The Ninth Ground - by Steve Champion (Adisa Kamara), Craig A. Ross (Ajani Kamara), Stanley "tookie" Williams (Ajamu Kamara)
The Ninth Ground, a term derived from the ancient military text the Art of War, refers to the last of the nine grounds – the dying ground.
If someone were trying to kill you, would you use every means at your disposal to defend yourself? And if someone took everything you owned, would you start the process of rebuilding? Well, your response to being sentenced to a long prison term, life, or even death should be the same as your response to defending yourself from attack or great loss; you should fight.
We view the prison environment as dying ground and “fighting” as a metaphor for self-determination. One of the biggest mistakes many people make when coming to prison is that they do not initially comprehend the extremity of their circumstances. Instead, they jump into the flow of the environment, and thus fail productively to utilize those first crucial three to five years in prison for acquiring knowledge and building the necessary foundation that will sustain them for years to come. Self-determination should never be relegated to “just getting by”. Self-determination should always be a priority, and anything less should be unacceptable read more
If someone were trying to kill you, would you use every means at your disposal to defend yourself? And if someone took everything you owned, would you start the process of rebuilding? Well, your response to being sentenced to a long prison term, life, or even death should be the same as your response to defending yourself from attack or great loss; you should fight.
We view the prison environment as dying ground and “fighting” as a metaphor for self-determination. One of the biggest mistakes many people make when coming to prison is that they do not initially comprehend the extremity of their circumstances. Instead, they jump into the flow of the environment, and thus fail productively to utilize those first crucial three to five years in prison for acquiring knowledge and building the necessary foundation that will sustain them for years to come. Self-determination should never be relegated to “just getting by”. Self-determination should always be a priority, and anything less should be unacceptable read more
Spiritual Growth - by Steve Champion, death row San Quentin
What are you responsible for?
What do you take ownership of?
I can probably list a litany of things, but what most concerns me is being responsible and taking ownership of my spiritual growth. When I reflect on my life, spiritual growth is an area I can honestly say it’s on me either to squander or elevate it, depending on the choices I make. No-one should rely solely on another person for spiritual growth. The truth is, as an adult it is your responsibility and no-one else's. No-one can do the work for you. You have to take ownership of it yourself.....read more
What are you responsible for?
What do you take ownership of?
I can probably list a litany of things, but what most concerns me is being responsible and taking ownership of my spiritual growth. When I reflect on my life, spiritual growth is an area I can honestly say it’s on me either to squander or elevate it, depending on the choices I make. No-one should rely solely on another person for spiritual growth. The truth is, as an adult it is your responsibility and no-one else's. No-one can do the work for you. You have to take ownership of it yourself.....read more
Finding your Sacred Place - by Steve Champion, death row San Quentin
Finding your sacred place in a world where everything seems to happen instantaneously and where people are conditioned to expect results as fast as a microwave oven can cook food is a problem. People want a quick fix to problems, and when they don’t get it, they become frustrated and sometimes give up on life.
The creation of the internet is a wonderful thing. It continues to be instrumental in bridging the world, just like boats, trains and airplanes did when they were created. The internet offers a way to communicate and interact with people without the baggage, as some people would say, of physical contact. People can connect or disconnect from each other with the flick of a switch. It is a highly depersonalising and anti-spiritual way to live life. But in fast pace technological societies it’s becoming the norm.
Many great spiritual teachers of the past found sacred places to take refuge. What Akhenaton, Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Lao Tzu, Jesus, Prophet Muhammad and many others taught humanity in the past, is the same message spiritual teachers are teaching humanity today, the sacred place lives within you. read more
Finding your sacred place in a world where everything seems to happen instantaneously and where people are conditioned to expect results as fast as a microwave oven can cook food is a problem. People want a quick fix to problems, and when they don’t get it, they become frustrated and sometimes give up on life.
The creation of the internet is a wonderful thing. It continues to be instrumental in bridging the world, just like boats, trains and airplanes did when they were created. The internet offers a way to communicate and interact with people without the baggage, as some people would say, of physical contact. People can connect or disconnect from each other with the flick of a switch. It is a highly depersonalising and anti-spiritual way to live life. But in fast pace technological societies it’s becoming the norm.
Many great spiritual teachers of the past found sacred places to take refuge. What Akhenaton, Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Lao Tzu, Jesus, Prophet Muhammad and many others taught humanity in the past, is the same message spiritual teachers are teaching humanity today, the sacred place lives within you. read more
Keeping the Soul Intact - thoughts from death row San Quentin
There are certain comforts we include in our life to make it enjoyable. I do not criticise anyone for that. Material things might bring some comforts, but when those material things disappear, or are not present - what you truly value must come from within. I recognised this early on in my prison experience, that no matter where I was housed or what I didn't have, my value stems from what I build inside of me. And no amount of incarceration or oppression is going to take that away from me.
