Prison Project Training in Oakland, CA, 2007

Click on any of the little pictures to see it at normal size. Click on the '=0=' after the picture to see it in giant size (about 2 minutes to download on dialup connection and larger than screen size). This could be useful if you wanted to really look at one part of the picture or to make a print.

Here is Madhu in the A/V (audio / visual) area. It is in the back corner of the hall, just to the left of the door as you enter. On the first day there was some problem getting the sound to work on a video that was part of the program. Madhu got a chance to contemplate the dilemma of doing your best without having any attachment to the outcome. Everything was fine, of course (we saw the video that evening). I got my chance to contemplate that same dilemma Sunday morning when our group did the Gurugita early (or the regular time on other days) so it wouldn't interfere with our training. I did the A/V, but their CD player had an option I had never seen before of playing one track at a time and stopping. I skipped a small section of the Gurugita, which bothered me. Everyone else was fine with it, of course. Isn't that the way it is.	=0=
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The format of the training would include a talk / share followed by a time for contemplation and then discussions in small groups. Above are Ruth and Cheryl (from Portland area, had been trained previously). In the background behind Ruth is Georgina. Next to that is Cynthia (from Portland area) and Eva (from El Paso). Here is a picture of Luz (from the Oakland area and a translator of the newsletter into Spanish) and Pat, one of the facilitators. Most of the facilitators have run programs in prisons and both shared and learned. I didn't take any pictures during the training (too disruptive) so these pictures were taking in the hall during breaks.	=0=
This is another of the facilitators, Patrick, from Oklahoma as he was preparing for his portion of the training. Below is S'Marie as she was meditating in the Savasana (or corpse pose) during one of the breaks. During most of the sessions there were about 22 chairs in a circle, but when we broke into groups (often five) we would go to different parts of the room beyond the circle. The next picture is of Anthony talking to one of the facilitators, Shrividya. Anthony is a trainee from the Oakland area and also had been incarcerated for seven years.	=0=
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Just outside the hall was an entrance area where people could take off there shoes and such. They had a card to thank the residents of the ashram for supporting our training (preparing the rooms and meals and such) and we all signed it. Here is Georgina (from El Paso) signing the card. Anthony did a special share about his experiences with Syda Yoga meditation in prison and out which was videotaped. It was just wonderful. Below is Anthony with the person who set and up and made the video. For our last session on Sunday we had a live chant (with music by musicians rather than from a CD) and below is a picture of the wonderful drummer (she was magnificent) as she was putting on her shoes in the shoe room. I wish I had gotten her name along with the video person.	=0=
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Just before lunch on Sunday I was able to take a group picture. It looks pretty good in the thumbnails (above and here), but the expanded pictures are quite grainy. Doh! My camera does that in poor light, but the light looked OK to me. The human eye has a much wider range than most any camera. Oh well, what to do?	=0=
I took the top two group pictures and Patrick took these two (so I am in the top right corner).	=0=