An interview with Soren Gordhamer
Articles & InterviewsMeditation with Incarcerated Teens
Soren Gordhamer on meditation with incarcerated teens
from Common Ground
Magazine(The interviewer is Lisa Alpine). He is the author
of Meetings with
Mentors (Hanford Mead Publishers) and the forthcoming Just
Say Om! (Adams
Media, 2001). He has taught meditation for teens through Spirit
Rock
Meditation Center, Kaiser Medical Center, Juvenile Halls,
and Youth Authority
Camps.
Why is meditation appealing to at-risk teens?
Teens in juvenile hall are interested in meditation in
a practical way. Many
of them are in rehab for drug use. Their drug experience
allowed them to drop
into these really deep altered states free from worry and
anxiety. Of course,
there are real dangers to drug use, but the initial desire
for altered states
-- the desire to have deep calm and a mind that is free
from worry -- is
right on! What we offer them is another way to tap into
that which is free
(which they like -- they don't have to steal money to buy
the drugs) and it
is safe. Introducing meditation in that way is very effective.
We help them
realize that they are seeking happiness in the wrong way,
but the underlying
desire for it is good. This reformats the desire for them.
During a class I taught at a local juvenile hall, a new
kid was asking if he
could get high from meditation (as if he could go smoke
it in the hallway!).
They laughed but during the class they all experienced deep
states of
relaxation and peace. The kids in this class are primarily
Latino with a
strong Catholic background, so they already have a strong
religious/spiritual
background. One kid said that his meditation was like being
on heroin.
Another mentioned that he had been worrying about his court
date next week,
and that these worries were more like clouds passing through
the sky. These
kids are in for serious crimes like attempted murder and
have some very heavy
worries to try and overcome.
What type of meditation are you teaching them?
Mindfulness of breathing. I first have them relax the muscles
in their body,
then notice the pattern of their breath. I ask them to let
their mind rest in
the pattern and flow of the breath. I tell them, "Thoughts
will come and
thoughts will go but keep your attention on your breath."
This encourages a
sense of ease. I then ask, "See if there isn't a greater
depth inside
yourself, a place that can see all that arises from your
wisdom." I keep it
very simple and gentle.
We also do a lovingkindness meditation, traditionally a
Buddhist meditation,
but we refer to it as a "happiness meditation."
In this one we have them
reflect on a time when someone was kind to them and what
it felt like to
receive that kindness. Then we ask them if they can extend
this kindness to
themselves. Then we have them focus on someone they care
about, and wish them
well with a thought such as, "May you truly be happy
and find peace." This is
a nonverbal intention that is being sent out for someone
else's well-being.
We then send it to the other kids in the hall and the staff.
Then to animals,
plants, and the whole world. This reinforces the sense that
we are all
seeking happiness and interconnected.
When I first did this I thought that it would never go
over, but I was wrong
and they received it well.
Do you consider this a spiritual practice that
you are teaching?
Yes. We introduce this to the kids as a spiritual practice.
We tell them to
check it out and if it isn't useful, drop it. We also emphasize
the
importance of the tradition that they come from. The goal
is to be together
in a sacred way with the intention to support awareness.
Our culture does not
challenge teenagers enough. They need to be challenged to
live a life that is
open-hearted and kind. We try to give them that challenge
in the meditation
class. It is a real art to introduce techniques that will
help bring forth
the heart of any tradition and practice.
These teens are looking for the challenge of what is really
worth living for.
I like teens because they are very attune to bullshit and
they do not buy it
for a second. It is truly rewarding to be around these teenagers
because they
help me see the old thoughts I cling to but do not live.
If you aren't living
the advice you are giving to teens, they aren't going to
take you seriously.
Teens can be so amazingly profound one moment and be totally
out of it the
next. I cannot explain what their life is like, especially
these kids and
their intense suffering, but I can be there as a guide for
them to gain a
sense of trust in themselves.
I try to encourage other people who are involved with spiritual
practices to
share them with teens. Meditation is not the only way --
it can be whatever
we love in our practice. There can be so much we can learn
in offering our
practice to teens and it teaches us where we need more attention
in our own
spiritual practice. Schools focus on teaching kids how to
read, write, and
use the internet but they leave out the most important material
-- how to
live a life with heart.
