Names have been changed to protect the vulnerable. This is a true story.
September 1, 2016
Randy came to us from the Bowden Institution, and has been the most enjoyable, positive person to work with. Randy volunteers at Habitat four days a week along with three other inmates, all given more freedom and trust to make a contribution to this world (under surveillance), before being allowed complete freedom. They always had free will for how they think, act, and behave; they have wisely chosen to cooperate with the legal system to win over the confidence of others and be given another chance. Over the past several months, he never has gotten frustrated, argued, or come close to losing his temper.
When Randy was only 19, he got involved in a drug deal that went bad, then with an ensuing argument, he took away the life of his enemy. He claims it was a struggle for survival, but was rightfully charged with manslaughter, was determined to be a risk to society and has been spending time in prison. After each volunteer day with Habitat, he is escorted back to Bowden, is searched by the security guard, and must spend his night sleeping in his “cell”, his home for the past 10+ years, although not always in the same penitentiary. His cell now is more like an 8 x 10 bedroom and he has his own TV. When he started his sentencing though, he was in a dark, cold cell for 22.5 hours of every day with no communication with the outside world, only having a 1.5 hour break to do some much needed exercise in a proper secured facility.
There is no doubt in anyone's mind, including Randy's, that he was a troubled, violent, negative person when he commited his crime. Randy did not know who he was and he needed help to turn his life around. So what was the most important source of knowledge he received that allowed him to become his true loving self, to become someone to be constructive with a desire to help others, as opposed to living in fear and being destructive and selfish? There is a famous book written by Rhonda Byme entitled “The Secret”.
“The Secret” is based on the law of attraction and claims that positive thinking can create life-changing results such as increased happiness, health, and wealth. Rhonda highlights gratitude and visualization as the two most powerful processes to help make one's desires manifest. She claims that being grateful both lifts “your frequency” higher and affirms that you believe you will receive what you desire. Visualization is said to help focus the mind to send out the clearest message to “the universe” (God, or the common level of consciousness). The way it works is that as we think and feel, a corresponding frequency is sent out into the universe which attracts back to us events and circumstances on that same frequency. Therefore positive thinking leads to positive results.
Whether you believe in Rhonda's words or not, we all need to be thankful for her influence over Randy, and how he now looks at life differently and makes effective use of the power of positive thinking, gratitude and visualization. He is very determined and very intellect. He now is taking university courses at night to work towards his Bachelor's degree in Commerce. Then he wants to get his CFA (Certified Financial Analyst) designation, eventually starting his career in this field. He is now 29 years of age. Randy visualizes his eventual freedom, getting married, settling down, having a family, and living a normal life in Calgary.
His biggest challenge will always be how to convince others that his past is behind him, to allow his listeners to be positive about his potential. I asked him for instance how he establishes a credit rating, since we live in a world of capitalism. Apparently the banks will know about his past life, which is something that he will be open and honest about anyways. Other family members will probably have to co-sign any loan, credit card, or eventually any mortgage application. He has a tatoo on his neck that he wants to get rid of since it is the symbol of the gang he became involved with.
Randy's crime was commited in Edmonton. He does not believe that any remaining enemies will learn of his release, or will even care after this length of time. He will gladly talk to them if given the opportunity to clear the air of his changed ways and his wish for peace. It is interesting to note that Randy said most inmates will remain with negative thought and will become criminals again if released. But those who are serving time for the most violent crimes will more likely search within themselves to determine where they went wrong and be willing to change.
In my opinion the outcome of Randy's success is a bit more complicated than what Rhonda proclaims when other spiritual beings are involved. For him to be successful will depend upon others also being positive, or at least open minded to begin with until he has proven himself, since we have powers granted that allow us to also control fate/ destiny. Randy may need help through prayer from a Higher Authority to overrule those who remain doubtful.
I only had one uneasy feeling of Randy and it was when I passed him the nail gun for the very first time. I quickly put this behind me for I was doing him no favor with my thoughts. I remained open minded and quickly learned about his passion for life, the kindness in his heart, and I sensed/ felt his positive vibration. In my opinion Randy cares about this world and he shows respect for elders that now includes me. Randy, along with the other inmates have added a lot of value with their time at Habitat since they are now experienced carpenters.
