What does Wildmind do in prisons?
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The staff at Wildmind are involved in two classes at the State Prison for Men in Concord, New Hampshire. Every Thursday at noon we close our office and we take the roughly one hour trip up to Concord.
We didn’t start this group. The tribute for that has to go to Dave Carr, who heroically supported the meditation and Buddhism group in Concord for many years.
In the summer, even on the days when the humidity feels like a hot, wet blanket resting on your skin, we wear long pants and carry sweaters, because the chapel in which our class takes place is air-conditioned to the point that even with winter clothing you can find yourself shivering compulsively for the latter half of the meeting.
There have been times when, for several weeks in a row, we have made the 60 minute journey to Concord only to be told that for some reason, usually staff shortages, the group has been canceled. Rarely if ever does anyone from the prison call us ahead of time to let us know this, and learning to live with these disappointments is a major part of our practice as prison volunteers.
Thursday is actually more accurately described as a group meeting than a class. The inmates trickle in a little after one, and for a while we socialize. Many of the men live in different wings of the prison and don’t have much opportunity to meet outside of this time.
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