Could this describe the Turning of the Heart? This letter arrived at the Peace Pilgrim Center in summer of 1997. Letter From a Prisoner Hi, it's me again, the one who asked about the ice cream. Yeah, I've read the book, and even though she's not here in body, she's still here in spirit. She has helped me so much words cannot express the way I feel. It's too bad she died in that car crash. I would have loved to meet her. She gave me insight into myself and meditation. She opened new doors for me. I've become so calm, where I would have killed anyone who spoke to me, and I have before. But that's in the past. I know now what will happen when we die and I'm not afraid to die anymore, I look forward to it. It's funny. I used to sit up at night and worry about going to hell for my crimes against mankind. I didn't give a snootfull about anyone's life and I took more lives than I can remember. I hated everyone and everything. I don't know why I sent away for this book. I got the book you sent and I was bored. You can't do much in an empty cell. I read her book just for the heck of it. I thought it was kind of a cool book and I tried her meditation that she spoke about. I did it for like a month straight. Nothing happened so I said, "Forget this," and stopped. Well, about a week after that, while staring at my wall (that's fun) I heard a voice saying, "You don't meditate with your head, but with your heart." So what the hey, I didn't have nothing better to do, so I shut my eyes and concentrated on the center of my chest. That's when it happened. I saw the Peace Pilgrim herself. I'm not joking! She was there in front of me sitting in her wooden chair. She reached out and put her hand to my heart and BAM! ALL the walls that I have built up over the years came down! Well, I began crying bitterly. I could not stop. She said, "Now you can begin your own walk to Peace." So I went to the Prison Library and began to read anything on meditation, and boy! I started to meditate. All of this is true. I learned about karma. I've begun to see the world in another way, not as a battleground, but as a living breathing thing, a life. I got this cat named Anny. She's sort of the prison mascot, but she hangs around in my cell. I don't know if she just hangs around because of me or all the food I bring her from my tray. Anyway she helps me meditate by looking into her eyes and clearing my mind. The guys here are surprised how much I've changed. Three weeks ago Jimmy, a new guy, was carrying a tray full of food and not looking out what he was doing. Well he ended up spilling the whole thing on me. The whole dining hall got quiet and the guy turned white as a sheet. The guy was a lot shorter than me; and everybody thought I was going to kill him for that. Back a few months ago I would have and thought nothing about it. I took him by the shoulder and took him over to the serving line and got him another tray of food. I looked around and everybody was staring at me. I smiled and said, "Well, the man has to eat." Jimmy became my first friend and my new roomy.... I even started teaching a class on meditation, and it seems that everyone comes to me with their problems and photos of their kids. That's strange, now my wall is full of the little nippers. The chaplain is always asking what happened to me and saying that my eyes look so different, whatever that means...Even though I can't walk out in the world, I can walk in prison and maybe turn some of these meat-heads around. And I can't do it on my own and I'm fresh out of ideas. So I was wondering if you had any. The problems range from killings, to rapings, to stealing. Well, you know prison inmates. We do have our problems and weird hang-ups...And as for Peace Pilgrim? She is still around walking into many lives who need her. She lives in me and many other poor slobs like me. She is a remarkable woman, and I am glad to know her. Well folks, I almost ran out of space and time. We got plenty of time...got a whole eternity. So write back so I can add you to my collection of friends. May whoever you pray to keep and watch over you all. Your friend, Pork Chop. Michael Plush Peace Pilgrim Newsletter #29, Spring/Summer 1998 I Virginia was helping at the Peace Pilgrim Center when this letter arrived in the summer of 1997. In it, Pork Chop also told us that he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and he said to the warden; “See, I told you you would never keep me in here!” He told us he was looking at his death now without fear...

Could this describe the Turning of the Heart?

This letter arrived at the Peace Pilgrim Center in summer of 1997.

Hi, it's me again, the one who asked about the ice cream. Yeah, I've read the book, and even though she's not here in body, she's still here in spirit. She has helped me so much words cannot express the way I feel. It's too bad she died in that car crash. I would have loved to meet her. She gave me insight into myself and meditation. She opened new doors for me. I've become so calm, where I would have killed anyone who spoke to me, and I have before. But that's in the past. I know now what will happen when we die and I'm not afraid to die anymore, I look forward to it. It's funny. I used to sit up at night and worry about going to hell for my crimes against mankind. I didn't give a snootfull about anyone's life and I took more lives than I can remember. I hated everyone and everything.

I don't know why I sent away for this book. I got the book you sent and I was bored. You can't do much in an empty cell. I read her book just for the heck of it. I thought it was kind of a cool book and I tried her meditation that she spoke about. I did it for like a month straight. Nothing happened so I said, "Forget this," and stopped. Well, about a week after that, while staring at my wall (that's fun) I heard a voice saying, "You don't meditate with your head, but with your heart." So what the hey, I didn't have nothing better to do, so I shut my eyes and concentrated on the center of my chest. That's when it happened. I saw the Peace Pilgrim herself. I'm not joking! She was there in front of me sitting in her wooden chair. She reached out and put her hand to my heart and BAM! ALL the walls that I have built up over the years came down! Well, I began crying bitterly. I could not stop. She said, "Now you can begin your own walk to Peace." So I went to the Prison Library and began to read anything on meditation, and boy! I started to meditate. All of this is true.

I learned about karma. I've begun to see the world in another way, not as a battleground, but as a living breathing thing, a life. I got this cat named Anny. She's sort of the prison mascot, but she hangs around in my cell. I don't know if she just hangs around because of me or all the food I bring her from my tray. Anyway she helps me meditate by looking into her eyes and clearing my mind.

The guys here are surprised how much I've changed. Three weeks ago Jimmy, a new guy, was carrying a tray full of food and not looking out what he was doing. Well he ended up spilling the whole thing on me. The whole dining hall got quiet and the guy turned white as a sheet. The guy was a lot shorter than me; and everybody thought I was going to kill him for that. Back a few months ago I would have and thought nothing about it. I took him by the shoulder and took him over to the serving line and got him another tray of food. I looked around and everybody was staring at me. I smiled and said, "Well, the man has to eat." Jimmy became my first friend and my new roomy....

I even started teaching a class on meditation, and it seems that everyone comes to me with their problems and photos of their kids. That's strange, now my wall is full of the little nippers. The chaplain is always asking what happened to me and saying that my eyes look so different, whatever that means...Even though I can't walk out in the world, I can walk in prison and maybe turn some of these meat-heads around. And I can't do it on my own and I'm fresh out of ideas. So I was wondering if you had any. The problems range from killings, to rapings, to stealing. Well, you know prison inmates. We do have our problems and weird hang-ups...And as for Peace Pilgrim? She is still around walking into many lives who need her. She lives in me and many other poor slobs like me. She is a remarkable woman, and I am glad to know her. Well folks, I almost ran out of space and time. We got plenty of time...got a whole eternity. So write back so I can add you to my collection of friends. May whoever you pray to keep and watch over you all. Your friend, Pork Chop. Michael Plush

Peace Pilgrim Newsletter #29, Spring/Summer 1998

I Virginia was helping at the Peace Pilgrim Center when this letter arrived in the summer of 1997. In it, Pork Chop also told us that he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and he said to the warden; “See, I told you you would never keep me in here!” He told us he was looking at his death now without fear...