If you draw water from a well and do nothing to replenish what you withdraw, the well eventually will become empty. It is the same with inner strength. If you don't build up reserves and perform rituals to expel the toxins that latch onto the subconscious and reinforce the essence of who you are on a daily basis, you will easily fall prey to the litany of vices that destroy the soul. I refuse to let that happen. I exercise regularly and meditate every day. I try to eat healthily, I read literature that illuminates, enlightens and transforms my mind. I check in on myself and take inventory of myself to make sure I'm okay.
We are social beings and need social interaction and stimuli to reinforce our communal spirit. Prison has a way of isolating you and decapitating human connections to the social world read more
If you draw water from a well and do nothing to replenish what you withdraw, the well eventually will become empty. It is the same with inner strength. If you don't build up reserves and perform rituals to expel the toxins that latch onto the subconscious and reinforce the essence of who you are on a daily basis, you will easily fall prey to the litany of vices that destroy the soul. I refuse to let that happen. I exercise regularly and meditate every day. I try to eat healthily, I read literature that illuminates, enlightens and transforms my mind. I check in on myself and take inventory of myself to make sure I'm okay.
We are social beings and need social interaction and stimuli to reinforce our communal spirit. Prison has a way of isolating you and decapitating human connections to the social world read more
Change
One of the things I’ve learned is change is constant and inevitable. This is not a concept I originated but rather an intrinsic truth that exists in nature and in life. In my personal experience I’ve known people who were once strong who have become weak. I have seen people who were once weak become strong. This has taught me that you cannot freeze people in time and keep them locked in your own perception box, because people, circumstances and situations do change. Who a person is today may not be the same person they will be in the future. read more |
The Inner Light
There is a Latent but tangible inner light in everyone but our inner light can be submerged and stifled, making it hard to grow, difficult to shine and not easy to express yourself, if we don’t properly nurture it. read more.. |
Thoughts on Anger
Brother to Brother, I recently got off 90 days property control. I was supposed to exit this dungeon early June. I view these little excursions as my sabbatical to realign myself, place myself under critical examination, deepen my insight and commitment to our struggle... read more |
Warrior
I believe a warrior is a champion of courage, and courage to me is the ability to confront and overcome fear, even when you are frightened...read more |
Revolution
We live in a time of change because that is the nature of life. That is the nature of history. The rev Dr, Martin King jr says “There is nothing as tragic as sleeping through a revolution.” Ask yourself have you ever slept through a revolution or moment of change? If so, why?...read more |
Emotions
I want to touch base on a couple of subjects and one of them is the emotions. When I look at the word "emotion" I see it comes from the Latin word "emovére. I am not a psychologist, psychiatrist or behavioural scientist, but it is clear to me that when a person experiences an emotion it is an internal feeling to be expressed, or which can be expressed, externally through words, deeds or action. An emotion(s) can range from a myriad of feelings which I label as energies. These energies can and do cover a broad range such as fear, anger, rage, hate, love, happiness, envy, joy, peace etc... Our state of consciousness enables us to shift from one energy to the next. We can be happy one moment and sad the next. Our attitude plays a large role in this. Our attitude gives life to whether we are negative or positive to how we respond to a given situation.....read more |
Steve Champion gives an introductory talk at an exhibition of art & poetry by inmates on San Quentin's death row - at King's College London - 23rd November 2016
Between 20th and 23rd November 2017, An exhibition of art & poetry from San Quentin's death row, curated by ArtReach , was displayed at King's College London by the King's College Health + Humanities Society who celebrate the diverse communal interests between health and the humanities. On Thursday 23rd November, there was an evening of talks at King's College, as well as an opportunity to view the artwork & poetry. Steve Champion (aka Adisa Kamara) gave an introductory talk via prison phone from San Quentin - telling a little bit about himself & his creative process as a writer - and also about his fellow inmates, the artists incarcerated on death row. You can listen to his talk here:-
At the end of his talk, Steve recited a poem "Beyond the Walls" which he wrote whilst in Solitary Confinement. The poem in full is below:-
Beyond the Walls
The dream hovers
where even the senses can’t touch it.
Separating itself from the mind,
it dances upon the moonlit surface.
Like art, unfathomable in its reach,
rising like the morning mist,
free,
only to disappear somewhere in the vastness.
Dancing to the mystic mind.
Reaching, beyond the walls.
Steve Champion (Adisa Kamara)
Beyond the Walls
The dream hovers
where even the senses can’t touch it.
Separating itself from the mind,
it dances upon the moonlit surface.
Like art, unfathomable in its reach,
rising like the morning mist,
free,
only to disappear somewhere in the vastness.
Dancing to the mystic mind.
Reaching, beyond the walls.
Steve Champion (Adisa Kamara)