‘There is no knowledge that is not power’

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In the country of Colombia there are Biblioburros, or ‘Book Donkeys’. It all started when Luis Sorino, the only man with books in his small community, decided to repurpose his donkeys. Instead of carrying water they carried his books to local children. He also renamed them to Alpha and Beto.

Despite being held at gun point, warned to not organize pesants, and losing a leg in an accident, Luis continues his work. He is a true hero.

In my travels around the world I often see community gardens, libraries, and even workshops set up by groups, or individuals. They always warm my heart and give me hope for humanity.

Watch a BBC video about Luis Sorina and ‘AphaBeto’

A study, published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, of over 152 volunteers by Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, Tetouan, Morocco and the Department of Health Sciences, University West, Trollhättan, Sweden, it was found that:

‘Yoga as a form of physical activity is effective for reducing psychological distress levels in prison inmates, with specific effect on symptoms such as suspicious and fearful thoughts about losing autonomy, memory problems, difficulty in making decisions, trouble concentrating, obsessive thought, and perception of bodily dysfunction.’

These types of studies on yoga and mindfulness seem plentiful, yet many communities across America still view yoga as abnormal, or snake-oil. It would be truly wonderful to see yoga and mindfulness more prevalent across America, especially in schools, prisons, and the military.

The philosophical warrior is much more prepared for the psychological damages of life.

 

 

 

 

 

The Colorado independent recently published an article saying that Denver will no longer be jailing people over $50 fines. This is great!

Why does this make any sense in the first place? It costs Boulder county $150 per day to keep someone in jail. I recently saw and met Sheriff Pelle at a panel in Boulder Colorado. He discussed what I call ‘community policing’ where he is trying to focus on mental health treatment instead of punishment. With a goal of keeping productive members of society productive with the correct, science based, treatments. This helps save the community money and aggravation in the long run.

One of the things Sheriff Pelle mentioned was the cycle these non violent offenders get stuck in. They can’t pay the fine so they end up in jail, costing the tax payer $150 per day. They then lose their job, and are no longer paying taxes. Once out of jail they have a record and now can’t find a job and become a burden on our system.
I applaud Sheriff Pelle and the Boulder community for how they are tackling the mental health and opioid epidemic in our community.