being a child of the "Sixties," I was exposed to Transcendental Meditation when it was thrown into the media spotlight. I also went into the military and learned various martial arts. The bottom line is that I was born a believer, but I have not always been a good follower.
Now for the reality check: Nineteen years ago I killed two men and crippled a third one in a senseless barroom brawl. This is another story, and the only reason I mention it is to explain why I am on Death Row in Arizona.
To some, prison is hell, and in hell options are limited. Two years ago I decided to turn my corner of hell into a learning experience. I gave up tobacco, and soon afterwards, meat. I finished my Associates degree and started studying Sikh Dharma and Kundalini Yoga.
What follows is the story of my awakening after seven months of anger, frustration and negativity. It was seven months ago that Arizona's Death Row was moved en masse from the high security building where we had been housed to the "new and improved" version. These new "Super Max" prisons are the latest rage in the corrections industry. Here there is no illusion of rehabilitation; just punishment and control.
Enter the Light - Dr. Khalsa - who visits me here in the trenches of "Super Max" about once a month. He brings counsel, wisdom, and probably most importantly, he brings positive energy. He is also responsible for a great deal of reading material that I receive about Sikh Dharma and Kundalini Yoga.
February 24, 1998 was a particularly interesting day. The Department of Corrections had turned off the electricity to my cell in partial punishment for my refusal to shave, a practice which conflicts with my Sikh beliefs. Because of that, it was with particular pleasure that I welcomed Dr. Khalsa's visit. What was important was his projection of positive energy. I felt as refreshed after his visit as if I had taken a cold shower.
Later that evening the reading material he had dropped off concerning chakras was delivered to my cell, and as always, I began to digest the concepts in this material while sitting in easy pose and doing 4-6 breaths per minute. All my life I had been focusing on the sixth chakra, the Ajna, or third eye, to focus myself and to tap into the flow of energy that surrounds us. This time I decided to concentrate on the first two chakras, and so I did long deep breathing, and Mulbhand and began to quiet my mind.
After a short time of concentration on my breathing and root lock, a silhouette appeared before my closed eyes. It was a man wearing a turban and a full beard, a Sikh. For no apparent reason, I thought of Guru Ram Das. Was it an illusion - just a passing oddity brought on by the intense light that surrounded me in my cell and the movement of the blood through the vessels in my eyelids? - An interesting phenomenon, but easily explained to my rational mind.
Shortly after that, on one of my inhales, my world changed. It was as if someone had turned on the light switch. I could sense and feel the power of my breath as I inhaled and I could sense the movement and power in the air as I exhaled. That little tickle that had been around for years turned into a live electrical wire in my skull and traveled up and down my spine before exiting via my breath as I exhaled.
I could feel and experience the breath in my first and second chakras. My body, though remaining outwardly still, began to pulse in harmony with my breath. As my breath began to speed up, I used a piece of my mind to correct this and return to the rhythm of the experience. What is important here is that this was the first time I had come out of what I thought was a meditative state and been able to reenter the meditative state after adjusting something in my physical body. Using the analogy of the ocean to describe it, it was as if I were riding a giant wave which allowed me small concessions to this physical world and yet allowed me to enjoy its power. This giant wave bid me welcome, and was a taste of the new reality in my life. It was tangible proof to me that my spiritual journey has not been in vain. All these years I have been trying to grow the ability to tap into the Universal power source, when instead I only had to plug into the outlet within me that had been there all the time.
Now, my brothers and sisters, the journey truly begins. And everything else is only small stuff in comparison. Everything is God. May your home know only peace.
Sincerely,
Jasper Mc Murtrey #43391
Arizona State Prison - Eyman
PO Box 3400, SMU-II
Florence, AZ 85232-3400