Thought for the Week

Timothy D. Stein, MFT, CSAT

October 6, 2014

Indian Penal System

A prison in Washington State imported a meditation regime from the Penal System in India. Inmates who participated in the meditation practice saw their recidivism rates drop from 70% to 30%. When asked why there was such a dramatic change, the warden said, “I don’t know.” The warden then went on to say that during meditation, stuff happens, like a fly landing on your nose or getting an itch, and, because you are meditating, you don’t react to it.  Eventually, the fly leaves and the itch goes away.  The warden suspected that, while the inmates had previously reacted to impulses and situations that frequently lead to their incarceration, they had unconsciously started to choose what they reacted to and what they did not. In twelve step lingo, they internalized “This too shall pass.”

Am I reacting to impulses and situations? What would change if I trusted that “this too shall pass?” Am I worth thinking through my actions and their consequences before acting?