The Work

This powerful documentary set in Folsom Prison is a vivid reminder that all things are possible in God. It matters not the setting or the issues facing anyone, the Spirit will rush in at even slightest invitation to help fill the void in one's heart from past hurts and grievances. 

 

In this documentary, a group of hardened prisoners and a few wary members of the public join together over four days with the intention of healing the mind. Each of the men are given the space to share whatever is weighing on their hearts in facilitated healing circles. Raw emotions such as grief, rage, suicidal despair, self hatred, and unworthiness are permitted up in the circles so that they can be transcended.

 

The solution to all of the perceived wrongs is the same: forgiveness. As each brother steps forth to expose and release the darkness in his mind, the support immediately comes underneath to allow it to come up and out. During the process, the deeper bond forged in the group is palpable. As viewers of this documentary, we all get to benefit from witnessing the healing, the softening and the deeper connection the inmates experienced during the four-day process.

 

"When I am healed I am not healed alone." W-137

 

If one thinks they are a successful and well-adjusted human being, Jesus says they are twice removed from reality. Those who admit they have a perceptual problem and are taking steps to heal their mind, are only once removed. During the four-day experience, each of the normal "outsiders" gets in touch with unhealed aspects of their mind that can be healed in the prayer circles. And while their stories may not have included the committing of a major crime, the effect was equally as disturbing to the mind and is healed in exactly the same way. 

 

Time and again, the inmates healed in the circles go the extra mile for their brothers—fellow inmates and even outsiders—and demonstrate their willingness to do whatever it may take to help free them from the prisons of their own mind. Jesus tells us in "A Course in Miracles" that God's teachers have "made a deliberate choice in which he did not see his interests as apart from someone else's."

 

This documentary is a testament to the healing power of the Holy Spirit and to the presence of love underneath all of our perceived darkness. With just a little willingness to bring this darkness to light, miracles occur. We witness through each man's healing what is possible for us all.