Albert Einstein, a true spiritualist has a famous quote relating to the Evolution of Consciouness that is most applicable:
“A human being is a part of the whole, called by us 'Universe', a part limited in time and space.
He experiences himself, his thoughts, and feelings as something separated from the rest,
a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.
This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires
and to affection to a few persons nearest to us.
Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion
to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.
Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievment
is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation of inner security.”
Randy is “one of us”. Since his trouble and during his rehabilitation, Randy has widened his circle of compassion significantly. In my opinion, he has crossed over to the other side of acceptability.
Will your thoughts cause a “road block” for him once he is set free? Those who love the world will be brave enough to give him another chance. This maybe a horrifying comment for some, but regardless of the significance of the crime commited, his crime was in the past. All that really matters is the present. Who are we to judge if our thoughts are based strictly on fears of past events? Granted, I have only seen Randy as he is now, but also I am really impressed with his wisdom and knowledge of spirituality and current events.
Randy should be free one way or another by October 1st. He could have freedom with continued surveillance for another year, or he could be given his outright release. Either way will be fine as he believes he will eventually realize his visualization. Few people will really know what he has been through when he steps out into the world, but he will have the backing of family. His day of freedom will be the happiest, most emotional event in his life, along with his parents and siblings. Randy says everyone who really knows who he is will be crying with joy and happiness!
Randy is going to make it and this is the opinion of everyone at Habitat. What I find rather funny is that a Habitat buddy is planning to take him hiking in the mountains once he is free, while his choice of activity is to take her to play paint ball. Can you imagine getting shot with paint by a guy previously charged with manslaughter? I see this actually as part of Randy's healing process since a friend believes in him enough to make this a fun event at a time for celebration of his freedom. Randy needed his time to work with Habitat and learn that a group of volunteers were willing to accept him for who he is.
In closing, what a wonderful experience this has been! I have the utmost respect for the Bowden Institution for giving Randy time to find himself. This is the way the prison process is supposed to work. Randy will continue to volunteer with Habitat when he can, once he is free to live his life based on his own free will and it will be good to see him again.
Update – December 1, 2016
Randy, who was serving time for manslaughter for a drug deal went bad, was in our minds the most likely one to succeed because of being so intelligent, spiritual, so enjoyable and positive, with not one ounce of evil in him whatsoever. Sometimes life throws a curve that catches us off guard. Randy never showed up one day at Habitat a few weeks after my story was circulated, of which he had edited and approved to be correct. The institution held him back as Randy was caught in possession of synthetic marijuana...such a major disappointment for the Habitat group, because we really wanted him to succeed. He was immediately moved to medium security, getting his bedroom replaced with a cell again and was told that he had another five years of sentence now to serve.
What he did left us all speechless, being so close to freedom, only to risk his release going back to a drug he was familiar with. Apparently he was getting quite anxious of his release and needed something to calm him down. A normal person might have discussed with the authorities first, then with permission gone to a doctor to be prescribed a legal medication that could have alternately done the job, and so he needs to be held responsible for his bad decision.
When you think about it though, is it that bad to be in possession of marijuana when they are thinking about legalizing it within the next year, and the seriousness of the crime was nothing compared to the manslaughter he had been charged with earlier? We were relieved to hear later that his new sentence was reduced to just two years from five, and so Randy has a chance to be free again in 2018, when he is 31. He needs to come clean though since his use of it could cause him to revert to his old ways.
A friend applied to go visit him in the penitentiary, much to the dismay of her husband, but who quickly concluded that she needed to do this. The application process took awhile as there was a lot of red tape. After a month, she had her interview with the prison authorities and was approved by the institution.
On the day of her visit, she had to be thoroughly checked over, including getting sniffed by the canine unit to see if she was carrying any drugs. Randy knew she had applied, since he had to give his approval, but he never knew when she was coming. He only knew that someone had arrived for a visit one day, and he had been escorted into a special meeting area. It would have been priceless to see the look on their faces when they met, and then to have their talk to regain confidence, reassurance and renewed optimism for the future and for Randy to promise to remain focused on his new timing for release.
Habitat staff should hopefully hear positive news in two years.