Another Sunday. Another week down.

May 22, 2011

Dear Dee,

Another Sunday. Another week down. Yesterday marked the 500^th day of being locked up, not counting the nine months on house arrest, which does not count towards my sentence.

It seems that “church” is getting longer now. My Sunday morning regimen consists of a chalice lighting, a sermon, a chapter from “The Field,” and a bit of Jefferson’s Bible. The subtitle title of “The Field” is “A quest for the secret force of the universe.” The author, Lynne McTaggart, is an investigative journalist, who interviewed scientists in many disciplines, and came up with a scientific theory that paranormal activity is due to a quantum energy field that connects all living things across space and time. Interestingly enough, the book doesn’t present its theories as an explanation of an alternative to religious beliefs, but it could be if you look at it in that light. I now pray regularly, but I don’t imagine that I am telepathically communicating with a supernatural being in the skies. I feel that I am connecting with the better part of myself. And I never ask for anything in prayer that I cannot do for myself. So far it seems to work.

I enjoy reading the Jefferson Bible because it is just Jesus’ life and philosophy without all the magic tricks. I keep thinking if an American president in this day and age produced something like this, they’d want to string him up.

The sermon “Already Broken,” was quite beautiful in its Buddhist simplicity. It stresses living in the moment and enjoying each day for what it contains. I appreciated the sentiment even though I am so limited in what I can do here that I have no ability to shape the day into anything other than what it is. Last week, there was a stabbing death in a nearby unit. I should give thanks that it wasn’t me, but beyond that I have no control.

To answer your questions: Yes, indeed I am denied a computer, or even a cell phone with internet access, when I get out. How does one even function in the 21^st century without a computer? Yes, I can have a TV. Yes, they do sell radios here in the commissary. You have to have one in order to watch TV, since the audio is broadcast on an FM frequency and we listen on headphones.

Did you know that any federal inmate who engages in self-mutilation or tattooing can be charged with destruction of federal property? That’s right, despite the outlawing of slavery, there is still a place in America where human beings are considered property.

I am battling a monster cold that had me in bed for the entire day. I used to get only one cold per year, but now I catch one every time it makes its way through the unit. I am going back to sleep.